Passing Through by Jay Northcote

Available February 20th!

Jay Northcote Presents:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TIGJ88W

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-passingthrough-1742934-149.html

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/518978

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Blurb

Don’t waste a chance at happiness…

Leo is a lonely workaholic with no time for romance in his life. His job in London takes all his energy and commitment. When he goes to Cornwall to stay with his terminally ill uncle, Edwin, love is the last thing Leo expects to find.

Tris lives in a cottage on Edwin’s land. Gay, but still half in the closet, he and Leo bond over their affection for Edwin, and the pull of attraction between them proves too strong to ignore. In Tris’s arms, in the wilds of Cornwall, Leo finds a peace he’d forgotten existed.

On his return to London, Leo finds himself grieving for more than just the loss of his uncle. When some unexpected news gives Leo the chance to return to Cornwall, he’s afraid it will be too late to rekindle things with Tris. But having learned much from his stay with his uncle, Leo doesn’t want to look back and wish he’d done things differently.

It’s time to seize the day—if it’s not already too late.

Review

Leo temporarily moves to Cornwall to spend time with his dying uncle. While there he meets Tris, a closeted gardener who is renting a house from Edwin, Leo’s uncle.

The premise of this story is simple: boy meets boy, boy kisses boy, boy loves boy, boy leaves boy, boy misses boy, boy returns to boy.

But….

There is way more to this story. Each of the men in this story has a history they need to wrestle with in order to become the happiest they can.

Tris needs to come out of the closet, forgive himself for his divorce and for deceiving himself and his family for so many years.

Leo needs to realize that he is more than his job and that happiness cannot be found working 80 hours a week.

Edwin, probably the most touching story of all, gets to finally tell his story and embrace the life he couldn’t for all these years.

**

On the one hand this story has very little angst for our two MCs. Their love story moves fairly quickly and without a lot of drama.

On the other hand, what I loved about this book was Edwin’s story. It’s both heartbreaking yet romantic and sweet at the same time. I loved how his love story helped Leo and Tris appreciate what they have (or could lose). He was an amazing character.

All in all this was another very well written story by one of my favorite authors, Jay Northcote, who consistently gives us wonderful, three-dimensional characters and a tender and sweet love for them to find.

Writing/Editing 5

Romance 4.5

Sex/Heat 4

Storyline 4.5

World Building/Characterizations 5

4.6 of 5 hearts!

4.5

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Excerpt:

On the beach they crunched along the shingle to the edge of the rocks, then turned to look out over the sea. It was almost completely dark now, and the moon was rising, casting streaks of bright silver on the oil-black water.

They stood in silence, watching and listening to the crash of the waves. Leo’s heart felt suddenly too large for his chest. He was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place, a place that had barely changed since his childhood. The sea came and went with the tides, the sands shifted, but the rocks were constant. Yet here Leo was, an adult now rather than a boy, and his uncle reduced to an echo of the man Leo remembered—physically, at least. Unexpected tears prickled the backs of Leo’s eyes as a rush of emotion so strong that it made him draw in a sharp breath assaulted him. He swallowed hard, forcing the feelings back down.

Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Tris turn towards him, but Leo carried on gazing out at the gentle, rolling movement of the sea. Tris shifted his feet in the sand, bringing him closer. The warm skin of his arm brushed Leo’s, and Leo ached for more contact. He needed human warmth and touch to chase away the cold emptiness in his heart.

 

Author Bio:

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her husband, two children, and two cats.

She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

 

http://www.jaynorthcote.com

Duty & Devotion Audiobook (Faith, Love & Devotion book 3) by Tere Michaels Narrated by JP Handler

Dreamspinner presents http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6105

duty & DevotionBlurb

A year after deciding to share their lives, Matt and Evan are working on their happily ever after–which isn’t as easy as it looks. As life settles down into a routine, Matt finds happiness in his role as the ideal househusband of Queens, New York, but he worries about Evan’s continued workaholic–and emotionally avoidant–ways. Trying to juggle his evolving relationship with Evan and his children, Matt turns to his friend, former Seattle homicide detective Jim Shea.
The continued friendship between Matt and Jim is a thorn in Evan’s side. Jealous and uncomfortable with imagining their brief affair, Evan struggles to come to terms with what being in a committed relationship with a man means and the implications about his love for his deceased wife, the impact on his children, and how other people will view him. His turmoil threatens his relationship with Matt, who worries Evan will once again chose a life without him. But now,the stakes are much higher.

Review
(Though this is book 3, it follows right after book one and you don’t need to have read book 2 to read this.)

Matt and Evan are starting to get used to being a couple. Matt is more or less a house-husband and this is both wonderful and somewhat alarming for him to accept. It’d be easier if Evan wasn’t being so difficult – working all the time, jealous of that one time affair with Jim, unwilling to call himself “gay”.

The in-laws aren’t making things easier either. They are threatening to take the kids from Evan.

Luckily, Jim and Griffin give great advice to the couple. Evan finally figures out his priorities and Matt finds something else to do with his time.

**

I really loved this installment of the series. These are real problems these guys are facing – whether you are gay or straight – we all face similar issues.

I loved the intimacy and the closeness the couple now shares. It’s very satisfying to see how their emotional and physical relationship evolves.

Having this “sequel” really adds to the series and helps to cement these guys in the hall of fame of m/m MCs as far as I’m concerned. I really feel like I “know” them and am part of their familes.

Audio:

JP Handler narrates this as well. I still feel that, for me, he’s not to my taste as far as narrators go. I find his narration too emotional and it sounds like he’s on the verge of tears throughout the story.  He excels at dialog, however, and does that very well.

Overall

Book 5 of 5 hearts

5

Narration 2.5 of 5 hearts

2.5

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