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The Shamwell Tales: Caught! – J.L. Merrow
You can run from the past…but the past runs faster.
Behind Robert’s cheerfully eccentric exterior lies a young heart battered and bruised by his past. He’s taken a job teaching in a village primary school to make a fresh start, and love isn’t part of his plans. But he’s knocked for six—literally—by a chance encounter with the uncle of two of his pupils.
Sean works in pest control, rides a motorbike, and lives on a council estate. On the face of it, he shouldn’t have anything in common with Robert’s bow-tie, classic-car style and posh family background. Yet Robert is helpless to resist Sean’s roguish grin, and a rocky, excruciatingly embarrassing start doesn’t keep the sparks between them from flaring.
Despite Robert’s increasingly ludicrous attempts to keep his past where it belongs, his past hasn’t read the memo. And soon his secrets could be the very things that drive Sean away for good…
Warning: Contains the alarming misadventures of a pest control technician, a stepsister with a truly unfortunate name, and a young man who may have more bow ties than sense.
Hipster pretenses aside, I am of the opinion that bow ties are cool. Had I the physique to pull off tailored menswear with credibility, I would probably wear one myself.
Robert, effortlessly rocking that Dr. Who vibe, is just too cute for words. Unfortunately, Robert, gifted in Math but lacking in sense, is also hiding some sordid secrets that would come biting him in the ass. How he handled the situation when these secrets came calling was definitely not cute. However, his POV and observations were funny in that not-keen-on-social-cues kind of way
Sean, a pest control technician and a motorcycle riding ginger, is a nice guy but I think, him always being the first one to make an effort to reconcile when Robert was the stupidly rude one is just too much. I get a kick out of Sean getting a kick out of Robert’s dress sense but they seem to not have much in common other than the mutual attraction. Maybe mutual attraction is enough to work on for some people but it might work to the book’s advantage if we had Sean’s POV.
Rose, co-worker and BFF, is a voluptuous, recently single woman with a wicked sense of humor. As the voice of reason and snark, she has no problems telling Robert or any body what she thinks. She played mostly a sidekick/wingwoman role and although she did not actually come across as cardboard, it would have been nice if she did other things and had her happy ending too.
This is my first L.J. Merrow book and it certainly won’t be the last.
Points in the book’s favor are the delightful British humor and setting, and the wonderfully eccentric and quirky characters. The big misunderstanding was predictable and is the kind of plot device I’m tired of reading about although this was offset by the good parts. The writing is the fun, easy to digest kind that makes reading a breeze. Overall, a highly enjoyable read.
Rating:
3.5 Stars – that place between like and loveSoundtrack: Chances
Artist: Athlete
Album: Tourist(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22030684-caught)
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[spotify id=”spotify%3Atrack%3A0HJcradz78FgjRWDNUYVdS&view=coverart” width=”540″ height=”620″ /]Soundtrack to The Shamwell Tales: Caught! by J.L. Merrow
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Because this is what happens when you try to run from the past. It just doesn’t catch up, it overtakes … blotting out the future.
Sarah Dressen -
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2jZDoAW-6Q?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1&origin=http://safe.txmblr.com&wmode=opaque&w=500&h=375]
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Eden no Uragawa – Miyoshi Ayato
Photographer Akiba is indebted to Arimura for giving him work so he is asked by Arimura to take a young man under his wing. He takes in a guy named Ikumi who seems to be involved with the straight Arimura. Even though they are lovers, Ikumi has no idea when Arimura will be back. Regardless of what he does in this complicated situation, Akiba gets depressed about this troublesome mess he has gotten himself in, but Ikumi’s innocent nature proves to be likable and living with him is surprisingly pleasant. The dazzlingly gentle blessed days of an up-and-coming photographer and a freeloader uke!
So meh I couldn’t think of anything to say…
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Eden no Uragawa – Miyoshi Ayato
Photographer Akiba is indebted to Arimura for giving him work so he is asked by Arimura to take a young man under his wing. He takes in a guy named Ikumi who seems to be involved with the straight Arimura. Even though they are lovers, Ikumi has no idea when Arimura will be back. Regardless of what he does in this complicated situation, Akiba gets depressed about this troublesome mess he has gotten himself in, but Ikumi’s innocent nature proves to be likable and living with him is surprisingly pleasant. The dazzlingly gentle blessed days of an up-and-coming photographer and a freeloader uke!
So meh I couldn’t think of anything to say…
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Eden no Uragawa – Miyoshi Ayato
Photographer Akiba is indebted to Arimura for giving him work so he is asked by Arimura to take a young man under his wing. He takes in a guy named Ikumi who seems to be involved with the straight Arimura. Even though they are lovers, Ikumi has no idea when Arimura will be back. Regardless of what he does in this complicated situation, Akiba gets depressed about this troublesome mess he has gotten himself in, but Ikumi’s innocent nature proves to be likable and living with him is surprisingly pleasant. The dazzlingly gentle blessed days of an up-and-coming photographer and a freeloader uke!
So meh I couldn’t think of anything to say…
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Eden no Uragawa – Miyoshi Ayato
Photographer Akiba is indebted to Arimura for giving him work so he is asked by Arimura to take a young man under his wing. He takes in a guy named Ikumi who seems to be involved with the straight Arimura. Even though they are lovers, Ikumi has no idea when Arimura will be back. Regardless of what he does in this complicated situation, Akiba gets depressed about this troublesome mess he has gotten himself in, but Ikumi’s innocent nature proves to be likable and living with him is surprisingly pleasant. The dazzlingly gentle blessed days of an up-and-coming photographer and a freeloader uke!
So meh I couldn’t think of anything to say…
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Eden no Uragawa – Miyoshi Ayato
Photographer Akiba is indebted to Arimura for giving him work so he is asked by Arimura to take a young man under his wing. He takes in a guy named Ikumi who seems to be involved with the straight Arimura. Even though they are lovers, Ikumi has no idea when Arimura will be back. Regardless of what he does in this complicated situation, Akiba gets depressed about this troublesome mess he has gotten himself in, but Ikumi’s innocent nature proves to be likable and living with him is surprisingly pleasant. The dazzlingly gentle blessed days of an up-and-coming photographer and a freeloader uke!
So meh I couldn’t think of anything to say…
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To My Future Number 1 Fan – L.A. Witt
Struggling actor Adam Jacobsen was ready to pack up and leave Hollywood when a stranger gave him the encouragement he needed. Five years later, he’s made it, and when he wins his first major award, he dedicates it to the man who said “It could be you.”
Brian Stewart is stunned by the acceptance speech, and so are Adam’s fans. Immediately, both men find themselves swept up in a media frenzy. Everyone wants to know the man who gave Adam that much-needed boost—including Adam. When the guys finally meet again, a single talk show appearance isn’t enough. Before long, they’re flying to see each other at every opportunity.
But Adam’s career means being in a fishbowl. When word gets out that America’s biggest crush has a new boyfriend, the press and the public descend on Brian. Adam can’t protect him. Brian can’t handle the constant attention.
And something has to give before fame costs each man the love of his life.
This would make a super cute rom-com movie!
I haven’t read a lot but I think this is one of the better famous person falls in love with non-famous person stories. I’m thrilled with the concept as well as the execution of the plot.
“I…” He laughed self-consciously and flipped to a blank page. “I realized a long time ago how many servers in Los Angeles are actors trying to break into Hollywood. And it occurred to me that any one of them could be the next big thing. There’s no telling who it’ll be.” Some of the shyness faded as he looked right in my eyes and added, “It could be you.”
Those opening scenes were simply heartwarming and the acceptance speech got me teary-eyed. I was right there with them when the nerves and anticipation of their talk show meeting was almost too much to bear. It was a major aaw moment when Adam got choked up sharing the story of how a complete stranger turned his life around. Then they were finally face to face for the first time in five years…
There he was.
Adam stood up, and he smiled even bigger now. He came around the chairs and threw his arms around me, and all the butterflies vanished as I hugged him. He was shorter than I’d realized—I’d been seated the entire time we’d interacted at the diner—and I had two or three inches on him. We fit together, though. His embrace was tight and strong, and over the roar of the crowd I heard him whisper just loud enough for me and nobody else to hear, “Thank you.”
It was clear to both parties that the mutual attraction of that fateful day in the restaurant was still there. They decided to meet again and found they just clicked.
The honeymoon phase was generally smooth sailing which could be a bit boring depending on your taste. While some novels depend on miscommunication for conflict, Adam and Brian talked. They talked about about what they want in a relationship and what their limits are which is quite refreshing. A point of interest for those on a lookout for such things is that Adam, at 28, is still a virgin. I don’t know if this is a point of interest for people in the US but Brian is a male nurse. Male nurses are very common in my country so I’m not sure why Brian said there was a big deal about him being one. Whatever. I think it was pretty sweet how they dealt with each other with infinite patience. They just matched each other perfectly, the story could have ended right there when they first came out as a couple.
The conflict came in the way of paparazzi and social media. Brian shuns the spotlight, dreads it really due to some childhood experience. When they announced they were a couple, a shitstorm of vitriol from internet trolls hit. Brian claims the unwanted attention was not a deal breaker but it very nearly wrecked them. I was disappointed with Brian for even paying attention to these toxic people but fortunately, our boy rallied.
Yeah, this was wrong. I’d let the assholes win. It was no different than when I’d let my middle school tormentors chase me off the wrestling team or let the homophobic assholes in high school scare me off the baseball team. Or when, believing the classmates who’d convinced me I was stupid, I’d declined to take a test for Honors classes. Except it was different. This was way worse. I wasn’t just missing out on a sports team or an advanced class—I was missing out on the man I loved.
Cue: reconciliation scene. We see echoes of that iconic boombox scene except with a selfie. Two years later, Adam and Brian attend movie premieres together and nobody gives a damn. Also, L.A. Witt owes us a wedding scene.
Rating:
4 Stars – minor quibbles but I loved it to bitsSoundtrack: Actors
Artist: Bravestation
Album: V(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40508649-to-my-future-number-1-fan)
