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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
First, this book has a very interesting concept, about a plumber who can magically find hidden things. Like dead bodies. And clogs in pipes. And porn stashes.
But the character of Tom himself....I really started to hate him as the book went on. He had an opinion on everything. And it kept pulling me out of the story. Someone says something and Tom has some opinionated thought that goes through his head. Once I started noticing them, they just grated on my nerves.
Tom did calm down a little when Phil and his relationship started to get more serious, and their 'friendship' is probably the best thing about the book and the only reason why I am willing to give the next book a try.
Also, I have read lots of British books, and this book blows all of them out of the water. I actually had to check that the author was British and not an American trying to act British (Sorry, J.L. Merrow!). It took a bit getting used to. Easy enough to understand all the slang, but man was there a lot of it!
The romance was sweet and romantic rather than strait up porn, which I appreciated.
But the character of Tom himself....I really started to hate him as the book went on. He had an opinion on everything. And it kept pulling me out of the story. Someone says something and Tom has some opinionated thought that goes through his head. Once I started noticing them, they just grated on my nerves.
Tom did calm down a little when Phil and his relationship started to get more serious, and their 'friendship' is probably the best thing about the book and the only reason why I am willing to give the next book a try.
Also, I have read lots of British books, and this book blows all of them out of the water. I actually had to check that the author was British and not an American trying to act British (Sorry, J.L. Merrow!). It took a bit getting used to. Easy enough to understand all the slang, but man was there a lot of it!
The romance was sweet and romantic rather than strait up porn, which I appreciated.
This novel is very British, which is its own sort of fun, and an entertaining metaphysical/gumshoe murder mystery/romance.
When I started reading it, it was meant as a relief from other, heavier novels I'm reading, a chapter here and there. But then I couldn't stop reading until the end. And I loved the end, and I love that there are more books already out, because they're going on my list. Bits of Tom's inner dialogue were formulaic, but I forgave it. We all have those. Other than that, I can't think of anything to warn you about. This is really good, with fleshed-out characters and a well-constructed whodunit plot.
When I started reading it, it was meant as a relief from other, heavier novels I'm reading, a chapter here and there. But then I couldn't stop reading until the end. And I loved the end, and I love that there are more books already out, because they're going on my list. Bits of Tom's inner dialogue were formulaic, but I forgave it. We all have those. Other than that, I can't think of anything to warn you about. This is really good, with fleshed-out characters and a well-constructed whodunit plot.
This book was fairly alright. I mean, it bothered me how much some of the characters were like caricatures rather than real people, as well as the convenient exposition in the last ten pages, a huge deus ex machina that required zero thought on behalf of the writer. It's almost as though they wanted to write a cozy murder mystery with a gay bent, and then realized they needed a climax and denouement right as they were writing it.
Fun book, will continue reading the adventures of these two
A bitter indictment of Britain's uniquely vicious history of homophobia and the inevitable results thereof—cunningly disguised as a cozy, cuttingly funny, hedgerow-piercing murder mystery with romantic m/m elements and a publican tour.
Also, two cats named Merlin and Arthur. Obviously.
The shame of the UK in this regard is well-documented—as is ours. But I find it especially poignant given the remarkable maturity and leftward-leanings of the current political milieu.
They're pretty good about this stuff—now. But not always. Not in time for Alan Turing.
So when I'm reading a book like this one, and I begin to notice that everything—nearly everything—hinges on the friction between the perception of homosexuality, and the reality—well, a boy takes notice.
Tom's hip was crushed by a car. On account of running away from an angry mob of schoolboys. Led by the school jock.
Who was in love with him, but couldn't be seen to be. Struggling with the dissonance between his heart's music, and the counter-time rhythm of his social circle—and bitterly angry about it—he quickly learns how to solve his problem:
By turning his frustration—when this pressure comes to a head—upon the object of his fixation.
By projecting it onto Tom.
Which is some majorly fucked-up shit to find, innit, tucked between the lines of the sweet-natured Jessica Fletcher paperback you choose to read during your afternoon tea and biccies, is what I'm saying, here.
Even the title is a crafty double-entendre, referring both to Plumber Tom's dowsy, water-whisperer ESP and the force that builds up inside a person who discovers that they are born into a life—before they even have words for what they are—firmly athwart their family, their social circle, and their own desires.
Athwart the universe.
Like poor Merry. About the saddest creature you ever saw.
A priest. With fusty, 50s LGBT lit and some heartbreaking old letters in a shoebox under the bed, and—well, whatever—a gangbang fetish.
What happens to him is no accident; it's clearly of Merrow's ultimate design, and a good illustration of her point.
Which is then sneakily wrapped-up in a riotously funny light-romanze caper set in a country English village?
And that's another thing: it is pretty funny, you know, despite the grim bones of the thing.
So that is why I hereby raise a pint in Ms. Merrow's honor, for a job well-done, but also because:
Highly recommended.
Also, two cats named Merlin and Arthur. Obviously.
The shame of the UK in this regard is well-documented—as is ours. But I find it especially poignant given the remarkable maturity and leftward-leanings of the current political milieu.
They're pretty good about this stuff—now. But not always. Not in time for Alan Turing.
So when I'm reading a book like this one, and I begin to notice that everything—nearly everything—hinges on the friction between the perception of homosexuality, and the reality—well, a boy takes notice.
Tom's hip was crushed by a car. On account of running away from an angry mob of schoolboys. Led by the school jock.
By turning his frustration—when this pressure comes to a head—upon the object of his fixation.
By projecting it onto Tom.
Which is some majorly fucked-up shit to find, innit, tucked between the lines of the sweet-natured Jessica Fletcher paperback you choose to read during your afternoon tea and biccies, is what I'm saying, here.
Even the title is a crafty double-entendre, referring both to Plumber Tom's dowsy, water-whisperer ESP and the force that builds up inside a person who discovers that they are born into a life—before they even have words for what they are—firmly athwart their family, their social circle, and their own desires.
Athwart the universe.
Like poor Merry. About the saddest creature you ever saw.
A priest. With fusty, 50s LGBT lit and some heartbreaking old letters in a shoebox under the bed, and—well, whatever—a gangbang fetish.
What happens to him is no accident; it's clearly of Merrow's ultimate design, and a good illustration of her point.
Which is then sneakily wrapped-up in a riotously funny light-romanze caper set in a country English village?
And that's another thing: it is pretty funny, you know, despite the grim bones of the thing.
So that is why I hereby raise a pint in Ms. Merrow's honor, for a job well-done, but also because:
Highly recommended.
I think I might like this one best of the Merrows... I’d have liked a bit more of Phil, though I’m guessing that’ll be doled out in future parts of the series.
Fun and cute. I enjoyed it a lot. A real Feel Good read, the sort to pick you right up. Also liked the slight paranormal twist.
I have mixed feelings about this book, and I doubt I'll be continuing the series. It's very....bro-ish. The romantic leads are bro-ly, the narrator doesn't take life very seriously, and the humor is of the South Park/Family Guy style. None of that is bad, necessarily, but it wasn't really my kind of book.
The narrator's voice was very appealing, and it reminded me of Prosperity by Alexis Hall, or of Jane Eyre, even. It was conversational in tone and full of humor and character, making everything feel immediate and real.
Due to the narrative style, the main character is immensely likable, although he's not really a great person. I know I tend to like Mary Sues, but I feel this was a case where the author overcompensated away from that kind of thing and made her PoV character a little bit of a jerk, in some ways. He tries to do what's morally right, mostly, but often views behaving kindly as a burden.
The love interest, Phil, wasn't as bad of a guy as he seemed to be at first. The author handled that deftly, giving hints that there was a lot going on beneath his surface. But I have trouble getting into books where the leads are mostly awful to each other. So my annoyance threshold had been passed by the time he got around to treating Tom decently.
None of that made me want to set the book aside, but I almost did, because this book has a ton of humor that I found tasteless. I kept trying to rearrange my preconceptions and remind myself that the jokes weren't meant to be taken seriously. But in a romance novel, especially one with a good amount of angst in the background, these kinds of jokes are really hard for me to enjoy. I'm not in the right mindset at that point. There was a lot of borderline-misogynist stuff, such as a character being blamed for her husband's infidelity because she was cold and rude; at another point, the narrator wonders how an ugly woman possibly found a man to marry her. There were also some awful jokes about little people, lesbians, campy gay men, on and on.
The mystery was very exciting, I thought, and kept me reading despite my issues. Most of the side characters lacked depth, but I did like Dave and his friendship with Tom. I also liked the pacing of the romance.
This is by no means a bad book. If crass humor doesn't bother you, you would probably enjoy this novel.
The narrator's voice was very appealing, and it reminded me of Prosperity by Alexis Hall, or of Jane Eyre, even. It was conversational in tone and full of humor and character, making everything feel immediate and real.
Due to the narrative style, the main character is immensely likable, although he's not really a great person. I know I tend to like Mary Sues, but I feel this was a case where the author overcompensated away from that kind of thing and made her PoV character a little bit of a jerk, in some ways. He tries to do what's morally right, mostly, but often views behaving kindly as a burden.
The love interest, Phil, wasn't as bad of a guy as he seemed to be at first. The author handled that deftly, giving hints that there was a lot going on beneath his surface. But I have trouble getting into books where the leads are mostly awful to each other. So my annoyance threshold had been passed by the time he got around to treating Tom decently.
None of that made me want to set the book aside, but I almost did, because this book has a ton of humor that I found tasteless. I kept trying to rearrange my preconceptions and remind myself that the jokes weren't meant to be taken seriously. But in a romance novel, especially one with a good amount of angst in the background, these kinds of jokes are really hard for me to enjoy. I'm not in the right mindset at that point. There was a lot of borderline-misogynist stuff, such as a character being blamed for her husband's infidelity because she was cold and rude; at another point, the narrator wonders how an ugly woman possibly found a man to marry her. There were also some awful jokes about little people, lesbians, campy gay men, on and on.
The mystery was very exciting, I thought, and kept me reading despite my issues. Most of the side characters lacked depth, but I did like Dave and his friendship with Tom. I also liked the pacing of the romance.
This is by no means a bad book. If crass humor doesn't bother you, you would probably enjoy this novel.