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claudia_is_reading's review
5.0
Ah, Harper Fox never disappoints! I love this story. And I particularly love George, who is so... caring and proper and gentlemanly. Who even when he has been hurt by his ex, won't hesitate to run to the rescue when the new wife is having a baby. In a lift. While his husband panics. And the ambulance is late. *dies laughing* Who has no qualms on sharing that he's falling in love with a lovely man who is a sex-worker. Who, with a knife in his throat will scold to the brute who is holding him hostage for misgendering Jamie... . How can you NOT love him?
But all the characters are endearing (except Jamie's ex-husband, of course) and the story is sweet and a bit sad, with exciting moments and quiet ones and it's perfect.
What can I say? Harper Fox's writing is simply perfect for me ♥
But all the characters are endearing (except Jamie's ex-husband, of course) and the story is sweet and a bit sad, with exciting moments and quiet ones and it's perfect.
What can I say? Harper Fox's writing is simply perfect for me ♥
anitalouise's review
5.0
In the "about the author" section of H. Fox' books, there's a line that reads "here you'll find immersive tales of M/M romance." That's the key word for her writing - IMMERSIVE. This little goody was a three story anthology where the characters were all linked. First up is a lovely tale about George, who is about to turn 50, who is about to be divorced after 20 years married to a man who decides he wants a woman and a family. Through the generosity of his brother, George meets Silver, an escort. What continues to strike me as I devour Ms. Fox' books is the whimsical, lyrical yet engaging writing that just draws you in. Just read this passage "Came so fucking hard myself that shadows grazed my vision, and whatever thing within myself I thought of as me, as George, tried to tear loose of its roots and escape. I roared like a bloody bull—one, twice, again, the third sound breaking up into rags. I tasted blood, thumped back down onto the mattress, still spilling into Silver’s tight-clenched hand." Don't you just want to cry with joy!? The writing trips along telling the story of George, Silver and several other characters dragged into George and Silver's orbit. A tale well told!!
relly's review
4.0
I liked it
4 ⭐️
I liked this one. I enjoyed George and connected well with him. The man was a little bit overweight and at the start in his pain from the breakup of his marriage the previous year, he really didn’t care. I liked the family bond between him and Andrew, they made for some comic relief moments a couple of times.
I enjoyed the set up between George and Silver, and yes it was kind of instalove as they had only really met a couple of times, I forgave that as I really enjoyed their chemistry together.
I enjoyed that this one touched on a number of issues within the book without feeling preachy (I enjoy learning new things reading but don’t want to feel preached to) and I also liked that Silver didn’t meet George once and then turn in his job, it continued on until he was ready to stop, and that even though George would have really liked him to stop he didn’t actually ask him to.
4 ⭐️
I liked this one. I enjoyed George and connected well with him. The man was a little bit overweight and at the start in his pain from the breakup of his marriage the previous year, he really didn’t care. I liked the family bond between him and Andrew, they made for some comic relief moments a couple of times.
I enjoyed the set up between George and Silver, and yes it was kind of instalove as they had only really met a couple of times, I forgave that as I really enjoyed their chemistry together.
I enjoyed that this one touched on a number of issues within the book without feeling preachy (I enjoy learning new things reading but don’t want to feel preached to) and I also liked that Silver didn’t meet George once and then turn in his job, it continued on until he was ready to stop, and that even though George would have really liked him to stop he didn’t actually ask him to.
susanscribs's review
4.0
How could I not give 4 stars to a book that features MCs in their 50s and shows how sexy men of this age can still be? And yet how can I give 4 stars to a book that uses one of my least favorite tropes, sex worker who falls in love with his client? Ah, the genius of Harper Fox...
The Insta!Love between mundane civil servant George and his 50th birthday present Aaron Silver strains belief, and Fox doesn't show the two of them spending enough time together before the rest of the story takes place so that the reader truly feels their love is earned. Plus Silver continues seeing clients after his encounter with George, including a very sweet scene with George's colleague Jamie who is escaping a bad marriage. I hate it when the MCs have sex with anyone but each other, even if Silver spends most of the time thinking about George. And finally, Silver turns out to have a lot of secrets that make the plot even more ridiculous. So all in all, this book shouldn't work at all.
And yet it does because Harper Fox writes with such generosity about her characters, even the troubled ones. The perfectly British but obviously close relationship George has with his brother Andrew is perfectly rendered, and even George's ex, Melchior, gets a moment to shine despite being a selfish spoiled git who left the very nice George for a younger hot female model. Even the story's real bad guy has some hidden depths that help explain (although not excuse) his actions.
Although I still wanted to see more of George and Silver falling in love, their scenes together are just lovely and reminded me of Tyack and Frayne) from [b:Once Upon A Haunted Moor|18744000|Once Upon A Haunted Moor (Tyack & Frayne, #1)|Harper Fox|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1383229264s/18744000.jpg|26624966] et al). While it may be difficult initially to believe that a dashing escort whose car glove box contains "a pair of deluxe padded handcuffs, a copy of Madame Bovary and a box of tissues" could immediately fall for a mild-mannered slightly overweight city planner (and utter such lines as "I normally don't get into it that much with anyone" after they sleep together the first time), if anyone can pull it off with sincerity it would be this author.
Fox was open about experiencing a bad case of writer's block recently, and at one point she apparently thought she wouldn't publish again. That would be a horrible shame, because she is one of the strongest writers in the M/M genre. Even if Escort wasn't my favorite book of hers, I'm thankful she wrote it and hope there are still many more to come.
The Insta!Love between mundane civil servant George and his 50th birthday present Aaron Silver strains belief, and Fox doesn't show the two of them spending enough time together before the rest of the story takes place so that the reader truly feels their love is earned. Plus Silver continues seeing clients after his encounter with George, including a very sweet scene with George's colleague Jamie who is escaping a bad marriage. I hate it when the MCs have sex with anyone but each other, even if Silver spends most of the time thinking about George. And finally, Silver turns out to have a lot of secrets that make the plot even more ridiculous. So all in all, this book shouldn't work at all.
And yet it does because Harper Fox writes with such generosity about her characters, even the troubled ones. The perfectly British but obviously close relationship George has with his brother Andrew is perfectly rendered, and even George's ex, Melchior, gets a moment to shine despite being a selfish spoiled git who left the very nice George for a younger hot female model. Even the story's real bad guy has some hidden depths that help explain (although not excuse) his actions.
Although I still wanted to see more of George and Silver falling in love, their scenes together are just lovely and reminded me of Tyack and Frayne) from [b:Once Upon A Haunted Moor|18744000|Once Upon A Haunted Moor (Tyack & Frayne, #1)|Harper Fox|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1383229264s/18744000.jpg|26624966] et al). While it may be difficult initially to believe that a dashing escort whose car glove box contains "a pair of deluxe padded handcuffs, a copy of Madame Bovary and a box of tissues" could immediately fall for a mild-mannered slightly overweight city planner (and utter such lines as "I normally don't get into it that much with anyone" after they sleep together the first time), if anyone can pull it off with sincerity it would be this author.
Fox was open about experiencing a bad case of writer's block recently, and at one point she apparently thought she wouldn't publish again. That would be a horrible shame, because she is one of the strongest writers in the M/M genre. Even if Escort wasn't my favorite book of hers, I'm thankful she wrote it and hope there are still many more to come.
terriaminute's review
5.0
As you can tell by all the stars, I enjoyed this story. It is told in three parts, from both George's and Silver's points of view - George in first person, Si in third, and I did not notice that at first, which speaks to the author's skill. It is a thoroughly modern romance in that Fox ticks many of the social awareness boxes without preaching or breaking stride.
I scanned a few reviews, and see that some people think Silver's too perfect, forcing me to surmise that these reviewers haven't met good people. Good people exist! Truly! They can even have more than one career by their fifth decade! Geesh. :)
The content warning might be a spoiler for you.
Warning: spoiler:
Content Warning: attempted rape, on-page.
I scanned a few reviews, and see that some people think Silver's too perfect, forcing me to surmise that these reviewers haven't met good people. Good people exist! Truly! They can even have more than one career by their fifth decade! Geesh. :)
The content warning might be a spoiler for you.
Warning: spoiler:
Content Warning: attempted rape, on-page.
georgiewhoissarahdrew's review
3.0
3.5 stars
This was delightful, but.
I think the "but" is the fact there are just too many ingredients to this fairy tale. The plot strand I fell for was the first one: good, kind, grieving George is consoled and valued by the charismatic professional escort, Mr Silver. Here, Fox is superb on the limning of disappointed hopes, small sorrows and quietly growing joy. She can make me believe completely in both love at first sight and the vitality of inspired town-planning. For me, the whole novella could have concentrated on how George and Sil navigate Sil's job, how they take on property developers, how they make a life together.
So when the middle third of the book branches off into a long and detailed description of Sil's night with one of George's colleagues I'm left hanging. And when Fox devotes a further third to George's ex and his new wife, Sil's seekrit agency background, a jealous & vengeful spouse and a hostage situation I'm not only hanging but drowning. "More George and Sil," I call, as I'm washed under by the plot again. "More George and Si...gurgle, gurgle, glub, glub..."
Four stars for George and Sil, two for the rest of the book, and a whole half-star for George's cheerfully clueless Labrador of a brother.
This was delightful, but.
I think the "but" is the fact there are just too many ingredients to this fairy tale. The plot strand I fell for was the first one: good, kind, grieving George is consoled and valued by the charismatic professional escort, Mr Silver. Here, Fox is superb on the limning of disappointed hopes, small sorrows and quietly growing joy. She can make me believe completely in both love at first sight and the vitality of inspired town-planning. For me, the whole novella could have concentrated on how George and Sil navigate Sil's job, how they take on property developers, how they make a life together.
So when the middle third of the book branches off into
Four stars for George and Sil, two for the rest of the book, and a whole half-star for George's cheerfully clueless Labrador of a brother.
endemictoearth's review
3.0
This slim volume was overstuffed with plot. There were too many things going on, and the relationship between George and Sil is a little lost in the shuffle. There are some truly lovely moments between the two of them, but they keep slipping through each other's fingers until the last. I guess I just wish this had been a more quiet and contained story of the two of them getting together.
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