Scan barcode
linda_1410's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Waiting for the Flood - 4 stars
I don't remember this well enough from the first time I listened to it to know how/if this was changed or expanded. I don't think it was, though. I enjoyed it just as much this time around as I did the first time. Original review here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/0ef04508-aa0f-40a0-91e8-330ab59da65a.
Chasing the Light - 3 stars
Mainly I wanted to get this rerelease to read the new story about Marius, Edwin's ex, who we only heard about in "Waiting for the Flood." I can't say I liked it him much. He was prickly, obstinate and just plain annoying. He didn't improve over the course of the story either. We do finally get an explanation of why he ditched Edwin the way he did. It's understandable to a degree, but that didn't make him less of a putz. I did like his LI a lot though, and I hope he can put up with Marius long-term, because otherwise I don't see this working out since all they really seemed to do was have lots of sex. That only gets you so far.
It's well-written, because it's Hall, but I can't say I really needed Marius's story, and it was longer than it needed to be. It was longer even than the original story, so that Edwin and Adam get overshadowed a bit.
Aftermath - 3 stars, I guess
A short little epilogue in which Edwin for some reason takes his new boyfriend to hang out with his prickly ex-boyfriend and his ex-boyfriend's new boyfriend. š¤¦š»āāļø Honestly, I don't know why he bothers. He's a better person than I am. š
There are a couple of recipes, one for questionable wine and one for pierogis. I'm not interesting in alcohol, so I skipped that one. Marius's obnoxious mom wrote the pierogis one, so I skipped that one too. Recipes just aren't good in audio format anyway.
Will Watt narrates this. I could swear he sounds familiar, but I don't have any other books narrated by him, unless he uses another name. I thought he was Cornell Collins at first, but listening to them back to back, there is a difference. I liked his narration a lot. I thought he fit the stories and characters well.
I don't remember this well enough from the first time I listened to it to know how/if this was changed or expanded. I don't think it was, though. I enjoyed it just as much this time around as I did the first time. Original review here: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/0ef04508-aa0f-40a0-91e8-330ab59da65a.
Chasing the Light - 3 stars
Mainly I wanted to get this rerelease to read the new story about Marius, Edwin's ex, who we only heard about in "Waiting for the Flood." I can't say I liked it him much. He was prickly, obstinate and just plain annoying. He didn't improve over the course of the story either. We do finally get an explanation of why he ditched Edwin the way he did. It's understandable to a degree, but that didn't make him less of a putz. I did like his LI a lot though, and I hope he can put up with Marius long-term, because otherwise I don't see this working out since all they really seemed to do was have lots of sex. That only gets you so far.
It's well-written, because it's Hall, but I can't say I really needed Marius's story, and it was longer than it needed to be. It was longer even than the original story, so that Edwin and Adam get overshadowed a bit.
Aftermath - 3 stars, I guess
A short little epilogue in which Edwin for some reason takes his new boyfriend to hang out with his prickly ex-boyfriend and his ex-boyfriend's new boyfriend. š¤¦š»āāļø Honestly, I don't know why he bothers. He's a better person than I am. š
There are a couple of recipes, one for questionable wine and one for pierogis. I'm not interesting in alcohol, so I skipped that one. Marius's obnoxious mom wrote the pierogis one, so I skipped that one too. Recipes just aren't good in audio format anyway.
Will Watt narrates this. I could swear he sounds familiar, but I don't have any other books narrated by him, unless he uses another name. I thought he was Cornell Collins at first, but listening to them back to back, there is a difference. I liked his narration a lot. I thought he fit the stories and characters well.
linda_1410's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
After listening to and absolutely loving Glitterland back in 2016, I immediately avoided everything else Alexis Hall has written in the fear it would be a one-time fluke. It's a thing I do sometimes, for no real good reason whatsoever.
Well, I eventually decided to read this one and since I'm waiting for another novel to drop, I needed something short to read and this was available at my library, so I read it. And I really enjoyed it! š„³
The story takes place over a few days, while Edwin awaits a flood in his neighborhood. He's a stutterer and has gotten into the habit of not speaking more than necessary, but the flood forces him to speak to the workers who are there to help, one in particular: Adam.
There's a melancholy tone through most of this, as Edwin ruminates over his ex-boyfriend and failed relationship, but Adam provides a refreshing new perspective. It's a short, sweet story that doesn't have a lot of conflict, despite the flood. It's just a nice way to spend a few hours with good characters and writing.
Well, I eventually decided to read this one and since I'm waiting for another novel to drop, I needed something short to read and this was available at my library, so I read it. And I really enjoyed it! š„³
The story takes place over a few days, while Edwin awaits a flood in his neighborhood. He's a stutterer and has gotten into the habit of not speaking more than necessary, but the flood forces him to speak to the workers who are there to help, one in particular: Adam.
There's a melancholy tone through most of this, as Edwin ruminates over his ex-boyfriend and failed relationship, but Adam provides a refreshing new perspective. It's a short, sweet story that doesn't have a lot of conflict, despite the flood. It's just a nice way to spend a few hours with good characters and writing.
mclark224's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
em23jjh's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a perfect novel for a relaxing day. I think they companion novels paired together works well. It wasn't my favorite romance novel but it was pretty good. I liked that both Edwin and Marius are flawed. Their journey to find love includes finding self acceptance.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback.
roygbiv_books's review against another edition
2.0
I hate that I have more negatives to say here than positives because this had a ton of potential.
Negatives:
I was surprised to find that the story described in the summary, which drew me in to the book, was over in the first section. I was very confused when the book suddenly jumped to a different point of view and different story in general. That is not to say that I didnāt enjoy both of these POVs and aspects of overall story but the summary was definitely misleading.
I feel like I couldāve read two separate books, one about Edwin and one about Marius but instead was presented with rushed and forced versions of their stories. I understand that adult relationships can be fast paced and it can be difficult to build up realistic timelines in books but roughly 3 days for both of these men to dive in to pretty serious ārelationshipsā? This seems like too much of a stretch.
Maybe it was the rushed stories, but I felt like there were a lot of unnecessary details/characters.
Overall, the writing in this book was littered with big words which felt out of place and made the prose choppy. At times this made pages difficult to get through and the general understanding of the writing hard to grasp.
Positives:
I really enjoyed the character of Edwin. He seemed sweet and it was interesting to read a story from the perspective of someone with a stutter.
The tropes of endearing loner meets perfect match (Edwin and Adam) and grumpy/sunshine (Marius and Leo) were generally interesting.
I feel like I learned a lot about Narrowboats.
Negatives:
I was surprised to find that the story described in the summary, which drew me in to the book, was over in the first section. I was very confused when the book suddenly jumped to a different point of view and different story in general. That is not to say that I didnāt enjoy both of these POVs and aspects of overall story but the summary was definitely misleading.
I feel like I couldāve read two separate books, one about Edwin and one about Marius but instead was presented with rushed and forced versions of their stories. I understand that adult relationships can be fast paced and it can be difficult to build up realistic timelines in books but roughly 3 days for both of these men to dive in to pretty serious ārelationshipsā? This seems like too much of a stretch.
Maybe it was the rushed stories, but I felt like there were a lot of unnecessary details/characters.
Overall, the writing in this book was littered with big words which felt out of place and made the prose choppy. At times this made pages difficult to get through and the general understanding of the writing hard to grasp.
Positives:
I really enjoyed the character of Edwin. He seemed sweet and it was interesting to read a story from the perspective of someone with a stutter.
The tropes of endearing loner meets perfect match (Edwin and Adam) and grumpy/sunshine (Marius and Leo) were generally interesting.
I feel like I learned a lot about Narrowboats.
meigothic's review against another edition
5.0
Disclaimer: I received a review copy for free via Netgalley, and am voluntarily leaving my honest thoughts. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity!
The Spires series is one that I hold dear to my heart with its themes and the writing style that Hall has here. Waiting for the Flood was one of my favorites even when it was just a novella with a theme of moving on from a relationship, and also has a quiet kind of somber tone! I'm so glad that Hall expanded upon the book here with the extra content and also included another novella about Marius. I loved and appreciated the journey that Edwin goes through in this book, and rereading it in its full length reminded me just how much I loved him and Adam together.
The Spires series is one that I hold dear to my heart with its themes and the writing style that Hall has here. Waiting for the Flood was one of my favorites even when it was just a novella with a theme of moving on from a relationship, and also has a quiet kind of somber tone! I'm so glad that Hall expanded upon the book here with the extra content and also included another novella about Marius. I loved and appreciated the journey that Edwin goes through in this book, and rereading it in its full length reminded me just how much I loved him and Adam together.
rustbeltredux's review against another edition
4.5
A beautifully written story about young love, falling out of love, and the heartbreaking torture of allowing oneself to find love anew. Iām absolutely marveling at how someone could possibly pack an entire novelās worth of emotion into a scant 90 pages.
āI donāt know anymore. I donāt know where love ends and habit begins.ā
āPeople make choices, and sometimes they just leave. And, afterwards, we gather up our hearts, pick up our lives, do the best we can with them, and see what comes.ā
āI donāt know anymore. I donāt know where love ends and habit begins.ā
āPeople make choices, and sometimes they just leave. And, afterwards, we gather up our hearts, pick up our lives, do the best we can with them, and see what comes.ā
rachelrude's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
emilyexmas's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I was pleasantly surprised. I hadnāt realised that this was expanded to more than twice the length with the inclusion of a new novella focused on Marius.
Edwin and Adam were sweet and just like I remembered. Not much to add there.
But Marius? What a dick! But he was a dick who stayed true to his dickishness throughout and yet o still ended up wanting him to be happy. His mother, though, what an absolute GEM! She was the highlight of the entire story. lol. Her getting the RICE and RACK acronyms mixed up was simply perfection.
I also loved the shorts at the end about the elderflower wine and pierogi recipes.
Edwin and Adam were sweet and just like I remembered. Not much to add there.
But Marius? What a dick! But he was a dick who stayed true to his dickishness throughout and yet o still ended up wanting him to be happy. His mother, though, what an absolute GEM! She was the highlight of the entire story. lol. Her getting the RICE and RACK acronyms mixed up was simply perfection.
I also loved the shorts at the end about the elderflower wine and pierogi recipes.