Reviewed by Elizabetta
TITLE: Merry Gentlemen
AUTHOR: Josephine Myles
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: 189 pages
BLURB: ’Tis the season of goodwill to all men…even the one who dumped you.
Riley MacDermott’s ambitions are simple. Managing the annual Bath Christmas Market—which involves long hours in the cold and a whole lot of hassle—will secure the promotion he needs to afford to move out of his noisy, top-floor flat. Where not even his balcony is safe from an aggressive herring gull.
The last stallholder he expects to see is his ex. Riley never recovered from their break up, and five years on the old chemistry still sparkles. So does their habitual head butting.
Stan never wanted to leave the love of his life, but the pull of the woods was too strong—and Riley was firmly planted in the city. Reconnecting is painful, but Stan still jumps at the chance to stay with his old flame during the Market. And damn the consequences.
As the weeks pass, the two grow closer than ever. But despite scorching sex and cozy intimacy, they both know they face a cold and lonely future. Unless one of them can compromise.
Warning: Contains sex in a shed, a seagull with a grudge, glamping, awful Secret Santa underwear, misuse of an Abba song, and as many wood-related puns as the author thought she could get away with.
REVIEW:
This is a gentle romance about second chances… two men who made a go of it, had a committed relationship, but broke up when they couldn’t maintain common ground.
Riley is a city boy and he thrives on the social interaction and convenience of an urban setting. He is intent on having a successful career in management, climbing the ladder at all cost. His job as general manager for the Bath Christmas Market, a very popular open-air holiday fair, seems to be the perfect step in that upward mobility.
Things get complicated when his ex-lover, Stan, a hunky country guy, sets up his wood craft stall at the Market. Riley has never gotten over Stan. The five years they’ve been apart have been a kind of limbo for him. Seeing Stan again, Riley is faced with everything he gave up. He realizes that all the fun experiences he’s had in his life (travels far and wide, theatre, camping) he’s shared with Stan. And there’s been very little fun since they’ve been split up.
“All those moments when my awareness spread outside of my body, linking me up to the world around me. I hadn’t experienced it for so long. Not since the last time Stan had pulled me away from the city…”
But here’s the dilemma… Stan won’t live in the city and Riley would go nuts living in the country. They can’t seem to find a solution where they both get what they want. What to do?
In the end, it’s all about finding what makes you truly happy and Riley is left to re-evaluate his ambitions.
I like the setting of the holiday faire, with all it’s stalls, merchant dramas, bustling shoppers, and getting to see behind the scenes of Riley’s job. And I like the author’s humorous, easy-going writing style. She delivers characters you want to care about — Stan, a big guy with Slavic good looks and a gentle manner, and
Riley, colorful, loves to sing, a little metro in his pinstriped suits (think of David Tennant and Doctor Who), and a little spoiled. He’s also a hoot…
“I speared my last sausage with my fork and raised it to my mouth. There are all kinds of ways to make love to a piece of meat with your tongue and lips, and I’d had a fair bit of practice… swirling my tongue around the end, then licked my lips before sucking… in and hollowing my cheeks”.
Saucy boy. Individually, they are fun, well-written characters.
It did take me a bit to warm up to Riley and Stan as a couple. While there’s a lot of sexual attraction, the issue of connection is a constant. They have a lot of history, a three year relationship and a five year breakup. And the tension in the story revolves primarily around their differences. It’s confusing why it took so long for them to make a move back to each other since it’s clear they both still have very strong feelings for each other.
This author does every-day guys in every-day situations very well, it’s what I’ve come to expect from her. Riley and Stan are likable and their story, about compromise, learning to appreciate each other and finding happiness, makes for some pleasant holiday reading.
Elizabetta rates it – 
BUY LINKS: Samhain Publishing :: Amazon
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Elizabetta is one of the official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.
To read all her reviews, click the link: ELIZABETTA’S REVIEWS
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