Reviewed by Chris & Kat
TITLE: Tops Down Bottoms Up 
AUTHOR: Jay Northcote
PUBLISHER: Jaybird Press
LENGTH: 23,000 words
RELEASE DATE: August 16, 2017
BLURB:
Will Rowan’s festival fling with sexy dancer Seth lead to something more permanent?
Rowan is stuck at a folk festival helping out a mate, and it really isn’t his scene. The yoga and singing workshops are bad enough, but morris dancing is the final straw. Bearded men with beer guts prancing around wearing bells—who wants to watch that?
All Rowan’s preconceptions are shattered when he meets Seth—a morris dancer, and the stuff Rowan’s fantasies are made of. Seth persuades Rowan to come to a dancing workshop, and Rowan’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to know Seth better. The attraction is mutual, and a lesson filled with innuendo and flirting leads to an incredible night together.
When Rowan arrives home, he’s gutted to find that Seth has given him the wrong phone number. Assuming Seth did it on purpose, Rowan resolves to forget about him. But fate—and friends—conspire to get them back together. Will they manage to stay in step this time around?
A much shorter version of this story was originally published in the Not Quite Shakespeare Anthology by Dreamspinner Press. This version has been revised and extended. Almost half of it is new content.
REVIEWS:
Kat’s Review
I am a fan of Jay Northcote and this was a fun, fast read.
Rowan agreed that he would help out his friend and roommate, Max, at the Riverbank Festival. While at the beer tent he sticks his foot in his mouth by saying a bit to loudly what he really dislikes about morris dancing. When the object of his lust turns out to be a morris dancer he realizes that there is absolutely no chance with the gorgeous man. Then the dancing troupe winds up giving a presentation in front of the booth he is working the next day. He sees their performance and, to his surprise, even discovers that he liked it. Just not the annoying bells! In order to try to get in on Seth’s good graces he agrees to take their workshop. “Tops Down Bottoms Up” is the story of these two men and if they are meant for a one-nighter or something more?
I have to say, I have never heard of morris dancing. I don’t know if it is a local dance style to England or not. I must say, if I am ever there, I plan on looking it up to see a demonstration. It sounds intriguing.
One of my pet peeves is hit on in this book. When you exchange phone numbers, everyone I know then rings the other, just to make sure that you keyed it in correctly. I know what would have ruined the whole storyline but it just drives me crazy.
I absolutely loved Max, Rowan’s best friend. He was always kidding with Rowan but, when it was important, he was there for him when he needed him most, which truly defines a genuine best friend! And Deb, Seth’s friend too. Loved how she always had his back.
Both men were endearing and made you want them to work out. Especially with the chemistry was so apparent and the sex so hot.
This little ditty was the perfect read for my lounging by the pool on my short getaway vacation.
RATING: 
Chris’ Review
I had originally got the chance to review the short story this was expanded from in the Not Quite Shakespeare anthology. So when it was offered up for review I was glad that Kat was willing to share reviewing privileges with me so I could read this new expanded edition.
The first half(ish) of this story is what we got in the anthology. Rowan and Seth meet at a folk festival, Seth helps school Rowan on the pleasures of Morris Dancing, and then Rowan helps school Seth on a few other pleasures as well. The second half is basically what happens in the weeks following their day at the fair.
I found this to be a real nice expansion of Rowan and Seth’s story. While I don’t know if I would say that people who have already read the short version need to go out and buy this extended one, I do think there is enough there to make it worth your while. And for those who haven’t yet got a chance to read this story, I recommend you give it a chance. Morris Dancing may be a bit odd, but the characters are good at making it sound interesting, and I really like books that can make the more odd parts of life worth reading about.
For the most part I found this to be a lighthearted, interesting novella. The Seth and Rowan are super hot together, and Max–Rowan’s best friend–is a funny side character. The story was fun to revisit, and I think if you like this kind of quaint English town type of story you will enjoy this one.
RATING:
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