Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLE: Caught!
SERIES: Shamwell Tales #1
AUTHOR: J.L. Merrow
NARRATOR: Mark Steadman
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 8 hours, 52 minutes
RELEASE DATE: August 28, 2017
BLURB:
Bow ties are cool . . . but secrets, not so much.
Behind Robert Emeny’s cheerfully eccentric exterior lies a young heart battered and bruised by his past. He’s taken a job in a village primary school to make a fresh start, and love isn’t part of his plans. But then he’s knocked for six—literally—by a chance encounter with the uncle of two of his pupils.
Sean Grant works in pest control, lives on a council estate, and rides a motorbike. Robert is an ex–public schoolboy from a posh family who drives a classic car. On the face of it, they shouldn’t have anything in common. Yet Robert can’t resist Sean’s roguish grin, and passion sparks between them even after an excruciatingly embarrassing first date.
Too bad the past Robert’s hiding from is about to come looking for him. His increasingly ludicrous efforts to keep his secrets are pushing Sean away—but telling the truth could make Sean leave him for good.
(Note: This is a revised second edition, originally published elsewhere.)
STORY REVIEW:
For me, this was a very pleasant story. It was fun and funny at times but overall it was a comfortable read.
This story really felt like “a day in the life of.” There was no huge plot or major action. There was no significant character growth or turmoil. But there was romance and there was life.
This story was focused on starting over in a situation that was not familiar. So for me, the joy of reading came from learning Britishism and watching “Mr Enemy” adjust to his new surrounding. Learning about his day to day trials and tribulations and seeing his as an educator was fun.
The romance had a few ups and down. Just as the blurb implies, there were secrets which lead to lack of communication and lead to misunderstandings and unnecessary heartache. But overall, the romance was slow, steady and comfortable. Though I freely admit that there were times I wished Robert would have just been honest from the start because much of his prevarication seemed unnecessary and indicated a lack of trust in and respect for Sean, who was often too easy to forgive for my tastes.
I can’t say that this story blew me away. Maybe that is because I am American and much of the humor was lost on me. But I did enjoyed this low angst and often adorable read. It was comfortable and pleasant.
NARRATION REVIEW:
I enjoyed Mark Steadman’s narration of this story. His inflections were great and he absolutely brought out the pleasant, British feel of the story. His voices were not always unique, but it was clear enough to know which MC was speaking most of the time.
RATING: 
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