Reviewed by Annika

TITLE: Misfits

SERIES: Urban Soul #1

AUTHOR: Garrett Leigh

NARRATOR: Craig Beck

PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing

LENGTH: 6 hours, 43 minutes

RELEASE DATE: August 18, 2016

BLURB:

Restaurant owner Tom Fearnes has loved his partner Cass for as long as he can remember, but their work often keeps them apart. When he meets a striking young man named Jake on the vibrant streets of Camden Town, their heady first encounter takes an unexpected turn.

Jake Thompson can hardly believe his luck when he wakes up in Tom’s bed. Tom is gorgeous, kind, and . . . taken. Tom’s explanation of his open relationship leaves Jake cold, but Tom is too tempting, and when hard times force Jake to accept Tom’s helping hand, he finds himself between two men who’ve lost their way.

Cass Pearson is a troubled soul. He loves Tom with all he has, but some days it feels like he hasn’t much to give. Jake seems like the perfect solution. Cass risks everything to push Jake and Tom together, but Jake resists, wary, until the darkness of Cass’s past comes to call. Then Jake finds himself the last man standing, and it’s time to dig deep and shine a light for the men he’s grown to love.

REVIEW:

It’s been almost exactly four years since I read this book, since I fell in love with Tom, Jake and Cass. I’d also say that Misfits is the book that opened my eyes to poly relationships. I’d read some stories before, but this book resonated with me that the others didn’t. Tom, Jake and Cass showed me that some relationships need more than two people to be complete, and poly relationships are as beautiful as any relationship ever could be. And more awe inspiring, I mean the communication skills alone needed to make this kind of relationship work…

So I figured it was time to go back and re-visit these men again, and fall in love all over.

After finishing this book a second time and experiencing it in audio I wish it had been longer, that we’d have been present for more of the developing relationships. I mean we were there for moments in time, for the major changes, then there was a small time jump to where the relationships solidified and deepened. I understand that Jake was hesitant to start something with Tom for the first part of the book an open relationship was something unfamiliar and the more people involved the chance of someone getting hurt increases exponentially. So the relationship is slow going and it fits, and Cass is there in the periphery, cheering them on – so to speak.

And I think that’s the main thing that bugged me this time around – Cass. Not that I didn’t like Cass, just the opposite, I think he’s my favourite person out of the three of them, but my problem was that I felt like he was being left out – and that he voluntarily walked away where I felt he should stay. I’m not talking about the drama at the end, but earlier in the relationship, when it was developing and growing. Also I’m not sure if any parts of the story were told from Cass’s POV, he was a beautiful soul and I wish we’d gotten to know him better. And while the poly relationship developed nicely it was a bit off center and mostly focused on duos (any constellation) instead of the three of them – at least until the very end. I wished there were much more time where they were all together – and not in bed, but learning to live and love, doing the mundane things together. Still there were a lot of love here and it was beautiful and hopeful and everything love should be. I loved that there wasn’t any drama, well not much of it anyway. Plenty of angst and hurt though – it wouldn’t have been a Leigh novel if there hadn’t. Though it wasn’t the gutting heartbreak she can dish out. It was mostly a wonderful romance that had me smiling.

I have to take a moment to talk about Jake and his TS (Tourette’s). I don’t have much personal experience with it, but the way Leigh portrayed it felt incredibly real. It was powerful. It was also a genuine part of Jake. It was consistent and never used as a plot device. This is one reason why I love this genre – the diversity and inclusion of everyone. I’ve read countless of mainstream mf novels, but the ones where disability, diversity or something considering out of the norm, was celebrated and the focal point, those books I could probably count on one hand. In this genre I’ve lost count and I couldn’t be happier about it.

Now, this beautiful tale was performed by Craig Beck. I am going to confess – I did something I normally don’t do – I listened to the sample. I also didn’t like the sample, but got the audio anyway, crossing my fingers that the sample would be wrong. I mean I loved the book and wanted to experience this love story once more. I almost never listen to the sample before picking up a book, not with new or old narrators. I want to go into a book or meet a new performer with an open mind and more than once the sample has been completely off and luckily for me I ended up really enjoying the audio.

Two things really stood out for me; Cass’s accent. It’s not an accent I can place, but it fit him and his personality but more than that it fit his history and mirrored his rough upbringing. It was also another thing why I’d love to have Cass to have a bigger part of the story, whenever he (Beck) spoke it added so much flavour to the sense of place. Then there was the way Beck portrayed Jake, both his personality but also his TS, how “wanker” or “fly him to the moon” was just thrown out. It was spot on. It felt real. Just like the rest of the book did, and that’s why I think this book resonates with so many readers and listeners. Definitely recommended.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

Audible

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