Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: The Stopping Place
AUTHOR: Lily Morton
NARRATOR: Joel Leslie
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 1 hours and 52 minutes
RELEASE DATE: April 17, 2026
BLURB:
Simeon Frith is recovering from a car accident at his house in Cornwall. He’s a successful man and usually very self-sufficient, but after attempting to open a can of baked beans with a brick, he realises that he needs help. However, he never imagined that putting an advert in the paper for an assistant would result in the gorgeous Ziggy Tuesday sauntering into his life.
The much younger Ziggy is fun and free-spirited, and an attraction quickly grows between them. When they finally sleep together and Ziggy insists that it be completely strings-free, Simeon can’t believe his luck. However, to his horror, he develops unforeseen feelings for the laidback surfer, and he can’t stop them, despite knowing that Ziggy will always leave. It’s what he’s done all his life.
From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a short story about a summer fling that is going to change two men’s lives forever. This story originally appeared in the third Heart2Heart charity anthology. It has had a new scene and an epilogue added to it.
REVIEW:
Simeon has broken his arm in a car accident. Despite his determination, he’s broken his dominant arm and he’s got to have help. He advertises for a temporary assistant to help him while he recovers and that goes very interestingly. He ends up hiring a younger surfer dude who is gorgeous and funny. It’s only for the summer right? Except the relationship moves from just “assistant” to casual lovers as well. Until it’s not so casual.
Ziggy keeps things pretty close to the vest. He’s a free spirit and goes where the wind takes him. He’s planning to head to Hawaii when Simeon is back to being able to take care of himself. They fall into something more than employer/employee though and hard as he tries, it seems that maybe Ziggy isn’t quite as casual as he thought he was.
Oh this was such a good short story. The way the traumatic pasts of these two are revealed organically through the story informs much of their motivations. Both have suffered loss – one more traditional than the other. Family dynamics are tricky and have lasting effects. I loved the way the author set this up. From the interview shenanigans, to the sexy times to the interactions with family, friends and neighbors, these two needed each other and while they struggled with getting it together, they managed to set things to right after a misstep or two. And that last sentence of the epilogue? PERFECTION!
Joel Leslie does his usual stellar job of performing this story from a favorite author. Their collaborations over the years have been such a joyful experience and this is no different. The humor, banter and snark is finely balanced with the real affection and heartfelt emotions that eventually take our characters on their journey of self-discovery and leads to a thoroughly satisfying HEA. Beautifully done.
RATING: 
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