Counter Culture
Ratings1
Average rating3
15
Ratings1
Average rating3
Customer service has never been this personal. Robin Christopher, beleaguered retail worker, isn’t having an easy November. His boss is raising stress levels planning a Black Friday to end all Black Fridays, his family doesn’t understand him, and his best friend thinks his new crush is a hallucination brought on by watching too many episodes of Doctor Who. Archie Levine dresses in Victorian style and divides his time between caring for his young son and creating weird and wacky steampunk gadgets from bits of old junk—when he’s not looking after his mum and trying to keep on good terms with his ex. The last thing he’s got time for is a relationship, but the flustered young man he met while disembowelling a fridge is proving very tempting. When his mum’s social conscience is roused by a local store with a cavalier attitude to the homeless, former rough sleeper Archie shares her anger. Little does he know that Robin works for that same store. When Archie finds out he’s sleeping with the enemy, things could cut up very rough indeed. **See this title's page on RiptidePublishing.com for content warnings.**
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This book is very funny in the best British way, but the romance aspect falls short. The two MCs barely exchange a word until almost halfway through the book (although they have several awkward meet-cutes and do a lot of pining), then they have a few days together, but are quickly separated when lying and misunderstanding come between them. Both MCs are likeable, and Archie's involvement in the steampunk culture is fascinating, but I'm here for books that explore two people building a relationship over time and that aspect was sadly lacking. I felt very anxious as I read, waiting for the lies to catch up to them, and frankly I don't need any more anxiety in my life these days. YMMV if you can just sit back, enjoy Merrow's humor, and have more faith than I did that it will all work out in the end.
