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15
Ratings1
Average rating4
With friends like these . . . An ill-advised encounter at the office party leaves David Greenlake jobless and homeless in one heady weekend. But he quickly begs work from his ex-boss and takes a room in Shamwell with easygoing postman Rory Deamer. David doesn't mean to flirt with the recently divorced Rory--just like he doesn't consciously decide to breathe. After all, Rory's far too nice for him. And far too straight. Rory finds his new lodger surprisingly fun to be with, and what's more, David is a hit with Rory's troubled children. But while Rory's world may have turned upside down in the last few years, there's one thing he's sure of: he's straight as a die. So he can't be falling for David . . . can he? Their friends and family think they know all the answers, and David's office party hookup has his own plans for romance. Rory and David need to make up their minds and take a stand for what they really want--or their love could be over before it's even begun.
Featured Series
2 primary booksThe Shamwell Tales is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2014 with contributions by J.L. Merrow.
Caught!
Reviews with the most likes.
I've read all of the Shamwell Tales by this author, and this is my favorite so far. Flirty, campy David, who readers met in Caught!, starts the book off with a bang, quite literally, losing his job and his home when he is caught in a tryst with his boss' very married client. He seeks out his former boss Mark, now relocated to Shamwell, finagling a temporary job with him and lodging with Mark's acquaintance Rory.
Rory is a very sweet, straight teddy bear of a man with two young children whom he wishes he could see more often. He has no problems boarding a gay man, even when his mate Barry warns him that David is out to “convert him to the cause.” But Rory, recently dumped by his girlfriend, is glad for David's company, whether it's cooking and eating together or comparing the merits of the various Dr. Who actors. David, who has a history of going for Bad Boys, is surprised to realize how much he likes and respects Rory, not to mention how well he gets along with Rory's kids. Like slowly turns to lust for both men, but David is convinced that Rory remains straight as an arrow, and Rory thinks there's no way David would be interested in a plain, poorly educated postman.
This book is just plain fun. David may be a bit too stereotypically effeminate (he carries on conversations with his teddy bear Gregory FFS), but you can't help root for him to open up his heart and let someone in. Rory is just about perfect as he engages in a brief internal struggle about his attraction to David, quickly decides it's no big deal that he is probably bisexual, and then risks his friendship with Barry because he won't lie about his feelings. The only weakness is a bit of uncharacteristic and out of place angst when both David and Rory start avoiding each other instead of being honest, but the scene where they finally come together (and Rory processes his first gay sexual experience as it happens) is hilarious, sweet and worth the wait.
Merrow is at her best when she goes for humor and heart, hold the angst, and Spun! is one of her better efforts. While the previous books were published by the now-defunct Samhain, Spun! is being released by Riptide (who is also re-releasing the previous books in the series). I hope they give her the green light to keep the Shamwell Tales going.
Just adorable.
ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for honest review.
