Sunday 12 April 2015

Review: Passing Through by Jay Northcote | #Review #MMromance 'Don't waste a chance at happiness..' @Jay_Northcote


Title: Passing Through
Author: Jay Northcote
Genre: M/M romance
Released: 20 February 2015
Publisher: Jaybird Press

Synopsis
Don’t waste a chance at happiness… 

Leo is a lonely workaholic with no time for romance in his life. His job in London takes all his energy and commitment. When he goes to Cornwall to stay with his terminally ill uncle, Edwin, love is the last thing Leo expects to find. 

Tris lives in a cottage on Edwin’s land. Gay, but still half in the closet, he and Leo bond over their affection for Edwin, and the pull of attraction between them proves too strong to ignore. In Tris’s arms, in the wilds of Cornwall, Leo finds a peace he’d forgotten existed. 

On his return to London, Leo finds himself grieving for more than just the loss of his uncle. When some unexpected news gives Leo the chance to return to Cornwall, he’s afraid it will be too late to rekindle things with Tris. But having learned much from his stay with his uncle, Leo doesn’t want to look back and wish he’d done things differently. 

It’s time to seize the day—if it’s not already too late.


Review
Foxy Rating = Five 'spellbinding' stars
*Copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Passing Through is a superb piece of writing that will have me clicking for more of Jay Northcote’s books onto my kindle from here on in. 

Leo is a forty year old work-a-holic and finds himself back in Cornwall to look after his terminally ill Uncle Edwin. Leo had always been close to his uncle in his youth but over the last decade he has become distant and has not found the need to go visit him. His impending death however, has Leo feeling remorse and guilt for not making more time for Edwin. 

At his first morning back in Cornwall he comes across a strange man in his uncle’s kitchen, who turns out to be local gardener and friend of Edwin, Tris. Leo finds out that Tris is now living in the small cottage on his uncle’s land and has been caring for him over the past few years. There is an instant attraction between the two men but Leo is unsure if Tris is gay. That is until Edwin confirms he is but Leo finds out Tris is only part way out of the closet. Tris also has a young son Ben which further confuses Leo. 

I loved the simplicity but the depth of this storyline. It was a compelling and engrossing read, not only about the overwhelming chemistry between the two younger men but also for Edwin’s own story from the past. I also liked that these were grown men (thirties and forty) with established lives that brought forth relatable problems the reader could understand. Each having a need and yearning, yet each not having the courage to ‘seize the day’ and do anything about it. Such as Tris being half in the closet yet not being truthful to his parents and son or to be fully free to be himself. As for Leo he was a high earning career driven man, living the highlife with an expensive taste in gadgets and belongings but not having anyone to share them or his life with. 

The winner of this story for me was Edwin, in fact he had me in tears with his reminiscing of days gone by and what he had missed out on. The way his story from the past was intertwined with Leo and Tris beginning of a future was so beautiful to read. Coupled along with the gorgeous coastlines of Cornwall as the backdrop of the story, this was a definite one not to be missed. 

A truly wonderful story of past love, new love but most of all forever love. Spellbinding. Five stars. 

Buy Links

Amazon UK        Amazon US

Meet The Author
Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her amazing, occasionally ridiculous husband, two noisy-but-awesome children, and two cats.

Jay comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.

Jay writes contemporary gay romance, usually set in or near her home town of Bristol. She enjoys the challenge of bringing the men in her head to life through her words.



No comments:

Post a Comment