Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Finding love can be a bumpy ride.

With his job and his marriage dead in a ditch, Tim Knight doesn’t take much persuading to leave London for the greener fields of Southampton and look after his injured brother's mountain bike shop. But Tim’s a fish out of water in this brave new world of outdoor sports and technical jargon—not to mention struggling with the realisation he can no longer deny his sexuality, at least to himself.

The reason? Matt Berridge, his brother’s bike mechanic. Fit, tanned and an adorable klutz, Matt takes a tumble the day they meet and falls straight into Tim’s heart. There’s only one problem: Matt’s boyfriend, who Tim’s convinced is abusing him, despite the stories Matt comes up with to explain away the bruises.

A black belt in karate, Tim’s no pushover when it comes to physical confrontation. But he’ll need to step his courage up a gear if he’s ever going to come out, be himself—and save the man he’s coming to love.

First Edition published by Samhain Publishing, 2012.

Book Review

I will be the first to admit that I love to read British authors. Mainly it's because of two things: one, the humor is inevitably dry and, two, the phrasing of things is different than my American language so it's fascinating to learn new terms. The plot of this story sounded fairly simple but being familiar with this author I knew it would be written extremely well and the characters would be strong and memorable.

Tim is having a pretty cruddy life right now. No job. No marriage. His older brother broke his leg so Tim is taking care of his bike shop regardless of the fact that Tim knows nothing about bikes. Tim is an interesting character when I first met him. His older brother is the star of the family although it seems that Jay is thirty-one going on thirteen.  Speaking of his family, Tim's mum leaves a LOT to be desired. When Tim's wife tells him she's leaving for another man, he comforts her. He has an unusual dynamic, to say the least. He's also, apparently, very deep in the closet to the point where his brother accuses him of being homophobic.

Matt is a very lovable klutz. He's sweet, gentle, and a vegetarian. He's the bike mechanic at the shop and he's gay. He's a wonderful cook and lives with his boyfriend. His boyfriend is a bullying jerk who is in Tim's karate class. And he's making Tim reevaluate his priorities in life.

The story is told from Tim's point of view which is fascinating to hear. All of his wondering about should he come out or not, what if he came out and couldn't find a man to spend his life with, what should he do for a job, should he stay in Totton or go back to London, and on and on. Not to mention that all of his ruminating about Matt is really fun to listen in on.

This might be the first book I've ever read where I'm exploring the coming out of a man in his own words. It was remarkably endearing to take this ride with Tim, to watch him discover himself and fall in love, and to see Matt get the type of man he so deserves. I really liked this story and I'm looking forward to more by this author.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 259 pages/72529 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	28-March-2017
Price	$4.99 ebook, $15.00 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Tail-Southampton-Stories-Book-ebook/dp/B06XSLHCK9