Book Info:
Title: Passing Through
Author: Jay Northcote
Genre: contemporary m/m romance
Length: 43,000 words approx
Release date: Friday 20th Feb 2015
Publisher: Jay Northcote
Buy links:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TIGJ88W
Blurb:
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.
Excerpt:
On the
beach they crunched along the shingle to the edge of the rocks, then turned to
look out over the sea. It was almost completely dark now, and the moon was
rising, casting streaks of bright silver on the oil-black water.
They
stood in silence, watching and listening to the crash of the waves. Leo’s heart
felt suddenly too large for his chest. He was overwhelmed by the beauty of the
place, a place that had barely changed since his childhood. The sea came and
went with the tides, the sands shifted, but the rocks were constant. Yet here
Leo was, an adult now rather than a boy, and his uncle reduced to an echo of
the man Leo remembered—physically, at least. Unexpected tears prickled the
backs of Leo’s eyes as a rush of emotion so strong that it made him draw in a
sharp breath assaulted him. He swallowed hard, forcing the feelings back down.
Out of
his peripheral vision,he saw Tris turn towards him, but Leo carried on gazing
out at the gentle, rolling movement of the sea. Tris shifted his feet in the
sand, bringing him closer. The warm skin of his arm brushed Leo’s, and Leo
ached for more contact. He needed human warmth and touch to chase away the cold
emptiness in his heart.
Author Bio:
Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of
England, with her husband, two children, and two cats.
She 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.
My
thoughts:
As
some of you may have noticed, I’m a fan of Jay Northcote’s writing. While I
haven’t read all her books yet, I haven’t come across one that disappointed me
so far. Among all those stories I loved, Passing Through is my favourite. It
is also the most emotional and probably personal of Jay’s books so far.
The
blurb tells you everything you need to know before you start this book so I’ll
limit myself to telling you what I loved about it.
I was
impressed with the way Jay Northcote dealt with terminal illness and loss. The
emotions Leo experiences were vivid and recognisable without being overly
sentimental. This story didn’t try to be a tear jerker, although it did manage
to leave me with watery eyes on one or two occasions.
The
developing relationship between Tris and Leo was sweet. Both of them have
issues but they do not take centre stage. First and foremost the two men
enjoyed their time together, their growing feelings taking both of them by
surprise. Their emotions felt real and touched me. I think their separation
when it came hurt me as much as it did them and I was grateful the author
didn’t turn it into a protracted drama.
This
is a story with one or two messages for the readers; messages which
reverberated with me. I firmly believe that we all should follow our hearts at
least as much as our heads when we make important decisions, no matter how
scary that may be. I also fully support Edwin in his choices, although I won’t
say anything else about that.
Leo,
Tris and Edwin wormed their way into my heart the moment they appeared on the
page and will more than likely spend quite some time there. I believed in these
men, their lives and their decisions. I enjoyed every single minute I spent
with them, even the painful moments.
The
intimacy between Leo and Tris was as touching as it was sexy. I loved the small
touches as much as I did their sexy times. To make a longish review short; Passing
Through is a touching, beautiful, well written and sexy story that will
make you think about your life and how you live it without ever lecturing you. Passing
Through was a wonderful reading experience for me.
Thank you Helena. Have read other books by Jay ... so will add this one to her shelf.
ReplyDeleteYou won't regret it Ann. It's a wonderful book
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