Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
People come as well as go.
Twelve years ago, Edwin Tully came to Oxford and fell in love with a boy named Marius. He was brilliant. An artist. It was going to be forever.
Two years ago, it ended.
Now Edwin lives alone in the house they used to share. He tends to damaged books and faded memories, trying to a build a future from the fragments of the past.
Then the weather turns, and the river spills into Edwin’s quiet world, bringing with it Adam Dacre from the Environment Agency. An unlikely knight, this stranger with roughened hands and worn wellingtons, but he offers Edwin the hope of something he thought he would never have again.
As the two men grow closer in their struggle against the rising waters, Edwin learns he can’t protect himself from everything—and sometimes he doesn’t need to try.
This is my third book by this author. I adored For Real, abso-freaking-lutely loved it. But the other one I’d read not so much, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with a third one. Even after listening to it, I’m wasn’t sure and had to really think about it. There were parts that I found quite slow, where my attention drifted away and I had to struggle to make myself focus on the story. But then there were other parts that I found to be deep and poignant, that jerked at my heart in the way they felt so raw and real. The writing was lyrical, slow-paced, contemplative.
The premise of two men meeting during a storm/flood appealed to me, as I usually adore such stories. But there were many times that I was confused by the words and conversation, which may have been part of why my mind often wandered. I enjoyed Adam’s character quite a lot, but Edwin not so much. He seemed so very hung up on his old relationship even though a few years had past, that he let it influence him to the point that he cut himself off from life, and he very nearly let it get in the way of something good several times.
I’ve not listened to too many audios narrated with a UK accent, so it took me a tiny bit to get used to it. Not that it wasn’t lovely, as it certainly was, just that it was a little bit harder to understand for me at first until my ears got attuned to it. I felt that he did a stellar job at handling Edwin’s speech impediment.
Beautiful cover… I adore rain and these guys walking hand in hand in it totally did it for me.
Sales Links: Riptide Publishing | Audible | Amazon
Book Details:
Audible Audio, 3 pages, Listening Length: 2 hours and 51 minutes
Published May 23rd 2016 by Riptide Publishing (first published February 21st 2015)
ASINB01FXZ0FX8
Edition LanguageEnglish
SeriesSpires Universe
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 