Review: The Sunny Side (The Model Agency #1) by Lily Morton

Rating: 4.75 🌈

I’m such a fan of this author and The Sunny Side is a fantastic example of why her contemporary romances continue to resonate with so many readers, book after book, series after series.

Supermodel Dean Jacobs has appeared in the author’s newsletter serial and pops up in other stories (Deal Maker for one). That cover is a perfect match for the character it’s portraying, a rare occurrence!

However, it’s the internal Dean, the one that’s kind, fighting a life long insecurity issue bourn of bad parenting, later in life diagnosed with dyslexia, now newly sober,coming off years of being stoned, he’s stressed and struggling.

Jonas Durand is a highly successful, focused owner of the modeling agency that handles some of the most famous models in the world. After wresting control of the company from his mother and restructuring it into the respected firm it is today, he’s had just one known passion, the business.

But a lesser known one is Dean Jacobs. Just as Jonas has been Dean’s.

Morton weaves a tale of love and romance so skillfully as Dean’s struggles catches Jonas’ attention, and it’s to Jonas that Dean instinctively turns to for safety and sanctuary.

Their personalities matching and adjusting each to the other, through warm hearted dialogue, scenes filled full of laughter and raw emotion, whether it’s just them or with Jonas’ daughter, Ruby Tuesday, and Henry, the dog.

Morton shows us the slow building of a couple, then a family, every skittish step each man takes forward.

There’s a moment of crisis of course. And as bad as it feels, it’s also very believable and real. Painful, hurtful, and real.

Morton makes us believe in these men, stumbling with them towards love and happiness. And when it comes to a close, we aren’t ready to end.

Which brings me to a note. I originally gave this a 5. Then, Morton herself said there was a addendum short showing what happens to Dean and Jonas afterwards.

So I read it.

I laughed so hard I cried. Then I cried because it was perfect!

That short was THE perfect ending!

It needs to be in the book.

Lily Morton, if you’re listening, books get edited all the time. Just sayin.

I’m definitely recommending The Sunny Side by Lily Morton. It’s fantastic, and probably a reread for many!

The Model Agency:

◦ The Sunny Side #1

Available in Kindle Format

AMAZON US

AMAZON UK

AMAZON FR

Synopsis:

Jonas Durand is successful, rich, and controlled. He owns a prestigious modelling agency and has the world at his fingertips, but a turbulent childhood has taught him to be focused and never deviate from a plan.

Dean Jacobs threatens that stance. He’s one of the world’s most sought-after supermodels, but he’s also laidback and lighthearted and free in a way that Jonas has never quite managed.

Dean has always been interested in Jonas and has never made any secret of his admiration, but from the beginning, Jonas put him in a neat little box labelled, “Don’t touch,” turned the key, and never looked back.

However, the universe seems determined to thwart Jonas’s plans. Over the course of one hot summer, the two men come together, and Jonas’s well-ordered life becomes something a whole lot wilder.

Moving from the glamorous worlds of London and Paris Fashion Weeks to the sleepy South of France, Jonas finds himself liberating partridges, chasing his supermodel, and falling in love.

From bestselling author Lily Morton, comes a romantic comedy set in the fast-paced and snarky world of modelling. This is the first book in the Model Agency series.

Review: The Sceptic (Arcana Books #1) by Lily Morton

Rating: 4.25🌈

““What a ridiculous question. Do I look like I have a book on how to reanimate a cadaver? I have enough problems with the living customers without adding dead ones. Go next door.””

— The Sceptic by Lily Morton

That’s a terrific start to a new paranormal series by Lily Morton. And it dives immediately into what is sure to be one of my favorite elements as well as series center, Arcana Books. One of two adjacent bookstores, only this one is full of the weirdness, the magical, the lore or whatever supernatural or paranormal literature you’re searching for has lured a customer there.

It also has , as an occult bookshop would, a Madame Hecate reading tarot cards, if her morning gins haven’t kicked in too much, or the lure of the nearby pub hasn’t been ignored. It’s vastly intriguing, full of wildly imaginative clients and it’s employees, include Will, who’s The Skeptic of this novel.

Tarquin, the Viscount Ingram, who owns the occult bookstore, Tom, the owner of the other more mundane one( a mentor to the psychic Blue) are characters that are pulled from a previous series.

That would be the Black and Blue two-book series, introducing characters such as cartoonist Levi Black, Blue Billings, a psychic, his boyfriend, in two stories of paranormal mystery and horror.

Blue’s background and found family includes Will Buchanan, a gentle giant with whom Blue spent early years that left both with damage they are still dealing with.

Part of this connecting group is Jem Dawson, a well known photographer, who’s also a best friend to Levi Black.

So as you can tell, if you’re like me, and came into this novel not having read those books, you’re missing a substantial amount of important background information.

Morton tries to fill in background for the new reader as best she can, but there’s really no replacement for the foundation those books supply in terms of relationships and events that occurred. Take it from me, read those stories first.

Now having said that, this is still a very good ghost story.

The investigation into what is causing all the issues at the family’s house and the chilling occurrences that help to ramp up the suspense are spread out just enough to give us a lull before smacking us with something to make the goosebumps appear.

And while the paranormal activity is being investigated, there’s a relationship and tentative romance building between two commitment phobic men. That’s something that’s both frustrating and fascinating, because it’s where the missing history is most needed.

Will’s that is. The hints to his lack of trust, the map to the emotional location to his trauma is there but not the details. I expect that’s in Black and Blue.

But there’s enough heft to the men’s internal dialogues with themselves about their feelings, trust issues, as well as the current dangers they were facing to give the reader a excellent window into the men’s personalities and how things were developing between them.

There’s secondary characters in the “ghostbusters “ group that I wasn’t quite as fond of. Not sure if that’s because I think they weren’t as layered or with everything going on with the ghostly elements, just didn’t get as much development as possible.

The main characters, and Blue , who made an appearance towards the end supply the weight for the book and plot. They make it work.

As the first in a series, I wonder how it will go forward. If it derives from customers from the occult bookstore, then I can’t wait!

Until then, read Black and Blue before arriving here at The Skeptic.

If paranormal romances and ghostly horrors are you thing, then this is the book for you. I’m definitely recommending it!

Arcana Books:

The Skeptic #1

Black and Blue – Series – Lily Morton

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Sceptic (Arcana Books, #1) by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

As the best friend of a psychic, Will Buchanan can’t help but believe in the dead. It’s the living that he finds to be problematic. However, after a spate of betrayals, he finally has the chance of a new life within his grasp, and he’s not going to risk it for anyone or anything. Staying safe is the name of Will’s game.

Jem Dawson defines the word temporary. A talented cameraman, he’s here today and will undoubtedly be gone tomorrow chasing adventure and danger. But, while he’s in York, he’s made it clear he wants Will, and Will can’t help liking the charming daredevil.

This inconvenient attraction results in Will accompanying Jem to the site of a notorious poltergeist outbreak. A malevolent spirit has targeted a family, and now the ghost hunting team for whom Jem does camerawork are going to be locked down in the house for three days.

The house is strange and filled with sinister and violent undercurrents. One by one, the group experiences threatening incidents, and as events escalate, Will has to ask himself if he’s risking not just his heart but also his life with this impulsive gesture.

This is the first book in the Arcana Books series featuring characters from the bestselling Black and Blue series

Review: Finding Home: The Complete Series by Lily Morton

Rating: 5 🌈

The Finding Home, The Complete Series, is a splendid collection. I love being able to read one story right after the other of the men of Chi an Mor, House by the Sea.

The first novel is my favorite of the collection. That’s

🔹Oz.

It hit all my buttons, as far as a contemporary romance, and it’s everything I’ve come to expect from a Lily Morton story. It’s alternatively hilarious, so believably authentic that you feel you’re actually seeing the places and people moving through the events as they unfold, smelling the lavender, feeling the salty winds drifting through the warm fields and gardens of the golden stoned manor.

So sure everything exists because they feel so real and grounded for you.

Oz Gallagher and Silas Ashworth , the Earl of Ashworth, are absolute perfection. Oz, small, fierce Irish born Londoner, with his firsts in Art History but a common background that will always insure no reputable firm will hire him, is that quick witted, smart mouthed soul . He’s instantly someone you love. An affair that deepens, page by page.

It’s helped along by Oz’s instantaneous connection with Chewwy, a mournful Italian Spinione , who becomes his shadow, to our delight.

Silas, the Earl and local vet, is just as warm and charming as Oz, but in a totally different way. He’s, posh but without the snobbery. He’s Cornish, where the land and house have as deep a hold onto him as for it to be cellular. He loves his land, his people, and , everything about Silas telegraphs that immense connection through Morton’s wonderful descriptions and thoughtful dialogue.

Theirs is a slow paced romance, working through each other’s issues to arrive at a wonderful HEA and heartwarming epilogue.

There’s so many outstanding secondary characters, many of whom we will see again in other stories, including those in this collection.

5🌈

🔹Milo is next. This is a more somber story as it deals with issues such as domestic abuse and it’s lasting effects upon the person who suffered.

Milo Ramsey had a stutter , caused by a childhood accident, that also made him a target for bullying. This story addresses that as well. The Milo we met in Oz’s novel is one that’s had some time to recover.

This story gives us the Milo we hadn’t met yet, the trauma he endured, and the journey he took to recover and recognize the characteristics of the man he loves aren’t like the one who abused him.

It’s one of self-discovery, forgiveness, and bravery.

There’s a age difference between Milo and Niall. Milo’s romance with Niall Fawcett, estate manager to the Earl of Ashworth, that is.

But it’s a wonderful romance, and thoughtful story, working through all the serious issues that’s being discussed here, and what that means for Milo, first and their future.

Very satisfying. 4.75.

🔹Gideon is last.

Gideon Ramsey is Milo’s older brother, close friend to Niall and Silas. They grew up together at a nearby house, close to Chi an Mor. But where Milo was kept close to home, Gideon, like Silas and Niall , was shipped off to boarding school.

Gideon became a famous actor. Hiding the fact that he was “gay “ on the advice of his toxic agent. The fast lifestyle caught up with him in his late 30’s, drugs, sex, alcohol. Until it almost kills him with a bout of bronchitis.

Enter Milo and Niall, with an intervention of sorts. A cruise and a nurse to transport him to Chi an Mor where he’ll recuperate.

Eli Jones is believable as the nurse and engaging. Gideon is acerbic , dryly funny, and charming. The cruise is a great way to have them get to know each other before they land and Eli is off to another job.

I felt there could have been more in the section with Gideon’s agent. That happened abruptly. The cottage visit was lovely.

I liked this story but the other two were clear favorites. The epilogue, however, was splendid! I could picture that so easily. What a grand way to send them off.

4.5🌈

All in all just an amazing collection of stories. I wish Chi an Mor was real and I could pay to visit. I’d be on the next plane out.

One small note just because it bothers me. Of the 3 covers. The one for Oz? Has absolutely no connection to any main character . Oz? Tiny sharp faced black haired blues eyes Irish man. Silas? Tall, black haired, blade like nose Cornishman.

https://www.goodreads.com › seriesFinding Home Series by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Finding Home

Description:

The bestselling Finding Home series is now available in one collection. Set in Cornwall, the series follows a group of friends as they each find love with a lot of heat and humour along the way.

Oz Gallagher does not do relationships well. Bored and jobless after another disastrous hook up, he decides to leave London for a temporary job in the wilds of Cornwall. Surely managing a stately home on a country estate will be easier than navigating the detritus of his relationships at home.

However, when he gets there, he finds a house in danger of crumbling to the ground and a man who is completely unlike anyone he’s ever met. An earl belonging to a family whose roots go back hundreds of years. Silas is the living embodiment of duty and sacrifice. Two things that Oz has never wanted. He’s also warm and funny and he draws Oz to him like a magnet.

Will falling in love be enough to make Oz stop moving at last and realise that he’s finally home?

Milo

Milo has been burying himself at Chi an Mor, hiding from the wreckage of his once promising career and running from a bad relationship that destroyed what little confidence he had. Niall, his big brother’s best friend, has been there for him that entire time. An arrogant and funny man, Niall couldn’t be any more different from the shy and occasionally stuttering Milo, which has never stopped Milo from crushing wildly on the man who saved him.

However, just as Milo makes the decision to move on from his hopeless crush, he and Niall are thrown into close contact, and for the first time ever Niall seems to be returning his interest. But it can never work. How can it when Milo always needs rescuing?

Content warning: There are descriptions of domestic abuse in this book.

Gideon

Gideon has everything he should want in life. Fame, money, acting awards – he has it all. Everything but honesty. At the advice of his agent, Gideon has concealed his sexuality for years. But it’s starting to get harder to hide, and his increasingly wild behaviour is threatening to destroy his career.

Then he’s laid low by a serious illness and into his life comes Eli Jones. Eli is everything that Gideon can’t understand. He’s sunny tempered, friendly, and optimistic. Even worse, he’s unaffected by grumpiness and sarcasm, which forms ninety percent of Gideon’s body weight. As Gideon gets to know the other man, he finds himself wildly attracted to his lazy smiles and warm, scruffy charm that seem to fill a hole inside Gideon that’s been empty for a long time.

Will he give in to this incomprehensible attraction when it could mean the end of everything that he’s worked for?

Lily Morton Books

April 5, 2022

Pages: 885

Review: Short Stack (a short story collection) by Lily Morton

Rating: 5🌈

If you’re a fan of Lily Morton, especially her Mixed Messages and Finding Home series, this is must reading.

These short stories follow those couples at various stages of their lives and relationships, from the stage after the wedding is over to a marriage proposal we always hoped to read about.

None of these scenes appeared in those stories, cut for various reasons or written for her fans later on. They are now gathered together by couple, and it makes for some very amazing and very rewarding stories.

For myself, it changed my thoughts on a couple and story. That would be Rule Breaker, Dylan and Gabe’s story. Told primarily from Dylan’s pov, It was the romance and relationship I least connected with. The reason was the character of Gabe. For me, without his perspective, he came across as selfish, cold, and his actions often cruel, especially towards Dylan. Who repeatedly took him back.

That missing pov is here. Gabe, his emotional state, and his background, everything that would have made him an emotionally accessible character is here in scenes that never made it into that story. To its detriment, in my opinion. Because after reading this, I look at that novel totally differently.

For the rest of the couples and books? Short Stack just enriches our involvement with them and their relationships. Where we always wanted to know what happened next? This is our answer to that question, and it gives us a often realistic, and emotional satisfying one.

Not read one of the stories? This might make you hold off, stop at a couple. Go get their book. Read it. Then come back for their shorts.

Win on every level.

I got this for my Kindle but I just might need it in a copy for my bookshelf.

I’m recommending it that hard for lovers of these series, this author, and those readers to come.

Short Stack by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

What happens after the happy ending?

Drawn together for the first time, this is a collection of Lily’s short stories about the much-loved men from her Mixed Messages and Finding Home series. Follow them through awkward marriage proposals, birthdays, a fraught babysitting job, and a very drunken Eurovision Song Contest party.

It includes stories previously written for her website and readers’ group, along with deleted scenes and four brand new and exclusive short stories – Bad Valentine, Marrying Jude, Babysitting Billy, and House Hunting.

Mixed Messages:

Rule Breaker #1

Deal Maker #2

Risk Taker#3

Finding Home:

Oz #1

Milo #2

Gideon #3

Review: Deal Maker (Mixed Messages #2) by Lily Morton

Rating: 5 🌈

I know I’m in for a grand time when I haven’t even gotten through the first page and I’m laughing at the verbal antics and eagerly anticipating the author’s next steps.

Morton starts off each book with pertinent and moving quotes. Here it then goes a bit further.

Each chapter begins with a hilarious letter to a fan, “reportedly “, from movie star Asa Jacobs, 44, single father to the adorable Billy, age 5.

How they come about is part of this marvelous romance between two men who have sworn off relationships because of the pain, disappointment, and history behind them.

That’s such a simplified version of Deal Maker. This is a story where you’re be laughing at the oh so real…yes I recognize that…antics of Billy the 5 year old or giggling in anticipation at the stuff Jude is no doubt planning because of, nope. Read the story.

Jude Bailey is a masterpiece of a character along with Asa Jacobs. Morton writes complicated people so beautifully.

Jude’s model gorgeous exterior hides a razor sharp wit, a kind heart, and a fierce loyalty towards those he loves. His history is revealed slowly, in texts, phone conversations, and eventually an emotional exhale of history that brought him to his career and situation.

Asa Jacobs is a older huge man. Big physically, capable of an enormous range of emotions, chillingly cold to rage, to a man who deeply loves his son. Also someone carrying immense pain from a past relationship .

His household consists of equally unique characters whose personalities will become as memorable as those of the main characters.

There’s so many downright hilarious scenes here , also characters like Dean that honestly deserve their own gloriously Dim award. He’s magnificent in his own way. And I’ll just say it. Hamster! Love it!

Also deeply moving scenes that dig deep to show our mens fear, doubt, growing love, and resolve to protect those they care about the most.

The Jude’s parents and the entire Devon section was intimate and inviting. It felt like family.

This is one of those stories where at the end you’ll find that your face hurts from smiling so hard and your heart feels so warm. You feel that great!

It’s on my comfort read list now.

I’m highly recommending Deal Maker (Mixed Messages #2) by Lily Morton. It’s plain romance magic!

Mixed Messages:

✓ Rule Breaker #1

◦ Goodbye, Fletcher #1.2

◦ Jude’s Intervention #1.3

◦ Scrambled Eggs and Lemsip #1.5

◦ The Valentine Do-Over #1.7

✓ Deal Maker #2

◦ Risk Taker #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showDeal Maker (Mixed Messages, #2) by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Available in Kindle and paperback formats

AMAZON US

AMAZON UK

Also available in Audiobook format

Synopsis:

Sometimes your mouth makes deals that your heart can’t honour.

Jude is a highly successful model, but a very reluctant one. His life is full of casual hook-ups with pretty men in glamorous locations, but it’s still empty. However, circumstances decreed a long time ago that this was his path, so he’s resolutely stayed on it and accepted his fate with good grace. He made a deal with himself and his hook-ups. Get in, get out and no ties with anyone.

However, an accident at home one night leads to him making a new deal and accepting the offer of help from an unlikely source. It leads to an unexpected summer of falling in love with a larger than life man and his child.

But by the end of the summer his reasons for not staying are still valid. Will he turn away? Can he?

Asa is a talented actor who has spent time away from the scene to look after his son. But now he’s back, and the last thing he needs are complications from the gorgeous man who is staying with him. Scarred from too many betrayals, he has no intention of forming a lasting tie with anyone. However, he can’t resist the beautiful man with secrets, and to his horror he develops feelings.

But a deal’s a deal and they said it was just for the summer. What can Asa do with a man who has forever in his eyes and goodbye on his lips?

This is the second book in the Mixed Messages series but it can be read as a standalone.

Review: Rule Breaker (Mixed Messages #1) by Lily Morton

Rating: 3.5🌈

Lily Morton is a go to author for me. Her stories are full of humor, believable situations, and emotional, relationships that have the ability to have you laughing and sniffing, sometimes at the same time.

There’s often one particular element I can find, not even a major one, that will have me wanting to sink down into a comfy chair somewhere close by, and become a part of this aspect of that storyline.

For Rule Breaker, it’s Dylan Mitchell’s family and farm. The kitchen especially with its ancient wooden table, full of marks from all the years of the family life it’s seen. You want to sink into their family and ask to join in, stay for a while, become part of the warmth, and believable loving family dynamics that Morton has given us, and Dylan. I could enjoy an entire story with this family! I didn’t get nearly enough time with them.

The romance between Dylan and his boss, Gabe Foster, suffered because, unlike other books, their relationship felt somewhat toxic to me. A fact that even Gabe would admit to.

Gabe Foster is an emotionally damaged man. His past and adolescence haunted by parents and an event that’s slowly revealed in the story. That childhood trauma has caused him to withdraw behind high walls, and to choose a life of noncommitment with his sex partners, guarding his privacy as well as anything truly personal from those around him. He is, by his own words, cold and selfish.

Dylan is the very antithesis of Gabe. Outgoing, funny, gregarious, he draws people to him simply by being interested in them, and everything around him. He’s open, vulnerable, and giving.

Dylan is the pov for 90 percent of the story and , for me, that’s a mistake. In order for Gabe to be likable or at least someone we can understand, we need to see beyond his unfortunate words and mean spirited actions. With the extremely relatable and adorable Dylan as our narrator, we hear the warnings from others about Gabe, and see the toxic behavior Gabe is exhibiting, and want to shout “run”.

It’s not until we start to get Gabe’s perspective, (at 90% ) , then given his damaging back history, that Gabe becomes someone who’s not a total cad, but perhaps a person in need of therapy and something more.

A note here, given the nightmares and his severe trauma, I’m not sure why his friend Henry never tried getting Gabe into some sort of therapy. That’s a question for me here for Morton.

The last ten percent of the story is captivating. They make a wonderful, charming couple. I needed more of this. Less of what came before or more of Gabe’s viewpoint.

I liked this ending. Loved the family and actually looking forward to Jude’s story. There’s some terrific stuff here. But there’s also some things that left me puzzled.

Lily Morton characters are realistic and the situations believable. Otherwise, why would I be picking at them? But it’s the romance I’m thinking about. It’s not my favorite of hers. She has some that are my absolute must rereads!

If you’re a Lily Morton fan, pick it up and tell me what you think!

Rule Breaker (Mixed Messages, #1) by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Is it really wrong to want to murder your boss?

Dylan has worked for Gabe for two years. Two long years of sarcastic comments. Two long years of insults, and having to redo the coffee pot four times in the mornings to meet his exacting standards.

Not surprisingly he has devoted a lot of time to increasingly inventive ways to murder Gabe. From stabbing him with a cake fork, to garrotting him with his expensive tie, Dylan has thought of everything.

However, a chance encounter opens his eyes to the attraction that has always lain between them, concealed by the layers of antipathy. There are only two problems – Gabe is still a bastard, and he makes wedding planners look like hardened pessimists.

But what happens when Dylan starts to see the real Gabe? What happens when he starts to fall in love with the warm, wary man that he sees glimpses of as the days pass?

Because Gabe is still the same commitment shy, cold man that he’s always been, or is he? Has Dylan had the same effect on Gabe, and has his solid gold rule of no commitment finally been broken? With his heart taken Dylan desperately needs to know, but will he get hurt trying to find the answers?

From the author of ‘The Summer of Us’ comes another scorchingly hot romantic comedy, showing what happens between two men when rules get broken.

This is the first book in the Mixed Messages series but it can be read as a standalone.

Review: Charlie Sunshine (Close Proximity #2) by Lily Morton

Rating: 3.5🌈

Charlie Sunshine is the second in the Close Proximity trilogy and I probably didn’t do it any favors by skipping it and reading the infinitely better story After Felix next. It just plain suffers by comparison.

Several things worked against this I think. The author immediately linked books one and three together by the characters and couples themselves. Felix works in Zeb Evans’ employment agency and turns into a great friend of Jesse Reed, Zeb’s boyfriend. The quartet of men was a natural flow of wit, drama, and romance.

But Misha and Charlie? They are associated with the others but mentioned only briefly prior so where the reader felt a real connection to the couples in books one and three, Charlie Sunshine is already flat on the ground, or a bit behind.

Why that last? Unfortunately I think it has to do with the characters themselves. Charlie is almost too perfect. He’s an adorable , highly intelligent librarian who’s runway gorgeous. People walk into poles because they’re looking at him. That’s not exactly relatable. The author needed do something to make him fallible. The answer? Charlie has epilepsy.

This element is well done and well researched. Morton folded this aspect of the story into Charlie’s character realistically. How it effects Charlie and his life is believable. I think it did make me feel that I understood Charlie more. But I felt that I wish I had more of Charlie’s life pre accident so the fact that he had epilepsy now wasn’t just something to make him and the disease, idk , a way of inserting a vulnerability instead of letting readers see a character function beautifully within his diagnosis.

Let me know how you all feel about this. I’m curious.

Misha , the hedge fund banker, is the best friend who suddenly realizes the man he loves is right beside him. It’s a great trope and I’m not sure why again I didn’t get 100 percent into this romance and couple.

There’s the usual lack of understanding, lack of communication until there isn’t.

The characters around them are superb. Charlie’s family especially are tremendous, both dads and mother. So too are Misha’s family of a terrific mom and twin sisters. Plus his cousin Felix.

Morton’s ability to write characters that grab at your heart are scattered throughout this story, I’m just not sure the biggest is Charlie for me. Or Misha. They are good but I’m not sure they are great.

The end is very satisfying, you’ll be happy for the couple. It’s a great place to end for them.

I’m highly recommending the Close Proximity trilogy. Charlie Sunshine is a good way to fill in your knowledge of this group between the first and fantastic last novels.

Close Proximity series:

✓ Best Man #1

✓ Charlie Sunshine #2

✓ After Felix #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showCharlie Sunshine (Close Proximity, #2) by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Sometimes love is a lot closer to home than you think.

Charlie Burroughs can’t keep a man. All he wants is a good relationship like the ones he sees his friends having, but none of the men he picks ever work out. Despite him trying to be the perfect boyfriend, the men are either threatened by his looks or his epilepsy or a combination of the two. It’s lucky that he has his best friend Misha to turn to. The two of them are closer than peas in a pod and fiercely loyal to each other. He can’t imagine his life without Misha in it.

Misha Lebedinsky is the complete opposite of his best friend. Being the support system for his mum and twin sisters leaves Misha with neither the time nor the inclination for a relationship. Quick and frequent hook-ups are his favourite means of communication and any other pesky emotional needs he has are met by Charlie, who he’s devoted to. He lives a life of happy compartmentalization with no intention of ever changing.

All of this changes when the two best friends move in together. Being in close proximity means that they suddenly start to see each other in a very different light. But Charlie struggles when his drive to be the perfect partner clashes with the fact that he’s in love with a man who knows every little thing about him. And even if he can get past that, can a relationship ever work with a man who’d need a dictionary to tell him what love means?

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a love story about a sunny librarian who has relationship written all over him and a cynical banker who doesn’t even have it in his blurb.

Review: After Felix (Close Proximity #3) by Lily Morton

Rating: 5 🌈

After Felix is the third book in Lily Morton’s Close Proximity series. I skipped over Charlie’s story because the characters of Felix and Max so spoke to me in Best Man that I needed their own story and to see how their romance played out.

I’m so happy I did because this is an amazing story. I have just continued to think over all its many storylines and elements, including the trips the characters make to various locations, and it all comes together in such an amazing romance.

We are with Felix Jackson Max Travers from the beginning of their journey when they meet at the bookstore, through their tumultuous romantic history and finally through the process of working their way back towards each other. Every scene , whether it’s funny or heartbreaking, shows such dimension to their personalities. We fall in love with them and their relationship. We’re invested in their happiness.

Then we get more. As the years pass, through excellent descriptions, we watch the characters undergoing change and growth as they figure out who matters to them, or especially if they can trust again.

Morton builds a heartwarming, believable, at times so painful story of two men who find each other, lose, then need to find a path back to each other again.

It’s truly a remarkable romance with incredible characters and a journey that’s staying with me.

I feel like I’ve found a story I’ll reread when I want a romance to curl up with. It’s in that pile of stories.

I’m highly recommending it. Enjoy!

Close Proximity series:

✓ Best Man #1

◦ Charlie Sunshine #2

✓ After Felix #3

After Felix (Close Proximity, #3) by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Sometimes the best love stories come in two parts.

When Felix met handsome journalist Max Travers, it was lust at first sight. It was just his luck that he then had to develop a terrible case of feelings and got his heart broken.

However, two and a half years later, he’s over all of that. His job is going well, he has good friends, and he doesn’t lack for male company. Which, of course, is when Max has to come bursting back into his life.

Felix Jackson will always be the one who got away to Max. He’s spent their time apart regretting his actions and hoping for a second chance. When an accident lands him in Felix’s less than tender care, Max is determined to grab this opportunity. The only problem is that Felix is equally determined that he doesn’t.

From bestselling author, Lily Morton comes a story of missed opportunities, second chances, and two very stubborn men.

This is the third book in the Close Proximity series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Review: Best Man (Close Proximity #1) by Lily Morton

Rating: 4 🌈

Fake boyfriend trope is a favorite of mine so when I saw a story written by a must read author, Lily Morton, with that as a factor, I was in.

It also was a age gap, no surprise, with humor, again, a usual hallmark of this author, and a curmudgeon of a fellow in need a of a bit of a change in perspective about himself and his path in life. So yes, I settled in for a Morton romance.

Best Man didn’t let me down. Indeed our first meeting with the irrepressible Jesse Reed walks into the offices of Zeb Evans’ employment agency for an unforgettable interview. It’s funny, full of the sparkling dialogue and warm chemistry that draws me over and over into Morton’s stories.

We then snap forward several years as Jesse ‘s become a mainstay employee at Zeb’s agency, if a bit of a occasionally over exuberant when carrying out his clients wishes. We fall right into a guffaw moment with Jesse and it’s instant love!

We see the type of relationship Zeb and Jesse have grown into, as well as the potential one that waits if Zeb could allow himself a lessening of the restraints that so tightly bind him.

A wedding and a promise to be the best man necessitate the need for a fake boyfriend for Zeb. Who better then Jesse?

Especially when it’s something both men want truthfully anyway.

Their romance starts remarkably full of exploration and joy but Morton shows that the past history that’s been ignored has a way of interfering until it’s dealt with.

I would have thought Zeb a tad more intelligent about his ex given his past experiences with him in this story so it made events here seem less believable.

But Jessie’s father was a wonderful element and the entire last section of the book warm, inviting, and wholly satisfying.

They made a great couple and I look forward to Charlie and Felix’s books. Especially Felix. I adore that man.

I’m recommending Best Man to all lovers of contemporary romance and Lily Morton. Have a wonderful read!

Close Proximity series:

Best Man #1

Charlie Sunshine #2

After Felix #3

https://www.goodreads.com › showBest Man (Close Proximity, #1) by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Zeb Evans doesn’t do messy.

The product of a disorganised and chaotic childhood, Zeb likes order and control, and as the boss of his own employment agency he can give that to himself. Life runs along strict lines and he never mixes business with pleasure. Everything in his life lives in neat, alphabetized boxes. Until Jesse.

Jesse Reed is Zeb’s complete opposite. He’s chaos personified. A whirling cyclone of disorder. He’s also charming and funny and a very unwanted distraction.

Which is why it comes as a complete surprise to Zeb to find himself asking Jesse to pose as his boyfriend for a few days in the country at a wedding.

Zeb doesn’t do impulsive, but as the time away progresses, he finds himself increasingly drawn to the merry and irreverent Jesse. But can he bring himself to break the hard-won lessons he’s learnt in life? And even if he can, how could Jesse be attracted to him anyway? He’s so much older than Jesse, not to mention being his boss.

From the bestselling author of the Mixed Messages and Finding Home series comes a warm and funny romance about one man’s fight for control and another man’s determination to circumvent it.

This is the first book in the Close Proximity series, but it can be read as a standalone.

Review: The Stopping Place by Lily Morton

Rating: 4.5🌈

The Stopping Place by Lily Morton is such a lovely short story. Originally written for Heart2Heart charity anthology, the author edited it and enlarged it to incorporate a epilogue here.

Many of my favorite Lily Morton elements are at play here. There’s age gap, past trauma to overcome, and men who will find themselves in the midst of a sea change, unknowingly so.

And it starts , as do all her chapters and books, with a memorable quote.

“I am no traveler; you are my world.”

Daphne du Maurier

My Cousin Rachel

Yes, I’m sunk immediately.

So opens the tale of Simeon Frith and Ziggy Tuesday.

We see that’s Simeon had an injury and his friend has placed an ad for a companion to help with things and walk his dog.

Yes dogs or a cat are another element with Morton.

We see that. Then Simeon and Ziggy having sex. From there , time folds in and around as we see what brought Ziggy into Simeon’s life, their life together…. And the decisions when it gets closer to the cast coming off and time for Ziggy’s departure.

These are layered, real people. The scenes emotional if quiet. And the air filled with the sounds of the sea .

Such a beautiful journey, such lovely men…. And dogs.

Even a brief story like The Stopping Place by Lily Morton will fill you with a quiet joy.

I’m highly recommending it.

https://www.goodreads.com › showThe Stopping Place by Lily Morton – Goodreads

Synopsis:

Simeon Frith is recovering from a car accident at his house in Cornwall. He’s a successful man and usually very self-sufficient, but after attempting to open a can of baked beans with a brick, he realises that he needs help. However, he never imagined that putting an advert in the paper for an assistant would result in the gorgeous Ziggy Tuesday sauntering into his life.

The much younger Ziggy is fun and free-spirited, and an attraction quickly grows between them. When they finally sleep together and Ziggy insists that it be completely strings-free, Simeon can’t believe his luck. However, to his horror, he develops unforeseen feelings for the laidback surfer, and he can’t stop them, despite knowing that Ziggy will always leave. It’s what he’s done all his life.

From bestselling author Lily Morton comes a short story about a summer fling that is going to change two men’s lives forever.

This story originally appeared in the third Heart2Heart charity anthology. It has had a new scene and an epilogue added to it.

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