About the book:
Title: The Marrying Kind
Series: Owen & Nathan – part 2
Author: Jay Northcote
Genre: contemporary m/m romance
Length: 35,000 words approx
Release date: Friday 17th April 2015
Publisher: self-published (Jaybird Press)
Editor: Sue Adams
Buy links:
Series info:
The Marrying Kind is a sequel to The Dating Game. It continues Owen
and Nathan's story, so I recommend you read The
Dating Gamefirst. I have no firm
plans for more stories about Owen and Nathan. The Marrying Kind has a
definite happy ending, so please consider their story complete for now.
Blurb:
Nathan wants to put a ring on
it, but is Owen the marrying kind?
Two
years on from their first date, Owen and Nathan are living together and life is
good—except they’re not on the same page about marriage.
A
traditionalist at heart, Nathan wants it all: the wedding, the vows, and a pair
of matching rings. Owen, on the other hand, believes marriage is old-fashioned
and unnecessary. They don’t need a wedding to prove their commitment to each
other. Love should be enough on its own.
All it
takes is one moment of weakness on a night out to force the issue. Owen finds
himself engaged after a half-drunk proposal, and Nathan’s enthusiasm sweeps him
along. But as the big day approaches, the mounting tension finally combusts.
If
he’s going to save their relationship, Owen will need to decide once and for
all if he’s truly the marrying kind.
Excerpt:
Nathan
glanced surreptitiously at Owen sitting beside him as Jack and Simon spoke
their vows. Jack’s voice was quiet but sure, and Simon’s rang out clearly over
the assembled crowd.
Owen’s
gaze was fixed on the couple, and his eyes were suspiciously bright. As Nathan
watched, Owen cleared his throat and wiped what Nathan assumed was a tear out
of the corner of his eye.
Nathan
suppressed a smile and turned his attention back to the groom and groom. So
much for Owen’s protests that he didn’t see the point in weddings and that they
were outdated, pointless events that were stupid even for straight couples
unless they were religious. Even if he didn’t believe in the principle of
marriage—gay or otherwise—it was nice to see he wasn’t totally immune to the
emotion of the occasion. Nathan was going to enjoy taking the piss out of Owen
later. But in the meantime, he reached for Owen’s hand and squeezed. Owen
squeezed back.
Nathan’s
eyes were moist too by the time they’d finished. The part where the celebrant
said “I now pronounce you husband and husband” really set him off. Simon looked
so utterly radiant after he and Jack finally stopped kissing and turned to face
the wedding guests, hand in hand. Jack was flushed and awkward compared to
Simon. He obviously wasn’t happy being the centre of attention, unlike his new
husband, but his smile was genuine and the joy rolled off both of them,
touching everyone in the room.
Nathan
sighed. Owen’s hand was still in his. Their fingers were tangled together
casually—just like their lives. They’d been in a relationship for over two
years now, living together for half of that, and Nathan had never been happier.
But looking at Simon and Jack, he wanted more. He wanted that. But he was
afraid to ask Owen, because he was pretty sure what his answer would be, and it
wouldn’t be the one Nathan hoped for.
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:
The Marrying Kind is Jay Northcote’s
second novella featuring Nathan and Owen. The first book, The Dating Game, tells
the story of how these two men ended up together and if you haven’t read it yet
you really need to do that first. As my review of that book indicates, reading The
Dating Game won’t be a hardship at all.
I enjoyed every minute of my second encounter
with Nathan and Owen. Two years after their first date they’re still as into
each other as they’ve ever been and neither has any doubts about their
commitment to each other. Nathan wants to take the final step and marry the man
he loves. Owen on the other hand is
happy with the status quo and doesn’t really trust himself to be suited to
married life. It takes a minor disaster to make both men realize that being
together is far more important than the presence or absence of a ring on their
fingers.
I had a wry smile on my face during a lot of
this story. I couldn’t help thinking that the things that separate us are
nothing compared to everything that connects us. Show me almost any couple
about to be married and I show you a couple going through many of the fights
and much of the nervous tension Owen and Nathan put themselves and each other
through.
As always Jay Northcote managed to take an
everyday situation and turn it into a magical tale. It is impossible to read
Jay’s books and not get caught up in her character’s lives. The Marrying
Kind is a gentle tale describing the sort of situation most, if not
all, of us can relate to as experienced by two men it’s impossible not to like.
As such it is a one-sitting read; you won’t want to put your E-reader down
until Owen and Nathan have reached the happy ending they so richly deserve.
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