Author: Annabelle Jacobs
Release Date: June 3 2016
Length: 60,000 words
Buy Link: myBook.to/Always_Another_Side
Price: 3.99
Blurb:
Starting over at forty is hard work for landscape architect Jack Bowman. His long-term partner hurt him badly. With his self-esteem dented by the break up, trusting a new lover is going to take time.
Tyler Freeman is equally unlucky when it comes to love. Now that he’s over thirty-five, he’s tired of getting played. All he wants is someone special. How hard can it be to meet a man who’s honest, with no hidden surprises?
Being set up on a blind date might be a classic cliché, but it’s a stroke of good luck for Jack and Tyler. They have a lot in common, including previous relationships steeped in deceit, but it’s worth navigating their trust issues if it means laying those ghosts to rest.
Making it work finally seems possible—until an accidental discovery threatens their newfound happiness.
Excerpt
Everyone said their goodbyes, and Jack tried not to notice the blatant, knowing looks being passed around. He had no doubt he’d be getting some nosy texts later. On the plus side, at least he wouldn’t be the only one.
Now it was only the two of them, they wandered into the bar area and snagged a small table by the fireplace. It wasn’t lit—the late-April weather had been far too mild to warrant an open fire. The Saturday-night crowd from earlier had clearly moved on to somewhere else, and the room had quietened considerably.
“Thanks for offering me a lift.” Tyler smiled and took a sip of his drink. “I wasn’t ready to leave yet.”
“Me neither.” Jack had bought another Coke, and he ran his finger down through the condensation on the outside of the glass. “I have to admit I was a bit—a lot sceptical about whether or not this was a good idea.”
Tyler glanced up and met his gaze. “Meeting me?”
Jack’s smile was wry. “I was talking about the whole blind date thing, but yeah… I guess it was meeting you in general.” He cringed as he said it, perhaps not the best thing to say to someone whom you were hoping to go out with again. And despite Jack’s misgivings and preconceptions, he liked Tyler.
Tyler cocked his head to one side and frowned, as though he wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Jack had probably offended him, because no one liked to hear that sort of thing. But then, he’d offered to drive Tyler home so they could spend more time together—alone—so Tyler must realise Jack wanted to get to know him better. Or maybe not. If Jack had learned one thing from his breakup with Simon, it was that communication was key. Never assume someone knew what you meant or what you were thinking.
“I know that sounds bad, and it’s nothing personal. Christ, I’m pulling out all the clichés tonight, but it really was a case of it being me and not you.” Jack laughed and scrubbed a hand over his face. “Shit. Just when it was going so well. I’ve managed to fuck it up, haven’t I?”
My Review
I’ve been trying to
come up with a good word to describe this book and the term I keep on coming back
to is: refreshing.
It was refreshing to
read a book in which two grown up men mostly behave like grown up men. It was
equally refreshing to read a book in which conflict doesn’t automatically mean
drama and shouting matches followed by one or the other storming off. Mostly it
was refreshing to read a book in which the characters for once did what I’m
always willing characters in other books to do: talk to each other.
Now, before you
think everything I said in the previous paragraph means ‘Always Another Side’ is a
boring book, allow me to reassure you. This book was touching, the story
gripping and both Jack and Tyler charmed their way into my reader’s heart. I
loved their no-nonsense approach towards each other.
“I don’t have time
or energy to pretend to be something I’m not for the sake of a quick shag. This
is me, warts and all.” – Jack
Although their first
meeting is a reluctantly agreed to blind date for both of them, it is instantly
clear they click on several levels. Because they’re both dealing with unresolved
hurts and issues they decide to take their time getting to know each other, but
mutual attraction speeds to process up.
Of course there were
bumps in the road for these two, but none of them lead to drawn out or massive
fights. The biggest hurdle between them didn’t come as a huge shock to me (in
fact, I would have been shocked if it hadn’t been the case) but then again, I
don’t think it was supposed to surprise me.
I can’t tell you how
rewarding it was for me to read about characters dealing with issues in a way I
(would like to think I) would deal with them. Well written, smooth to read,
wonderfully British, and with two realistic and interesting main characters, ‘Always
Another Side’ comes very close to being an ultimate comfort read for me.
J
Author Bio
Author Links
Email – ajacobsfiction@gmail.com
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