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lalauren04's review
5.0
What a lovely story this was! Annabelle Jacobs has written a truly wonderful, low angst but incredibly sexy romance, and it has been added straight to my list of 'comfort reads' that I return to again and again when I want a sweet story to put a smile on my face.
Maybe This Time is the perfect story if you're looking for cute main characters with low drama but lots of sweetness and "aww" moments. Matt and Ryan's budding relationship from neighbours to running partners/friends to something more was really wonderful because it just flowed so well and the banter and interactions between them felt so wonderful and real. I adored them together and was really rooting for their happily ever after from pretty much the first page. Let's be honest, despite Matt's whole "I don't do relationships" thing, we all knew that he'd never be able to resist Ryan's charms and cute ways in the end ;)
I liked that their friends and family were both involved in the story, and how close Ryan was with his Mum and Matt with his parents. It was sweet, it showed a more real side to them both, and I just love a story with a good family dynamic and supportive secondary characters.
The ending was WONDERFUL. Absolutely stole my heart and turned me into a pile of mush... So sweet and lovely and I cannot recommend this enough if cute and sweet is your thing.
***I was provided with an ARC of Maybe This Time by Signal Boost Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
Maybe This Time is the perfect story if you're looking for cute main characters with low drama but lots of sweetness and "aww" moments. Matt and Ryan's budding relationship from neighbours to running partners/friends to something more was really wonderful because it just flowed so well and the banter and interactions between them felt so wonderful and real. I adored them together and was really rooting for their happily ever after from pretty much the first page. Let's be honest, despite Matt's whole "I don't do relationships" thing, we all knew that he'd never be able to resist Ryan's charms and cute ways in the end ;)
I liked that their friends and family were both involved in the story, and how close Ryan was with his Mum and Matt with his parents. It was sweet, it showed a more real side to them both, and I just love a story with a good family dynamic and supportive secondary characters.
The ending was WONDERFUL. Absolutely stole my heart and turned me into a pile of mush... So sweet and lovely and I cannot recommend this enough if cute and sweet is your thing.
***I was provided with an ARC of Maybe This Time by Signal Boost Promotions in exchange for an honest review.
myzanm's review
2.0
I had problems with Matt's pissy attitude and Ryan was always drinking or hungover.
It sometimes felt like I knew more about Josh and Sam that of Matt and Ryan.
Not much else to say. It was a miss for me, but I did enjoy the setting...
It sometimes felt like I knew more about Josh and Sam that of Matt and Ryan.
Not much else to say. It was a miss for me, but I did enjoy the setting...
bfdbookblog's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
This is a pretty quick read in which not a whole lot happens. I’m guessing this is the start of a series since we’re introduced to several side characters but I don’t see any indication of that.
When we first meet Matt he seems like an unfriendly arse which is the complete opposite of Ryan’s happy, excited puppy dog behavior. Matt slowly shows us who he really is and I like him better then but I liked Ryan better. Ryan seemed very immature which again is the exact opposite of Matt but I supposed opposites attract. They worked as friends with benefits for me but we never really saw them develop the friendship which leads to Matt wanting more. We only get glimpses of it so we have to assume they bond off-page. Both guys are good guys and seem to enjoy each other.
The story is pretty simple. There is no angst…at all. I guess there is some at Ryan’s job which I still don’t fully understand and is left unresolved (part of the reason I think this is the start of a series). We have a couple of sub-plots with Ryan’s mom and Matt’s parents but nothing too eventful. Josh and Sam are great side characters. I know we met another of Matt’s friends but his name escapes me at the moment. We have a potential future character in Charlie as well.
To me this is a rainy day, ‘need a quick, cute read ‘ kind of book.
This is a pretty quick read in which not a whole lot happens. I’m guessing this is the start of a series since we’re introduced to several side characters but I don’t see any indication of that.
When we first meet Matt he seems like an unfriendly arse which is the complete opposite of Ryan’s happy, excited puppy dog behavior. Matt slowly shows us who he really is and I like him better then but I liked Ryan better. Ryan seemed very immature which again is the exact opposite of Matt but I supposed opposites attract. They worked as friends with benefits for me but we never really saw them develop the friendship which leads to Matt wanting more. We only get glimpses of it so we have to assume they bond off-page. Both guys are good guys and seem to enjoy each other.
The story is pretty simple. There is no angst…at all. I guess there is some at Ryan’s job which I still don’t fully understand and is left unresolved (part of the reason I think this is the start of a series). We have a couple of sub-plots with Ryan’s mom and Matt’s parents but nothing too eventful. Josh and Sam are great side characters. I know we met another of Matt’s friends but his name escapes me at the moment. We have a potential future character in Charlie as well.
To me this is a rainy day, ‘need a quick, cute read ‘ kind of book.
the_novel_approach's review
4.0
~ 3.5 Stars ~
Matt Thomas has spent most of his life denying that he needs a permanent partner to be happy. Balking against his family’s hopes that he will settle down, and his best friend’s disbelief that he doesn’t secretly want more than just casual sex, Matt has convinced himself that he is quite happy being a loner with no ties to anyone. Then he meets his new neighbor, and what begins as a no-strings-friends-with-benefits arrangement slowly morphs into something more. But Matt is spending so much time and energy fighting against his attraction for Ryan he almost loses not only their friendship but the reality that both men could maybe make a go of something more—a deeper and more meaningful relationship, one that scares Matt completely.
Ryan has had his fair share of heartache and getting too far ahead of himself in a relationship. So when his smoking hot neighbor offers no-strings-attached sex, he is positive he can handle it. The only problem is that somewhere along the way, the message never got from Ryan’s head to his heart. Before he knows it, Ryan is falling for Matt, but those feelings are never going to be reciprocated…or are they?
I really wanted to love this story—I truly did. Ryan was just incredibly kind and humorous. His bumbling ways accentuated by his tender heart really made for a character that sunk his teeth into the reader in all the good ways. I found myself rooting for him despite the fact that Matt often appeared to be a real horse’s you-know-what. Matt was rather full of himself and had bought his own insensitive loner cred hook, line and sinker. I found it really hard to like this guy, primarily because he actually didn’t like himself all that much.
The attraction between the two men was labored, at times, primarily because Matt was so determined to remain emotionally aloof. That whole shtick wore thin after a while as the main plot device keeping this story from progressing. I found myself wanting something to happen, even if it was a tired old trope of two men bogged down in miscommunication, which actually nearly happened at one point when Matt sees the office lothario trying to kiss Ryan. But, alas, that too seemed to fizzle much too quickly, leaving behind this laboring story about one guy denying he needs more than a series of detached one-night stands to fulfill him.
It wasn’t so much that Maybe This Time was too slowly paced (although it was, at times), but more that it lacked a certain spark that made me hunger to see how the whole story played out. I lost interest in these two guys about halfway through, and the author did little to recapture my attention, unfortunately. With both characters bent on denying what they felt, the novel never seemed to take off, the men never seemed to really connect emotionally, and that was truly unfortunate.
In the end, Maybe This Time was just an average story that fell short of being interesting enough to hold my attention. I feel this author has real talent and will be on the lookout for another of her stories, as I think this one does not do her talents as a storyteller real justice.
Reviewed by Sammy for The Novel Approach
Matt Thomas has spent most of his life denying that he needs a permanent partner to be happy. Balking against his family’s hopes that he will settle down, and his best friend’s disbelief that he doesn’t secretly want more than just casual sex, Matt has convinced himself that he is quite happy being a loner with no ties to anyone. Then he meets his new neighbor, and what begins as a no-strings-friends-with-benefits arrangement slowly morphs into something more. But Matt is spending so much time and energy fighting against his attraction for Ryan he almost loses not only their friendship but the reality that both men could maybe make a go of something more—a deeper and more meaningful relationship, one that scares Matt completely.
Ryan has had his fair share of heartache and getting too far ahead of himself in a relationship. So when his smoking hot neighbor offers no-strings-attached sex, he is positive he can handle it. The only problem is that somewhere along the way, the message never got from Ryan’s head to his heart. Before he knows it, Ryan is falling for Matt, but those feelings are never going to be reciprocated…or are they?
I really wanted to love this story—I truly did. Ryan was just incredibly kind and humorous. His bumbling ways accentuated by his tender heart really made for a character that sunk his teeth into the reader in all the good ways. I found myself rooting for him despite the fact that Matt often appeared to be a real horse’s you-know-what. Matt was rather full of himself and had bought his own insensitive loner cred hook, line and sinker. I found it really hard to like this guy, primarily because he actually didn’t like himself all that much.
The attraction between the two men was labored, at times, primarily because Matt was so determined to remain emotionally aloof. That whole shtick wore thin after a while as the main plot device keeping this story from progressing. I found myself wanting something to happen, even if it was a tired old trope of two men bogged down in miscommunication, which actually nearly happened at one point when Matt sees the office lothario trying to kiss Ryan. But, alas, that too seemed to fizzle much too quickly, leaving behind this laboring story about one guy denying he needs more than a series of detached one-night stands to fulfill him.
It wasn’t so much that Maybe This Time was too slowly paced (although it was, at times), but more that it lacked a certain spark that made me hunger to see how the whole story played out. I lost interest in these two guys about halfway through, and the author did little to recapture my attention, unfortunately. With both characters bent on denying what they felt, the novel never seemed to take off, the men never seemed to really connect emotionally, and that was truly unfortunate.
In the end, Maybe This Time was just an average story that fell short of being interesting enough to hold my attention. I feel this author has real talent and will be on the lookout for another of her stories, as I think this one does not do her talents as a storyteller real justice.
Reviewed by Sammy for The Novel Approach
cadiva's review
4.0
Gentle pacing and lacking in angst equals a sweet romance
Just like her fellow West Country author Jay Northcote, there's something about Annabelle Jacobs' writing which speaks to me and I always enjoy her romances.
This one is no exception with two older MCs, one 30 and one 38, who almost accidentally fall into a friends with benefits relationship that slowly develops into more.
I loved both Matt and Ryan, neither of them were dramatically angsty, the majority of tension and conflict coming from Matt's father's frailties and his stubbornness over wanting a 'proper' relationship.
Ryan, having been burnt before with an FWB relationship, is keeping his feelings guarded but the way they slip I'll not something more felt organic.
This book is also unashamedly British, another thing I love this author's work for. We have bacon butties and brown sauce, copious cups of tea, drunken Friday nights with curry afterwards, fry ups for breakfast and Tesco Express (a supermarket mini-store for the non Brits).
Loved it. It only loses a star for being perhaps a bit too sweet and easy, not that I'd expect dramady just for the sake of it. But Matt's turnaround was possibly a little quick.
Just like her fellow West Country author Jay Northcote, there's something about Annabelle Jacobs' writing which speaks to me and I always enjoy her romances.
This one is no exception with two older MCs, one 30 and one 38, who almost accidentally fall into a friends with benefits relationship that slowly develops into more.
I loved both Matt and Ryan, neither of them were dramatically angsty, the majority of tension and conflict coming from Matt's father's frailties and his stubbornness over wanting a 'proper' relationship.
Ryan, having been burnt before with an FWB relationship, is keeping his feelings guarded but the way they slip I'll not something more felt organic.
This book is also unashamedly British, another thing I love this author's work for. We have bacon butties and brown sauce, copious cups of tea, drunken Friday nights with curry afterwards, fry ups for breakfast and Tesco Express (a supermarket mini-store for the non Brits).
Loved it. It only loses a star for being perhaps a bit too sweet and easy, not that I'd expect dramady just for the sake of it. But Matt's turnaround was possibly a little quick.
georgiewhoissarahdrew's review
2.0
I can appreciate that Jacobs is offering a competently written, slow-paced book, with no dramatic incidents, closer to real-life than many others. But if that's the case, there needs to be some compensating depth of observation, characterisation or motivation.
Unfortunately, MTT is just flabby. Too much filler material - in some hands, a discussion about washing-machines could be illuminating. Here? Not so much.
Unfortunately, MTT is just flabby. Too much filler material - in some hands, a discussion about washing-machines could be illuminating. Here? Not so much.
alisreads's review
3.0
might be a bit rushed toward the end, and a weird something-that-supposed-to-be-called-climax problem before they are settled down. the epilog was lovely, tho. a fun quick read for sure.
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