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liza5326's review against another edition
3.0
I think this is my least favorite JL Merrow read. I honestly had to force myself to keep going. Michael was an ass whose only redeeming quality was his love for his mother. Rufus was a wimp with no balls who was afraid to be a man. Everyone treated his stepmother, Shelly, like she was a complete moron and his father was an ass, too. Liz and Trix were just thrown in for "Comic Relief" and weren't even that funny. Ugh. The only part I did like was the sweet epilogue, and not just because it was over.
suze_1624's review against another edition
4.0
Well, quite a bit different to other JL Merrow books, but also similar - and that is the story of my thoughts on this book - yes, but also no.
I don't think I warmed to Michael at all. He did have some redeeming reatures and a controlling mother but he was a bit obnoxious.
Rufus was just too keen and eager yet also too quick to hold himself back. Though as I also live on a holiday island, can understand both the need to go and to stay - and the restrictions the ferry can put on this.
Everybody needed a bit of growing up and it was a bit of a mad cap story - I think Michael just made it not quite the rom-com it was intended for me.
Also doesn't help that the cover model for Michael looks cheeky-chappie not neanderthal.
I also listened to a lot of this on an audio copy and I did like Mark Steadman's narration very much. It is a very intensely British story - more so than normal - and his voice just added to it.
It did pull me in as all JL Merrow's stories do and I actually think the Michael and Rufus in the epilogue are probably a much more solid pairing. So going for 3.5+*
I don't think I warmed to Michael at all. He did have some redeeming reatures and a controlling mother but he was a bit obnoxious.
Rufus was just too keen and eager yet also too quick to hold himself back. Though as I also live on a holiday island, can understand both the need to go and to stay - and the restrictions the ferry can put on this.
Everybody needed a bit of growing up and it was a bit of a mad cap story - I think Michael just made it not quite the rom-com it was intended for me.
Also doesn't help that the cover model for Michael looks cheeky-chappie not neanderthal.
I also listened to a lot of this on an audio copy and I did like Mark Steadman's narration very much. It is a very intensely British story - more so than normal - and his voice just added to it.
It did pull me in as all JL Merrow's stories do and I actually think the Michael and Rufus in the epilogue are probably a much more solid pairing. So going for 3.5+*
veritytease's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars
So, what's there to do out of season on the Isle of Wight, dumped, soaking wet and homeless?
Michael finds himself flying right off the pier into choppy waters when his bodybuilder kick boxer girlfriend expresses her displeasure at being unceremoniously dumped mid marriage proposal.
One woman's trash is another man's treat
If ever there was an award given for the most "blokey" MM book author, Merrow wins hands down. Her protagonists are quintessential British working class lads straight off Corrie or Eastenders and I can't help being drawn in by the madness and mayhem that ensures.
Don't get me wrong, there's a bunch of stuff wrong with this book- the plot is just ridiculous at times, so is the insta-love. It's as believable as me joining a ballet company and predictable to boot.
Don't even get me started on the character who are beyond stereotypical.
Worse still, I honestly don't think I've ever encountered an MC that I still loathed as I was reaching the last page (I'm looking at you, Michael!). Till the very last moment I really felt that Rufus could do so much better but the heart wants...
Having said that, I found this to be a really enjoyable read on a sunny spring day and after a bunch of disappointing sequels that generally didn't live up to my expectations, it was nice to go in merely wanting to be amused. This is a light,breezy, low angst read and sometimes that's enough. I was giggling at how clueless and ignorant Michael was but I really was rooting for a HEA for Rufus, as I was sipping on a good cup of black coffee enjoying my MM read. I also really fell for the secondary characters and I could vicariously live through them as they constantly expressed their loathing for Michael too.
Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
kisilin950's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
the_novel_approach's review
4.0
Lovers Leap is a quirky, fast paced, character driven romantic comedy from JL Merrow. I laughed outright while reading this book, I scowled outright at Michael, I frowned at Rufus, and I grinned with the secondary characters. Never has my face been so expressive while reading a book. I wanted to write an incredibly clever, witty, snappy review for this story but unfortunately, I was not gifted with the art of prose the way JL Merrow was, so I have to resort to just saying that I really liked this book.
Merrow says that she first planned for this story to be a dark comedy, and there are whispers of that forgotten first draft still inside this comedy. The darker plot points could bring this story down, but they are kept from doing so by a quirky dialogue which is so well written that it keeps you entertained as it brings you along on a journey of self-discovery for the two very British main characters.
Michael lives at home, is doted on by his mom, and has a good job. Life is good—life is all about him. He’s a jackass. Then he gets shoved off the Isle of Wight pier by his now ex-girlfriend, and life starts to go downhill (?) from there. Meeting Rufus is life changing for Michael, and learning to put someone else first can be a painful process, but I rooted for Michael to find his happy, and frankly, by the end of this book the romance makes you feel all squishy and warm inside when he does.
Rufus loves his home on the Isle of Wight. Taking a solitary walk along the beach on his birthday, February 29th, he’s pleasantly surprised by the gift Poseidon heaves into his path. Being a leap year baby means it’s only the fifth birthday he has ever had, and the Adonis coming out of the waves toward him only justifies his belief that leap day is special.
Rufus probably should have realised Michael was giving him a funny look, but in his defense, he was a bit distracted.
“Oi. Are you perving on my dick?”
Rufus’s face, which, let’s—hah—face it, had been feeling pretty warm already, went red-hot. “No.” It was possibly the least convincing lie he’d ever told. In a long, sad line of unconvincing lies that went all the way back to “No, I never play with dollies.”
“You’re perving on my dick, aren’t you? Jesus. Here I am, only seconds away from near-death of hypothermia, chafed so bad I practically need a skin graft, and you’re perving on my bloody dick.”
That was totally unfair. Rufus wasn’t just perving on his dick."
Rufus has his own issues, mostly surrounding his family and the bed & breakfast they run. He finds his courage in Michael, and it is his humor and personality which carry the book forward. Frankly, you may not always like these two guys. They each have some issues to deal with, and this wasn’t my favorite JL Merrow book, but by the end you will love these two guys, especially together. If you are looking for a witty rom-com, then you will totally enjoy this story. It’s an easy read…and don’t be surprised when you find yourself snorting out loud!
Reviewed by Carrie for The Novel Approach Reviews
http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.com/review-lovers-leap-by-jl-merrow/
Merrow says that she first planned for this story to be a dark comedy, and there are whispers of that forgotten first draft still inside this comedy. The darker plot points could bring this story down, but they are kept from doing so by a quirky dialogue which is so well written that it keeps you entertained as it brings you along on a journey of self-discovery for the two very British main characters.
Michael lives at home, is doted on by his mom, and has a good job. Life is good—life is all about him. He’s a jackass. Then he gets shoved off the Isle of Wight pier by his now ex-girlfriend, and life starts to go downhill (?) from there. Meeting Rufus is life changing for Michael, and learning to put someone else first can be a painful process, but I rooted for Michael to find his happy, and frankly, by the end of this book the romance makes you feel all squishy and warm inside when he does.
Rufus loves his home on the Isle of Wight. Taking a solitary walk along the beach on his birthday, February 29th, he’s pleasantly surprised by the gift Poseidon heaves into his path. Being a leap year baby means it’s only the fifth birthday he has ever had, and the Adonis coming out of the waves toward him only justifies his belief that leap day is special.
Rufus probably should have realised Michael was giving him a funny look, but in his defense, he was a bit distracted.
“Oi. Are you perving on my dick?”
Rufus’s face, which, let’s—hah—face it, had been feeling pretty warm already, went red-hot. “No.” It was possibly the least convincing lie he’d ever told. In a long, sad line of unconvincing lies that went all the way back to “No, I never play with dollies.”
“You’re perving on my dick, aren’t you? Jesus. Here I am, only seconds away from near-death of hypothermia, chafed so bad I practically need a skin graft, and you’re perving on my bloody dick.”
That was totally unfair. Rufus wasn’t just perving on his dick."
Rufus has his own issues, mostly surrounding his family and the bed & breakfast they run. He finds his courage in Michael, and it is his humor and personality which carry the book forward. Frankly, you may not always like these two guys. They each have some issues to deal with, and this wasn’t my favorite JL Merrow book, but by the end you will love these two guys, especially together. If you are looking for a witty rom-com, then you will totally enjoy this story. It’s an easy read…and don’t be surprised when you find yourself snorting out loud!
Reviewed by Carrie for The Novel Approach Reviews
http://www.thenovelapproachreviews.com/review-lovers-leap-by-jl-merrow/
dobbsthedog's review
2.0
Oh my god, this book was awful! The only reason I finished it was because I read it for a reading challenge, otherwise I would have put it down pretty quick. My local library has very little in the way of LGBTQ+ romance, so when I saw this I picked it up. But ugh, it was so bad. And this wasn't even just poorly written romance, this was poorly written fiction with a bit of sex thrown in here and there.
Unlikeable characters and poorly written English dialect, there was nothing about this book that I liked.
Unlikeable characters and poorly written English dialect, there was nothing about this book that I liked.
poultrymunitions's review
agony.
fuck, that was...
that was painful.
it's like someone replaced j.l. merrow with the friends writing team, gave them three cases of frutanzia pink wine spritzer beverage product, and handed them a single minions-themed netbook between them with the instruction to "make it like royle family, but unbrilliant and with gayfuckery."
jokes so forced i'm shocked my ass don't hurt.
a main couple so dumb, one of them still needs to cross his fingers to lie, while the other thinks writing his number on a dude's face in permanent marker is a friendly gesture.
actually, that's a good place to perch if i'm gonna explain why this book drove me nuts.
after they fuck (for five minutes, because they're both twelve, apparently), idiot two decides to give idiot one his number.
so:
HYUK HYUK HYUK
what even is this???
juvenile characters, sitcom humor so agonizingly forced i could practically hear a laugh-track, and a story that is basically "when can we fuck again?"
gave up at 35 percent, bewildered, irritated, and talking to my ipad out loud like "who are you and what have you done to the person who wrote [b:muscling through|11045338|Muscling Through|J.L. Merrow|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327900692s/11045338.jpg|15966033]?"
fuck, that was...
that was painful.
it's like someone replaced j.l. merrow with the friends writing team, gave them three cases of frutanzia pink wine spritzer beverage product, and handed them a single minions-themed netbook between them with the instruction to "make it like royle family, but unbrilliant and with gayfuckery."
jokes so forced i'm shocked my ass don't hurt.
a main couple so dumb, one of them still needs to cross his fingers to lie, while the other thinks writing his number on a dude's face in permanent marker is a friendly gesture.
actually, that's a good place to perch if i'm gonna explain why this book drove me nuts.
after they fuck (for five minutes, because they're both twelve, apparently), idiot two decides to give idiot one his number.
so:
1. idiot one lets idiot two write the number on his face
2. idiot two can't tell it's a permanent marker
3. idiot one panics and washes it off—without writing it down first
4. idiot two doesn't have any Issues or Concerns when this is later explained to him
5. idiot one's butch solution to the problem of residual marker ink is to wear a zebra print scarf over his forehead like fey!twink mick jagger, smugly confident in his masculine deception to the fucking end.
HYUK HYUK HYUK
what even is this???
juvenile characters, sitcom humor so agonizingly forced i could practically hear a laugh-track, and a story that is basically "when can we fuck again?"
gave up at 35 percent, bewildered, irritated, and talking to my ipad out loud like "who are you and what have you done to the person who wrote [b:muscling through|11045338|Muscling Through|J.L. Merrow|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327900692s/11045338.jpg|15966033]?"