Gennie’s Review – Hard Tail by J.L. Merrow

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Description:
Finding love can be a bumpy ride.

His job: downsized out of existence. His marriage: dead in the water. It doesn’t take a lot of arm twisting for Tim Knight to agree to get out of London and take over his injured brother’s mountain bike shop for a while. A few weeks in Southampton is a welcome break from the wreck his life has become, even though he feels like a fish out of water in this brave new world of outdoor sports and unfamiliar technical jargon.

The young man who falls—literally—through the door of the shop brings everything into sharp, unexpected focus. Tim barely accepts he’s even in the closet until his attraction to Matt Berridge pulls him close enough to touch the doorknob.

There’s only one problem with the loveable klutz: his bullying boyfriend. Tim is convinced Steve is the cause of the bruises that Matt blows off as part of his risky sport. But rising to the defense of the man he’s beginning to love means coming to terms with who he is—in public—in a battle not even his black belt prepared him to fight. Until now.

Product Warnings
Contains an out-and-proud klutz, a closeted, karate-loving accountant—and a cat who thinks it’s all about him. Watch for a cameo appearance from the Pricks and Pragmatism lovers. May inspire yearnings for fresh air, exercise, and a fit, tanned bike mechanic of your very own.

Gennie’s Thoughts:
I wasn’t sure what to expect of Hard Tail by J.L. Merrow, but as I like several other books by this author, I decided to give it a shot. I am very happy I did! As always with this English author, the main characters are lovable and quirky and the secondary characters are compelling and push the story forward.

This story is told from Tim’s point of view. For most of his life Tim’s been in the closet because it was just easier to be “normal” than make waves. Tim’s world collapses around him at the age of twenty-eight and his brother breaks his leg, so Tim finds himself running his brother’s bike shop, much closer to his Mum and Dad, and he has no idea what he’s doing in either arena. Enter the shop’s only employee, Matt, the loveable klutz who seems to know all about bikes and how to fix them.

Tim struggles with the pull he feels toward Matt, but Matt is taken and as was stated earlier, Tim really hates making waves. But the story progresses and Tim finds himself disturbingly attached and protective of Matt who may not be as clumsy as he lets everyone belive. The secondary characters are fun and eccentric and I look forward to perhaps getting a book about Adam, Matt’s best mate.

If you like not quite so mid-life crisis stories in which the main characters learn to accept who they really are and find that family might not be such a bad thing, then this book’s for you. Also, there is a rather large ginger cat who believes he belongs in the story, but perhaps not. The truth is Wolverine may just steal a few scenes and keep one of the main characters out of trouble!

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