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Emergency Contact
When Liam's best friend has to leave town on business, he asks for a favor—be an emergency contact for his cousin who is new in town. Liam doesn’t think twice before he accepts. He's great with numbers and confidently plays the odds, because nobody ever uses those emergency contacts, right? Wrong. The very next Sunday, cousin Garrett shows up at Liam’s apartment, fresh-faced, devastatingly gorgeous, and nothing like Liam had dismissively assumed.Garrett arrived in New York City hoping to make it in the modeling world, and Liam isn't sure what to do with him. While he eventually warms to welcome the distraction, he’s not prepared to have his steady, predictable world overturned. Liam is sure Garrett will soon tire of him and find someone closer in age and less eager for the quiet, settled life Liam prefers. But Garrett is too sweet-natured and naïve to recognize Liam’s dismissal, and he’s not as shallow as Liam presumes.Although Garrett sees a future for the two of them, Liam manages to push him away. It is only then Liam sees the Garrett-shaped hole in his life.
200 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 6, 2015
5 people are currently reading
141 people want to read
About the author
Elle Brownlee
14 books24 followersElle Brownlee has always followed her creative, adventuring spirit.
Growing up she loved westerns and taking long hikes. On these explorations she'd craft miniature worlds with moss and rocks while making up stories about everything that happened there. This often included dashing cowboy heroes.
As an adult, not a lot has changed. She still loves westerns, long hikes, and allowing her imagination to roam. She’s so thankful to be able to share her work with a growing audience, and especially grateful to have you reading along.
Growing up she loved westerns and taking long hikes. On these explorations she'd craft miniature worlds with moss and rocks while making up stories about everything that happened there. This often included dashing cowboy heroes.
As an adult, not a lot has changed. She still loves westerns, long hikes, and allowing her imagination to roam. She’s so thankful to be able to share her work with a growing audience, and especially grateful to have you reading along.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
dnf
March 8, 201513% and I'm done. The blurb sounded interesting, but the writing style feels stilted and I cannot connect to any of the few characters. We live it Liam's head and it's rather difficult and boring.
Sorry, book!
Sorry, book!
May 19, 2015
This book took me by surprise, to be honest. I liked the blurb, which made me request it for review, but I wasn't quite prepared for what I found within its pages.
It's part character study, part life lesson for making assumptions, and part quiet romance that grew on me. I was initially a little bit bored, because nothing really happened, but as we get deeper into Liam's mind, seeing how quickly Garrett makes himself a part of Liam's life, how well the two men fit together, I was more and more spellbound.
Yes, the writing tends to be a bit on the drier side, with lots of big words being used, but that actually fit the character the author created in Liam. Someone who's educated, highly analytical, mathematical to the point of using precise calculations on where to put ornaments on a Christmas tree - such a man will not use small, everyday words. No, such a man will use words that most of us won't employ in our daily lives, and thus it fit.
I almost thought that Liam might be borderline on Autism spectrum, though that is never mentioned. He has a difficult time believing that someone would like him or love him, and he is insecure about himself. He doesn't think that his lifestyle is something a man like Garrett, young and open and enthusiastic, might want, and he is quite adept at talking himself into self-doubt at every corner.
I liked Garrett. He was steady, steadfast, and continued his path despite Liam's hang-ups. He had convictions, he acted by them, and he got his man in the end.
There's very little on-screen sex, which actually added to the overall experience of this book, and while the two men engage in bedroom antics relatively early on, this also felt right in the overall story line.
I would have liked to have reached into the book on occasion to smack Liam a little, especially when he almost succeeds in giving up that what he's come to need, but I did feel rather proud of him when he realizes the mistake he's made and sets upon correcting it. With a little help from Garrett, of course.
Lots of self-inflicted angst, for sure, but I think this is worth your time reading. It is a quiet book, for sure, but it packs a punch.
**I received a free copy from the publisher. A positive review was not promised in return. **
It's part character study, part life lesson for making assumptions, and part quiet romance that grew on me. I was initially a little bit bored, because nothing really happened, but as we get deeper into Liam's mind, seeing how quickly Garrett makes himself a part of Liam's life, how well the two men fit together, I was more and more spellbound.
Yes, the writing tends to be a bit on the drier side, with lots of big words being used, but that actually fit the character the author created in Liam. Someone who's educated, highly analytical, mathematical to the point of using precise calculations on where to put ornaments on a Christmas tree - such a man will not use small, everyday words. No, such a man will use words that most of us won't employ in our daily lives, and thus it fit.
I almost thought that Liam might be borderline on Autism spectrum, though that is never mentioned. He has a difficult time believing that someone would like him or love him, and he is insecure about himself. He doesn't think that his lifestyle is something a man like Garrett, young and open and enthusiastic, might want, and he is quite adept at talking himself into self-doubt at every corner.
I liked Garrett. He was steady, steadfast, and continued his path despite Liam's hang-ups. He had convictions, he acted by them, and he got his man in the end.
There's very little on-screen sex, which actually added to the overall experience of this book, and while the two men engage in bedroom antics relatively early on, this also felt right in the overall story line.
I would have liked to have reached into the book on occasion to smack Liam a little, especially when he almost succeeds in giving up that what he's come to need, but I did feel rather proud of him when he realizes the mistake he's made and sets upon correcting it. With a little help from Garrett, of course.
Lots of self-inflicted angst, for sure, but I think this is worth your time reading. It is a quiet book, for sure, but it packs a punch.
**I received a free copy from the publisher. A positive review was not promised in return. **
March 9, 2015
I wouldn't be surprised if the author was constantly checking a thesaurus. There are many cases in this book where the author could have used a simpler word or wording, but instead chose to use words much more archaic. "...seemingly flummoxed at the very notion of making an overture." "Liam gave in, an increment. His equations were already being amended." The whole book is full of sentences like that making it a very dry read. It felt more like a chore then a pleasure to read and finish this story.
March 30, 2015
Note: This book was provided to me by the publisher through Hearts on Fire Reviews in exchange for an impartial review.
Liam, a loner, math genius, and lover of just hanging out at home, agrees to a request by his friend Carl to be the emergency contact for Carl’s cousin Garrett while Carl is out of town. Garrett, a farm-raised Iowan, is in town to pursue a modeling career and it’s his first time in The Big Apple so Carl wants to be sure that if he needs anything, someone will be available to help him.
Calculating the odds that Garrett will actually contact him, Liam figures it’s no big deal so he agrees, but in this case the odds were against him because Garrett shows up at Liam’s apartment on Sunday morning with his arms loaded down with grocery bags. Garrett is planning to make dinner for Liam in thanks for being his contact. So much for Carl conveying all the necessary information. Liam is a bit peeved because he was planning to veg out and just play with his mathematical formulas by drawing elliptical and spiral designs or just nap. But he quickly gets over being upset as he starts to learn more about Garrett and finds out the two actually have a lot in common.
They have so much in common, in fact, that from that point on they are rarely apart, and before Liam knows it, Garrett has virtually moved in with him. He has reservations about his age, his personality, and how long Garrett might actually stay, though. Garrett is gorgeous and before long it’s quite evident Garrett is in demand as a model. And, after accompanying Garrett to a few parties and model assignments overseas, Liam becomes more convinced that he doesn’t belong in Garrett’s world. He never gives himself fully to the enjoyment of their time together. He tries, and a few times he comes close to being carefree, but that’s not the way he was raised, and it’s not the way his mathematical mind works. He’s convinced he’s boring and refuses to believe Garrett when he tells Liam that this work is only temporary. His real goal is to become a research librarian. He’s truly a geek at heart and enjoys nothing more than a good book. Readers are even given a sneak peek into Garrett’s organizational skills when Liam accidentally discovers a spreadsheet on Garrett’s notebook. Long story short—Liam remains clueless about his own attraction to Garrett and just doesn’t hear Garrett’s words when he talks about the future.
When Liam discovers that Garrett has been offered a role in a TV show, he starts to take steps to remove himself from Garrett’s life and break the spiral he had created in his mind that would have eventually bound them together. It may be evident at this point that this reviewer, being a typical reader, wanted to smack him upside the head more than once. It was so frustrating to listen to his thoughts! Yet, the author did such a good job in her storytelling, that I just knew that eventually we’d get to the moment when he’d smack himself. And we did! And it was so worth waiting for.
I enjoyed this story very much. One little quirk though—the two began to more or less live together right away, but it wasn’t until the second half of the book that we find out they were actually having penetrative sex. There’s very little on-page sex in the story, and very little mention of it in the first half, so it was actually hard to figure out if they were in that type of committed relationship. It might have been assumed, but sometimes I wondered if they just slept together with an occasional hand-job since the focus was so often on Liam’s self-doubt.
There’s lots of math-related terminology in this story so if you know of any math gurus who love M/M romance, this is the book for them. I enjoyed the calculated mathematical thinking because I know a lot of heavily left-brain thinkers who struggle with the abstract and have difficulty just feeling, and I could easily picture them in this role. It’s all about thinking to them—they have trouble getting out of their heads and into their hearts. And Liam fits that bill to a T. Liam is so deeply into his left brain that he even calculated distances for patterns when he was ready to decorate his Christmas tree. But, he’s also a sweet, chivalrous gentleman raised by his upper class parents to be polite and to always keep proper etiquette in mind so it tends to make him seem older than he is. About eight years younger, Garrett seems more youthful—he’s more outgoing and spontaneous, yet he’s also quiet and comfortable, wrapping himself in a blanket on the lounge chair, popping on his glasses, and settling in to read a good book. The two together make a great couple. In fact, they are the perfect formula for a nice story that will have you rooting for their HEA all the way to the end.
Recommended for lovers of M/M romance who enjoy self-inflicted angst, age gap, and a sweet finale.
Liam, a loner, math genius, and lover of just hanging out at home, agrees to a request by his friend Carl to be the emergency contact for Carl’s cousin Garrett while Carl is out of town. Garrett, a farm-raised Iowan, is in town to pursue a modeling career and it’s his first time in The Big Apple so Carl wants to be sure that if he needs anything, someone will be available to help him.
Calculating the odds that Garrett will actually contact him, Liam figures it’s no big deal so he agrees, but in this case the odds were against him because Garrett shows up at Liam’s apartment on Sunday morning with his arms loaded down with grocery bags. Garrett is planning to make dinner for Liam in thanks for being his contact. So much for Carl conveying all the necessary information. Liam is a bit peeved because he was planning to veg out and just play with his mathematical formulas by drawing elliptical and spiral designs or just nap. But he quickly gets over being upset as he starts to learn more about Garrett and finds out the two actually have a lot in common.
They have so much in common, in fact, that from that point on they are rarely apart, and before Liam knows it, Garrett has virtually moved in with him. He has reservations about his age, his personality, and how long Garrett might actually stay, though. Garrett is gorgeous and before long it’s quite evident Garrett is in demand as a model. And, after accompanying Garrett to a few parties and model assignments overseas, Liam becomes more convinced that he doesn’t belong in Garrett’s world. He never gives himself fully to the enjoyment of their time together. He tries, and a few times he comes close to being carefree, but that’s not the way he was raised, and it’s not the way his mathematical mind works. He’s convinced he’s boring and refuses to believe Garrett when he tells Liam that this work is only temporary. His real goal is to become a research librarian. He’s truly a geek at heart and enjoys nothing more than a good book. Readers are even given a sneak peek into Garrett’s organizational skills when Liam accidentally discovers a spreadsheet on Garrett’s notebook. Long story short—Liam remains clueless about his own attraction to Garrett and just doesn’t hear Garrett’s words when he talks about the future.
When Liam discovers that Garrett has been offered a role in a TV show, he starts to take steps to remove himself from Garrett’s life and break the spiral he had created in his mind that would have eventually bound them together. It may be evident at this point that this reviewer, being a typical reader, wanted to smack him upside the head more than once. It was so frustrating to listen to his thoughts! Yet, the author did such a good job in her storytelling, that I just knew that eventually we’d get to the moment when he’d smack himself. And we did! And it was so worth waiting for.
I enjoyed this story very much. One little quirk though—the two began to more or less live together right away, but it wasn’t until the second half of the book that we find out they were actually having penetrative sex. There’s very little on-page sex in the story, and very little mention of it in the first half, so it was actually hard to figure out if they were in that type of committed relationship. It might have been assumed, but sometimes I wondered if they just slept together with an occasional hand-job since the focus was so often on Liam’s self-doubt.
There’s lots of math-related terminology in this story so if you know of any math gurus who love M/M romance, this is the book for them. I enjoyed the calculated mathematical thinking because I know a lot of heavily left-brain thinkers who struggle with the abstract and have difficulty just feeling, and I could easily picture them in this role. It’s all about thinking to them—they have trouble getting out of their heads and into their hearts. And Liam fits that bill to a T. Liam is so deeply into his left brain that he even calculated distances for patterns when he was ready to decorate his Christmas tree. But, he’s also a sweet, chivalrous gentleman raised by his upper class parents to be polite and to always keep proper etiquette in mind so it tends to make him seem older than he is. About eight years younger, Garrett seems more youthful—he’s more outgoing and spontaneous, yet he’s also quiet and comfortable, wrapping himself in a blanket on the lounge chair, popping on his glasses, and settling in to read a good book. The two together make a great couple. In fact, they are the perfect formula for a nice story that will have you rooting for their HEA all the way to the end.
Recommended for lovers of M/M romance who enjoy self-inflicted angst, age gap, and a sweet finale.
March 17, 2015
Liam is an old man in a young, hot body. He doesn’t do the club scene anymore and he’s set in his ways. His buddy sees the opportunity to play matchmaker and sets Liam up with his younger, also hot (model hot) cousin, Garrett.
Garrett is from Iowa, new to New York, here for a modeling job for extra cash between stints at college. He meets Liam pretty much on day one in the city and the two instantly hit it off.
Though Liam and Garrett are pretty immediately a couple, some questions remain. Can Liam open up and form a long term relationship? Is Garrett prepared to live in New York forever? Can Liam share Garrett with the admiring public now that his modeling career has taken off? Is Garrett too young for Liam and too young for a permanent relationship?
Things get dicey when Liam gives up hope and takes a job in Seattle, abruptly abandoning Garrett, but true love prevails and we end up with a solid HEA in the end.
**
I loved the promise of this story and was captivated by the first chapter. Liam is sort of a curmudgeonly character, set in his ways, quiet, always doing a puzzle, very in-his-own-head type of guy. Garrett is Pollyanna – very open, sunny and a great foil to Liam.
I got a bit nervous when the couple became a couple within the first chapters. There wasn’t a lot of build up to them becoming lovers and the anticipation that can bring was definitely missed.
As the story progressed it became more about the established couple dealing with Garrett’s fame and Liam’s insecurities. Because of this, it was not exactly the story I was anticipating by reading the blurb. It was almost more of an established couple book, and as the book references, a “Dreamgirls” type book, where Liam has to deal with Garrett’s fame more than I was expecting.
On the one hand I really appreciated the care and skill the author took with her writing. It is clear that she chose her words carefully. However, I sometimes had trouble with the flow and struggled to stay fully engaged. One thing that kept throwing me out of the story was the dialog. I thought that Liam sounded like an old man, and that fit his character. But so did Garrett … and everyone else. The language used felt very formal and high-brow and though it’s a stereotype, I just never saw the Iowan in Garrett. His character just never rang true.
Because the simmer of anticipation was blown out so early in the story, I found myself slogging through the remaining angst of the story with a minimum of interest.
Though I really liked the MCs, toward the end I just wasn’t that invested in their HEA.
Writing/Editing 4
Romance 2
Sex/Heat 3
Storyline 2
World Building/Characterizations 5
Overall 3.2 of 5 hearts
Garrett is from Iowa, new to New York, here for a modeling job for extra cash between stints at college. He meets Liam pretty much on day one in the city and the two instantly hit it off.
Though Liam and Garrett are pretty immediately a couple, some questions remain. Can Liam open up and form a long term relationship? Is Garrett prepared to live in New York forever? Can Liam share Garrett with the admiring public now that his modeling career has taken off? Is Garrett too young for Liam and too young for a permanent relationship?
Things get dicey when Liam gives up hope and takes a job in Seattle, abruptly abandoning Garrett, but true love prevails and we end up with a solid HEA in the end.
**
I loved the promise of this story and was captivated by the first chapter. Liam is sort of a curmudgeonly character, set in his ways, quiet, always doing a puzzle, very in-his-own-head type of guy. Garrett is Pollyanna – very open, sunny and a great foil to Liam.
I got a bit nervous when the couple became a couple within the first chapters. There wasn’t a lot of build up to them becoming lovers and the anticipation that can bring was definitely missed.
As the story progressed it became more about the established couple dealing with Garrett’s fame and Liam’s insecurities. Because of this, it was not exactly the story I was anticipating by reading the blurb. It was almost more of an established couple book, and as the book references, a “Dreamgirls” type book, where Liam has to deal with Garrett’s fame more than I was expecting.
On the one hand I really appreciated the care and skill the author took with her writing. It is clear that she chose her words carefully. However, I sometimes had trouble with the flow and struggled to stay fully engaged. One thing that kept throwing me out of the story was the dialog. I thought that Liam sounded like an old man, and that fit his character. But so did Garrett … and everyone else. The language used felt very formal and high-brow and though it’s a stereotype, I just never saw the Iowan in Garrett. His character just never rang true.
Because the simmer of anticipation was blown out so early in the story, I found myself slogging through the remaining angst of the story with a minimum of interest.
Though I really liked the MCs, toward the end I just wasn’t that invested in their HEA.
Writing/Editing 4
Romance 2
Sex/Heat 3
Storyline 2
World Building/Characterizations 5
Overall 3.2 of 5 hearts
March 16, 2015
More like 3.5 stars. It would have been an easy four if I didn't spend two-thirds of the book wanting to yell at the MCs to just talk to each other instead of carrying all the unnecessary angst around.
August 27, 2017
I really like the characters in this book but the lack of communication on both their parts gets old. It would have been a richer book if we could have seen them be vulnerable to each other for a few chapters at the end.
I like a Math based character a lot but whoa does Liam have trust issues.
Garrett is wonderful but even he needs to speak up more.
I would read more books by this writer.
I like a Math based character a lot but whoa does Liam have trust issues.
Garrett is wonderful but even he needs to speak up more.
I would read more books by this writer.
March 21, 2015
Very 'wordy' and kind of boring I skimed a lot of it.
March 13, 2015
Review can be read at It's About The Book
One of my favorite experiences is to start a book without holding any pre-conceived expectations and ending up loving it to pieces. The blurb for Emergency Contact had me feeling intrigued, yet skeptical. A plot featuring a country boy moving to the Big Apple and rubbing elbows (and other body parts) with a sophisticated city slicker has been done time and again, right? The marvelous distinction here is the author’s remarkable ability to present and flesh out genuine, fresh, and honest characters. I wanted to know as much as I could about Liam and Garrett. I felt as though I was present during their discovery of each other.
The story is told from Liam’s POV, and starts with a look into his steady and organized life. No, he’s not a control freak, doesn’t have OCD, nor is he a hermit. He’s just… measured and analytical by nature. He believes he has his career and his life – unexciting as they may be – set up and running just fine. Liam is 33. He’s carved out a highly successful lucrative career, he’s also a trust fund kid, yet I didn’t find him as coming off at all as snobby or affected. In fact he possesses a gentlemanly, reserved nature, with passion lingering below the surface. Guarded and afraid of trusting or being vulnerable, Liam is about to get a grand awakening in the form of Garrett Honeycutt.
Garrett is in his early twenties and has newly arrived in NYC to pursue a modeling career. His cousin Carl – who is never in town – gave Liam’s info to Garrett as an emergency contact should he need one. It would be a mistake to underestimate Garrett’s worldliness based on his being from Iowa. He is confident. He knows what he wants and goes about it in a quiet, non- cocky, unassuming fashion. Garrett does not get consumed by NYC or his success. He does however, get consumed by his feelings for Liam. I LOVE when a young character is portrayed as level headed, wise, certain, patient, determined, and kind. Although, it turns out Garrett did have more to learn about communicating.
I loved the slow build to intimacy in this story. Neither Liam or Garrett were fooling each regarding their mutual attraction, but Liam wasn’t keen on getting involved and risking “life as he knows it” and Garrett, well Garrett was patient and probably a bit unsure underneath the confident exterior. I enjoyed the heck out of the details included about the men exploring NYC together. No, it wasn’t a travel log, it was two people getting to know each other, Liam seeing “his” city through the eyes of someone new to her. When they moved into intimacy it was nothing planned, nothing forced, no one person “gave in”… it just … was. And it was beautiful. The few explicit sex scenes in the story were perfectly placed to enhance the emotions of the men and illustrate the growth in their relationship. Gorgeous. The intimacy between the men during the most mundane every- day tasks and moments is also undeniably palpable.
As the story progressed and Garrett’s modeling career started taking off, Liam started pulling back. He’d been worried about this. He’d convinced himself from the start it would be problematic. Garrett was ten years younger, he’d be successful, he’d have the world at his feet, he wouldn’t want to be tied down, etc etc….Perhaps Liam should have paid more attention when Garrett told him this regarding modeling:
“It’s important to me now, because it’ll let me do what’s important to me for my whole life. But it’s not the only thing important, here. Okay?”
I love the theme of this book. It centers around two people who find themselves caught up in each other while learning to navigate their way through the human condition. It contains no mystery, no big reveal, no cops and robbers, no contrived drama, no best friend serving as a relationship guru. (Not that there is anything wrong with those, mind you!) What it contains, what it marvelously shows us, is Liam and Garrett uncovering and exposing their own true selves while figuring out their relationship. Liam earned a few mental slaps from me throughout the story, but I truly came to empathize with him very quickly. He was how he was. And he did face up to it, even though it was a bit late. I may have done a fair bit of muttering and grumbling at him – all out of love! Luckily Garrett was how he was too, and rode out Liam’s denial while owning up to his own failings at communication. They were sort of like two peas in a pod actually. The actions of both men, while at times exasperating, were true to character and completely plausible.
I found Elle Brownlee’s writing to be very sumptuous. Moods and settings were exquisitely conveyed, without the writing being flowery or word heavy. Even though we are only privy to Liam’s thoughts, the dialogue between he and Garrett is real and solid, so there is not much wondering about what Garrett is feeling. Well, until he doesn’t say it…. ;-) I loved how she portrayed the over all feel of certain days, certain activities, yet didn’t feel compelled to divulge other moments at all, such as a session by session progression of their sex life. There were moments later in the book when I felt as though some important events had been glossed over or left out, but really it played into how Liam and Garrett had done just that with each other. Brilliant.
The final chapter provided a wonderful view of how the men were progressing together, minus any kind of forced epilogue or “let’s wind this up” feel. Reading it felt like having a favorite, warm blanket tucked around me at the end of a perfect day.
I did not want to leave these two. Even through their sometimes prickly, sometimes quiet stubbornness I felt an inexorable warmth and rightness radiating from them. I would gladly read the author’s take on them baking bread, playing chess, whale watching, analyzing the dewey decimal system. Anything.
One of my favorite experiences is to start a book without holding any pre-conceived expectations and ending up loving it to pieces. The blurb for Emergency Contact had me feeling intrigued, yet skeptical. A plot featuring a country boy moving to the Big Apple and rubbing elbows (and other body parts) with a sophisticated city slicker has been done time and again, right? The marvelous distinction here is the author’s remarkable ability to present and flesh out genuine, fresh, and honest characters. I wanted to know as much as I could about Liam and Garrett. I felt as though I was present during their discovery of each other.
The story is told from Liam’s POV, and starts with a look into his steady and organized life. No, he’s not a control freak, doesn’t have OCD, nor is he a hermit. He’s just… measured and analytical by nature. He believes he has his career and his life – unexciting as they may be – set up and running just fine. Liam is 33. He’s carved out a highly successful lucrative career, he’s also a trust fund kid, yet I didn’t find him as coming off at all as snobby or affected. In fact he possesses a gentlemanly, reserved nature, with passion lingering below the surface. Guarded and afraid of trusting or being vulnerable, Liam is about to get a grand awakening in the form of Garrett Honeycutt.
Garrett is in his early twenties and has newly arrived in NYC to pursue a modeling career. His cousin Carl – who is never in town – gave Liam’s info to Garrett as an emergency contact should he need one. It would be a mistake to underestimate Garrett’s worldliness based on his being from Iowa. He is confident. He knows what he wants and goes about it in a quiet, non- cocky, unassuming fashion. Garrett does not get consumed by NYC or his success. He does however, get consumed by his feelings for Liam. I LOVE when a young character is portrayed as level headed, wise, certain, patient, determined, and kind. Although, it turns out Garrett did have more to learn about communicating.
I loved the slow build to intimacy in this story. Neither Liam or Garrett were fooling each regarding their mutual attraction, but Liam wasn’t keen on getting involved and risking “life as he knows it” and Garrett, well Garrett was patient and probably a bit unsure underneath the confident exterior. I enjoyed the heck out of the details included about the men exploring NYC together. No, it wasn’t a travel log, it was two people getting to know each other, Liam seeing “his” city through the eyes of someone new to her. When they moved into intimacy it was nothing planned, nothing forced, no one person “gave in”… it just … was. And it was beautiful. The few explicit sex scenes in the story were perfectly placed to enhance the emotions of the men and illustrate the growth in their relationship. Gorgeous. The intimacy between the men during the most mundane every- day tasks and moments is also undeniably palpable.
As the story progressed and Garrett’s modeling career started taking off, Liam started pulling back. He’d been worried about this. He’d convinced himself from the start it would be problematic. Garrett was ten years younger, he’d be successful, he’d have the world at his feet, he wouldn’t want to be tied down, etc etc….Perhaps Liam should have paid more attention when Garrett told him this regarding modeling:
“It’s important to me now, because it’ll let me do what’s important to me for my whole life. But it’s not the only thing important, here. Okay?”
I love the theme of this book. It centers around two people who find themselves caught up in each other while learning to navigate their way through the human condition. It contains no mystery, no big reveal, no cops and robbers, no contrived drama, no best friend serving as a relationship guru. (Not that there is anything wrong with those, mind you!) What it contains, what it marvelously shows us, is Liam and Garrett uncovering and exposing their own true selves while figuring out their relationship. Liam earned a few mental slaps from me throughout the story, but I truly came to empathize with him very quickly. He was how he was. And he did face up to it, even though it was a bit late. I may have done a fair bit of muttering and grumbling at him – all out of love! Luckily Garrett was how he was too, and rode out Liam’s denial while owning up to his own failings at communication. They were sort of like two peas in a pod actually. The actions of both men, while at times exasperating, were true to character and completely plausible.
I found Elle Brownlee’s writing to be very sumptuous. Moods and settings were exquisitely conveyed, without the writing being flowery or word heavy. Even though we are only privy to Liam’s thoughts, the dialogue between he and Garrett is real and solid, so there is not much wondering about what Garrett is feeling. Well, until he doesn’t say it…. ;-) I loved how she portrayed the over all feel of certain days, certain activities, yet didn’t feel compelled to divulge other moments at all, such as a session by session progression of their sex life. There were moments later in the book when I felt as though some important events had been glossed over or left out, but really it played into how Liam and Garrett had done just that with each other. Brilliant.
The final chapter provided a wonderful view of how the men were progressing together, minus any kind of forced epilogue or “let’s wind this up” feel. Reading it felt like having a favorite, warm blanket tucked around me at the end of a perfect day.
I did not want to leave these two. Even through their sometimes prickly, sometimes quiet stubbornness I felt an inexorable warmth and rightness radiating from them. I would gladly read the author’s take on them baking bread, playing chess, whale watching, analyzing the dewey decimal system. Anything.
July 11, 2018
Liam is a no nonsense man of math and likes order and problems with solutions. Garrett falls into his life when he moves from Iowa to NYC to kick off a career in modeling. The story started off well enough, but turned into one of many distractions. I had a hard time believing that the main relationship issue was obvious from week 2, but was never addressed in 6 months. I'm glad I hung on, though, because the ending was worth the wait.
dnf
October 22, 2016DNF at 25% because it's boring and it's difficult to differentiate the MCs.
July 22, 2021
This one was rather cute. I liked the interaction between the characters though there were A LOT of things unsaid and quite a lot of Liam getting lost inside his own head. In a way it's what made this story thought provoking. I mean, there were times I wanted to smack both him and Garrett on the head but other times I could see how Liam's insecurities together with Garrett's inexperience (and sometimes indecision) made it difficult to communicate in order to solve their issues. That being said I LOVED how they meshed together. There was something simply beautiful in the way they could just BE together or just beside each other and feel totally satisfied.
Liam Wright is a mathematician which means to him everything is logical and (should) work in a perfect pattern. He had a rather "easy" life coming from money, having his own place, not needing a lot of people in his circle. Life and his routine suits him. Then his friend Carl appears out of the blue asking for a favor. Calculating what this favor is going to "cost" him, he accepts. All he has to do is help out Carl's cousin with a few tips about New York City life and if needed be his "Emergency Contact" (since Carl would be out of town).
Garrett Honeycutt is ten years younger than (33 years old) Liam. He has lived a rather sheltered life in a small town in Iowa. He came to New York City to model. It's not something he aspired to be/do, it just worked out this way and since he needs money for college he is rather content in making the big money it offers. He isn't ashamed of the job but he is also not that thrilled about it. Coming to Liam's apartment to introduce himself with a home cooked meal feels like the polite and right thing to do. Yet seeing Liam before his mandatory cup(s) of coffee might not be the best idea..
It takes a bit of time (and a lot of coffee) but Liam starts to realize Garrett being in his apartment might not me such a bad idea. Once they start to talk both guys feel drawn to each other. Liam is skeptic, he doesn't understand what a young and vibrant person like Garrett could have in common with someone like him. But after spending so much time together on their first day it doesn't take long for them to build a routine. They simply enjoy each other's company and it's obvious both want more (though we only get Liam's POV). But it takes a bit more time before they get there.
The story flows with months going by and us being A LOT in Liam's head while not all the details about the progression of their relationship revealed. I guess it's the "Telling not showing" fault in a way but it's also isn't as I think the "moral" of this story has a lot to do with what happened inside Liam's head and not really what "happened". He had A LOT of assumptions, which mostly works for him, being a mathematician not only by trade but at heart as well. It was difficult for him to believe Garrett wants him and would STAY with the little he has to offer. It was obvious Garrett got upset with him a couple of times when Liam just failed to see Garrett truly and absolutely wanted HIM and not whatever it was Liam thought interested Garrett more.
I think a part of the reason I enjoyed this story so much was a sort of kinship I felt towards Liam. Being in his head sometimes felt like being inside my own head. It made me think and re-think my own decisions and assumptions. It's so easy getting caught inside your head when there is no one there to confront them. But Garrett WAS there and was doing his best to show Liam his truth. It took a while, a LONG while, as well as a very heartbreaking melt down between the two but they did finally find a way to be together. I liked the way their issues were resolved and the way the story concluded, I have a good feeling about these two.
More Reviews HERE
Liam Wright is a mathematician which means to him everything is logical and (should) work in a perfect pattern. He had a rather "easy" life coming from money, having his own place, not needing a lot of people in his circle. Life and his routine suits him. Then his friend Carl appears out of the blue asking for a favor. Calculating what this favor is going to "cost" him, he accepts. All he has to do is help out Carl's cousin with a few tips about New York City life and if needed be his "Emergency Contact" (since Carl would be out of town).
Garrett Honeycutt is ten years younger than (33 years old) Liam. He has lived a rather sheltered life in a small town in Iowa. He came to New York City to model. It's not something he aspired to be/do, it just worked out this way and since he needs money for college he is rather content in making the big money it offers. He isn't ashamed of the job but he is also not that thrilled about it. Coming to Liam's apartment to introduce himself with a home cooked meal feels like the polite and right thing to do. Yet seeing Liam before his mandatory cup(s) of coffee might not be the best idea..
It takes a bit of time (and a lot of coffee) but Liam starts to realize Garrett being in his apartment might not me such a bad idea. Once they start to talk both guys feel drawn to each other. Liam is skeptic, he doesn't understand what a young and vibrant person like Garrett could have in common with someone like him. But after spending so much time together on their first day it doesn't take long for them to build a routine. They simply enjoy each other's company and it's obvious both want more (though we only get Liam's POV). But it takes a bit more time before they get there.
The story flows with months going by and us being A LOT in Liam's head while not all the details about the progression of their relationship revealed. I guess it's the "Telling not showing" fault in a way but it's also isn't as I think the "moral" of this story has a lot to do with what happened inside Liam's head and not really what "happened". He had A LOT of assumptions, which mostly works for him, being a mathematician not only by trade but at heart as well. It was difficult for him to believe Garrett wants him and would STAY with the little he has to offer. It was obvious Garrett got upset with him a couple of times when Liam just failed to see Garrett truly and absolutely wanted HIM and not whatever it was Liam thought interested Garrett more.
I think a part of the reason I enjoyed this story so much was a sort of kinship I felt towards Liam. Being in his head sometimes felt like being inside my own head. It made me think and re-think my own decisions and assumptions. It's so easy getting caught inside your head when there is no one there to confront them. But Garrett WAS there and was doing his best to show Liam his truth. It took a while, a LONG while, as well as a very heartbreaking melt down between the two but they did finally find a way to be together. I liked the way their issues were resolved and the way the story concluded, I have a good feeling about these two.
More Reviews HERE
May 14, 2016
Liam has a mathematical mind, and everything is composed of equations, lines and curves for him. He's older and set in his ways. When the young cousin of a friend of his comes into his life, he doesn't consider any permanency in their relationship. Garrett (two Rs and two Ts) is a college student-turned-model, though he intends to return to school to be a research librarian when the modeling stuff is over. Though young, he knows what he wants in life. Liam looks upon his time with Garrett almost as an aberrancy, and fully expects to be dropped someday for the brighter lights of the modelling world.
This book isn't for everyone, as it doesn't really have a tremendous amount of angst or excitement. Instead, it's a exploration of what makes a certain person tick. The story is told all from Liam's POV, so the reader only sees Garrett through his eyes. Certainly we get the sense that he's not just some party animal who's searching for fame since he spends his time under an afghan in Liam's apartment. However, because the two men just don't talk, we never get to see them hash things out through most of the story. I do like age gap romances, so I enjoyed that aspect of the story, but the slow-burn aspect of their relationship made reading this a struggle.
This book isn't for everyone, as it doesn't really have a tremendous amount of angst or excitement. Instead, it's a exploration of what makes a certain person tick. The story is told all from Liam's POV, so the reader only sees Garrett through his eyes. Certainly we get the sense that he's not just some party animal who's searching for fame since he spends his time under an afghan in Liam's apartment. However, because the two men just don't talk, we never get to see them hash things out through most of the story. I do like age gap romances, so I enjoyed that aspect of the story, but the slow-burn aspect of their relationship made reading this a struggle.
on-hold-for-a-rainy-day
March 30, 2015Giving up on this for now after two chapters. Firstly, I just can't get past the fact that love interest's name is such an obvious rip-off of Emmett Honeycutt from Queer as Folk (I mean, Garrett Honeycutt, really? It's like she didn't even try). And secondly, I really don't like the writing style, always going on a tangent and offering info-dumps three paragraphs in.
The description is still pretty intriguing, though...
The description is still pretty intriguing, though...
January 10, 2016
Reviewed for Prism Book alliance
When you sit with a blank document open for over eight hours trying to decide what to say about a particular title, that in itself tells you something about that title. In order to kick start my brain into action, I am going to give you a little different style of review today. Let's have a question and answer session.
November 27, 2015
Very slow moving. Definitely a character driven story with complex personalities but needed a little more action and more communication. Very surprised at Liam's actions. Why not just talk to Garrett. The writing was a trifle stilted. For example, "I gained Garrett's stairs." Huh? I knew what was meant but odd wording. Really wanted to love this as the premise was intriguing but too much verbiage and uncommunicative MCs.
April 18, 2016
I really liked this book. It was not the most action-packed story and sometimes I just wanted to yell at the MCs to communicate, but I really enjoyed reading it. I liked the writing - it was cerebral, yes, but it felt like being inside Liam's head. I liked both Liam and Garrett and their journey towards their HEA.
May 3, 2015
I really liked the unique way Elle Brownlee wrote this story. It's about two men who are intelligent in their own way and the writing reflects that.
This book may not be for everyone.
This book may not be for everyone.
May 8, 2015
Slow and steady, fit the characters, but some may find it boring
May 13, 2016
Skimmed alot, way to boring.
March 20, 2016
No real conflict, kind of dull but I liked the main characters a lot.
not-for-me
January 2, 2017No rating. The idea for the story was good but the writing didn't work for me.
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