Another Chance for Love

by Ellie Thomas

Former British Army Lieutenant Adam Merryweather survived the Western Front of WWI and has slowly recovered from his injuries. But can he heal from a broken heart?

Torn between family duty and personal happiness, he sacrificed his love for Alf and has never ceased to regret it in the two years since the war ended.

Adam is slowly putting his empty life back together, working for the family firm in the city centre of Bristol and trying to stop his mother’s meddling to find him the perfect socially acceptable bride. When he happens to meet Alf out of the blue, Adam is determined to try again. But convincing Alf to give him another chance may be too much to hope for.

Can a chance meeting bring them back together? Or has Adam lost another chance for love forever?

Genres: Romance, LGBT, Historical, M M Romance, Short Stories

56 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2020

About the author

Ellie Thomas lives by the sea. She comes from a teaching background and goes for long seaside walks where she daydreams about history. She is a voracious reader especially about anything historical. She mainly writes MM historical romance.

Ellie also writes historical erotic romance as L. E. Thomas.

Reviews

[Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one ended up being pretty meh. There was a lot of telling (there's no dialogue in the first 15%), there's some unnecessary repetition in a story this short, and there're too many misplaced or extra words. For being about 10 pages longer than London in the Rain, this felt more undeveloped. This is also two years older, so that alone could explain it if the author's improved her craft since then.

I did like Adam and his cousin Cat. Their relationship was the best part of this for me, and I liked seeing Adam find satisfaction and appreciation at work, but that's about all I liked in this.

Alf didn't come across very likable at all. He's a bit of a putz and an entitled prick the way he acted towards Adam throughout the majority of this. Other than being told that Adam had fond memories of him from their time during the war, I didn't see any of that on the page. All I saw was Alf acting like a frost queen. I understood his shock at learning that Adam was engaged, though that's more because of the circumstances under which he learned it, because considering the time period and the socio-economic class involved, that should have at least registered as a possibility, and it's on both of them for not bringing it up. And FYI, the engagement was pretty much arranged, and it's broken before the start of this story. Adam having to bend over backwards to prove himself to Alf when it wasn't really necessary was just the topping on the "I don't care about this relationship" cake for me. It would have helped if Alf was affectionate even once, but we're just not really given that.

Also, for a certain generation of people, there's only one thing that comes to mind when we see the name Alf:



Sadly, the Alf in this story is nowhere near as lovable as Gordon Shumway from Malmac.

[peach · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. To me, this book read more like historical fiction with some romance in it, than a historical romance. For the first third of the book we don't even know who the love interest is, and I didn't feel like the story was built up in an interesting or compelling way. A lot of page space is taken up by Adam's job, his family, and other aspects of his life, and it was more the story about Adam than the story about Adam and Alf. The ending is a tentative HFN that, while there was some sort of resolution to the barely-there romance plot, focused just as much on Adam's job and parents. There just wasn't as much focus on the romance as I had expected based on the blurb.

[SJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The big misunderstanding is one of my least favorite tropes. The plot line here was built around a misunderstanding, one for which MC Adam was paying a lonely price. It did not put his former friend and lover, Alf, in a good light. I felt for Adam trying to contact Alf who ignored his letters. Then when they got together through happenstance, Alf gave the cold shoulder during sex, which Adam did not seem to pick up on.
Alf was not a bad guy, but his lack of communication was irritating. I’m not big on that, either. Luckily, these tropes were not dragged out as this was a shorter story that moved along and eventually Alf used his words.
There is another nice female character in this story. The cousin, Cat. She was honest and kind and brave in her sad circumstances.
Adam was the best thing about the story, a Greek god, and even Alf referred to him that way. I like when hot guys are humble.
I liked Adam’s parents, an understanding father and even the battleship mother. They were good characters.
I very much enjoyed the well written setting of 1920 London.

[Ay · Rating 4 out of 5]

These stories are very british and low key, but enjoyable. Also slightly expensive.

[Bo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly Developed & Paced

This novella is aptly described in the blurb, and is another example of author Ellie Thomas taking us completely away from today and tossing us back into another era when men were not allowed to love men in England.

Her character development of Adam Merryweather is perfect and his initial encounter with his army lover Alf is spine tingling in a good sense.

This is a wonderful respite from today's troubles and well worth grabbing.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my, this was lovely! The depth of emotion and feeling, the well drawn MCs and secondary characters and artful use of language and setting allowed me to totally immerse in these 56 short pages. I haven't read many books that take place post-WW I. Not sure why. The author has captured, albeit somewhat indirectly, the utter horror of that war. The death of so many, the grief on the part of those left behind, the experiences of those who survived. She deftly captured the constraints that society forces upon men and women. Adam survived the war and returned home but still remembers Alf, the man he met while they were both in the service. A terrible misunderstanding forced the men apart. Adam sort of moves from day to day, not enjoying life, dealing with his meddlesome mother, until a chance meeting. Totally understood Alf's position and appreciated the pace at which the two men become reacquainted. Also, an appreciative nod to the author to depict Cat with compassion and understanding. So many historical novels force women into these boxes dictated by society. It was refreshing to see a woman who pushed against those restrictions. I've read several of this author's books and this, by far, was the best.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm learning that when I want a warm and cozy read without too many complications but must have sweet men involved, this is my go to author. I'm also learning that the endings to some of these lovely tales may leave you a little frustrated. A very poignant tale of young men right after WW1, and the terrible carnage involved, and the lose of a loved one. As usual it's beautifully and gently written.

[Shawna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - This felt sort of like the seed of London in the Rain, but set right after WWI instead of between the wars, with the horrors of the trenches quite fresh. We’re getting the POV of the more handsome/richer MC, which was a switch, and an interesting choice. Good atmosphere, as is usual for this author.

[C.S. Poe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Chance for Love by Ellie Thomas is a wonderful historical novella with an understated and gentle romance woven throughout. In my first read by Thomas, I mentioned that I’m a big fan of LGBT historical romances, but of periods that are often overlooked by authors—World War I being a prime example. Thankfully, Thomas continues to deliver on my needs, as this novella is the story of WWI veteran and former lieutenant with the British Army, Adam Merryweather. And like London in the Rain, Thomas’s extensive historical and local knowledge shines throughout the narrative, dialogue, and familial attitudes of the time.

Adam, recovered from wounds sustained in the war, is struggling to get back into a civilian life. He’s working as a receptionist for his father’s company and feels rather like dead weight who isn’t earning his keep, but what else is there for him to do? Beggars can’t be choosers with all of the men returning from the Western Front looking for jobs, so Adam is content to simply do his best. But between the mundane job Monday through Friday, meeting his family for church and dinner on Sundays, where he must endure his mother’s narrowminded and upper-class opinions on him still being single among his adult siblings, Adam’s a bit lost in more ways than one. During the war, he’d met a fellow solider in Paris named Alf, and that romance had meant everything. But a misunderstanding about the truth of Adam’s fiancée caused Alf to leave while he was recuperating in the hospital, and of course Adam can’t tell his mother he’s gay…. But everything changes when Adam meets Alf again by complete chance on the street.

I really adored this story. I keep coming back to the same adjectives to describe Thomas’s style: gentle, soft, understated, quiet. The writing isn’t loud and boisterous, it’s almost a touch melancholy, which fits that tired and uncertain period in Western history. And as an American (but who has visited England a few times) the writing has that very British feel that I struggle to articulate. The very tone of the story matches the age of the country, the stereotypical wet weather, even its enduring spirit.

I highly recommend this novella if you’re looking for a weekend morning read. It pairs very well with a cup of coffee! I might have told Thomas she definitely ought to write more in this time period, selfishly for myself of course, but I hope others will be inspired to give it a try! It’s such a fascinating era, and Thomas mixes the history and romance perfectly.

[Heather York · Rating 5 out of 5]

'll start by reiterating something I say often in my reviews for this era, there just isn't enough WW1/post-war stories in the LGBTQ genre so I tend to automatically 1-click when found even if it isn't an immediate read, I know I want to explore the story eventually. As Ellie Thomas is a fairly new author to me, this is only the second book I've read, I just discovered Another Chance for Love last month and what better time than the lead up to Veteran's Day to dive in? So glad I found it.

I realize that for a short novella, having the romance being only part of the story may seem not enough for some but as a fan of the era, it's hard to have a realistic view of the times and not have more than romance fill the pages. Any returning veteran after the war has ended will always have a difficult time readjusting, some more than others but if the author just made everything hunky-dory for Adam it would have been very out of character and IMO would lessen the enjoyment. It's hard to open one's heart after the level of horror these men are returning from and sometimes if they can find footing in non-heart related areas it can create the courage to open other possibilities as well.

This is what Adam finds, between family, job, unwanted obligations(via his mother's want to meddle), and time he gets a foot in the door of the returning-to-the-world room. And in that room is the one time love interest who's heart was broken by Adam's revelations of who waited at home. Some might see Alf as hard, unfeeling, and distant but he too is finding his way back to a life without war so I perfectly understand his wanting to protect his heart. They say time can heal all wounds and I think that is what lies at the heart of Another Chance for Love. A truly heartwarming entertaining gem.

Ellie Thomas found herself on my authors-to-watch list after reading A Trick of the Light in August and Another Chance for Love has cemented her place on that list. Can't wait to discover more.

[Patdbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable story with an ending that leaves you hanging but feeling good. Two men who fall in love during WW1, separate after the war, one because of family duty and the other heartbroken. they get a second chance. worth the read.