Author: Annabelle Jacobs
Narrator: Matthew Lloyd Davies
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Run Time: 4 hours and 43 minutes
At a Glance: A sweet tale of friends-with-benefits turning into more.
Reviewed By: Lindsey
Blurb: Patrick Mason travels to Bristol to spend the summer with his brother, Ben. He’s cat sitting for the first two weeks while Ben goes on holiday. But Ben neglected to tell him he wouldn’t be doing it alone. Will Adams – Ben’s mate and Patrick’s long-time crush – is staying in Ben’s guest room while he waits to move into his new house after a breakup.
Against his better judgment, Patrick convinces Will that a little no-strings fun is just what they need. Patrick doesn’t want to get involved with a guy on the rebound, and Will isn’t interested in starting something serious with a student. But Patrick’s never been good at separating sex from feelings, and this time is no exception. As their weeks together draw to a close, they need to decide if they have something worth pursuing or if it’s really just a casual thing.
Review: Two acquaintances—one with a massive crush on the other, and the other just out of a relationship—in a house for two weeks together. What could possibly happen?
Patrick is heading to Bristol to house-sit for his brother Ben, only to find out he won’t be alone. His longtime (not so secret) crush, Will, is also going to be there. And guess what? Will is single now.
Will is not looking for anything serious. Not to mention he definitely isn’t interested in his best friend’s little brother. He hadn’t really looked at Patrick as anything more than a kid. But then—after a revelation, which Will has after there is a slight malfunction with a towel—he realizes Patrick really isn’t a kid anymore, and more than that, he is quite an attractive man. Queue sexual tension and an agreement between both Pat and Will to keep it casual and just sex. They give themselves two weeks, until Ben returns from holiday, and they drop the benefits. They both care about Ben and how Ben would react if they got too attached, knowing it would put him in an awful position. But is two weeks really enough after they get to know each other, after they talk and learn more about each other and their personalities and quirks?
This is a fairly light story, with only a smidgen of angst. I enjoyed listening to Michael Lloyd Davies. The British accent does get me, I won’t lie.
Patrick was continually trying to keep his hopes in check and go with Will’s flow. Even sometimes becoming the one to put the distance back between the two because he believes that is what Will wants. Will was continually allowing more emotional attachment only to realize what was happening and pulling back, giving Patrick mixed signals.
The pacing was well-done, and I liked that Patrick and Will weren’t wrapped up in each other in a bed for two weeks straight. Don’t get me wrong, there are several sex scenes, but not so much that it overpowers the rest of the story. There were other things happening: Patrick trying to and finding a job, Will going to work and visiting his parents, Patrick making friends and going out to have a few pints. They (after all) were only friends-with-benefits. In between life and sexy times in the bedroom they spend time as friends.
The narration was great; Michael’s voice kept me involved. The dialogue flowed and each character had a different tone and way of speaking that seemed to fit just right. Michael Lloyd Davies did a wonderful job with this one.
I see this is book one, and it ends with more of a HFN than a HEA. But it is done well. This is the beginning of their story and I will definitely be listening to the rest of the books as they come out, as I can’t wait to see how Will and Patrick’s relationship progresses and unfolds, and hopefully I will get to see more of Ben.
You can buy A Casual Thing here:
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