Passing Through

By: Jay Northcote

Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies

Leo is a lonely workaholic with no time for romance in his life. His job in London takes all his energy and commitment. When he goes to Cornwall to stay with his terminally ill uncle, Edwin, love is the last thing Leo expects to find. Tris lives in a cottage on Edwin's land. Gay, but still half in the closet, he and Leo bond over their affection for Edwin, and the pull of attraction between them proves too strong to ignore.

In Tris's arms, in the wilds of Cornwall, Leo finds a peace he'd forgotten existed. On his return to London, Leo finds himself grieving for more than just the loss of his uncle. When some unexpected news gives Leo the chance to return to Cornwall, he's afraid it will be too late to rekindle things with Tris. But having learned much from his stay with his uncle, Leo doesn't want to look back and wish he'd done things differently. It's time to seize the day - if it's not already too late.

©2015 Jay Northcote (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press

Uncle Edwin stole the show

The most memorable moments in this were actually the ones with Leo's uncle, Edwin. This felt a bit more in the vein of reconnecting with family members and grief, and I was pretty ok with the romance feeling like it was in the backseat for this story. Edwin was the glue that brought both men together and helped be the push for one to get his head out of his ass and the other to have the courage to come out. Sobbing over Edwin. To be honest, I'd read a whole book just on Edwin and Tom's life.

Check CWs on this one.

An okay story

I bought this book because I loved Law of Attraction but this was just okay.

Lovely story, beautifully narrated

What made the experience of listening to Passing Through the most enjoyable?

Matthew Lloyd Davies narrated flawlessly and beautifully. Lovely.

What did you like best about this story?

sweet and quiet story, with a touch of nostalgia.

Have you listened to any of Matthew Lloyd Davies’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First time narrator for me, but I would recommend to others

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I got teary-eyed a couple of times.

Any additional comments?

Lovely story, warmly recommended

Nice comfort listen

This is a wonderfully sweet romance with some sadness mixed in. Leo is a 40 year old workaholic who visits his beloved elderly uncle who is dying. There he meets Tris who is picking up his life after his breaks up. Leo's uncle makes some family revelations that causes Leo to question his choices. The story is sweet and poignant. It has a little angst and a tear jerk moments in the telling of his uncle's story and life. The narrator does a great job in bringing all these men to life. It is always great when a British narrator performs a book based in England. Overall a good comfort listen.

Great book to make you think

This is an EXCELLENT book by Jay. I've read a few of her books and this one is just great.

Leo is a workaholic who takes time off to be with his dying uncle only to discover there is quite the hunk who has been helping out his uncle while he's been too busy working to do so.

We get to follow along as Leo goes through a transformation and it's quite heartwarming and saddening at the same time. He realizes how much he's missed out on with his uncle now that it is too late, but he works to realize that it's not too late for him to find what he needs in his life besides work and how to make it all work in his own way.

The way Jay wrote the book is so touching. We are watching a wonderful man, who we come to love and care for, go through his last days and him talk about his experiences in life and those help enlighten Leo, but as well as the reader, as to the changes that have happened through time.

Jay does romance in such a great way with excellent sexy scenes, but not so much so that they take away from the story itself.

The Narrator, Matthew Lloyd Davies, does a great job adding to the story an extra little something. I really enjoyed his voice and the way he brought humor and life to the story when there needed to be and sadness or sexiness as well.

Great job to both Jay and Matthew.

I received a free copy of this book to read for Inked Rainbow Reads in exchange for an honest review.

Nice story

This Jay Northcote novel is a nice listen. I missed more storyline, however. Could’ve done with more dept. If that was the case it would’ve gotten 5 stars from me. But that doesn’t mean I’ll stop reading Jay’s work. I’m a fan and I recommend this writer.

Edwin's story just as great as Leo's

Leo temporarily moves to Cornwall to spend time with his dying uncle. While there he meets Tris, a closeted gardener who is renting a house from Edwin, Leo’s uncle.

The premise of this story is simple: boy meets boy, boy kisses boy, boy loves boy, boy leaves boy, boy misses boy, boy returns to boy.

But….

There is way more to this story. Each of the men in this story has a history they need to wrestle with in order to become the happiest they can.

Tris needs to come out of the closet, forgive himself for his divorce and for deceiving himself and his family for so many years.

Leo needs to realize that he is more than his job and that happiness cannot be found working 80 hours a week.

Edwin, probably the most touching story of all, gets to finally tell his story and embrace the life he couldn’t for all these years.

**

On the one hand this story has very little angst for our two MCs. Their love story moves fairly quickly and without a lot of drama.

What I loved about this book was Edwin’s story. It’s both heartbreaking yet romantic and sweet at the same time. I loved how his love helped Leo and Tris appreciate what they have (or could lose). He was an amazing character.

All in all this was another very well written story by one of my favorite authors, Jay Northcote, who consistently gives us wonderful, well-formed, three-dimensional characters and a tender and sweet love for them to find.

Audio

Matthew Lloyd Davies narrates a lot of Jay’s books because of his lovely English accents. Everyone has a very distinct sound including the nurse! It’s a great way to experience these books and really immerses you in the story.

Moving story

Leo is a certified workaholic and has been for years. There’s little outside of work, especially not romance, and he’s definitely no looking. When we first meet him he’s on his way to Cornwall to stay and spend some time with his terminally ill uncle, Edwin while he still can. He didn’t expect to find a strange man in his uncle’s kitchen.

Tris’ life was turned upside down when his wife threw him out not only of their house and marriage but also out of the closet. He found a place to stay in one of Edwin’s cottages and the two formed a wonderful friendship. And when Leo arrived the friendship was expanded to include one more. But soon, friendship isn’t the only thing budding between Leo and Tris.

Can I just say that I love that cover, it was the first thing that drew my attention to this book. It’s refreshing that there are no half-naked muscled men on it, “just” an everyday man – with all of his clothes on to boot! Anyway, the cover is quite fitting, as the characters are everyday men. They aren’t superhumans or picture perfect. Just plain human beings that are so relatable and real that it makes the story feel real.

This is a mostly quiet romance and also drama free. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a ton of feels. Especially relating to Edwin. I loved how Tris made Leo stop and start taking notice of life, start living for more than work. At the same time Leo helped Tris navigating his new reality. The two fit.

Passing Through was performed by Matthew Lloyd Davies and he did so with great feeling and if I may say so with a wonderful accent. I melted just a little. I loved how he captured all of the characters and varied his voice with them. I especially appreciated how his voice for Edwin really sounded like an elderly man, a credible on at that.

If this book showed us anything it was that happiness can come wherever you least expect it from and to not waste a single second – time is always limited.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes.