Hard Tail is the story of Tim Knight. He struggles to get back on his feet after losing his job and his wife. Tim agrees to mind his injured brother’s mountain bike shop in the meantime. This story is told in first person through Tim’s eyes.


Tim’s wife leaves him for his best friend and it’s time he faced the fact that they were really no more than friends. He admits he used his wife and marriage to deny to the world and to himself, he’s gay. Working in the bike shop in a small town out in the country, Tim starts to face who he really is and what he wants out of life. It certainly helps that Matt, the bike mechanic working in the shop, is gay and cute. Matt is clumsy, but he also has secrets he’s keeping. That secret is an abusive boyfriend.

Tim figures as long as he lives at his brother’s house and works in town, he may as well get involved in the community. He doesn’t know how long his brother will be in the hospital. So he enrolls in a karate class to keep up his skills. There he meets a karate bully who factors into the story. Tim starts to cycle with Matt’s friends.

Tim voice comes across loud and clear. He’s sarcastic, not only about others, but also about himself. He’s a bit of a prude and unsure about how to handle his interest in men, particularly Matt. He’s a bit insecure because his parents have always favored his older brother, who for most of his life was never very reliable or good at staying in one place. Matt is adorable, clumsy, and it was clear he was attracted to Tim, but he was living with his boyfriend. I should probably mention one thing. Tim is still married to his wife when he and Matt begin their relationship. But Tim's wife has already moved out to live with Tim's ex bestfriend and they are preceding with a divorce. The break-up is amicable and his wife later comes to help Tim with an issue that crops up. So both of them are already moving on.

The pace of this story wasn’t particularly fast. I can understand since a lot of the interaction took place in the bike shop and in the calm country atmosphere. Speaking of country, the author did a great job of conveying the landscape and especially the bike trip that Tim went on. The description of the town was also well done. There’s a self-deprecating humor that runs throughout this whole story. It’s not heavy, but enough to keep the book amusing. The situation with the abusive boyfriend wasn’t overdramatic thank goodness, but it did raise the topic of how men can also be abuse victims.

Hard Tail was a fast, entertaining read with almost flawless writing. I only spotted one sentence that broke the fourth wall, yes in first person, that when I read it, jolted me completely out of the story. It was that obvious. The characters have distinct voices, some of the best I’ve read. I give this book 4 Stars


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I really liked the build up to the romance the author provided. My favorite character? Wolverine the cat. Just hilarious. It was the right amount of angst, drama and hilarity. I definitely recommend to anyone who's a fan of really good 'gay-for-you' ( )

Another enjoyable book by JL Merrow. It was nice to read a longer book - the other two I read were novellas, so we got a lot more character development and more fleshed out secondary characters. I really liked the MCs and thought their relationship built nicely though it felt a bit rushed at the end. I'll definitely be continuing my JL Merrow glom! ( )

I greatly enjoyed this small town romance, the British flavor was delightful, so different from the more popular US/western romance, and yet, despite the common European background with me, the reader, so particular and original to make it a very interesting and whole reading experience, well beyond the "simple" romance.

Tim is in a precarious situation, downsized and looking for a job, after years of living the high-speed life of the City (London), he is plunged in the sleepy Southampton, no so glamorous like Brighton, not so small like other seaside small town, basically average, like Tim's opinion of his own persona. But there Tim is also far from his previous life, and maybe the constrictions that had him denying his homosexuality. With a new life in front of him, and new opportunities, Tim is also ready to admit his interest in Matt, and why not, trying to do something about it.

The novel is pretty much centered around Tim, Matt is a very nice character, but we have little chance to understand his reasons; maybe this is a reflection of Matt as a character, he is shy and silent, not really the chatty type. He could be more imposing than Tim from a physical perspective, but if I have to tag them, the domineering character is Tim, even if maybe he doesn't realize it. From being almost a wallpaper flower to his older brother, who is everything with an "er" at the end than Tim, Tim has to take the front stage and being there for Matt when Matt needs him. Being strong for him, when he has never been the same for himself.

Of all the character, I love Wolverine the cat, probably cause he was an orange tabby like my own cat, and like him, Wolverine decided Tim, and Tim's home, were his next home, and not viceversa; he found someone, and something he liked, and he decided to take it, home and owner, in one package.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1619210576/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

A great HEA ending. Loved the cat. ( )