I read this novel in the course of a flight from Autralia to England, and it transported me, very effectively, out of the sheer grimness of that situation; there aren't too many books about which I could say that! It's a book for readers who like to think a little, as well as be entertained; but the entertainment is there in spades too.

The love story - of modest, dependable and thoroughly attractive Jon, and Callum, the gifted and enthusiastic rising young star of British theatre - works itself out over a period of years against a backdrop of stage, screen and television productions. Each of the lovers has trials to overcome; divorced Jon must protect his relationship with his young daughter, and poor Callum has to shoulder family responsibilities way beyond his years, so their affair must be kept a secret even in the relatively open and accepting world of the theatre.

That world is so convincingly portrayed here, and the lovers and all the other characters so well-drawn, that I feel I would recognise them immediately if I were to meet them in real life: the thorough-going professionals, the stalwart friends, the two-timers and the manipulators... and of them all, I would most like to meet the delightful Jon and his lovable but maddening Callum! ( )

This novel by Adam Fitzroy has written “UK” all over; in the setting, that is easy, but also in the mood and the feeling, bittersweet humor, comfortable romance, fire under the ashes sex, all bundled together in more than 500 pages, all of them perfectly timed in a slow paced rhythm.

Callum and Jon are the most unlikely likely couple you can imagine; unlikely due to the age differences, the different life expectations, maybe even a little bit their upbringings; likely since they are both actors, they understand each other without many words, and they of course are in love.

As I said this is not a fast paced romance, and I truly enjoyed how Callum courted Jon without more or less Jon realizing it, and in a way without neither the reader. Callum is probably the most complex character since, truth be told, the author was really good in making him an easy target for the reader hating: Callum is the one who drags Jon in a relationship to then dumping him and marrying a woman; Callum is the one who dares to come back into Jon’s life when he needs comfort without considering how painful that can be for Jon; Callum is the one who continues to maintain a bond with Jon when it would be better for the other man to be freed… but fellow readers, trust me and don’t give up on him since I will assure you he will be able to atone all his sins.

On the other hand I think you can love or hate Jon, there are no half-measures with him; hate him since he has that aloof halo around him like nothing can touch his heart, since his heart is wrapped in ice; love him since it’s easy to understand that it’s not ice around his heart, but simply a self-protective shield. It’s easy to like Callum, he is like a puppy, or a teddy bear, and he is scandalously and unashamedly free, really proving his young age, but he is also considerate of Jon’s feelings and troubles. It’s not explicitly written, but I think he was the one cutting their relationship since, in a way, he was trying to protect Jon, Callum knew that Jon was not ready to lose everything in exchange of his love; that was where Callum was wrong, and maybe he was a little presumptuous from his side to pretend to know what was better for Jon, but still, I think he did it with good intentions.

I really love the setting, the small town feeling of the theatre world, where everyone knows everyone else; the little gossip that was sometime reflected by the more mainstream media gossip, but that was mostly told behind closed doors, in front of a cup of tea; the tight net of relationships, marriages and funerals all in the span of less than 3 grades of connections (friend of a friend). Of course in more than 500 pages, the stories told are not only that of Callum and Jon, but also of their circle of friends, in good and bad, no one character will enter the scene without a purpose or/and its own story to tell, and like those gossiping spinsters or widows in front of a cup of tea, the reader will enjoy to listen to their bad or good outcome.

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