visit to Porthkennack on the Cornwall coast in England, this time guided by the inimitable style of JL Merrow, who not only lends British authenticity to the tale, but who has a wonderful, understated sense of humor that creates multiple moments of quiet laughter throughout the story.
Number eleven in this series thats written by various British authors, this is one of three that focus on the Roscarrock familyfounding members of the community, complete with the snobbery that goes with the bragging rights.
Bran is the patriarch, a man in his thirties, of diminutive stature, whos lived in the closet all his adult life.
His father drilled responsibility and the ideals of duty to their legacy into him since childhood, and though he is a twin, his sister knew it would be Bran who took over the estate when their father passed on.
Now hes got a reputation the community of being tightfisted, uncaring, and uninterested in the working man, Hes creating an exhibitiona tribute to Edward of Woodstock, the Black Princeand hes doing it to bring attention to the town, but hes also doing it to pay homage to his hero, and hes a bit prejudiced in that regard.
Sam Ferreira holds a doctoral degree and has curator experience and is the first person Brans brother Jory sitelinkOne Under thinks of when Bran is attacked and hospitalized and needs someone to take over the exhibition.
Sam jumps at the chance, after assuring that Jory knows about the disgrace he suffered at his university post which resulted in him being fired.
Hes doing a great job with the exhibit and is removing that slight prejudice that seems to make the Black Prince look like a hero, when Bran is released from the hospital and finds out what Sam is up to.
And then the sparks fly,
A great enemiestolovers story, this truly was first hate before the two decided to compromise and get to know one another.
After that, the sparks were flying for a different reason, and it looked like Bran might finally decide that the closet is too small to live in.
Of course, thats when he finds out what happened at Sams previous job and creates such a ruckus about it that Sam
flees both the job and their budding relationship.
JL Merrow wrote the first book in this series, sitelinkWake Up Call, and though I know this is not the last, this is certainly one of the best.
The whole series is terrific, but these tales of the Roscarrock family have been among my favorites, Now Im hoping well get one about the illegitimate son of the family, Devon Thompson, the boy that Brans twin, Bea, gave birth to and who was turned away, rejected and dejected, when he found out who is mother is.
That would be top of my mustbuy list, In any event, in a roundabout way, Im trying to say that I highly recommend this series, and most definitely this story.
Yes, it can be read as a standalone but I think that at least reading sitelinkOne Under would make this more meaningful.
ARC provided by the publisher through sitelinkNet Galley in exchange for an impartial review, First impressions can doom second chances,
Bran Roscarrock has been living in the closet all his life, As heir to an expansive family legacy in the town of Porthkennack, oldfashioned ideals of respectability and duty were drummed into him since childhood, and hes never dared to liveor loveopenly.
Sam Ferreira, an old friend of Brans brother, Jory, is a disgraced academic desperate to leave his deadend job.
When Jory asks him to take over as curator of a planned exhibition on Edward of Woodstock, the fourteenthcentury Black Prince, Sam leaps at the chance to do what he loves and make a fresh start.
But Brans funding the exhibition, and though sparks fly between the two men, theyre not all happy ones.
Bran idolises Prince Edward as a hero, while Sams determined to present a balanced picture, With neither of them prepared to give ground, a hundred years of war seems all too possible, And if Bran finds out about Sams past, his future may not be bright, and their budding romance may be lost to history.
.stars, rounded up because i'm one magnanimous motherfucker
i really enjoyed this contemporary! i, like most romance readers, love a good enemiestolovers story.
this was very much a characterdriven novel, but i think it worked quite well, the characters were fantastically flawed, especially bran he makes a lot of mistakes, but still manages to come out of it all rather likable.
i did think it was pretty slow going at the beginning, especially as the main characters don't meet until reasonably far in, and sometimes later on the pace got a bit plodding, hence the reduction ofand a half.
i'm willing to round up tostars, though, because of the deft characterisation,
overall i enjoyed this, and i'm certainly going to read the rest of the books in the series.
this is the first i've read, and although i get the feeling i missed some fun little easter eggs, these were by no means integral to the plot and it definitely works as a standalone.
.A better finish than start
As much as I love the Porthkennack series collection, some of the books havent been as much of a hit as I would hope and I have to admit that I really struggled at times with Love at First Hate.
Though this series is billed as a standalone, the collection of stories within the Porthkennack universe by Miss Merrow definitely overlap and should really be read in order to understand all the minor plotlines and references.
Although there were definite pockets I enjoyed in this book, including some fun dialogue that livened things up and wellflushed out, interesting characters, Love at First Hate failed to capture my attention fully until the latter part of the book.
Starting this book, I was hoping for a lot more insight into Bran and for those waiting for the same thing, rest assured it comeseventually.
However, the first half or more of the book focuses more on Bran and Sams animosity to each other as well as their individual issues and conflicts.
Although I was happy to actually see a true enemiestolovers plot wherein you could feel the tension and repeatedly saw the main characters clash, the pacing and included details bogged the story down too much and it became painful waiting for something to happen in this slow burn romance.
Every time I though Bran and Sam were making headway in their relationship or work partnership, it would backtrack and after a while it simply became tedious.
Additionally, I really didnt feel many sparks between the men, and that combustible chemistry is part of what makes enemies to lovers stories so appealing for me.
So yeah, the first part of the book was a bit of a letdown, However, Im really happy I stuck with it because the latter part of the book came together much better for me.
I liked finally seeing Bran soften and was really pleased to get answers to some of the questions raised in Miss Merrows previous Porthkennack books.
I also liked Bran and Sam together, and even though I didnt get as much time seeing these two as a couple as I would have liked, they did have a nice bond as the book ended.
All in all, Love at First Hate was an okay read that was saved by a good ending, I think those that have read the past two books in the series will be happy with the answers they get, and for that reason, Id recommend the novel, but I cant say this was a favorite within the collection.
eARC received via Netgalley, The author and publisher had no influence over this review This is theth book in a series written by various authors, taking place in the historic little town of Porthkennack.
And it's a rare case the ninth book is much better than the first one,
I'd say this was a,.
We meet Sam, who has a phd as a historian, but his fame went the other way and now he's been unfairly disgraced by his peers, forced to work as a waiter.
And there's Bran, who's always been as infamous in Porthkennack as he does his best to keep his family going and taking care of their legacy.
After being attacked on the street, he's hospitalized and his younger brother seizes the opportunity to give Sam a second chance for his career and make him the curator of the exhibition Bran has been planning.
But Bran's and Sam's views on the subject are as different as the two themselves,
I've only read the first one in the series, and I felt very underwhelmed then, It was a darker story, compared to everything I've read by the same author, but it was also all over the place.
If the first was like that, . . and that's the thought that made me skip the second book she's written for the series, starred by Bran's younger brother.
I was just craving for some LGBT read and decided I could give this one a chance, despite my expectations being the lowest.
Nevertheless, these low expectations weren't the reason I did enjoy Love at First Hate,
The two characters were very well built, I knew Bran from the first one, he's been in the closet in the name of his family and I was sadistically looking forward when I found out he'd finally have to come out here.
Especially when the other character is so different, I also like how Sam is indeed young but he's not super young, he's actually around my age, which made it very easy to relate to him.
He's in his thirties, and he's lost his chance of doing what he loves, unable to find a stable career or even to pay his debts.
Now for the low points, I think the book started very slow, it took the two a lot to even meet, And for a book with such a title, I couldn't say they hated each other that much, At least their arguments were credible, not forced like so many books from that trope, I appreciated the history bits, they were actually interesting, I liked how we see Sam working hard to do the exhibition, but it sometimes took too much of the focus, making the scenes drag.
I also don't like how Sam's exboyfriend's troubles don't seem to be completely solvedunless there are plans for Doug to show up in a later book, I think that was a plothole.
I also wish Bran's nephew would have showed up, considering how much they talk about himhe's the protagonist in the first book, so there wasn't a reason not to have him back for a few pages.
As you see, the story would drag for some parts and skip solving others, plus the romance could have been more exciting.
But the main of it was very well done, I finally got the Merrow story I wanted,
Honest review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley, Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity, .