Reviewed by Susan65
Title: Trick of Time
Author: J.L. Merrow
Heroes: Ted/Jem
Genre: MM Historical
Length: 80 Pages
Publisher: Carina Press
Release Date: January 28, 2013
Available at: Carina Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: A lover from another time
When Ted Ennis steps out the doors of the Criterion Theatre for a cigarette and finds himself in Victorian London, he begins to doubt his sanity. At first he thinks it’s all a film set, and is sure that the strikingly handsome young man leaning against a lamppost must be the leading man…
What starts as a sordid transaction with a beautiful rent boy quickly turns into something much deeper, drawing him back again and again as he gets to know Jem and craves meaningful encounters with him.
But Ted doesn’t understand the exact conditions necessary for his trips through time—and for Jem, time may actually be running out. Now Ted has one last shot to get back to Jem and save their relationship, before it’s too late…
Review:
What a unique little short story this one turned out to be. Ted and Jem were fated to be together, but time…lots of time separated them. I am talking over 100 years. So, what’s a rent boy (Jem) from the 1800’s and a modern man (Ted) supposed to do, and how can this possibly work?
Ted is grieving over the unexpected and sudden loss of his husband and family. He is left with no one except a good friend of his hubby who gives him a job at the theatre and tries to be his friend, too. It’s a pretty sad situation, but the story is not all that angsty. The main gist is the meeting and subsequent time shift between Ted and Jem.
By the luck of the fates, Ted is the only one who notices that time has altered which allowed him to meet Jem. But things go wrong, very wrong, when Ted can’t get back to him. I was a little nervous for the boys, because I couldn’t visualize a proper solution. The author did a splendid job of helping the reader suspend belief for a little while and just enjoy the story for what it was….a tale of two men living difficult lives, but together they completed the other.
It’s sweet and sexy, and just a little strange, but I enjoyed myself, and that’s all I want and need in my books.
Overall Impression: I really liked it!
*I purchased my own, personal copy of this book for review.*
