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~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~'s Reviews > To Hold a Hidden Pearl
To Hold a Hidden Pearl (Rossingley, #1)
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~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~'s review
bookshelves: comfort-healing, angst-central, m-m, tears-and-heartbreak
Jun 19, 2021
bookshelves: comfort-healing, angst-central, m-m, tears-and-heartbreak
~3.5~
This is such a strange, quirky book.
The MC are multi-layered and complex. I loved Lucien's eccentricities and femininity and Jay's big heart. The way Jay wants to take care of Lucien is beautiful.
This isn't an easy romance by any means. Lucien lost his entire family in an accident 18 months prior and is drinking himself to death. Jay calls off his wedding after he gives Lucien head in a club and likes it.
Of course, Jay doesn't know the anonymous bloke he pleasured is going to be his medical supervisor in a training program he's doing at Lucien's hospital. Lucien has a wonderful bedside manner, but he's shit to his colleagues.
Initially, Jay is intimidated by Lucien, but then he chops wood while Lucien sits about wearing a lacy nightgown and pearls and realizes that Lucien isn't mean, just lost and very sad.
The sex scenes are wild and uninhibited. The men go at it so hard in the kitchen, they break a Victorian Era butter dish (or so Lucien claims). Jay is new to gay sex but takes to it like a duck to water.
A secondary plot (view spoiler) I cried, not gonna lie.
My one complaint, and it's not a small one, is that Jay & Lucien never acknowledge to anyone that they're a couple. I agree with Lucien's assessment that Jay shouldn't have to come out as gay since no one comes out as straight.
Be as it may, months later (in the epilogue), Jay's family and their colleagues/friends still have no idea they're together. They may suspect, but it's never been said. Jay is living with Lucien on his estate but won't tell his family that Lucien is his lover. They basically hide in plain sight, which irked me a great deal.
This is such a strange, quirky book.
The MC are multi-layered and complex. I loved Lucien's eccentricities and femininity and Jay's big heart. The way Jay wants to take care of Lucien is beautiful.
This isn't an easy romance by any means. Lucien lost his entire family in an accident 18 months prior and is drinking himself to death. Jay calls off his wedding after he gives Lucien head in a club and likes it.
Of course, Jay doesn't know the anonymous bloke he pleasured is going to be his medical supervisor in a training program he's doing at Lucien's hospital. Lucien has a wonderful bedside manner, but he's shit to his colleagues.
Initially, Jay is intimidated by Lucien, but then he chops wood while Lucien sits about wearing a lacy nightgown and pearls and realizes that Lucien isn't mean, just lost and very sad.
The sex scenes are wild and uninhibited. The men go at it so hard in the kitchen, they break a Victorian Era butter dish (or so Lucien claims). Jay is new to gay sex but takes to it like a duck to water.
A secondary plot (view spoiler) I cried, not gonna lie.
My one complaint, and it's not a small one, is that Jay & Lucien never acknowledge to anyone that they're a couple. I agree with Lucien's assessment that Jay shouldn't have to come out as gay since no one comes out as straight.
Be as it may, months later (in the epilogue), Jay's family and their colleagues/friends still have no idea they're together. They may suspect, but it's never been said. Jay is living with Lucien on his estate but won't tell his family that Lucien is his lover. They basically hide in plain sight, which irked me a great deal.
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Reading Progress
June 15, 2021
– Shelved
June 15, 2021
– Shelved as:
to-read
June 19, 2021
–
Started Reading
June 19, 2021
– Shelved as:
comfort-healing
June 19, 2021
– Shelved as:
angst-central
June 19, 2021
– Shelved as:
m-m
June 19, 2021
– Shelved as:
tears-and-heartbreak
June 19, 2021
–
Finished Reading
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Liya
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Jun 19, 2021 08:26PM
The book sounded perfect till the last 2 paragraph. Agree that family and friends not knowing they are a couple is a major peeve. Still, you made me curious enough to give this book a chance. Great review!
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Nice review, thanks! I enjoyed this story too. I wonder if your review has a few spoilers, though?
Sararomance wrote: "Nice review, thanks! I enjoyed this story too. I wonder if your review has a few spoilers, though?"Hmmmm .... do you think so? What would you consider one?
Liya wrote: "The book sounded perfect till the last 2 paragraph. Agree that family and friends not knowing they are a couple is a major peeve. Still, you made me curious enough to give this book a chance. Great..."I didn't like that part at all.
I did ask the big Z for a sample of this one. Yet to read it, but not keen on the hiding in plain sight part I have to admit. 😕
~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ wrote: "Sararomance wrote: "Nice review, thanks! I enjoyed this story too. I wonder if your review has a few spoilers, though?"Hmmmm .... do you think so? What would you consider one?"
Maybe the detail on the burns guy and hinting that he died? I felt this was an unexpected and tender detail in the book that's nice to discover.
Sararomance wrote: "~✡~Dαni(ela) ♥ ♂♂ love & semi-colons~✡~ wrote: "Sararomance wrote: "Nice review, thanks! I enjoyed this story too. I wonder if your review has a few spoilers, though?"Hmmmm .... do you think so? ..."
I put it in spoiler tags just in case.
☆☆☆~Bev's World of Books~☆☆☆ wrote: "I did ask the big Z for a sample of this one. Yet to read it, but not keen on the hiding in plain sight part I have to admit. 😕"I would have rated it higher if it weren't for that. There's a difference between sitting your family down and telling them you're gay versus introducing your lover as your partner and making it clear you're in a serious relationship. In the latter, you're coming out indirectly, but you're not making a big announcement, which is what Jay didn't want to do.
I think you are probably right on the money with your rating as far as the story goes, but I rated higher because I think Lucien is one of the best characters I have ever read. I had to give a higher rating just for him. He’s one of my all time favorite characters now. Right up there with Lily Morton’s Oz.
Meghan wrote: "I think you are probably right on the money with your rating as far as the story goes, but I rated higher because I think Lucien is one of the best characters I have ever read. I had to give a high..."Indeed. I loved the many facets of Lucien!
I’m with you with the family situation and what happened during that 8 weeks, it feels like there was a bit missing.
Rachel wrote: "I’m with you with the family situation and what happened during that 8 weeks, it feels like there was a bit missing."There was so much missing. How long are they going to pretend they're just friends?
I have the same complaint about the book -I would have liked to see what happened to Jay in the 2 months absence and how he dealt with the ex fiancé. But I still loved the book a great deal, I’m a sucker for feisty yet tortured femme guys 🤪 Also , I just noticed that there’s book two recently released (it’s Freddie’s and the gardener’ story) and I so wanna read it if only to see if Lucien and Jay are out of the closet as a couple.
Nicoleta wrote: "I have the same complaint about the book -I would have liked to see what happened to Jay in the 2 months absence and how he dealt with the ex fiancé. But I still loved the book a great deal, I’m a ..."I want to read the second book two, but it's bloody expensive, I never pay $7 for a book, especially since I had some issues with book one.
