Against Reasonby Scatlet Blackwell
Published by Samhain Publishing
Ebook (received from publisher via NetGalley)
Adult, LGBT, novella, contemporary, romance
He lost his heart once. Is it too damaged for love to find it again?
In the five years since the love of his life abandoned him at the altar, Jake Morgan hasn’t left his house. The locals in this small, English town have dubbed him “Mr. Havisham”, but he’s too preoccupied wrestling his demons to care about Dickensian comparisons.
Forced to admit he’s losing the battle to keep up his large estate alone, he reluctantly places an advert for help. The striking young man who answers his call shakes him to the core.
When Darius answers the ad for the position at the mysterious mansion, the bitter, lonely master of the house tugs at his heartstrings. Setting aside his own run of bad luck, Darius batters at Jake’s emotional walls with kindness and determination that defy all attempts to drive him away.
Just as tendrils of new love begin to intertwine, though, a terrible voice from the past intrudes. And threatens to drive Jake back into the shadows where Darius can never reach him.
I feel a little bit conflicted about Against Reason. The premise was promising and interesting, and I felt connected with the characters; Darius, who was desperate to get a job in order to keep his apartment, and Jake, who was a recluse because his fiance left him on the altar on their wedding day. Darius was a sweetheart, desperate but still so nice and sincere, and he really fell for Jake. I felt for Jake at first: he wasn't as broken as he thought he was, he was a bit rude as he wanted to be left alone but he couldn't take care of the estate alone anymore. So the beginning was good, I liked both Darius and Jake, and there was a chemistry between them even though Jake tried to deny it in order to protect himself from getting hurt by love again.
As the story progressed, I became less and less invested. Some things and facts were glossed over, there was black holes and tons of unanswered questions, such as how Jake had a large estate and lots of money he inherited if his parents were still alive. Jake himself started to be more jerk than a man who was conflicted because of his feelings. Jake was moody, rude and treated Darius badly because he couldn't let go of the past or decide what he wanted. It started to get a little tedious: every step closer meant three steps back when Jake had two minutes alone to obsess over things. And then there was the twist, which wasn't surprising at all, and the way Jake reacted to this twist made him even more jerk than he was before. In the end, he redeemed himself a little bit, but while I liked Darius a lot, I did not like Jake in the end. He was selfish and jerk, and Darius deserved better. I understand why Jake was how he was: his heart was broken by Marc, his ex-fiance, and he was alone too many years when he grew a bit bitter and his trust issues grew way too big. But it doesn't change that I would have liked him more, if he'd apologized and if he'd made amends to Darius.
In the end I think the problem was not the characters or even the plot. It was the length of the story, or how the length was used. It was fairly short, one hundred pages, but if some things would have been explained even in a few sentence, and if the ending would have been a little more detailed - for instance, Darius and Jake could have talked a bit - and not so rushed, it would have made the story and romance better. Jake could have used a little less time wallowing in self-pity and hate, and that time could have used to explain few things or to make the ending more detailed and less rushed.
Overall Against Reason was fairly good novella, and Darius was great.
As the story progressed, I became less and less invested. Some things and facts were glossed over, there was black holes and tons of unanswered questions, such as how Jake had a large estate and lots of money he inherited if his parents were still alive. Jake himself started to be more jerk than a man who was conflicted because of his feelings. Jake was moody, rude and treated Darius badly because he couldn't let go of the past or decide what he wanted. It started to get a little tedious: every step closer meant three steps back when Jake had two minutes alone to obsess over things. And then there was the twist, which wasn't surprising at all, and the way Jake reacted to this twist made him even more jerk than he was before. In the end, he redeemed himself a little bit, but while I liked Darius a lot, I did not like Jake in the end. He was selfish and jerk, and Darius deserved better. I understand why Jake was how he was: his heart was broken by Marc, his ex-fiance, and he was alone too many years when he grew a bit bitter and his trust issues grew way too big. But it doesn't change that I would have liked him more, if he'd apologized and if he'd made amends to Darius.
In the end I think the problem was not the characters or even the plot. It was the length of the story, or how the length was used. It was fairly short, one hundred pages, but if some things would have been explained even in a few sentence, and if the ending would have been a little more detailed - for instance, Darius and Jake could have talked a bit - and not so rushed, it would have made the story and romance better. Jake could have used a little less time wallowing in self-pity and hate, and that time could have used to explain few things or to make the ending more detailed and less rushed.
Overall Against Reason was fairly good novella, and Darius was great.
3 of 5 stars.
Against Reason on Goodreads.
Thank you, Samhain Publishing, for giving me a chance to read and review Against Reason!
(A copy of this ebook was provided in return for an honest review.)
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