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Boats In The Night (2011)

by Josephine Myles(Favorite Author)

3.86 of 5 Votes: 2

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Josephine Myles

review 1: Bought it this morning, and read it this afternoon. Fun, fairly short story about a repressed wealthy blue blood who accidentally meets a free spirited, roving gypsy. They fall in love within a a few days of knowing each other -- and though I normally really dislike insta-love, it somehow worked for this couple who are both too trusting and open for their own good. I thought I knew what was going to happen with the evil ex-boyfriend, and was surprised (in a very good way) with the curve-ball twist at the end. And of course, there is a very satisfying epilogue to show just how happy they end up!
review 2: This wonderfully entertaining romance opens near Bath in the beautiful English countryside as Giles mourns his breakup with a selfish boyfriend. When under... more stress, he consoles himself with obsessive housework. In fact, he has just dusted every light bulb in his house. Since he is a man of inherited wealth who lives in a beautiful, historic estate, you can imagine the Herculean nature of this task. What else can he do? After he made a drunken spectacle of himself at the school where he teaches, the headmaster put him on leave.Fortunately, his enforced vacation develops an immediate complication when a narrowboat breaks down in the canal bordering his property. The boat owner is gloriously different from Giles – Smutty, a free spirited world traveler of mixed ethnic heritage, juggles fire for a living. Smutty grew up in a hippie commune. He is strikingly beautiful and cheerfully ignorant about boats. When he agrees to work short-term for Giles as a gardener, the two men start a passionate relationship buffeted by old hurts, vastly different cultural outlooks, and the reappearance of the selfish ex-boyfriend.My favorite thing about this book is its dynamic, three-dimensional characters. If you’ve read the author’s previous novel Barging In, you might assume the themes of opposites-attract and canal boating would be too similar and make the mistake of skipping this one, but you would be missing out. Both books are distinctly different while being equally good. Barging In celebrates the British narrowboat community, whereas Boats in the Night focuses more on Giles’s awakening to possibilities beyond his traditional English life.Let me continue to praise the characters, who are both immensely likable. They are a fascinating blend of contradictory characteristics that ensures neither can be classified as types. Instead, they seem vividly layered and individualistic. For example, Giles is a wealthy but lovelorn gentleman, who could have seemed too mannered and self-pitying. Instead, there is a forceful, stoic, rugged quality about him as he pursues Smutty.A world-traveling guttersnipe like Smutty could have been a fast-talking con man or an irritatingly strident flowerchild, constantly nagging Giles to get in touch with his feelings. Instead, there is a seductively vulnerable and sensitive aspect to him. He has experienced cruelty for being biracial and gay, but he strives to go on enjoying life and hoping for the best. How can we readers not fall in love with these two men? Boats in the Night is not to be missed!Val for AReCafe less

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