Stuff

May 19, 2014 by BookSmitten

Title : Stuff

Series : The Bristol Collection, #2

Author : Josephine Myles

Publisher : Samhain Publishing (BUY HERE)

Genre : M/M, Contemporary

Length : 374 pages (e-book)

Published : May 27, 2014

Rating : ★★★★

Blurb:

When Mr. Glad Rags meets Mr. Riches, the result is flaming fun.

Tobias “Mas” Maslin doesn’t need much. A place of his own, weekends of clubbing, a rich boyfriend for love and support. Too bad his latest sugar daddy candidate turns out to be married with kids. Mas wants to be special, not someone’s dirty little secret.

When he loses his job and his flat on the same day, his worlds starts unraveling…until he stumbles across a vintage clothing shop. Now to convince the reclusive, eccentric owner he’s in dire need of a salesman.

Perry Cavendish-Fiennes set up Cabbages and Kinks solely to annoy his controlling father. Truth be told, he’d rather spend every spare moment on his true passion, art. When Mas comes flaming into his life talking nineteen to the dozen, he finds himself offering him a job and a place to live.

He should have listened to his instincts. The shop is already financially on the brink, and Mas’s flirting makes him feel things he’s never felt for a man. Yet Mas seems convinced they can make a go of it—in the shop, and together.

Warning: Contains an eccentric, bumbling Englishman, a gobby drama queen, fantastic retro clothing, scary fairies, exes springing out of the woodwork, and a well-aimed glass of bubbly. Written in brilliantly British English.

Review:

In Stuff, the second book of The Bristol Collection, we catch up with Jasper’s good friend Mas, just as he’s been let go from his job in menswear. He might have lost his job, his home and he’s seriously questioning his relationship of convenience with his married sugar daddy, but he won’t give in without a fight! I was so glad that Mas got his own book. I loved the glimpses we got of his vibrant, funny, vulnerable, flirty, determined personality in Junk, and he did not disappoint at all. It was pretty much impossible not to completely fall in love with him, occasional temper tantrum and all.

When Mas runs into Cabbages and Kinks in an effort to dodge his previous place of employments over zealous security guard, he finds himself in the middle of a chaotic, musty room stuffed full of old furniture and vintage clothes. Looking past the ragtag look, Mas notices the clothes are actually quality garments. Intriguing. Even more so, is the eccentric and reclusive owner. Perry is fascinating, adorable and oddly charming. At first glance they seem like polar opposites, but in fact compliment each other’s personalities wonderfully. Where Perry is a bit of a hermit, focused inward and frequently lost in creating his artistic sculptures designed from assorted pieces of junk, Mas is fun and open, the very life of the party. They both ground and draw parts of each other’s characters out.

I absolutely adored both MCs and they really are gorgeous together, little miscommunications and all. Stuff is a charming romance, light on angst, with two endearing MCs. Their romance was delightful, although not always smooth. I liked that Jasper and Lewis play a small part in Mas and Perry’s story. It’s nice to see them again and, as I liked Jasper and Mas as friends, I’m glad that they remained friends in this book. The ending was sweet, but felt really abrupt to me. The writing has a very British feel which I thoroughly enjoyed. The two MCs are beautifully drawn, and I loved how distinct their voices were from each other. I always knew exactly who’s POV we were in just from the way it was written. The descriptions of Perry’s art and the shop as it transforms under Mas’s careful hand are beautiful and make them almost characters in the book. A wonderful, gentle story that was a joy to read.

Rated 4 stars by BookSmitten