Shelley

3.5 Stars! J.L Merrow always makes me smile; her stories are fun, witty, credible and very British.

She is one of only a handful of author's I know that can get away the first person present tense POV, and that says a lot because I usually toss this format over my shoulder and run for the hills. Somehow she makes it work every time.

Tim Knight is the very English voice of the story and he’s a likable guy; he is middle class, passive, kind of vulnerable (?), witty and pretty chilled out really, especially considering that he’s been made redundant, his wife has left him for a friend and his mother and brother browbeat him into shop-sitting Jay's bike shop.
Now Tim’s response isn't what you would think; to his wife he offers a “there, there” pat on the back, off you go dear, and a total capitulation (again) to his mother and brother.

It's easy to see Tim as a bit of a dweeby doormat at first, but it doesn’t take him long to find a reason to grow a pair. As soon as Matt falls arse over tit into his life, everything changes for Tim.

There are some classic comedy moments and some really dumb arse moments, where Tim comes across as a clueless twit <-- irritating.<br/>
Matt: Vegetarian, hippy type dude, clumsy and adorable. He’s a satisfactory character and could have benefited from a bit more …development, background , oomf … just something.

Wolverine:

The arrogant–interloping-bad arse-puss-cat- with attitude. Ha! This cat ! What a character! best threesome scenario ever. LMAO!

Tim’s Mum: I considered worse than Steve (knuckle head-bully-boy-abuser and hypocritical dip shit) Her nepotism for Jay and consequent indifference, neglect and emotional abuse toward Tim is cruel and hideous. Sadly, she is a believable character, I know people like this and it disgusts me, she disgusts me. Urghh…*extends middle finger to dear ole Mum*

This wasn’t my favourite Merrow book, I can’t help but measure it with [b:Muscling Through|11045338|Muscling Through|J.L. Merrow|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327900692s/11045338.jpg|15966033] < – this will always be an all-time fave of mine.
At times I wanted to shoo things along here when the progress bar was inching toward the end and nothing was happening. Still I couldn't seem to put it down, was The sex is A-OK (when it happens) but hindered by the slow moving romance.

There are a few really cheesy moments and Tim acting like a horny teenager had me rolling my eyes, but overall it’s a sweet read with some pretty entertaining characters and I would certainly recommend it for some light reading.