Ok Leo and Merrick were both wonderful, and I loved the pottery studio setting connection for them. Also this is the second book by this author blending younger guys with an older generation of seventy somethings as friend groups, and I absolutely adore it. This was lovely fluff and two for two so far by Walker. ( )

Mostly fine. I absolutely loved the elder LGBT group, and all those interactions. I enjoyed Leo and Merrick, and the women close to them, and I wish I could give this five stars, but it does have a few issues. They may or may not matter to you, fellow reader. :)

I found the dialogue uneven. Some of it is great, funny and sharp. Other parts are so dull that it felt like the author and editor were on autopilot when they should have made those better or cut them. Same for the prose; some is good, but some is the kind of dull I associate with a much newer author. This needed a loving copy-edit for those, and to correct the too-high ratio of telling the reader what a character just showed or said. Why repeat? Also, the waiting thing is repeated at least three times. OKAY I GOT IT. But the worst bit is the author at one point has Leo use an offensive reference to sex workers. I'm sorry, but that character wouldn't do that.

Yet I finished it, I liked the end, I liked the epilogue. If I could, I'd give it a qualified four stars, but as it is, three's the best I can do. It is perfectly adequate and in some parts very good. ( )

I've enjoyed this narrator previously but this time his voices just didn't work for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptions of working the clay. Been there, love that!

There are 2 relationships that develop throughout the story. ( )

The narration: 4 stars
I'm really happy N.R. Walker decided to change things up and switch from Joel Leslie as a narrator to someone else. Glen Lloyd has a pleasant voice and is easy to listen to. I'm not used to listening to Australian English accent that much so I needed an adjustment period though.

The story: 2 stars
Anyone who's been reading my reviews knows I have a love-hate relationship with N.R. Walker.
I loved the first few books of hers I read, but in the last few years I've been steadily rating her books 2 stars, which for me means the book was okay but nothing special & that I probably had niggles.
For a while now I've been trying to decide if those ratings meant I wasn't in the mood or if I just grew out of N.R. Walker's books, and I'm now fairly sure it's the latter.

I can't say I particularly enjoyed this story, and here's why:

🔹 The dialogue
Everything was "perfect" and "awesome" and "gorgeous", it really started grating on my nerves after a while.

🔹 The descriptions
Every little thing had to be described and it felt like page number filler. Could have easily been done without describing the entire process of getting everyone what they wanted to drink or what one or the other MC wore. It's not that I'm against such descriptions in general, but when there's so little substance to the plot and the characters themselves, it feels utterly unnecessary.

🔹 The preaching
While it's awesome to be inclusive, it's really boring to feel like you're reading a "How to be Woke" manual when what you thought you were getting was a romance.

🔹 The conflict
There was no real conflict, and what conflict there was was manufactured at best. The only piece of "conflict" was the fact that Merrick wanted to wait to have penetrative sex, and Leo wanted it right away. And later it turned out it was another opportunity for the author to preach about consent and boundaries.

🔹 The behavior towards older people
The MC's behavior and the way they talked about their elderly friends/family was almost as if they were talking about pets or children and not grown-ass people. It felt very disrespectful.

In summary, I don't think N.R. Walker is the writer for me anymore, and it took me only a few years to figure it out. 🙄 ( )

Cute read, but I'm not really sure why the author didn't just write a book featuring the older couple. The young couple were totally outshined: if this were a kids book, it would be titled "Clyde and Donny steal the show." Even the epilogue focused on them... ( )