Title: Imperfect Harmony
Author: Jay Northcote
Publisher: Jaybird Press (self published)
Genre: Contemporary gay romance
Cover Artist: Garrett Leigh
Release Date: Friday 15th of April 2016
Series info: This book is a standalone
Rate : 4 Stars
Blurb
Imperfect harmony can still be beautiful…
John Fletcher, a former musician, is stuck in limbo after losing his long-term partner two years ago. He’s shut himself off from everything that reminds him of what he’s lost. When his neighbour persuades him to join the local community choir, John rediscovers his love of music and finds a reason to start living again.
Rhys Callington, the talented and charismatic choir leader, captures John’s attention from the first moment they meet. He appears to be the polar opposite of John: young, vibrant, and full of life. But Rhys has darkness in his own past that is holding him back from following his dreams.
Despite the nineteen-year age gap, the two men grow close and a fragile relationship blossoms. Ghosts of the past and insecurities about the future threaten their newfound happiness. If they’re going to harmonise in life and love as they do in their music, they’ll need to start following the same score.
Excerpt
Luckily there were still some parking spaces outside the church hall where Maggie’s choir met. John made sure they arrived a little early so Maggie wouldn’t have to walk too far. She was managing well on one crutch, but she still tired easily. After he parked, he got out and hurried around to help her out of the passenger door.
“Thanks, love,” she said, patting him on the arm. “I can manage now.”
A vicious gust of wind whipped a strand of hair into her face. It was dark, still sleeting, and probably slippery underfoot. There was no way John was going to leave until she was safely indoors. “I’ll just see you inside. Let me take your bag.”
Maggie let him have it without argument, and he popped it over his arm. He hovered close to Maggie as she made her way slowly to the double doors. He held one open for her and was hit by a blast of warm air. Then he accompanied her inside as she crutched along the corridor towards an open door. Yellow light flooded out, and the sound of a tenor voice singing “I Can See Clearly Now” raised the hairs on the back of John’s neck with its pure, clear beauty.
“I thought you said the emphasis was on fun rather than perfection?” he said quietly. “He’s got quite a voice.”
“That’ll be Rhys, our choir leader,” Maggie said with a smile. “Come and meet him, even if you’re not staying.”
Maggie paused when she reached the doorway and put a finger to her lips. They listened and waited for Rhys to finish singing. John peered over Maggie’s shoulder, hoping for a glimpse of the man the voice belonged to. Rhys, John presumed, was alone in the room. With his back to the door, he stood at a table pushed to the edge of the room, shuffling through some papers as he sang. All John could see of him was that he was small and slight, and quite young, based on the cut of his clothes. A hood covered his hair.
When he finished, Maggie started clapping.
Rhys wheeled around. “Oh my God! You made me jump.” He pushed his hood down and his face lit up as he beamed. “Maggie. How are you?”
John’s eyes widened as he took in Rhys’s front view as he approached Maggie and gave her a careful hug. His hair, which was shaved at the back and sides, was long on top and dyed peacock blue. His eyebrow was pierced, his arms were covered with tattoos, and the front of his T-shirt was emblazoned with a glittery equals sign in rainbow colours. All in all, he was at least twenty years younger than John had expected and completely unlike how John would have imagined a choir leader to look. In this dingy church hall in their small market town, Rhys looked like a bird of paradise that had accidentally ended up in a cage full of sparrows.
Review
This is story about love, grieving and the second chance...
"Death sucked, losing people sucked. It was as simple as that."
Only those who had lost their love one will know what grieving feels like...
John Fletcher, 42.
Losing his partner on terrible car accident two years ago, had put John life feels like hell. David was his life and losing him took everything away from him, including his passion in music.
"He did miss making music, but he missed so much more than that. Music represented the joy he’d lost when David died."
Then there's Rhys....a new choir leader local community choir.
He was everything John wasn’t—young, confident, vibrant, and full of life, and John couldn’t look away...
Rhys has brought back the feel that had gone away along with David...
His passion in music...
Rhys pulled him in like a magnet, and John didn’t have the energy to resist his growing affection.
Rhys Callington, 23.
Young, confident, vibrant, and full of life, that's what people see in Rhys from outside, but no one know what sadness hide behind all those cheerfulness he'd put as a mask. Rhys then seeking for some peacefulness in the elderly smile.
Then there's John....
"It wasn’t unusual for people to be moved to tears by music—such was the power of harmony singing. John had looked utterly bleak during the gospel song they’d sung. Choked by emotion, pain had been etched into his features, raw and open. The sight of it had resonated with Rhys, triggering an echo of his own familiar grief."
And Rhys knew what it felt like to grieve...
Two broken hearts.
Two people who had lost their love ones.
Meet by fate through music....
Will there's be a second chance for these two found their happiness after their loss, guilt, and grief?
Could Rhys make John "see" their future together over the age gap issue?
Will they could make beautiful harmony from their imperfections?
Find the answers in Jay Northcote newest book, Imperfect Harmony.
The imperfect harmony still can be beautiful....
Indeed.
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Author Bio:
Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England, with her husband, two children, and two cats.
She comes from a family of writers, but she always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed her by. She spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content. One day, she decided to try and write a short story–just to see if she could–and found it rather addictive. She hasn’t stopped writing since.
www.jaynorthcote.com
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