Review: Trick of Time by JL Merrow

Source: a review copy was provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Ms. Merrow is one of my favorite authors, so every time she has a new book out I do a tiny happy-dance. I admit, though, that I prefer her straight contemporaries over her PNR’s, so I was just a bit apprehensive about this one. But I ended up enjoying it a lot. 

Ted is a widower whose husband and parents died in a car accident over a year ago. He works as assistant in a small theater in London and deals with his grief as best he can, but mostly by ignoring it. One night during the show he goes out for a smoke break and finds himself in Victorian London. He meets a rent boy named Jem, they have a sexual encounter and when he goes back to the theater he realizes he’s back in the present. At first he thinks he was hallucinating, but he can’t stop thinking about Jem, so the next night he goes out again in the middle of the show, and finds himself, once again, in the past. Ted and Jem develop a relationship, but is there any hope for them? Of course there is, this is a romance, after all, but it’s a very clever resolution.

Interview: JL Merrow

As you guys know, I love M/M Romance. And today I’m interviewing one of the best M/M authors out there: JL Merrow. We have reviewed some of her books on the blog and she never fails to impress us. Help us give her a warm welcome and stick around because at the end of the interview there’s a giveaway.

Hello JL, welcome to Romance Around the Corner. I have enjoyed every single one of your books so I really appreciate the opportunity to interview you. 

Q. For all of our readers who may not be familiar with your work, could you tell us a bit about yourself and your books?

JL. Well, the J stands for Jamie, and I’ve been writing m/m romance since 2009. I’m British, so that’s reflected in a lot of my settings—although you’ll often see German themes/settings creeping in too, as I spent half a year living in Germany when I was 18 and I’ve never lost my love for the place.

Review: Permanently Legless by J.L. Merrow

Note: We received a copy of the book from the publisher for review purposes.

Is no secret that I love Ms. Merrow’s books and that every time I see a new one coming out I'm very happy. It doesn’t matter if they are full-length novels, novellas or short stories, I know that regardless of its length I will enjoy the book. That’s why I couldn’t wait to read Permanently Legless.

Chris lost both legs in Afghanistan during his last tour of duty. He’s finally recovered and back to living his life. Things aren’t easy but with good humor and a strong will he’s enjoying himself, or at least trying to. One night he goes clubbing with his friends to the place where he went just before deploying. Once there he remembers the one night stand he had with a guy named Josh. He was quite taken with him and hasn’t been able to stop thinking about him during all this time. But he knows he’s wasting his time because Josh was better looking and younger than him, and that was before Chris lost his legs. So even though Josh asked to remain in touch, Chris never did.

2011, A Year in Books: The Best

This year I read a lot of books, I don’t have an exact number but I think it was over 200 books. Not all of them were published in 2011 and not all of them were good, some of them were huge disappointments (I’m looking at you Susan Elizabeth Phillips), but I think that overall it was a good year for romance novels.

I admit that most of the Contemporary Romances of the year were either mediocre or good, but just a few were truly outstanding, and only two books made my list:

M/M Week GIVEAWAY: Winter Warmers

There’s no better way to end M/M week than with a giveaway. One lucky commenter will get an e-copy of the Winter Warmers anthology (you can read my review here). To enter the contest leave a comment telling us what’s your favorite holiday story, it can be a book or a movie. Please don’t forget to leave an email on the comment so I can contact the winner.

• Winner gets one copy (e-book) of Winter Warmers (Anthology) by Chrissy Munder, Clare London, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles and Lou Harper.
• Contest open internationally.
• Contest ends on Sunday, December 11^th 2011 at 5pm EST.
• Winner will be chosen using random.org, announced here and contacted by email and will have 72h to respond.
• You must be at least 18 years old to enter the contest.

Baby, it’s cold outside! Beat the chill with Winter Warmers – a seasonal anthology 

Mulled wine. Butterscotch kisses. Hideous sweaters. Candy at the beach, or a trip to a sex shop in Amsterdam. And the man of your dreams, wrapped around you… 

Winter warmers come in many shapes and sizes, from the tongue-in-cheek to the hot-as-hell. Enjoy a quintet of heart-warming tales of men loving men from Clare London, Chrissy Munder, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles, and Lou Harper that are guaranteed to leave you with a smile on your face. 

One thing’s for sure—it’s going to be a red-hot Christmas!

Winter Warmers by Chrissy Munder, Clare London, J.L. Merrow, Josephine Myles and Lou Harper

Pink Squirrel Press; November 25, 2011.

Winter Warmers (Anthology) by Chrissy Munder, Clare London, JL Merrow, Josephine Myles and Lou Harper

Source: we received an e-ARC of the book from the authors for review purposes.


I almost didn’t read this book. My TBR pile is huge and I have lots of books to review, but when I realized that I had three m/m reviews ready I decided to have a special week dedicated to the genre and since I had an extra spot I decided to give it to this book. It was the best decision ever because Winter Warmers is filled with great stories that albeit short, pack a lot of punch.

Review: Pricks and Pragmatism by JL Merrow

I’m joining in on the fun of Virgin Hero Week with my very own review of one of the best stories featuring a virgin hero I have read: Pricks and Pragmatism by JL Merrow.

Merrow is one of my favorite m/m authors; you really need to give her books a try because they are fantastic. I think most of her books -this one included- are novellas or short stories, so they’re perfect if you don’t have that much time to read.

Pricks and Pragmatism is the story of Luke, a college student that, like most college students, is broke. But unlike your average student who works a couple of crappy jobs to support himself through college, Luke has developed a rather morally challenged method: he gets rich guys to pay for his expenses and to give him shelter in exchange of sex. You could say that he’s technically a prostitute although he doesn’t see himself as one. He enjoys the sex and the company, and he even enjoys the expiration date on the relationship because he never gets attached to his partners, or so it seems.