It Takes Two to Tumble

Such a sweet story--with a bit of a The Sound of Music vibe to it (minus the singing...and Nazis, thank goodness), especially the way that the captain first sees his children when he returns, LOL...

I really liked Ben and Phillip's story. Their antagonism at first, sparked by Phillip's prickliness and inability to get along with his children (loved those kids!) felt spot-on and made for a delicious enemies-to-lovers-type plot. The ending was brought along by some rather quick and easy machinations, but I really enjoyed the characters and reading their story so much that I barely even noticed. :)

Though neither character had any illusions about the risks they were taking in choosing to be together (sacrifices needed to be and were made; show more there was just the right amount of angst throughout, considering) I'm going to continue in my happy bubble where these two, along with all the rest of Ms. Sebastian's heroes. live long and happy lives together and are never caught and punished for their "crimes". (Fictional fingers crossed) Can't wait for the next in the series!

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book. show less

No surprise, I liked this! It's probably the most emotionally intense of Sebastian's novels that I've read so far—and what can I say, I have a thing for vicars. I was satisfied by the delivery of a sweet and optimistic love story that still acknowledges heavier issues—a soupçon of realism without devolving into queer tragedy.

I guess I'm now a person who reads romance novels? I'll probably have to switch authors for my next read, since it will be interesting to see which constraints hold true across the genre. Sebastian's seem to be: relatively little character development for supporting characters (I especially wanted more attention to Hartley and poor Alice) and not much description (to be fair, it's hard to capture a landscape show more that looks like this). In exchange, we get a book that you can read in a long afternoon, so I can't honestly complain. show less

I tend to like the forbidden love trope, and this has it kinda built right into the foundation. They also have a good excuse not to just marry each other already five chapters in. So there's no need for a huge secret or misunderstanding or some other drama that involves the characters getting in their own way in order to draw it out. Which I appreciate. I like the way their relationship developed, and several times I got that 'aww!' feeling when something was particularly sweet. There's something kind of adorable about them. The children are a definite part of the plot and not just needlessly tacked on, and they're fleshed out, but the story doesn't focus on them to the detriment of the primary relationship.

A very loose (gay, Regency) retelling of The Sound Of Music, which should tell you all you need to know. There are hellion offspring who just need attention & affection to blossom. There is a stuffy naval captain who has spent much of his life forced to conceal his emotions/vulnerabilities. There is a sunny curate-turned-tutor who has a deft touch with the children & a confused longing for their not-as-monstrous-as-he-first-appears father. There are well-meaning friends & family who create a community of support and good-natured ribbing. IT WAS, ALL IN ALL, SO GOOD FOR ME.

I tend to like the forbidden love trope, and this has it kinda built right into the foundation. They also have a good excuse not to just marry each other already five chapters in. So there's no need for a huge secret or misunderstanding or some other drama that involves the characters getting in their own way in order to draw it out. Which I appreciate. I like the way their relationship developed, and several times I got that 'aww!' feeling when something was particularly sweet. There's something kind of adorable about them. The children are a definite part of the plot and not just needlessly tacked on, and they're fleshed out, but the story doesn't focus on them to the detriment of the primary relationship.

Ben Sedgwick is a kind young vicar who has been asked to look after the unruly children of a local widower. Phillip is that widower, on a short leave from captaining his Navy ship, Patroclus (get it??). He believes in discipline and following orders, but he’s been away a lot and his children don’t trust him. They need the softer touch of the vicar…and maybe Phillip does too….

A perfectly acceptable but insubstantial queer historical romance. I don’t think Ben’s backstory quite made sense to me, and Phillip is pretty distraught about Ben’s engagement for someone who was married to a woman until very recently. I did enjoy the inclusion of a learning disability in the plot, especially the outcome. And these dummies do kiss a show more lot, which is the important part.
It’s a fine read, but Sebastian’s more recent work is much better, IMO, so I’ll be sticking with that. show less

I enjoyed this so much more than I anticipated. The set up in the precis didn't really press my buttons but soon after the opening credits I was hooked. The MCs were so well fleshed out, and in the end, incredibly likeable along with their families and friends. The issues and problems were real and relatable to that era.

Narrated beautifully by Joel Leslie.