Timing

Stefan Joss just can’t win. Not only does he have to go to Texas in the middle of summer to be the man of honor in his best friend Charlotte’s wedding, but he’s expected to negotiate a million-dollar business deal at the same time. Worst of all, he’s thrown for a loop when he arrives to see the one-man Charlotte promised wouldn’t be there: her brother, Rand Holloway. Stefan and Rand have been mortal enemies since the day they met, so Stefan is shocked when a temporary cease-fire sees the usual hostility replaced by instant chemistry. Though leery of the unexpected feelings, Stefan is swayed by a sincere revelation from Rand, and he decides to give Rand a chance. But their budding romance is threatened when Stefan’s business show more deal goes very wrong.
I have read Mary Calmes books for more years than I care to think about. She was, I believe, the first or one of the first M/M authors that I had ever read... and I was hooked. This is, I believe one of her "older" series...anyway, I don't know how I missed it, but I'm now making up for lost time.

Stefan Joss is much like all of Mary Calmes’ characters... good-looking, charming and oh so completely likable. When he attends his best friend Charlotte's wedding, he is surprised to learn that her brother, Rand would be there as well.

Rand and Stefan have hated one another since the moment Stefan became friends with his sister, Charlotte, but for her special day, they have decided to call a truce and bury the hatchet...at least for now. However, Rand and Stefan are soon engaged in the beginning of a romance that has its own twists and turns as the million-dollar business deal Stefan is responsible for goes very, very wrong.

TIMING is classic Mary Calmes....which is Mary Calmes at her very best. It's filled to the brim with humor, heart and suspense. Mary Calmes starts this series with warm, wonderful and lovable characters along with a fabulous romance. As a huge fan of her "A Matter of Time" series, I found similarities between the characters of Stefan in this series, and Jory in the "Matter of Time" series. Rand at first reminded me of "Sam" from the "Time" series as well. Stefan, for me, really lit up the story. I don’t know what Ms. Calmes does with her books, but her heroes are just so…extremely likeable. They have charisma and charm galore, and it seems that everyone loves them, making for a book that always has the reader smiling...and her books are SO addicting!

The theme of cowboy and suspense takes this story into a completely different level. I love cowboys and especially these cowboys, so TIMING has certainly become one of my many favorites. show less

3.5 Stars

You know what?? Mary Calmes has a formula. It is consistent, it is expected, and I don't think I fully appreciated it until now. But I get it. I embrace it.

So this is a perfect example of what many of my peeps call "Calmes crack".

Take one popular, beautiful and coveted gay man. Add in a supposed straight, tough alpha. Mix and shake and toss and you've got a sexy, over the top, ridiculous romance that just works. Every time.

I bought this immediately after reading the free e-sample, because it made me laugh and I could see Stefan was hiding much of himself. First person allows a plot that otherwise wouldn't work. I wanted to see what he was hiding. I read it without stopping except to eat.

Then I thought about it for a little while, and then I read some of the other reviews. Some of the less-glowy ones made me laugh; you either like a first person character or you don't. That's why I read these samples. :)

Stefan is a "pretty gay guy" stereotype for a reason. His way with people as the charmer/fixer serves his needs. His initial and progressing reactions to Rand are hilarious. There's quite a lot of Rand-swooning in the reviews, but I'm more interested in show more their reactions to each other. We only "see" Stefan in how others react to and interact with him. What he thinks and how he's reacted to don't always match up. You could breeze through this story if you wanted to, (some reviewers apparently did), and ignore the deeper implications, but it's much more fun if you spend a moment taking in what is going on under his surface. The reasons are not laid out, they're mentioned. He doesn't dwell.

I'm not sure yet if I'll continue with the next book. Probably. The cover is a heck of an improvement over the this one's. Not that we should judge by that... ;) show less

Read: 10 June 2012
4.5 stars

There are some strong similarities to A Matter of Time, but I just love Mary's characters. This is because I want to be the popular MC that everyone can't help loving; and I want the HEA that comes with a dominant possessive partner, even though that would drive me crazy in real life! LOL - that's the fun part of fiction - putting yourself into a new scenario and living vicariously for a few hours :)

*****

Reread: 31 January 2013
Narrator: Sean Crisden
The narration was pretty ordinary - 2 stars. Sean raced through to the book WAY too fast (I had to check that my ipod wasn't set at 1.5/2 times speed); some of his sentences died off/were mumbled at the end so I wasn't sure what was said; some of the show more characterisations were terrible - poor Ben (Charlotte's fiancee) sounded like a freak! and he had Stefan's 'Huh' sounding like a goose honk.

If I were Mary Calmes I would be very concerned with the quality of this product representing her work.

****

Reread: 28 June 2015
Audiobook - Narrator: Sean Crisden
I'm getting pretty used to some of Sean's strange accents - to the point I no longer even notice them. Stefan's 'huh' still sounds like a goose honking though.

Fun. Frivolous. Easy listening. :)

****

Reread: 24 April 2016 (for a challenge)
A comfort read :D

****

Reread: 20 October 2016 (for a challenge)
I love reading or listening to this book. Admittedly there are some annoying voices on the audiobook but I'm so used to those characterisation by Sean Crisden that I don't really hear them.

MC Stefan is gorgeous but flawed in a sort of neurotic way (as Mary C makes them). He is the centre of the story and told from his POV. MC Rand is hard and stubborn and exactly what Stefan needs, if only they could both realise it! Fortunately Stef's best friend Charlotte (Rand's sister) gets married and throws them together... And so goes MCalmes' classic formulaic romance :D

Reread: 18 October 2021
I've read this a few times; its a comfort easy read. This time it didn't go down so well, but I still enjoy much of the humour and sass. I think Rand just grates a bit with his chauvinism. MC Stefan is perfectly imperfect - a classic Calmes hero. But I always enjoy that aspect ;) show less

As I read this book all I could hear in my head was the REM song Shiny Happy People. It was slightly over the top, the main character seemed to have no discernible flaws (and had glitter AND sparkles) and the villan was evil like Dastardly Dick. I loved it. I was occasionally a little unsure if I should like it, which might sound weird, but some of the plot devices were definitely out there. Despite this, Timing by Mary Calmes was a thoroughly entertaining read and just worked.

Most of the time, I want a complex plot, deep characters and an elaborate setting in the books I read. But occasionally, I just want a simple boy meets boy and they live happily ever after. This book falls into the latter category, and on that level it satisfies completely. I ordered this book because I enjoyed Calmes’ “Change of Heart” so much. That book was superior because it had a very creative social hierarchy and shapeshifter world to supplement the romance. This was a simple cowboy romance, nothing original, but I liked the characters a lot and the romance was fun and there was plenty of sex. A lovely way to spend an evening.

Yep, Stefan is a complete Mary Sue. Almost Mary Poppins really – practically perfect in every way. show more Gorgeous, charming, loyal – he’s got it all. Except for realizing that Rand is attracted to him. The angst was kept to a bare minimum. And, a brief mystery was introduced at the end to give our heroes some drama, but essentially – boy met boy and they lived happily ever after. Which is exactly what I wanted, and what the author delivered. I’ll definitely read more by this author. Highly recommended for fans looking for a simple romance to enjoy. show less

There's just something about Mary Calmes' writing that makes me love her characters! Stef and Rand are no exceptions (even if I still love Jory best!) I would have given 5 stars but for the fact that I had figured out the 'whodunit' right at the beginning - probably because I'm an untrusting, suspicious beotch!