2.5. I didn't hate it or anything, it just didn't do it for me.

We have Kyle who had a life change and moved to Porthkennack when he discovered he suffers from narcolepsy, and we have Dev who is goes to Porthkennack to find his real mother. The two meet and feel attracted to each other, despite their different backgrounds and social classes. Even though a holiday affair comes easy to them, they need to face their issues if they want to take it to the next level.

I think this story was interesting. In theory.

Number one problem was that I couldn't care for the characters. And yes, I found Kyle's problem real enough to feel pity but it didn't redeem him for being so boring. And Dev... it was even worse. First, I had problem believing he was the younger one. I guess it comes from his hard life. Still, it made it hard for me to actually picture him, each scene I had a person in mind. Not easy to cheer for a couple you don't feel anything for.

The side characters were far more interesting but they don't show for long—after all, they're not the focus—so, they weren't enough to save the book.

The text is well written, the plot is there, it's well developed and I liked the conclusion. The problem really rested with me not feeling into it. I do like this author, so I'll keep reading her next novels for sure.

Wake Up Call is a sweet, easygoing romance full of that wonderful British humor.

Although it deals with tough topics like kids without families growing up in "the system" and an MC with a serious, incurable but manageable illness, the story never gets dark or maudlin. The main reason is that the author gives us a handful of wonderful characters who have strong and vibrant personalities. Top that off with excellent wit and dialogue and we have a story that flows as smoothly as a river. Entertaining, captivating and comforting. I'd love to have friends like the characters in this book.

This was a refreshing story. Sure Devan got angry sometimes. His age and situations made it happen, but in general he has such an upbeat personality. Not bubbly, or off the wall but a roll with the upsets, look for the positive no matter what. Sure there was the, does he like me? Am I good enough for him? That comes from him being adopted, put in the foster system and a blue collar job. When faced with someone he likes and they have a medical condition he just goes with the flow. No freakouts, no walking away in disgust or frustration, he truly is concerned and looks up both symptoms and appropriate actions.
Kyle has been broken and given up. Let’s face it, he’s lost his job, boyfriend and home. He allows himself no support from friends or family. He has come to Porthkennack to hide.
JL Merrow has done a wonderful job weaving a story about hurt/comfort. She has introduced plausible issues, plausible solutions and a love story, all tied together. Her characters catch your interest, and make you want to know how it will turn out.

Devan Thompson is on vacation in Porthkennack ostensibly to simply enjoy the beautiful scenery while taking time off from his work as a mechanic in London. But the reality is that the young man who never knew his parents has discovered that his mother lives in Porthkennack, and in fact, is a socialite from the wealthy Roscarrock family. While waiting to get the courage to approach her, he befriends a young man labeled as the town drunk.

Far from being a drunk, though, Kyle Anthony is a barrister who moved to Porthkennack to get away from his now ex-lover and his now former job. He was recently diagnosed with both narcolepsy and cataplexy and due to the suddenness with which he falls asleep or slumps to the ground, he’s earned the scorn of townspeople. Not one to share his personal life with others, he’s never even told his family about his problem, especially after the reaction he got from his lover when he learned the truth.

Now, though, this nice young man named Dev seems to want to be of help and doesn’t immediately jump to the conclusion that he’s a worthless drunk.

This is one of those stories in which each MC makes assumptions about the others’ thoughts and feelings and neither gets it right. They befriend each other and eventually have sex, though Dev has some adjustment to make when his lover falls asleep immediately afterward. And when Kyle advises Dev not to approach his mother if she’s not aware he’s coming, Dev thinks he means Dev isn’t good enough and storms off. Turns out Kyle was right, but that only makes Dev angrier.

I enjoyed this story, principally due to the author’s style of telling a tale—always with an underlying sense of humor, and always delving deep into the characters’ hearts and souls. I was engaged by both MCs early in the story and patiently waited until each finally got to the point where they were brave enough to admit their feelings and their fears to each other.

There’s plenty of adventure along the way involving both friends and family members who provide a wonderful cast of secondary characters and a strong and realistic storyline.

Highly recommend this one to all lovers of MM romance, and especially to those who enjoy stories set in the UK. And, I’m looking forward to more in this series.

I've been so eager for the start of the Porthkennack series! I'm happy to tell you this first of five novels is a gem.

Devan Thompson ("Dev"), the focus of Wake Up Call, is on a three-week holiday in Porthkennack, a charming Cornish seaside town. He's arrived alone after his good friend and flatmate, Mal, bailed on him at the last minute to go to Portugal with friends. Sweet, handsome and kind, Dev's overcome adversity in his childhood, but finds himself in Porthkennack seeking out the mother who fostered him shortly after he was born. Though she's never responded to any of his letters, or indicated she's interested in getting to know him, Dev, ever the optimist, is hopeful she'll change her mind once they meet face to face.

After arriving and checking into his room at the local B&B, Dev takes off for the local cafe. Striking up a conversation with his waitress, Ceri, he doesn't let her less than charming personality bother him, and makes plans to meet up with her later that evening. Leaving the cafe to explore, he spots a man slumped over on a bench across the street. When Ceri tells him that the man, new to Porthkennack, already has a reputation as an alcoholic because he has a habit of falling asleep and collapsing no matter where he is. But something about him catches Dev's eye and when he walks over to check on the man, he has his doubts. The handsome stranger, Kyle Anthony, doesn't smell like alcohol and something about him just seems off.

Kyle escaped to Porthkennack to get away from the ruins of his life. Formerly a successful barrister in a committed relationship, he's lost everything after being diagnosed with narcolepsy. Unable to function normally and unwilling to try any of the drugs and medications his doctor recommended for his condition, he's hidden himself away from friends and family. Angry, frustrated and lonely, Kyle is content to allow the villagers to assume he's a drunk. So when an attractive stranger comes to his rescue after he collapses on a bench, he's surprised.

Featuring my favorite romantic trope, opposites, Wake Up Call is a gentle reminder about the assumptions (right and wrong) we all make about the people in our lives. Neither Kyle or Dev, men with very different life experiences and expectations, expects to fall in love while in Porthkennack. They're both surprised by how quickly they fall for each other, but fight against admitting their feelings because of mistaken assumptions they make about themselves and each other.

Dev is convinced an auto-mechanic is no match for a well-educated former barrister, and Kyle is convinced his medical condition precludes him from a lasting romantic relationship. They're both wrong, but the journey to this discovery is rich with romance, longing and humbling moments for both men.

Secondary characters - Dev's adored little sister, Dev's birth mom, Kyle's ex-boyfriend, Ceri -all play significant roles in this gentle romance. I thought they added just the right amount of interest and complexity to elevate this story from good to great. Porthkennack, the setting for all the stories in this series, is atmospheric and fascinating, and I think it (and its inhabitants) provide an excellent backdrop for more diverse stories to come.

From an inauspicious first meeting, JL Merrow's spins out Wake Up Call - slowly, frustratingly, and charmingly, and delivers a (too briefly glimpsed) happily ever that I liked very much.

Much like Kyle, I fell hard for the delightfully authentic and sweet Dev. The opposites attract trope is put to great use, and I believed in this couple from start to finish. I hope we get a glimpse of them in some of the other contemporary Porthkennack books.

Wake Up Call is the perfect wake-up call (see how I did that?) for fans to discover this series.

This was a slower-paced story that managed to keep me intrigued while reading. The book is thought provoking, charming, a bit suspenseful and sweet. A bit of a departure from the lighter books I've read by this author, but her ability to infuse humor into her stories is still threaded throughout this book. The secondary cast rounded out a well-developed story, that may have had a little bit of a rushed ending, but a satisfying one nonetheless.

I really enjoyed this book!. Wake Up Call is the first in the Porthkennack series which is a fictional town in the south west of England and each book in the series will be written by a different author.

Dev is in Porthkennack for a three-week holiday, his best mate Mal was supposed to go with him but instead goes on a sun seeking abroad holiday instead leaving Dev to come to Porthkennack on his own. Dev also has an ulterior motive for holidaying there and is seeking to find someone from his past.

Dev ends up making friends with a local waitress Ceri when they bond over having oddly spelt names, whilst eating at the cafe Ceri works at he meets Kyle. However, it's not a typical meeting as Kyle collapses on a bench across the road from the cafe and Dev goes over to help. Many of the locals including Ceri seem to be of the opinion that Kyle who has only been in town a couple of months himself is just an alcoholic.

Kyle however suffers from narcolepsy with cataplexy, a sleep disorder that causes him to have daytime sleep attacks and is prone to collapsing when highly stimulated particularly by anger or laughter (as Dev finds out) and is not in fact an alcoholic, he doesn't even drink alcohol or consume caffeine!.

Dev finds himself instantly drawn to Kyle. Initially Kyle seems to re buff his advances but Dev soon realises this is Kyle's misguided attempts to prevent Dev from having to deal with his Narcolepsy. Kyle really struggles with his illness and fairly recent diagnosis and Dev is concerned him being 'just a mechanic' won't be enough for Kyle who prior to his diagnosis was a criminal lawyer.

This book is a fairly slow burn read but it is oh so sweet and wonderful. I love Dev and Kyle and they are so good for each other and I found myself rooting for them throughout. Secondary characters were brilliant and really well developed I found myself as invested in them and their lives as I was about Dev and Kyle. This book has quite a slow pace in comparison to J.L Merrow's other books but this by no means ruined it for me and it kept me interested throughout. I felt the ending was a little rushed if I'm honest.

I look forward to the further books in this series by the other authors!

I really enjoyed J.L Merrow's "The Plumber's Mate" series, so I began Wake Up Call looking forward to this story of two men: Dev, who comes to Cornwall with a purpose - find the woman who gave him up for adoption - and Kyle, who comes to escape - from his stressful career, his diagnosis of narcolepsy and the boyfriend he pushed away.

Wake Up Call is set in Porthkennack on the Cornish coast - windy, rocky and wild with steep cliffs cascading down to sandy beaches (think Game of Thrones location) - a former fishing village that now depends heavily on tourism. You really get a sense of the bleak, gray atmosphere. This is no light and happy Brighton Beach setting.

Dev meets a local girl Ceri at the Square Peg cafe; you just know there's a story behind her defensiveness and anger and some local "mean girls" hint at an incident that happened a while ago ... but then this subplot sputters out. [ The reason Dev comes to Cornwall is to find the mother who gave him up for adoption. Yet there are only a few scenes in the book that deal with this, and then this subplot sputters out. Dev's sister gets in trouble with the law and Kyle is able to help get her representation, but the whole situation is quickly resolved. (hide spoiler)]

I felt the time devoted to these subplots really dragged down the flow of the story and took away from a relationship that already had enough conflict and contrast in background, interests, status, outlook, etc. Both Kyle and Dev are given to long internal monologues (with Kyle being more whiny, IMHO) and the end result is too little action and too much introspection. Kyle and Dev's sexual dynamic is interesting, but their relationship is also fraught with too many misunderstandings, slammed doors and stalking off.

I realize that other readers may not have the same experience with Wake Up Call and find the pace reflective and feel the internal conflicts give texture to the love story, but personally I could not get past the abortive subplots and the slow pace. My rating is 3 stars.

4* Good start to what sounds like a multi-author (ongoing?) series.

Book 1 in the Porthkennack series reads like a 'slice of life', with decent characters other than the leads, an actual storyline, some slightly unsavoury stuff, some reality and some plain human decency that's too often kept hidden. Believe me, it's not as muddled as I make it sound, and you have to be reading it to understand it.

It's a very English tale and a very JLM tale, so it's classy and understated, but very readable. There aren't tons of highs and lows or dramas, simply some real life.

The romance between the leads was slow and sweet, building from simply a couple of decent guys meeting by fluke, becoming friends then friends-with-benefits and then lovers. It's not a full-on sexy tale, but it's realistic and takes into consideration one guy's narcolepsy. I enjoyed it and will be checking out more of the series.

ARC courtesy of Riptide Publishing and NetGalley, in return for my reading pleasure.

Revised review posted

I was disappointed in Wake Up Call after enjoying several of J.L. Merrow's previous releases, especially her Shamwell Tales series. The book started with great promise, as we are introduced to the absolutely adorable Devan Thompson, a friendly auto mechanic who has come to the fictional port village of Porthkennack in search of answers about his past. He meets Kyle Anthony, whose narcolepsy/cataplexy has been mistaken for alcoholism by the Porthkennack residents. The two strike up an unlikely friendship and then become lovers, but Dev is sure that a posh barrister wouldn't want anything serious with a grease moneky from South London, and Kyle doesn't want to burden anyone with his illness, especially a nice guy like Dev who has his whole future ahead of him.

One of my favorite romance tropes is when two wounded people meet and can't believe they are lucky enough to have found each other. Conversely, my least favorite trope is when two wounded people meet and decide they aren't good enough for each other, leading to one Big Misunderstanding after another because they refuse to communicate their feelings and fears. Dev and Kyle make a lot of assumptions about each other that at first results in repeated scenes of storming away from each other and later in the old cliched "I'll just keep away from him for his own good" behavior.

I'll admit that it's heartening to watch Dev, a former foster child, find the family that he has always wanted even if that family doesn't quite resemble what he came to Porthkennack to find, but Merrow's choice to focus on the relationships Dev develops with secondary characters means, regrettably, there is less time for his relationship with Kyle.

Wake Up Call is cute and frequently amusing, but frustrating as well. Ultimately the romance suffers from too little communication, and the HEA is less than 100% convincing.

Porthkennack is a fictional town in Cornish seaside with rich history - the setting for this novel was absolutely brilliant because how the atmosphere transferred to the story. Even more brilliant was how authentic the story was; the characters actually spoke with local accents, especially Dev who was from South London and had a thick accent. It did get a bit used to because there were some words and sayings I wasn't familiar with, but it really did a lot for the story which I admired a lot. Overall I just really loved to read a book set in England.

Wake Up Call was a touching story with a hints of sadness, sweetness, and coming to terms with both health and family issues. Dev, twenty-four years old motor mechanic from London, went to Porthkennack for a three week holiday and for a quest to find his birth mother. He met there some interesting people, including Kyle who used to be a criminal attorney in London before he was diagnosed with narcolepsy with catalepsy. Kyle's mostly isolated himself because of the narcolepsy but Dev's determined and he has a heart in a right place even if he sometimes said things he didn't mean in the heat of the moment. Kyle and Dev were just so adorable and hot together that I couldn't get enough of their interactions and conversations. Character wise the only complain I have was that Dev's friend, Mal, was introduced so late. He was hilarious and I'd liked to see more of him.

I just wished more Dev and Kyle moments at the end; the ending was a bit abrupt and the epilogue didn't satisfy me enough. Otherwise I really liked Wake Up Call.

Warning: could be spoilish

I’ll be honest with you: I didn’t like this book. So, take a note, I’m very generous with my stars, but the descriptions of Porthkennack, a former Cornish fishing village that became a tourist magnet, the main setting of the novel, were nice enough for me to want to spend a couple of weeks there. Besides, I have a weak spot for the seaside settings in my books in general.

So, Wake Up Call offers a wonderful backdrop for a slow-built romance with two characters who couldn’t be more different - two fate paths that cross accidentally... I normally enjoy this kind of stories, but unfortunately there were also many other things that I found annoying.

Devan Thompson, twenty-four year old, car mechanic from London, who comes to Porthkennack to face his mother who gave him up for adoption straight after his birth.

Kyle Anthony, thirty-three, ex-lawyer, who after having been diagnosed with narcolepsy, gave up his job, his city life and run away from everything that reminds him of his previous life, to settle down in this small town and to live his now-days in undisturbed self-pity.

Maybe someone will consider this novel as a slow-pacing and slow-built romance.
I, for my part, found it extremely boring. Nothing special happened for almost the completely first part of the book: the scenery remained beautiful, the town small, and our characters run continuously into each other, made dull conversations but managed to produce many misunderstandings while doing it, include slamming doors and insulting remarks. Probably it is how the author tried to put pepper in the story. These outbursts had rather a sour taste.

The dramatic circumstances that were added to the plot (view spoiler) and some dramatic actions toward the end - (view spoiler) didn’t make the story more interesting to me, but rather more clichéd and eye-rolled.

I disliked the dialogues. I hate when adult men in MM Romance books talk like 10-year-old teens.
I cannot imagine a criminal lawyer talking this way, and even less the one I want to read about. Well, I can’t imagine Kyle as a lawyer at all.

All in all:
I won’t recommend this book to my friends who share my reading taste, but I won’t be surprise if this book gets many positive reviews. Maybe I should stay away from J.L. Merrow books.

At first, I had a hard time getting into this story because of the wording but then as I continued on it became easier and easier to understand what was meant, etc. I really enjoyed this one, although I must say, I wasn't big fan of Kyle, everyone else, yes. I especially liked the side stories that were going on and I was really happy to see there was an epilogue because I think it would have ruined things for me if there wasn't.

Very cute and entertaining story. Loved the characters and their slowly building relationship. Kyle's condition added an extra layer and gave me some insights into a sickness that I never knew much about.

The writing took some getting used to since Dev think4s and speaks in his south London cockney but I ended up loving that bit too. It gave the story a very unique touch.

~4.5~

Wake Up Call is the first in a series of books to be set in the fictional town of Porthkennack, "a charming Cornish seaside town with a long and sometimes sinister history." If this book is any indication, this is sure to be a fantastic series.

What I noticed first about this novel is the atmosphere: melancholy and layered with meaning. Wake Up Call is more serious than many of Merrow's books, but it doesn't abandon humour, banter, or the authentic Britishness of her writing (the dialogue is gritty and true).

Dev arrives in Porthkennack to find a piece of himself, but what was meant to be a three-week holiday with his best mate Mal turns into a journey of introspection and love.

Dev strikes up a friendship with a standoffish waitress named Ceri and meets a man named Kyle. It's not a typical meeting. Kyle collapses in front of Dev. When Dev rushes to help, Ceri sneers and assures him Kyle is just a drunk. Ceri is a cynic (she has her reasons).

Kyle is anything but an alcoholic. He suffers from narcolepsy with cataplexy, a sleep disorder that causes him to have daytime "sleep attacks" and experience sudden loss of muscle tone (a sort of state of paralysis where he can't move but is fully conscious).

Once a successful criminal lawyer, Kyle is now a lonely recluse renting a cliffside house to escape.

Dev is drawn to Kyle immediately, and the attraction is mutual, although Kyle doesn't think he can have a lasting relationship. Dev smells "like motorbikes and wild nights." He is joy and lightness; he makes Kyle laugh and hope.

But it's not easy. Dev is rejected by (view spoiler), and worried about Ceri, who has a brutal backstory of her own, and his foster sister, Tasha, who unwittingly gets into trouble.

The romance here is slow and tender. Kyle doesn't have much faith in himself, and Dev can be flighty and moody. He worries he's not posh or educated enough for Kyle.

This isn't a super sexy story, but the few moments Kyle and Dev come together are passionate and real.

I don't want to say too much about the plot. Wake Up Call is not fast-paced by any means, but I thought the slower, slightly suspenseful pacing fit the story perfectly.

I'm rounding down because the last chapter felt a bit rushed to me. I wanted Kyle and Dev to talk more; while Ceri grew on me, I wanted less of her story and more of Kyle and Dev together, preferably doing dirty things to each other. Fortunately, there is a lovely epilogue that brings much-needed closure.

Wake Up Call,  JL Merrow

Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews

Genre:  romance, LGBTQIA

I’ve read a couple of JLM novels, and liked the look of this one – and it was great fun to read.

Devan, what a great lad. eternally optimistic, always read to see the good in others, despite the harsh realities of life for kids like him, fostered out to people who sometimes genuinely care, but more often are in it for the money, seeing it as a job rather than wanting to give kids a home. Then at 18 its out, on your own, the state washes its hands. Isn’t that shameful? Still, Dev is just such a wonderful character despite all that I couldn’t help falling a bit on love with him ;-)
He’s on a search for his roots, and its taken him to Cornwall where he meets Kyle.

Kyle, he’s in a bit of a down-spell, recently diagnosed with Narcolepsy and Cataplexia, and like most people he – and I – knew little of the realities. Its not just napping at inconvenient moments, but something that’s unpredictable, hard to treat and lifelong. A couple of medicines and some herbs aren’t going to put his life back to what it was. There is help though, treatment to manage the condition and with some life changes he could still have a decent future, He’s in retreat though, determined not to take anything, not to give in, and yet what he’s doing is exactly that. It takes Dev and his kindness, his sense of fun and adventure to show Kyle there is hope.

Along the way they have hiccups, plenty of them, and sometimes it seems each good time for Kyle and Dev ends in yet another row, another one that has Dev stomping off, only to turn up later with apologies.
He’s only there for three weeks though, so what comes next, when he lives in London, and they have such disparate backgrounds, can they make things work, is there a future for them. I was so rooting for one, Kyle is a lovely man and he needed someone like Dev to balance him, and likewise he was so good for Dev, even someone so supportive of others needs someone to lean on himself.

Along the way we meet some fabulous characters, Dev’s sister and his friend Mal, the landladies, Ceri who works locally in the cafe and is hard to get along with at first. Dev’s not easily rebuffed though and just what she needs, someone who cares and who makes her see all is not lost, she’s had a hard time recently, problems that happen to too many teens. Then there’s her uncle Jago, her dad, the two girls on holiday – its a real mix of characters much like real life.

Stars: Five, a real fun read with some serious issues within it.

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers