A not very enjoyable Shamwell Tales. Tristan annoyed, a lot. Con was much more likeable, but overall, since I didn't like Tristan at all, I didn't really get into this.

I absolutely adored this book, which was both a bit of a delightful surprise and the first step in laying a foundation of affection for everything that comes after this!

The concept of this sounded amazing. I loooove retellings. Unfortunately, the diction of the main character drove me batty. He uses words he clearly doesn't quite understand the meaning of, so rather than sounding truly over-educated and pretentious, he sounds like someone TRYING to sound pretentious. Not a good look.

This was an odd little read for me. Con and Tristan had chemistry, but sometimes it was hard to empathize with Tristan, because he was such a privileged little snot. He did grow and get better over the course of the book and character growth is always a win situation. Con also grew, gaining confidence he desperately needed. On the whole, there simply should have been more to the book: to help explain their connection and to show their growth. Big changes happened, but the catalysts for the big changes felt small.

Tristan has one last summer of freedom before he moves to New York and work for his father's finance company, giving up his acting career. But he has one summer and while he visits the small country town of Shamwell to set his recently deceased Danny's affairs in order, he can't help getting involved in the town's local dramatics version of Midsummer's Night Dream.

Con like to hide behind his staging. With his late diagnosed dyslexia, he doesn't even think about acting. But when an incident at a local cricket match means he has to fill a role last minute, he is thrown into Tristan's orbit, who offered to help Con learn his lines.

The more time they spend together, they begin to fall for each other, but a slip of the tongue could easily ruin them...

This is an easy, fluffy read. It was easy to read and was nice to read something that I could switch off to as I have been worrying that the last few weeks, I have been on the verge of a possible reading slump. So this was perfect for me.

HOWEVER! There is so many problems to this.

This felt very insta-lust between Tristan and Connor (Con for short) and as for the characters, primarily and secondary - oh, the characters! Most of the characters in this aren't exactly characters I cheered for. I mean, this is a romance, so we want the romantic leads to be characters we want them to get together! We want them to be together at the end...

... but Tristan... oh, Tristan. There was potential here for character growth! I like Con (I can count on one hand how many characters I liked), but Tristan was arrogant, self-centred and a bit mean at time. And he learnt nothing. Maybe the reveal of the "slip of the tongue" was sooner (not 85-90% in the story), we had longer for them to get some resolution and it wouldn't be so rushed and so fake. Con deserved better - and there was a moment I wonder if this was going in a different direction with another character - I think I would have preferred that compared to how it went.

I think the problem with this whole story is that it had potential but it failed to reach it. I had low hopes so I wanted some fun to read, and while it was, it's hugely problematic.

I was unable to finish this book -- I can't stand Tristan. I tried to read it 3 times. Just isn't happening. Because Netgalley makes us rate each book... I am scoring it a 3 just to remove from shelf.

I enjoyed this. I enjoy all of the Shamwell series and this is no exception. It was cute and funny and I strongly recommend it to fans of M/M romance. A word of warning: The Shamwell series does tend to feature large age differences, but everyone is legal so it's mostly a non-issue. That being said, please dive in :)

The story centered around the relationship of Tristan and Con. Tristan was so obnoxious. I hated him from the very first page he appeared. I never grew any positive feelings about him and because of that hate the HEA aspect of the book. He did not deserved Con in the slightest (slight spoiler, but seriously, who expects a romance novel to end with anything but a HEA). 

Con was a decent guy. He had faults and he worked on them. He had low self-esteem, but that was due to things largely outside of his control (another reason why I hate Tristan is he literally brought up something very similar to Con's disability at a very inappropriate moment which made him seem like even more of an ass than I already thought he was). Con had a real back story. He was trying to find out more information about his family. That was so fascinating to me. If the book was more focused on that instead of Tristan's drama, I would have loved the book. I seriously can't get over my hate of the main character. 

Tristan was so pretentious that I can't focus on anything else but him. I was a drama kid in high school and I was surrounded by drama kids through college. I am used to artsy people. Tristan gave us all a terrible name. People that acted like him did not last long in the groups. They were filtered out, not praised. Seriously, fuck Tristan.

Tristan has loved being on stage—acting is his passion. Unfortunately, his father doesn’t see it quite that way. He has called his son home to New York to begin taking part in family business, and Tristan has no choice but to obey. Before making the big move, however, he must settle the small estate he inherited from his Nanny Geary, who has left him a quaint little cottage in Shamwell. When a tiny frog interrupts Tristan’s cleaning, and leaves him practically hysterical, he calls on the local help to dispose of it.

Con is more of an all-around handy man than exterminator, and tries to make Tristan understand as such. They definitely get off on the wrong foot when Tristan condescendingly insults Con, who is rather sensitive to such slights. You see, poor Con is severely dyslexic and had to leave school prior to completing his education. Now with Tristan in the picture, Con must come to grips with the fact that he not only likes the insufferable man but that between Tristan leaving the country in just a few months, and Con’s obvious lowly estate, there can never be anything between them…or can there?

Welcome to Played!, the second novel in author JL Merrow’s Shamwell Tales. Like the first in the series, Caught, this story takes us back to the quirky little village of Shamwell, and delights us in introducing a few more folks who live there. It is the village that really shines in this book, and Con as well. He is a sensitive man who listens to books on tape, and tries desperately to better himself despite being so very overwhelmed by just about any mention of trying to extend his education and getting a better job. When he meets Tristan he is understandably smitten, but it’s Tristan’s sharp tongue that sets him back. Tristan is a snob, no two ways about it, and while he does want a roll in the hay with Con, he doesn’t see much of a future with him, especially since he will be leaving the country in a few short months to travel to be with his domineering father. When he blurts this fact out to Con, who is still recovering from his last breakup, Con determines to stay well away from the gorgeous actor, at all costs.

I wish I’d liked Tristan more. I tried, but between his tendency to over-dramatize just about everything, and his penchant for sticking his foot in his mouth on just about every encounter he has with the shyer, more sensitive Con, it was hard to find any sympathy for Tristan’s dilemma. I have to honestly admit I felt Con could have done better.

The real redeeming note to this story was most assuredly the minor plot bit which dealt with Con getting to know more about his Granddad through his time spent with an older gentleman named Alf. Those moments were really sweet and felt so very genuine, whereas the time spent with Tristan was more frustrating and shallow than anything else. I so wanted to see Tristan wrestle with his final decision in this book, and for him to really pour out his heart to Con, asking him to forgive all the pompous and mean spirited things he had said and done up to that point. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really happen, and we are left with a rather limp ending to this one, which left me rather ambivalent about the story as a whole.

Okay, I have to get this off my chest: I HATED Tristan.

Like, I felt a huge urge to punch him in the face.

It's really hard for me to get into the romance when you aren't cheering for the couple. I did NOT want Con to end up with Tristan. Tristan is a rude snob who treats people like crap (especially people in the service industries), and I wanted him far away from sweet Con. I can't reiterate enough how BAD Tristan was. Arrogant, obnoxious, spoiled... I could go on and on. The only person worse than Tristan was his extremely toxic BFF, Amanda. Both of them could go to a desert island together.

The couple had no chemistry. None. I honestly was shaking my head at the idea that they could ever be together. I mean, just why????.

Aside from my issues with the couple, I think that J.L. Merrow is very talented writer. She gave each character their own unique voice, and I thought there was something charming about the setting and the atmosphere of the book. I just wish I didn't want to punch Tristan in the nads!

Not my favorite story by J.L. Merrow, not by a long shot.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

4.5 Stars!!!

Played! is book 2 in the Shamwell Tales series by JL Merrow, while it technically can be read as a standalone, I suggest reading Caught! even before or after since it's a great read.

Tristan, a classically trained actor, moves to Shamwell for the summer to clean out his beloved Nanny's house, which she left for him after she passed, before having to take a job at his father's financial business in New York and stop with the acting, much to his chagrin. Things seem to be looking up when he meets gorgeous handyman Con, who is not too willing to give into Tristan's advances and become a summer fling for the actor. However, Tristan is determined to get Con in his bed, since he made a bet with one of his friends.

In the meantime, Tristan is recruited to take a role on the local production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, in which Con works building the set.

An accident forces Con to accept an offer to play Bottoms part in the play, even if he's reticent to do so due to his dyslexia. Tristan offers to tutor him and they get to know each other better. Just as things seem to be working out between them, though, everything goes to hell due to Tristan and his big mouth. Will he manage to make things better before it's too late?

This is a slow-burn romance, and when I say slow-burn, I mean, Con and Tristan won't kiss until around 83% of the book. However, that doesn't mean there isn't plenty unresolved sexual tension and enough hijinks to keep things interesting in the meantime.

I adored Con and Tristan, who had amazing chemistry, even if took me a bit to warm up to Tristan and I wanted to cuddle Con, even if he was a bit of a drama queen and tended to overreact to things. Still, they had great chemistry and the whole story sounded plausible enough. It was a lovely opposites-attract, too, since they couldn't have been more different.

I really liked the secondary storylines with Con's grandfather and Alfie and Mary and the fact that Tristan's nanny might have planned for them to meet after her death, that was such a sweet touch.

All in all, I had the most fun with this book! It was well-written and even if it took forever for Con and Tristan to kiss, well, there was so much going on and I was enjoying it so much, I barely even noticed.

Definitely a must-read!

*** Copy provided to the reviewer via NetGalley by Riptide Publishing for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***

According to Tristan's father, his fledgling acting career could be summed up as "I’ve read a few dusty old books and farted around on stage for a bit.” Tristan finds himself in Shamwell handling the estate of his beloved nannny / pseudo-Granny and ends up cast in the Shamwell Amateur Dramatics Society's production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This is his final hurrah, his last gasp of freedom before he goes to New York to join the family firm.

Cast as Puck, Tristan soon finds himself anxiously seeking his perfect Bottom ... that is, Shakespeare's character Nick Bottom. Con Izzard, the deliciously tall, muscular, dsylexic handyman ("delightfully rough around the edges, with dark stubble on his chin and unruly jet-black hair") seems an odd choice, but Tristan offers to go all Professor Higgins and tutor Con on his lines (while jokingly betting his BFF Amanda fifty quid he could get Con into bed).

But after this great set-up, the story line falters, IMHO. Tristan is full of great lines and awful puns courtesy of The Bard of Avon while lusting after Con, and Con agonizes over learning his lines and fighting his attraction for this man who will soon be leaving Shamwell forever. This dynamic continues through about 80% of the plot, until Tristan and Con finally kiss and have sex, amidst comments about being circumcised, the OED, a quote from Measure for Measure, dyscalculia (?) and finally Tristan's "irredeemably, utterly stupid" mention of the bet.

There is a disjointed secondary plot regarding Con's long-dead father and following a bit of angst, the story doesn't so much end, as finally slouch its way to a conclusion of sorts. I didn't really get much chemistry between Tristan and Con and frankly the pace of the story bored me. To summarize, this book was just not doing it for me. 3 stars for Played! and I'm moving onward to the third book in the Shamwell series Out!

Tristan Goldsmith comes to the tiny village of Shamwell to clean out the home of his childhood nanny and pseudo-grandmother, Nana Geary, after she passes away. Saddened by her loss, he’s nevertheless happy to have the excuse to get out of fulfilling his father’s request to “quit fooling around with the nonsense profession of acting” and come to work for the firm in New York, which is where he belongs according to his father.

JL Merrow has created quite the character in Tristan—a very big ego, as could be expected of a talented actor, but also a much more interesting person than the happy-go-lucky side he presents to the world. When he meets handyman Con Izzard, he wants to climb the tall man and engage in whatever pleasures they can offer each other. But to Tristan’s mortification, Con turns him down flat. Con wants a real relationship—not a quick one-night stand or a summer fling, and he’s determined to hold out until he someday gets it.

The two are thrown together pretty frequently when Con’s friend, Heather, whom we met in Caught, needs an extra actor to play Puck in a Midsummer Night’s Dream. And she needs Con to play Bottom (and don’t think JL Merrow wastes her inimitable sense of humor to make the best of that character’s name!)

Eventually, the men get together but not until after they’ve truly come to care for each other—though, of course, neither is willing to acknowledge that or admit it out loud. And unfortunately, a stupid comment on Tristan’s part breaks them up before they even get started. There’s an interesting WWII romantic mystery subplot thrown in for good measure and a host of really interesting and sweet village characters, including the MCs from Caught. One of the nicest things about this story, in my opinion, is that the characters don’t immediately jump into bed. In fact, the story is nearly over before they have sex. But it comes when it should and makes sense when it does. I’ve come to appreciate authors who can write romance without throwing a sex scene in every chapter, and this is certainly much more of a romance than a “hot sex” story.

As I said in my review of Caught, JL Merrow infuses each story with humor and most certainly did a wonderful job with this one. Humor always adds to my enjoyment of a story and in this particular book there were plenty of opportunities for the flighty Tristan to exercise his mastery of the pun—both subtle and not-so-subtle—though often to his own detriment.

I’m looking forward to more in this series. If the next two are as good as the first two, I have a lot of pleasure coming from reading in the very near future. I highly recommend this story and the series to those who enjoy MM romance, particularly stories set in rural villages in the British Isles.

This is the second in the series as originally published but the fourth I have read in the new edition.

Am I actually going with the majority on this one and giving more than a lukewarm rating to this latest Shamwell ( outright winner of the Gayest Village in England competition) shocker? Well…..let’s see……

Marks off first for too much Shakespeare. Yes, JLM does a mean line in literary references (see Chapter Title Quotes) but this was a tad overdone. As were all the BOTTOM jokes .A real bummer those were. I bet they led 99% of readers into erroneous erotic thoughts about the end of the story.Naughty JLM making suckers of us all.

Marks off also for Tristan’s bet with Amanda. I felt this was really unnecessary except as a rather obvious plot device.

What about the main characters? Tristan, rich, promiscuous, voluble, flamboyant actor and Constantine, relatively poor, faithful, taciturn, dyslexic general handyman- quite a contrast, almost a will -opposites -attract situation, a bit of a cliche?

For me it worked in ways that others in the series have not. I found myself involved and never quite certain that it would all work out, despite the growing attraction on both sides. Tris and Con were endearing characters, both in their ways hugely vulnerable, but made for each other. I also thought that the development of the relationship, interwoven with their rehearsals for the play worked really well and had credibility. The sex seemed to arise naturally and was handled well, being interesting without being over-the-top.

Overall this was a fun read but addressed some serious issues such as dyslexia and commitment. There was also the sub-plot about Con’s grandfather which was enjoyable and nicely woven in.

Thank you to NetGalley and Riptide Publishing for the advance copy.

Played!
A Shamwell Tales novel

by JL Merrow
Review from Jeannie Zelos book reviews
Genre: Romance, LGBTQIA
I've read and loved Shamwell 1, 3 and 4, so was pleased to fill the gap. this was another great read, very village life feel, subtle humour as always in JL's books, and a decent story. Its a story more than sex book here, the bulk of the novel is Tristan's thwarted attempts to woo Con. They are so funny when Tristan declaims some quote from a play and Con's like ...err..K then. Sometimes he's lost and others he's on script, having spent so much time building sets for the Sham Drams.
Tristan is a product of his background, posh school, moneyed parenst and it shows at first in his entitled arrogance. slowly though the village wears off some of that brittle shine and his real nature comes through, we see he's actually quite a caring guy. Him and con though, seem to be talking two different conversations at first, especially before Con's dyslexia and reading issues come out. Con's ready to assume Tristan's taking the mick, when really he's just being his slightly OTT self.
Its a gentle romance, build's slowly but with the usual pressures. Tristan is there for the summer only, con doesn't do short term romance, he's been burned before and isn't going there. then New York hangs over Tristan's head like the Sword of Damocles. He's going to work there in finance in the family firm, use that expensive education his father's always complaining about, but his heart dreads it, he loves performing even if it is ting stages in little towns, staying in some pretty dire B&Bs. He loves the actors life, its part of him and he dreads giving it up.
I loved meeting the other guys too, the little stories that come out that aren't attached to the romance and make for a well rounded story. I really didn't think I'd like Tristan when we first met him but as more of his nature came out I found myself sympathetic to his position and wanting things to work between him and Con. Loved the stage setting, even though I'm not a great Shakespeare fan ( all that analyzing of the plays at school took the fun out of his work for me..).
One comment, I liked the old cover so much better, this new one isn't the Tristan I have in my head.

Stars: five, a great addition to Shamwell stories

ARC supplied for review purposes by Netgalley and Publishers