“It’s not exactly Love Actually, is it?” Maybe not but it had alllllll the feels a good romance should have. @quicunquevult always delivers. I started this at 8:00 last night and easily could have read the entire thing in one sitting. I feel like the Grinch - my robot heart 🫀grew three sizes by the time I was finished.

Absolutely delightful. One of my favorite reads. One of my favorite tropes, well written and centered around delightful characters.

Dnf
Was unable to connect with this story
Did not rate. Did not finish

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica – ☆☆☆
3.5 Stars.

Alexis Hall is a new-to-me author. Stating this because others may be put off as I was: I have to admit, I was hesitant to read this novel due to the cover. I'm not one who allows that sort of thing to influence me, but with the physical proportions off, it looked as if a grown man was holding a disproportionate little kid in a romantic embrace, and I wasn't sure what I was in for should I continue to read.

With that being said, I'm glad I continued. With the love-hate premise of stumbling upon the guy you bullied as a teenager, having no idea who he is, and wanting to bed him, this is a delicious recipe for angst.

I need to point out, if you're someone who was bullied as a kid, you may find it hard to swallow how easily Fen forgave Alfie (ignored the issue). People are complex, and we all don't react the same way to events in our past and present, so I found their dynamic realistic. We also change as we mature. Alfie isn't the kid he used to be now that he has grown into a compassionate man, and Fen isn't the same person either.

Alfie comes home for the wedding of his old pal, only to out himself in the most embarrassing fashion, and he keeps doing this all over the place. Not that he's in the closet, but his small town isn't up in his business. Alfie has a difficult job, tons of money, and a contemporary apartment in London, but none of this offers him any real happiness. He wants something else, but he's just not sure what.

Alfie and Fen connect instantly, the tension palpable, but it's tinged with a thread of resentment Alfie doesn't understand. This connection anchors Alfie, finding it difficult to go back to his life. On the pages, the men share many sweet, hot, and heartfelt moments. But what I found to be my favorite was the unexpected humor. The dry, witty banter between the couple had me chuckling aloud many times. As the daughter of a contractor, one who knows how to spackle, I was dying during that scene.

Finding the romance sweet and lovely, with a bit of purple prose that added a flourish to the novel, you're probably wondering why I gave Pansies 3.5 stars instead of 5. Pacing. The slow pacing, mixed with redundancy is why. It took me the better part of a week to read and finish the 400-page novel, when normally I can read a book and a half of that length in a single day. It wasn't so much the length of the novel, but how it took much longer than ordinary to wade through it. A part of me felt it tedious, drifting into boredom, while another part of me felt the scenes were beautifully romantic. One voice was louder than the other.

Heed this warning: If you're a reader who needs conflict, action, and a quicker pace, perhaps download the sample. As this is 400 pages of conversations intermixed with between-the-sheets actions, and inner monologue.

Recommended to Alexis Hall fans and readers of MM romance. I am curious to see if I'd connect with more of this author's stories. Even though the execution of this premise wasn't to my tastes (I won't wish it was something it wasn't, nor will I rate it on what I wish it would have been), I did find the author's voice to be a beautiful one.


Angela – ☆☆☆☆
I’m starting my review with a word of warning for my fellow American readers – this is a book set in England, written by an English author, featuring English characters. So, if you have a problem with English phrasing and thick accents (especially when the characters get emotional), then be forewarned that Pansies could be problematic for you. Personally, I enjoy reading British authors and consider myself well versed enough in the more commonly used phrases and written accents to read modern English authors, but there were a couple of scenes where I struggled with the thickening accents, particularly Alfie’s. However, none of that affected my rating of the book because I thoroughly enjoyed Pansies.

Technically outside the new adult age range, Pansies has a new adult feel to it because of the level of angst and indecision Hall infuses into the story. Typically, I would consider 28-year-old Alfie old enough to know better, but because he’s only been aware of his homosexuality for a couple years, the angst works for him. Alfie is still trying to reconcile his heteronormative upbringing with his homosexuality, trying to overcome his knee jerk reactions and homophobic comments, and trying to understand his parents’ reaction to him coming out, all while he’s still learning to accept himself. Fen’s angst comes largely from a place of grief – the death of his mother, the loss of his boyfriend, and the loss of the life he had started to build when he chose to return home to take care of his mother and take over her flower shop. Added to all that is the fact that, in high school, Alfie used to torment and bully Fen for being gay, and the confusion that Fen felt for being attracted to Alfie, despite the abuse he suffered. That he once again suffers at Alfie’s careless words when they run into one another, have a one-night stand, and decide to spend more time together, is icing on the cake. But Alfie isn’t the only man in the relationship who has a hard time communicating or who lets his past affect their future.

Despite the fact that he constantly mucked things up, I enjoyed watching Alfie grow over the course of the novel. From his very first cock-up, Fen encouraged Alfie to consider how his actions affected others, encouraged him to make it right and to communicate with the people in his life. Over the course of the book, we got to see Alfie morph from a man who blamed those around him for a problem or misunderstanding, into a man who was able to admit he was wrong, identify where he went wrong, and fix it (when possible). I also enjoyed how their personal relationship changed as Alfie became the man he wanted to be, and I loved the chemistry between them. There were times they were sweet and gentle, and there were times when they couldn’t get enough of one another. This struck a nice balance in their interactions. And the letters! Oh, how I loved Fen’s letters to his mother. They were a touching way for Fen to grieve, to “talk” to his mom, and to give the reader insight into how Fen felt, thus moving the story along. More than one of them made me tear up, but not as much as when Fen “delivered” them. I enjoyed Pansies immensely. You’re probably wondering why not give it five stars? Simply because I’m not entirely sure that Pansies is a book I’ll reread, which is the difference between a 4-star rating and a 5-star rating for me. Either way, I loved spending time with Fen and Alphie, and I look forward to Hall’s next book.

Pansies is the first book of Mr. Hall's that I really connected with. I loved Archie's story arc - and the vulnerabilities he revealed once he connected with Fen and realized their connection to one another. I found myself less patient with Fen and his pain but I'm not sure why. I liked him though, and sympathized with how tormented he was by their shared history and how his mothers death affected him. It's a wonderful enemies to lovers romance and delights in every way. gah. I just loved it.

I recently submitted my top 10 romances of 2016 to All About Romance. I regret not reading this book sooner because it definitely should have been included in my top 10 this year.

I loved Pansies.

Post goes live: 25 Jan

Have you ever started reading a book and gone "What the heck am I reading?" That was me at the very beginning of this book. I literally thought that I had started a different book, or that I had the wrong file. And I almost put it down and didn't pick it up. But I'm glad that I pushed through because it was an enjoyable story.

On that note - the story does start out in a MF perspective, but it's later explained why that is and who the characters are.

The story is between Alfie and Fen - who knew each other in school. Alfie has changed drastically, however Fen is still himself.

Being able to follow along with the relationship between the two of them - their trials and trying to understand each other was enjoyable. Especially Alfie and his "Do it himself" methods.

The book progressed at a semi-slow speed, which worked out on one hand, but the other it felt like it was just to slow. The characters were fun, and they did lighten up the book.

Overall - if you enjoy this author you would enjoy this book for sure. I did and I will be sure to look for more from this author in the future.

Exquisitely written and full of the same lyrical, emotional prose that has become his trademark, Alexis Hall's latest is a magnificent read from start to finish. The story of a Northern lad who goes back home to his roots is a traditional one, but the added depth of a once deeply closeted man who meets up with the former object of his homophobic torment gives the old tale a new spin. At times it was often difficult to feel sympathetic for Alfie, who did such horrible things in his youth, and still retained many unfortunate beliefs about masculinity and what it means to be a 'real man', but his true caring nature always shone through, and you understood how even someone who had suffered because of him could still fall in love. Pansies is not an easy read, but it is magnificent, and uplifting, joyous and so very good.