Can't think of a "this book sounded like fun" pun but fun is the perfect way to describe this. A contemporary late 20s single fun x romance romp through Eoin's exploration of London life as a young gay man. Good feels and great fun.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bryan Moriarty, and Hodder & Stoughton for my opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This story focuses on Eoin, originally from Ireland and now working as a barista in The Quarter Turn, a coffee shop in London. When his long-term boyfriend Rich suggests that they try an open relationship, Eoin is left reeling. This isn't helped by having to manage The Quarter Turn after the boss heads off on "holiday". I liked the the day to day descriptions of running the shop and the various customers in and out which helped to keep this book realistic and light-hearted. With Eoin beginning to explore the no strings attached dating scene, his best friend Jax pursuing a man that is taken, and new employee James starting at the coffee shop, drama seems to be everywhere.

This was a humorous book with some very likeable and realistic characters.

Such a fun and easy listen! I feel like this could get everyone out of a reading slump! Loved Moriarys narration also.
Definitely would read anything else this author writes.

I really enjoyed this audio book. Loved that it was author’s voice narrating the book and even better in his Irish accent. An interesting take on the challenges of modern open relationships. I could listen to it all over again.

For a novel where not much actually happens, I found it compelling, funny and well-paced

Read it if: You want a LGBTQ+ romantic comedy.

Don’t read it if: You need all out action and drama.

The audiobook version of this novel is fantastic. Read by the author, it makes the humorous bits of dialogue and observation even funnier. I’m not usually a fan of the romantic comedy genre, but I was drawn to this book as it examines non-monogamy. Not in any depth however, if you’re wanting a novel that explores the many facets and challenges of open relationships this one isn’t for you. This is a lighthearted tale of how one person reacts to his long-term partner suggesting an open relationship. The description of friendships and workplace relationships felt so realistic and I liked how the protagonist explored platonic love and enjoyment.

With thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5/5)

READ IF YOU LIKE:
👀 Singular POV
🇮🇪 Irish characters + narration
⏳ Linear timescale
🫶🏼 Open relationship exploration
🇬🇧 LONDON SETTING
🏳️‍🌈 Gay relationship rep
🌶️ Fade to black romance
📖 DOUBLE BOOKED + THE SPLIT

☁️ THOUGHTS:
The striking front cover and fun title drew me instantly to this book and I was so excited when I was granted early access on Netgalley. This was Moriarty’s DEBUT NOVEL and I absolutely adored it.

Narrated by Moriarty himself (Irish narration is my absolute fave🤌🏼) this was a charming, fun, lighthearted story of self-exploration + discovery and getting out of a relationship comfort zone.

I loved Eoin’s character: hilarious, cheerful and charmingly Irish, whose perspective was a joy to follow. The storyline was so fun, from the drama and friendships of the Quarter Turn cafe, to Eoin’s dating app disasters as he and Rich open up their relationship.

My only complaint is though the rep of a non-mainstream relationship was brilliant, the lack of communication seems to be a super common problem in any book I’ve read where the characters explore an open relationship. I do wish the communication was there, and we saw a healthy outcome from such an exploration.

Despite the above, I listened to this in just over a day and absolutely could not put it down. I loved seeing Eoin’s journey of finding himself, and realising he was his own person. Charming, heartwarming and overall just a delightful listen: I’d really recommend picking this up for a fun and different romance.

✨ 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 + 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥/𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲, 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧.

📍 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘴, 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩 + @𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 (𝘐𝘎).

Super quick and easy read. Loved the queer representation in this book and also the cafe setting was extremely relatable. I have been a barista and all the customer interactions were spot on. The main character was very open minded and extremely likeable and this was a lovely read! The Irish narrator was spot on as well!

3.75 🌟

I really enjoy reading about relationship dynamics, so when I realised what this one was about I was really intrigued.
Eoin is blindsided one day when his boyfriend of 6 years suggests they have an open relationship, is it a good idea? Is it something he actually wants to go through with?
I loved Eoin as a character, the book was a fun and lighthearted look at a slightly more taboo subject. It was really interesting to read how Eoin and Rich go about the new dynamic and what the outcome was.
This was a quick read, but well worth picking up.

I rated this 3.5 stars out of five.

I really wanted to like this, I did enjoy the story and loved the characters and could really picture all of it, but for me this had too much of what I normally dislike about straight romances and rarely find in queer romances. The poor communication in this book annoyed me, it felt to me like what people think non-monogamous relationships are like rather than the reality of them.

This book disappointed me, but I still enjoyed it.

I enjoyed this book. I couldn’t really relate to any of the characters but I found the main character very endearing and really grew to love him as the book went on and his character grew. I liked the humour in this book, especially the humour that wasn’t too obvious

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book, I liked the writing style, the story line and the narration of the audiobook. It was such an interesting take on a modern relationship and I really can't wait to see what Bryan Moriarty puts out next.

It seems I'm going to read pretty much everything Bryan Moriarty writes. I loved the honest, funny and sensitive way he writes, and listening to the audio version read by himself was an absolute joy. The first person narration coupled with Bryan's distinctive Irish accent gives a special, authentic flavour to the book, and I wonder how much of the story is inspired by his own experiences.

A loveable, bittersweet romance.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an Advance Review Copy.

Thank you for allowing me to listen to this audiobook in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Firstly I really liked the narration of this audiobook, Bryan’s voice lends itself so nicely to voice work.

I liked the story well enough, I did find myself getting frustrated with the main character in places. I thought the storyline about the coffee shop owner was building to something but that seemed to be brushed to one side towards the end and an explanation given which was reasonable but had been built up more than necessary in the book.

I think a lot of people will enjoy the book and especially the audiobook, this isn’t my most favourite genre but I think the author handled some difficult themes and topics in a sensitive and respectful way.

This was a very interesting book. It’s about a male and another male in a gay relationship where he brings up being open and being in an open relationship and how the emotions of someone not being sure and then getting used to it, but I’m falling in love with another guy at his work, but also is very relatable in the sense that they talk about how stressful customer services and how management can leave everything on you which day and cause unnecessary stress. I thought that the character arc of him growing up and moving on was absolutely phenomenal.

Thank you for giving me a copy of this book to review,

I enjoyed the audio book, I found that it was very easy to listen too the narrators voice immersed me in the main character

This is a perfect summer book, with likeable characters and a simple story line.

3.5* /5

Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for a copy of this book.

27 year old, barista, Eoin's life is turned upside down when his long-term boyfriend, Rich suggests they open up their relationship..

Meanwhile, the he's left managing the coffee shop as his boss Rebecca is missing.

I found this a very enjoyable, fairly lighthearted, quick read. Eoin is a likeable and relatable character; I found it refreshing to see a main character in his late 20s working as a barista and enjoying it, I wish we saw more characters aged 25+ working these type of jobs and not hating it.

Looking forward to more from the author.

4.25 ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and Bryan Moriarty for accepting me to be a pre-publication review of this book and audiobook - I primarily listened to it because the narrator (Moriarty himself) read it really well, his Irish accent lent itself well to the main character bringing the story to life and was in general a really great listen - so smooth and clear… also Irish accents are super nice so Yhh.

The basic plot is we follow Eoin via a first person account, his boyfriend of five years, Rich, suggests they consider an open relationship as something that ‘might be fun’ which he is not too keen on at first. He works at a cafe basically in the role of manager and there’s strange occurrences happening there, he hires a new employee James who makes him think about his own relationship in different ways. There are more storylines but don’t want to spoil anything. I did really like how Eoin considered the idea of who he was and in what spaces he felt comfortable being and expressing this true self and his journey was one of ups and downs but defiantly character growth. This brings me into the characters which I did really like, Eoin especially was really great and super lovable yet had some flaws making him more real, there were relatable parts of his story which I loved. James was also quite developed and I did really like him, Rich was alright maybe a little one-dimensional at points but not necessarily bad. Jax was fun and a good friend, Billy (employee) was clumsy but sweet and yhh nearly all of the characters had their pros and cons and were realised. I would say some parts were repetitive and a little unrealistic in how things panned out but mostly it was fine. The writing too was alright, not really that amazing but decent enough for a debut, it’s enjoyable and understandable. I don’t think Moriarty was going for a very impactful novel so it’s not this but the messages put forward I did resonate with and it was a nice lighthearted read. As someone who doesn’t particularly like reading smut, I appreciated that the sex scenes were implied occurring off the page and there’s no real TW topics to mention at all, great!

Overall, I would totally recommend checking this book out - specifically the audiobook read by the author as his accent is super smoothing and it brings Eoin’s character to life - and despite not being a new favourite I am excited to check out what Moriarty brings out next, I’ll be keeping an eye out.

I found this book very enjoyable and I would recommend it to and contemporary readers who enjoy good queer representation.

The main character Eoin seems a bit lost at the start of the book. He's moved from Dublin to London for a man, but the relationship doesn't seem perfect, and he's just been asked to open it up to others. What follows is a fun-ish exploration of how not to deal with an open relationship. Rule number 1 is that communication is key, however the couple religiously do not talk about things, which makes it feel less like an open relationship and more like a serial cheating scenario.

What I found most compelling is the representation of someone who doesn't have it all together and who gradually, over the course of the book, manages to make changes what put him in a much happier place. His dreams aren't grandiose, he's just a normal guy who just wants to do what pleases him without allowing the expectations of others to impact him too much.

The reason I'm not giving this book 5 stars is just because I felt that it was too short. I wanted more flesh to the bones in some places, especially at the end (but I suppose I'm always greedy for a more concrete ending). I also wish that there had been more communication between Eoin and Rich, just to give good representation of what an open relationship can be. It made it seem as though they can never work, but they do work for many couples and maybe a better example of that could have been provided. I realise that it was a function of the plot, but perhaps it could have been 'look at this couple for whom this works, but it just doesn't work for us'. But I still enjoyed it obv.

The writing style was exactly what I like. Contemporary and straightforward, yet still descriptive. I was immediately drawn in and couldn't wait to get back to it to find out how things turned out.

I was kindly provided with a copy of the audiobook by the publisher via Netgalley, so thanks to them for allowing me to read this book. It was narrated excellently by the author, who I think it a fantastic job with it.

Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and netglley for this audio copy. I loved the voice and could feel all tge delusions, all the fears, emotions of the main character. I could scream at him to be stand for him self and not be so dependent on one relationship. I immagine is hard but anyway there are ways and wayd of dealing with the obstacles. Anyway we have to fall to rise again.

Such a fun, fast-paced and heartwarming read. I loved the representation of a relationship outside the ‘mainstream’ and having it told from an Irish voice!

Eoin was a very likeable character and I was absolutely rooting for him from the beginning. The journey was complicated, freeing, emotional and joyous. I finished it in one sitting.

The experience was made even better hearing the author read it themselves, a rich and familiar voice tied with the wonderful production.

Thank you so much!