Review: Waiting for the Flood

Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

I first read/reviewed Waiting For the Flood in 2020, now it has been republished, I think there have been some updates, and there is a brand new novella about Marius.

Waiting For The Flood
This is very different from the first novel in this series, no glitter pirates to be seen. Instead we meet Edwin Tully an introspective man with a severe stutter, grieving the loss of his long-term relationship with the outgoing artist Marius.

Edwin catalogues and restores old books in Oxford, he lives alone in the terraced cottage he and Marius bought, trapped by his speech impediment and his inability to get over the end of their relationship. Then torrential rain and rising river levels put his home at risk of flood and introduce him to a man from the Environment Agency, Adam Dacre.

This was a sweet, gentle romance. more about Edwin learning that he is still lovable than about the burgeoning love between Adam and Edwin, full of imagery of glittering waters and peace. It felt so packed with emotion and imagery that I was amazed it was only just over 100 pages long, it felt like a full-length novel.

Chasing The Light
A totally new novella about Edwin's former love Marius. Reluctantly returning to his family home for the Polish festival of Wigilia, Marius is discombobulated when he sees Edwin and Adam at the party. Unable to cope with the suffocating love of his parents, Marius runs away and slips on the icy canal-path, dropping his phone into the canal and severely spraining his ankle. Marius is found by narrowboat owner Leo who brings him to safety.

Leo and Marius are tortured souls, although Leo has come to terms with his past and is trying to live a better, simpler, life away from his toxic family and fair-weather friends. Marius doesn't know how to deal with kindness and support, he'd rather be sarcastic or f*ck, both of which he employs with Leo. But somehow the cramped narrowboat eases Marius' soul and enables him to open up to Leo about his issues in a way he doesn't feel able to do with anyone else.

What I love about Alexis Hall's writing is they can make you hate a character one minute and the next, even though they are being obnoxious, you start feeling for them. Marius is just such a character, even when he's being a d*ck.

BTW apologies for the asterisks but the B&N review censors are very puritanical about any mildly offensive words, particularly relating to s*x which is itself a no-no word LOL.

My love for Alexis Hall's writing continues.

So glad I requested an ARC, especially because of the new novella.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

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