Review: When the Jazzman Sings by Karma Eastwick

Your feelings about this book will depend on three things: Whether you like hairy men; whether you like men who over-think everything; and whether you like insta-love. The writing in this story was good but I'm not too keen on two out of those three criteria which is why I can't highly recommend the book

When the Jazzman Sings opens with a surprise meeting. Lonely antique store owner, Eli, is locking up for the night when he sees a image of masculine goodness walking down the road towards him. The man turns out to be Gray, who is new in town and looking for somewhere to eat. After much flirtatious banter Eli agrees to show him a local eatery, and even stays to have a meal with Gray. They get on like a house on fire, and Eli, who has been pretty much stifled and sex starved for two years, is ready to jump Gray's bones. It isn't to be though and after a scorching and bone melting kiss the two separate.

This novella takes place over a period of about three days and during that time they fall in love with each other. In some ways this was my biggest difficulty with the book because it all seemed too fast for me. Both men are experienced older men who have been around the block a bit and yet, after only knowing each other a short while they are falling in love. Perhaps I'm just an old cynic but I rolled my eyes a little at that part of the book, especially when the men are looking deep into each other's eyes and sharing words of love the day after they met.

Another part which didn't work so well for me was in the character of Eli. He's a bit of an internal fretter and has a tendency to overthink everything. Much of the book is taken up by his internal monologuing as he ruminates on his boring life in the small town, regrets leaving the city for familial duty, debates whether he is actually clinically depressed and looks constantly back on what he saw as better times. To be honest I was getting a bit fed up of his whinging and things didn't get better when his thoughts turned to how much he was falling in love with Gray. Perhaps my feelings for Eli just stemmed from the fact that he is so unlike me, that I found it difficult to identify with him. One thing I did like though, is that Eli is, as he calls himself, a bear. He's got a beard and moustache and a hairy body. I found this so refreshing as many heroes are usually waxed and buffed up with no stray hair to be found. I also liked that Gray found Eli's body incredibly sexy and commented several times on how gorgeous he thought Eli was.

Despite these couple of problems, there were some really good things about the book. The writing is good and the characterisation solid. I loved the character of Bertie, the dirty minded 70 year old lady who works in Eli's shop and delights in being a crude as possible in order to embarrass her boss. I chuckled on a number of occasions at some of the things she said and thought that she rather stole the book under Eli and Gray's noses. I also liked Gray, what we know of him. As the book is written in the first person from Eli's point of view we only find out a little about him. What I did find out made him an interesting an admirable character.

Overall, this would be a great book for those who like stories where the heroes fall in love quickly. There are no complications or problems in the book so the story is just about two men who meet, find they are attracted to one another and act on that attraction, which is no bad thing. Grade: 'Good'.

Buy this book HERE.