Review: Boats in the Night by Josephine Myles

After reading a couple of quite intense books I was in the mood for something fairly light. This book fit the bit for that exactly. It tells of Giles, who has recently had a bit of a minor breakdown after breaking with his lover, and is struggling with approaching alcoholism.  He's very wealthy and lives in a huge house near Bath with a canal at the bottom of his garden.  Smutty is a free spirit who has recently purchased a narrow boat. He's only had the boat a couple of days when the engine breaks down at the bottom of Giles' garden.  They're a mix-matched pair, but Giles is almost instantly drawn to Smutty.

There was lots to like about this story, but the main thing which kept me reading was in the two opposite attract  characters of Giles and Smutty. Giles is white, rich, upper-class, a little stuffy and conservative. Smutty is mixed race, was raised in a commune, has dreadlocks and no fixed abode. He makes his money as a street entertainer.  Despite their differences they work as a couple. Smutty longs for a place to call home and Giles' garden calls to him as somewhere he can exercise his love of self-sufficiency. Giles has been constrained for far too long by a now ex-lover whose love of propriety over-rode his love for Giles.  In Smutty's presence Giles learns that there's more to life than wealth, finding himself able to breathe again and feel freer than he perhaps ever has.  I read with delight their unfolding relationship as each learns to see life from the other's point of view. It was the early, awkward scenes between them that really caught my interest. Giles' blinkered viewpoint means that he often stumbles into saying the wrong thing, and only Smutty's laid back personality managed to get them through that initial almost offensive conversation.

The story is also about healing.  Giles needs healing from his minor breakdown, and his encroaching OCD and alcoholism. Smutty needs healing from past hurts.  They find this healing initially in each other's arms through the use of a number of well written sex scenes, and then later through discussion and conversation. The romance does move quickly but not so fast that I felt it unrealistic.

Any niggles I had about the story stemmed from the surprise reveal at the end. Whilst I understood the need for Smutty to have some closure on his past, in my mind it wasn't necessary and I was a little skeptical about the way that part was handled in the story, especially in the way that it linked with Giles. I don't want to say too much here because that would be spoilerish, but that part made me raise my eyebrows a little and marred what had been a pleasant and realistic situation.

Overall, though, despite my feelings about the end, I enjoyed this story.  Although it has some serious themes, the writing had a light touch to it which made the story move swiftly and meant that the ansgt level wasn't high.  I liked both main characters and was invested in their story and their romance which left me with a big smile on my face.  If you're looking for a lovely character based romance then I would recommend Boats in the Night with a grade of 'Very Good'.

Buy this book HERE.