I love discovering new authors – especially when their writing is as good as this one. I’m a pretty easy reviewer, and usually generous with my star ratings, but it’s sort of rare for me to give a 5-star rating to a new or new-to-me author. J. R. Lawrie deserves every one of the 5 stars and I would probably rate it higher if I could.

I knew going in that Let Your Heart Be Light is a collection of three novellas but I must not have read the blurb all that closely…because I was very pleasantly surprised to find two stories about Zack and Richard.

To explain it a bit better – I read the first story, Kind of a Big Deal, and was blown away by the writing. Then I read the second story, For Services Rendered and was again charmed. Then I came to The Farrington Club and, at first, had no idea that it was another story about Zack and Richard; it was a very welcome surprise.

Kind of a Big Deal is a slow-burn story about strangers who meet at an art show, where one of them feels completely out of place and is only there because of his sister. The witty repartee between Zack and Richard was delightful to read. I absolutely felt the intense connection between them. The story has a great happy ending – thus my pleasant surprise to find the third story was also about Zack and Richard.

For Services Rendered is about two neighbors who don’t know each other but finally meet when Julian makes a visit to the ER after a fall. Both men are surprised to see each other here and realize that they are neighbors. This story is kind of an insta-love one but I love those. Again, the writing just sucked me in and kept me fully engaged. This one has a HFN (happy for now) and I wouldn’t mind reading more about Julian and David.

Now for the wonderful surprise that was The Farrington Club. I didn’t think Richard and Zack’s story could get any better but this one is cheeky, a bit irreverent and just a fantastically good read. Richard belongs to a stuffy gentleman’s club and, as his husband, Zack is granted membership, too.

At first Zack feels very much out of place when he goes to the club. With his pink hair he is not the usual kind of man found at the club. Richard has a LOT of clout at the club and he makes it clear to everyone that Zack is to be welcomed into the fold or else they might live to regret it.

Zack shakes things up at the club and soon has other members fawning over him. Richard is never embarrassed by what Zack does and the outcome of some of Zack’s shenanigans is really good. I laughed out loud more than once while reading this story. Here’s an example: Zack and Richard are eating at the club for the first time and other members are listening to their conversation. Zack realizes this and…

The entire room seemed to be hanging on this single conversation. Some people hadn’t turned their page in five minutes. “So,” he chirped, “new topic. Do you think I’m the first ever Farringdon member with nipple piercings?”

As a nearby diner began to choke on his soup, the waiter reappeared with their wine.

In conclusion, I can’t say enough good things about this author and this collection of stories. I will certainly be watching for more of her work.

Reviews for J. R. Lawrie

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