ancientreader's Reviews > Waiting for the Flood
Waiting for the Flood (Spires, #2)
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ancientreader's review
bookshelves: arc, audiobook, beards-why, disabled-mc, forced-proximity, grief, heartbreaking, hot-sex, m-m, wept-through-major-portions-of-this, excellent-narrator
Feb 09, 2024
bookshelves: arc, audiobook, beards-why, disabled-mc, forced-proximity, grief, heartbreaking, hot-sex, m-m, wept-through-major-portions-of-this, excellent-narrator
This review is for the audiobook, but that format isn't yet listed on GR.
I very much enjoyed the first version of WftF, narrated by Alexander Doddy. This one differs in two important ways: it adds Marius's post-Edwin story, and it's narrated by Will Watt. Will Watt narrated -- performed, really -- 10 Things That Never Happened; he was wonderful, and I'm pleased to say that he's wonderful in this as well. As a USian, I can't judge how accurately he renders regional accents, but to my ear he's terrific. Each character voice is distinct, and Adam calling Edwin "petal" is outright swoony.
Having read that first version of Waiting for the Flood, you might think there's no way you could ever feel sympathy for Marius. Prepare to have that expectation undermined: Marius's reasons for leaving Edwin and for his generally obnoxious, not to say unkind, behavior broke my heart. If I jam my critic hat down hard I will admit that it's difficult to see why someone who grew up in such a loving (if often overbearing) family would be chock-full of self-loathing; but perhaps this comes back to the devastating knowledge that has undone him in many ways. No spoilers: you have to read or listen. I'll just say that I actually cried out in distress when Marius told Leo the truth.
The last section of this new Waiting for the Flood returns to Edwin's POV, in which he's (of course!) happy with Adam and, if not quite friends with Marius, at least in a condition of more-than-truce. Unlike most epilogues, this one adds value, with Edwin's perspective on Marius as he is "now," and also in seeing how different Marius's barbs feel once he's let go of the self-protective impulse to hurt everyone who comes near.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC, and I hope Will Watt narrates more m/m romance: he's already a favorite of mine.
I very much enjoyed the first version of WftF, narrated by Alexander Doddy. This one differs in two important ways: it adds Marius's post-Edwin story, and it's narrated by Will Watt. Will Watt narrated -- performed, really -- 10 Things That Never Happened; he was wonderful, and I'm pleased to say that he's wonderful in this as well. As a USian, I can't judge how accurately he renders regional accents, but to my ear he's terrific. Each character voice is distinct, and Adam calling Edwin "petal" is outright swoony.
Having read that first version of Waiting for the Flood, you might think there's no way you could ever feel sympathy for Marius. Prepare to have that expectation undermined: Marius's reasons for leaving Edwin and for his generally obnoxious, not to say unkind, behavior broke my heart. If I jam my critic hat down hard I will admit that it's difficult to see why someone who grew up in such a loving (if often overbearing) family would be chock-full of self-loathing; but perhaps this comes back to the devastating knowledge that has undone him in many ways. No spoilers: you have to read or listen. I'll just say that I actually cried out in distress when Marius told Leo the truth.
The last section of this new Waiting for the Flood returns to Edwin's POV, in which he's (of course!) happy with Adam and, if not quite friends with Marius, at least in a condition of more-than-truce. Unlike most epilogues, this one adds value, with Edwin's perspective on Marius as he is "now," and also in seeing how different Marius's barbs feel once he's let go of the self-protective impulse to hurt everyone who comes near.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio ARC, and I hope Will Watt narrates more m/m romance: he's already a favorite of mine.
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Reading Progress
February 2, 2024
–
Started Reading
February 5, 2024
–
Finished Reading
February 6, 2024
– Shelved
February 6, 2024
– Shelved as:
to-read
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
arc
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
audiobook
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
beards-why
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
disabled-mc
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
forced-proximity
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
grief
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
heartbreaking
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
hot-sex
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
m-m
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
wept-through-major-portions-of-this
February 9, 2024
– Shelved as:
excellent-narrator
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Kathleen
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rated it 5 stars
Feb 09, 2024 10:40PM
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It's amazing, really: Marius as an intelligible person wasn't an outcome I would have expected. Assuming that AH wrote his story recently, it's an enormous relief to see him back on form.
Do you and AH generally not mix, then? Damn.
At the risk of having my membership card for the MM romance community revoked - *whispers* No, we don't.
I loved Glitterland on my first read but really disliked it the second time around and his rom-coms aren't my style. Waiting For the Flood is such a different style that it was my last attempt with AH but the prose made no sense to me and I had to give up. I literally didn't understand what many of the sentences meant so whatever AH was doing with that one flew right past me. I felt like I was reading something in a foreign language! LOL!