Book Review: A Matter of Time (Volumes 1 and 2) by Mary Calmes

A Matter of Time Volume 1 by Mary Calmes   A Matter of Time Volume 2 by Mary Calmes

Title: A Matter of Time
Series: A Matter of Time, Volumes 1 and 2; Books 1-4
Author: Mary Calmes
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: review copy from publisher
Published: July 2011 by Dreamspinner Press

Jory Keyes spends his time drinking and cruising gay bars picking up one night stands. Then suddenly he becomes the only witness to a brutal murder. Although the killer vows to silence him, Jory refuses to go into witness protection. This puts him into conflict with Sam Kage, a very straight and very hot police detective. When passion flares between the two men, Sam is astonished. Is he really gay? And if so, what will this mean to his career, and his life? As the danger threatening Jory increases, Sam senses that nothing is as it seems, and wonders who is really after his newfound and forbidden love?

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: A looong and complicated book with an on-then-off again MM romance that didn’t develop the emotional intimacy I wanted, even after 500 pages.

Book Note: The author’s website says she initially wanted to release this as one book but it was released as four books. Recently, Dreamspinner Press re-released the series in just two volumes; books one and two in volume one and books three and four in volume two. However, volume one ends mid-scene so be sure you have the money to buy volume two or you will be extremely pissy at volume one’s lack of ending! There is also a sequel to both volumes, Bulletproof, which this review doesn’t cover.

The Set Up: Jory dances his way through life, loving and living hard, when he accidently stumbles upon a mob hit. Detective Sam Kage is charged with keeping the flighty Jory alive but tough Sam begins to fall for Jory. Can these two very different people ever have a long term relationship?

Why I Read this Book: I’m slowly reading my way through some of the Goodreads Best of MM Romance lists and this book is often on those lists so I had to try it.

What I Liked: I initially like Jory’s zest for life. He was fearless and not intimidated by anything. He was a self-made person who eeked out a life of his choosing with friends and meaningful relationships. The first 200 pages of this series was a romp of an adventure. For instance, Jory’s quest to rescue a poodle leads him to be a witness to a mob murder. His humor and quips kept me laughing through most of volume one.

I also like the secondary characters, Jory’s boss and friend, Dane especially. The point of this story isn’t eroticism but more of a character study of Jory and the people he develops relationships with. Jory’s relationship with Dane is a fairly complicated one that kept my attention until the end of volume one but it totally skipped a complicated piece between the volumes that disappointed me.

What I Also Liked: I live in Chicago-land area so the setting of Chicago was spot on here. I felt like I knew the clubs and attractions the author sets her story in. Anyone wanting a fun introduction to the Windy City will enjoy this setting as much as I did.

What I Didn’t Like: Jory’s perky, zany, quirky perfection drove me bat-shit crazy after 300 pages. I was tired of hearing how EVERYONE fell in love with Jory. From past one-night stands to his boss’s clients to hospital staff caring for him, everyone pets and loves on Jory and are constantly mesmerized by his model-like perfection. Jory is like eating Dunkin Donuts, yummy for one or even two but after that you feel sick and need a giant salad.

I also wasn’t a fan of the on-off-again relationship between Sam and Jory. Sam is gay-for-Jory so you’d think there would be emotional angst related to that but it’s not explored at all. Sam just yells and curses his lust and love for Jory and then something breaks them up. The tension for nearly 600 pages is if/when Sam and Jory will be together. For me that’s not enough to keep my interest. I wanted relationship development that included deepening emotional intimacy as I found in the Cut & Run series but instead it felt like the development stalled at the men becoming a couple.

IMO: I wouldn’t put this on a Best of MM Romance but it was an interesting read.



J9’s Rating:
2 1/2 Frogs


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About Brianna: Supermom by day, naughty reader by night. Addicted to chocolate, Twitter, her iPad, her Kindle, and 99¢ Kindle deals. You can follow Brianna on Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Instagram.

4 comments:

  1. Great series. I love this author and have friend to read everything she's written. The Warder series is also great.

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  2. Sorry that's was tried to read them all. Oops

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  3. Great series. I love this author and have friend to read everything she's written. The Warder series is also great.

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, I suppose not everyone can love every series...I know others adore this series but just not for me I think.

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