Junk

Title:  Junk

Author:  Josephine Myles

Publisher:  Samhain Publishing

Rating:  A List

Up All Night Satisfaction

Blurb:  Letting go is the first step to healing…or bringing it all crashing down.
When an avalanche of books cuts off access to his living room, university librarian Jasper Richardson can no longer ignore the truth. His ever-growing piles of books, magazines and newspapers can no longer be classified as a “collection”. It’s a hoard, and he needs professional help.

Professional clutter clearer and counselor Lewis Miller thinks he’s seen it all, but even he has to admit he’s shocked. Not so much by the state of Jasper’s house, but by the level of attraction he still feels for the sexy bookworm he remembers from school.

What a shame that Lewis’s ethical code forbids relationships with clients. As Jasper makes slow but steady progress, though, the magnetic pull between them is so strong even Lewis is having trouble convincing himself it’s a temporary emotional attachment arising from the therapeutic process.

Jasper longs to prove to Lewis that this is the real deal. But first he’ll have to lay bare the root of his hoarding problem…and reveal the dark secret hidden behind his walls of books.

Warning: Contains a level-headed counselor with a secret addiction, a bespectacled geek with a sweet tooth, a killer “to-be-read” pile, embarrassing parents, a van called Alice, and deliciously British slang.

Review:  As a book lover and Anglophile I knew I had to read this book. I was expecting a bit of my favorite British slang and Josephine Myles signature quirky heroes. Which of course was completely delivered. You cannot help but fall in love with her adorably individual characters. But this book has all that and more.

Jasper is drowning, not just in books but also in his own mind. This is a character at the end of the line, he cannot continue living in his hoard; his existence can no longer be called living. His fear is so vivid it becomes your fear. Without the stacks of books surrounding me in real life I still connected to his visceral terror of being trapped by his collection.

Lewis, clutter cleaner extraordinaire, isn’t the perfect man either, he has his own idiosyncrasies and compulsions. Because their characters are very much alike in some ways these characters instantly gel together as a couple in my mind, even if it takes them longer to realize it!

As Jasper struggled to move past his attachment to ‘things’ I couldn’t help but think about the objects I am clinging to. As Jasper contemplated the stacks of books filling his home to bursting, I thought of the corner of my closet filled to the top, the shelves crammed full of things I could never part with… Few books have the power to make you look critically at your own life, Junk is one of them.

There is no doubt this book is at times heart wrenching, full of emotional turmoil and internal conflict. But this is a book by Jo Myles! Along with the strife, there are also laugh out loud situations, hilariously awkward family interactions, and sweet, steamy sex. This is the complete package for me as a reader, the only problem I had was it ended. Very highly recommended.

Reviewed by Jules