Rating: 4 stars
Buy Link: Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella
Lewis Snell has a lot on his plate. With a busy job as a supervisor at the 911 call center, caring for his elderly father, and a mother with MS in a long-term-care center, Lewis really doesn’t have time for drunk dialing Jerry. Jerry is looking for his ex, Tom, so that he can return his knit cap. Unfortunately for Jerry, he is calling the wrong number.
Lewis texts Jerry and finally convinces Jerry that he isn’t Tom, and that one text leads to an odd text-tag relationship, where nothing truly of consequence is discussed, and yet much is learned by both men.
Lewis isn’t free of baggage, having recently broken up with his boyfriend Martin, who he met at a gay mixer, and soon after they were living together, but Martin wasn’t anything like Lewis thought, nothing at all. Opinionated, critical, and controlling, Martin left after three months, leaving a scarred Lewis in his wake.
Jerry convinces Lewis to meet for coffee, and Jerry proves to be exactly the same in person as he appeared to be in his texts, which makes Jerry’s interest in Lewis slightly less frightening. Can Lewis leave his past behind and take a chance on Jerry?
The first thing I noticed was the clever title, and the texting between Jerry and Lewis were my favorite parts of the book. The writing in the first half was quick, and funny, and got me invested in the story. Where things didn’t quite work for me was once the texting ended and the in-person aspect took over. The loss of the texts, which I truly loved, as the focus shifted to their face-to-face interaction changed the dynamic of the story significantly. I still enjoyed watching Lewis and Jerry get to know each other, but lamented the loss of Jerry’s spontaneous, silly questions and statements.
The build up of their relationship was addressed at a good pace, and the fact that Lewis initiated one of the dates added some much needed balance to the relationship. There was very little angst, and not much conflict, which for some, will be a turn-off, but for me, was perfect within the context of the story. If I am being totally honest, this is what has made Textual Attraction a new light, fluffy go-to read for those days when all I want is pure, sweet entertainment.