The Silly Season

The Brent Boys #1.5

by D.P. Clarence

What happened when Hugo met Stacey?
It’s Stacey versus Hugo in this festive adventure for fans of The Paper Boys!
It’s eighteen months since Sunny and Ludo got together and life is as wonderful as a West End musical. The boys have settled into their new jobs and have built a fabulous, mostly pants-free life together in the Connaught Square flat.
There’s just one big scary thing they’ve never quite got around to—introducing their chalk-and-cheese families.
So, what better time to do it than Christmas?
Stacey has made the trip south for the occasion and if she’s unimpressed with the capital’s famous sightseeing, she’s even less impressed to be missing her traditional Christmas Day volunteering responsibilities in Leicester.
Meanwhile, in Hampstead, Hugo is planning a Christmas lunch worthy of a Michelin Star and eagerly awaiting a very special present in the King’s New Year’s Honours List. It’s just the kind of pretentious rubbish that Stacey has zero time for.
A cultural clash seems inevitable, but Sunny and Ludo are desperate for Christmas to go well. After all, they’ve got a big announcement to make.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Christmas, Queer, Novella, Fiction, LGBT

62 pages, ebook

First published February 1, 2024

About the author

D.P. Clarence writes very British, very funny, very gay romantic comedies. (He's Dan to his friends — including you, dear reader.)

Before turning to fiction, Dan spent more than two decades in the media: he started out in radio, survived a stint on reality television and built a long career as a journalist. It shows. The newsrooms in his books are accurate, the tabloid headlines are terrible on purpose, and the first rule of journalism really is “never date another journalist” (or it was for him, at least).

He is the author of the Brent Boys series of standalone romcoms — The Paper Boys, Going Solo, Much Obliged, and the free Christmas novella The Silly Season. Readers know his books for razor-sharp banter, chaotic families, closed-door romance, and happy endings you can trust.

Originally from Australia, Dan lives in London with his husband and their very smiley corgi.

Reviews

[Gaby]

This was proper cute, I can’t wait to see what else this author writes!

[Drakoulis]

A funny and cute side-story!

[Paulina | bitofabookcase]

They are still super cute 🥹🥹

[Nick Vallina (MisterGhostReads)]

Set eighteen months after the end of The Paper Boys, The Silly Season shows the meeting of Stacey and Hugo and how silly the two families are when they combine. Meanwhile our boys are both seeking out a way to ask the other a very important question.

I will literally never get sick of seeing Ludo and Sunny. I love them. I loved this. Gimme gimme more.

[George]

5 - Stars

The Silly Season is the perfect follow on to The Paper Boys. It has all the elements of family, class, friends, and love perfectly wrapped up in the consummate Christmas holiday novella. Pure fun!

Available from the author's website: https://www.dpclarence.com/? , The Silly Season definitely should be read only after reading The Paper Boys.

[Ian]

Just LOVELY 🥹🥹🥹❤️❤️❤️❤️

[Anxietea]

It's never too late for a holiday novella, especially one starring Ludo and Sunny. I laughed, I cried, I fell in love again - all in the span of 70 pages. It was perfection and makes me even more excited for the next book. I adored this!

[Kate]

cute cute cuteeee 🥰

[Joe]

In this heartwarming Christmas novella, Sunny and Ludo return for a festive story filled with love, family, and a touch of nervous excitement. Sunny’s mum has come down from Leicester to spend the holidays with the boys, and while Sunny is thrilled to have her there, he’s also feeling the pressure. With his mum meeting Ludo’s family—who come from very different backgrounds—he’s nervous about how everything will go. But that’s nothing compared to the anxiety he feels about the engagement ring tucked away in his sweatpants pocket, waiting for the right moment to propose to Ludo.

But as the plot unfolds, Sunny may not be the only one with a proposal in mind. Without giving too much away, this novella serves up a delightful mix of warmth, humor, and tender moments that will leave readers smiling. DP has a talent for making you fall in love with the characters all over again, filling the story with just the right amount of funny and sweet moments.

Would recommend the short and swoony Christmas read to get you feeling warm and fuzzy this Christmas.

[PlotTrysts]

Sunny has invited his mom to spend Christmas in London, and Ludo, our favorite nepo baby, is having his family host. If you like Christmas novellas, and especially if you like Christmas episodes of your favorite sitcoms, you're in for a treat, because this has everything you need: Emotions! Laughs! So much Christmas cheer! And if you like British Christmas stuff? You're in even MORE luck, because Ludo and Sunny hit all of the London Christmas high points with their visitor, meaning that you as a reader get to go along for the ride.

Look, we really loved this. What's more, Laine gave it the highest of all her honors: five candy canes out of five on her Christmas rating scale. You'll probably want to treat yourself to The Paper Boys first and then grab this basically perfect newsletter freebie. We apologize that we didn't get this episode out before Christmas, but this will help you keep the season going.

6-Word Summaries:

Laine: All they want for Christmas? Eachother.

Meg: Sunny and Ludo want to propose…

[Fritz42]

Perfect. Just what I needed after reading The Paper Boys. Not only do we get to see Sunny and Ludo 18 months after that first book, but we get the hilarity of Stacey, Sunny's mother, on her visit to London. I fear London will never be the same. I was worried about how she and Hugo, Ludo's father, would get along, but it went better than I feared. I so love where these two great guys end up.

[PJ]

Oh goodness. I wasn't properly warned.

I loved The Paper Boys so much but this was even lovelier. Damn you (not really, obvs), D.P. Clarence, for making me laugh AND sob within the course of just a few pages. I have eyes like a demented raccoon now, but it was well worth it for this hilarious and heartwarming glimpse to more of Ludo and Sunny's story.

[Daniel]

Cute follow up to The Paper Boys. Sunny's mom is in London and they spend xmas with Ludo's family.

[Anushka Bagde]

I loved this short story with Ludo and Sunny's shared family Christmas and how healing it was for everyone. How the families bonded but especially the moms. I loved the love between everyone. This was such a cute read that will always bring tears of joy to my eyes. Overall, wonderful story!

[NTDan]

stacy and hugo interacting was golden

[Matt]

4.2 - shorter.

[Edu]

So sweet and funny. I hope there's another installment coming in the story of Ludo and Sunny.

[c]

i mean this gets 4 stars just for the jessica fletcher reference

[Robert Fontenot]

Yes, the British slang remains almost in comprehensive all times, but this is a fun and funny Christmas follow up to what was already a great novel.

[Luis M.]

I couldn’t get enough of these two cuties, so I read this right after Paper Boys, my heart is so full now ❤️

[Ni]

I loved it, sweet and also touching in moments. I expected perfunctory, as usually such follow-up stories usually are, but was pleasantly surprised.

[PAUL]

Wonderful, short and sweet. Reminded me of the proposal story with my husband!! Just hope there might be a bit more left to tell in the story of Ludo and Sunny…please??

[Sara]

A lovely short story set 18 months after The Paper Boys! I loved getting to see the boys again, and they're just as cute as ever!