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Spires Universe #2.5
Chasing the Light
Chasing the Light is a companion novella that will be available to read in Waiting for the Flood (2024 edition). It follows Edwin's ex, Marius, as he rediscovers love and the complicated joy of being truly alive.
164 pages, ebook
Published February 20, 2024
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About the author
Alexis Hall
62 books15k followersOne of those intricate British queers.
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Please note: I don’t read / reply to DMs. If you would like to get in touch, the best way is via email which you can find in the contact section on my website <3
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December 13, 2023“Chasing the Light" spoke to my melancholic soul. There's a timelessness to both stories: In "Waiting for the Flood," the flood that brings Adam into Edwin's life results in a sense of suspended time, outside of the normal structure of daily life. "Chasing," meanwhile, takes place during the winter holidays when the world hibernates, and an accident brings Marius into Leo's life (and boat) for a few days.
I’ve read WftF many, many times, and I was I think in the minority in looking forward to leaning more about Marius. I’m always here for a redemption story, and was thus inclined to give Marius the benefit of the doubt, despite what we learn of him and his treatment of Edwin in "Waiting." At the start of the story, his prevailing traits seem to be self-loathing, scorn and sarcasm, but it soon becomes clear that--as he himself says--Marius is simply lost. And what follows is a moving journey from "restlessness and recklessness" towards hope and light.
I loved Leo, with his boat that he built, and his man bun, and his fluffy jacket potatoes. And his honesty and heart and the quiet, contained life he's carved out for himself. He reminded me a bit of Levi from Kate Clayborn's "Georgie, All Along" (though minus Hank, the greatest romance dog of all time).
A gorgeous love story, "Chasing" is also a meditation on creative work. We're first introduced to Marius as a painter in "Waiting," but in "Chasing," he describes himself by saying "once upon a time I was an artist." What does it mean to be an artist, and is it dependent upon actively producing art? Marius grapples with this question and with finding his inspiration (actually, this also reminded me of a beloved Clayborn character, "Love Lettering's" calligrapher Meg).
"Chasing" is everything I adore in a romance. It made me think and laugh and cry. And want to eat potatoes.
I’m friendly with the author.
I’ve read WftF many, many times, and I was I think in the minority in looking forward to leaning more about Marius. I’m always here for a redemption story, and was thus inclined to give Marius the benefit of the doubt, despite what we learn of him and his treatment of Edwin in "Waiting." At the start of the story, his prevailing traits seem to be self-loathing, scorn and sarcasm, but it soon becomes clear that--as he himself says--Marius is simply lost. And what follows is a moving journey from "restlessness and recklessness" towards hope and light.
I loved Leo, with his boat that he built, and his man bun, and his fluffy jacket potatoes. And his honesty and heart and the quiet, contained life he's carved out for himself. He reminded me a bit of Levi from Kate Clayborn's "Georgie, All Along" (though minus Hank, the greatest romance dog of all time).
A gorgeous love story, "Chasing" is also a meditation on creative work. We're first introduced to Marius as a painter in "Waiting," but in "Chasing," he describes himself by saying "once upon a time I was an artist." What does it mean to be an artist, and is it dependent upon actively producing art? Marius grapples with this question and with finding his inspiration (actually, this also reminded me of a beloved Clayborn character, "Love Lettering's" calligrapher Meg).
"Chasing" is everything I adore in a romance. It made me think and laugh and cry. And want to eat potatoes.
I’m friendly with the author.
March 9, 2024
3,5 stars.
I wanted to love this, to love Marius, but Alexis Hall didn’t make it easy for me.
The book is written in first person past tense, from Marius's pov. I struggled finding Marius relatable and likeable. I empathized with him (once I knew more about him) but it was hard to accept how mean he was, in his thoughts and to Leo as well, Leo who didn't deserve it at all. I like reading about not perfect characters, I prefer MCs who have growing up to do, but Marius was unkind, awful and disrespectful. I know that people often lash out when they feel safe to do so (that's what gets you through your children lashing out when they are growing up, after all) but although Marius apologized afterwards to Leo, their dynamics didn't feel balanced. It's the same issue I had with Glitterland, I know, the hurt one of the MC puts the other through is very raw with Alexis Hall.
I liked how Marius saw himself : "Mine had always been an alley cat heart - wanting to be in when I was out, out when I was in, with people when I was alone, alone when I had company, and released the moment I was held - but Leo's boat without Leo felt empty. When surely, with the two of us, it should have felt crowded."
His mum and their interactions in Leo's presence were ott cringey, why would she bring him his childhood toy frog? Talk about his foreskin?
I liked that talking to Edwin at the end of the book could give Marius some kind of closure.
All in all this didn't feel like a romance to me. That's nothing bad, just not what I was expectating.
Overall 3,5 stars that maybe at a future reread I can see becoming 4 stars.
I wanted to love this, to love Marius, but Alexis Hall didn’t make it easy for me.
The book is written in first person past tense, from Marius's pov. I struggled finding Marius relatable and likeable. I empathized with him (once I knew more about him) but it was hard to accept how mean he was, in his thoughts and to Leo as well, Leo who didn't deserve it at all. I like reading about not perfect characters, I prefer MCs who have growing up to do, but Marius was unkind, awful and disrespectful. I know that people often lash out when they feel safe to do so (that's what gets you through your children lashing out when they are growing up, after all) but although Marius apologized afterwards to Leo, their dynamics didn't feel balanced. It's the same issue I had with Glitterland, I know, the hurt one of the MC puts the other through is very raw with Alexis Hall.
I liked how Marius saw himself : "Mine had always been an alley cat heart - wanting to be in when I was out, out when I was in, with people when I was alone, alone when I had company, and released the moment I was held - but Leo's boat without Leo felt empty. When surely, with the two of us, it should have felt crowded."
His mum and their interactions in Leo's presence were ott cringey, why would she bring him his childhood toy frog? Talk about his foreskin?
I liked that talking to Edwin at the end of the book could give Marius some kind of closure.
All in all this didn't feel like a romance to me. That's nothing bad, just not what I was expectating.
Overall 3,5 stars that maybe at a future reread I can see becoming 4 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2024
3.5 stars
Chasing the Light is the companion story of Waiting for the Flood and in the foreword the author said I don’t know if the version of Chasing the Light I wrote today is the same Chasing the Light I would have written ten years ago. It probably is in parts. It probably isn’t in others. Likewise, I don’t know in what ways reading this book today differed from how it would’ve been had I read it 9 years ago. I do know that, while I didn’t fall completely in love with the story and the characters as it happened with most of the other Spires stories, it was interesting to see the other half of the story of Edwin and Marius. Marius wasn’t at all as I would’ve imagined him from Edwin’s recollections and the glimpse of him in For Real. That doesn’t mean he was a nice surprise, because he’s a dick, but I appreciated a lot that he’s fully aware of it and appropriately self-critical. Marius and Leo’s story was very readable, with interesting enough characters and a good balance in their dynamic, well written as it’s always the case with this author, but nothing much to write home about until what was the turning point for me—.
Just because of that, I was considering rounding my rating up, until I read the bonus material Aftermath, which is told in Edwin’s POV and it’s mostly about Edwin and Adam from Waiting for the Flood, and realized how much more I enjoyed reading about them.
That said, I’m glad I got to read Marius’s story, even though it didn’t make one of my favorite Spires.
Chasing the Light is the companion story of Waiting for the Flood and in the foreword the author said I don’t know if the version of Chasing the Light I wrote today is the same Chasing the Light I would have written ten years ago. It probably is in parts. It probably isn’t in others. Likewise, I don’t know in what ways reading this book today differed from how it would’ve been had I read it 9 years ago. I do know that, while I didn’t fall completely in love with the story and the characters as it happened with most of the other Spires stories, it was interesting to see the other half of the story of Edwin and Marius. Marius wasn’t at all as I would’ve imagined him from Edwin’s recollections and the glimpse of him in For Real. That doesn’t mean he was a nice surprise, because he’s a dick, but I appreciated a lot that he’s fully aware of it and appropriately self-critical. Marius and Leo’s story was very readable, with interesting enough characters and a good balance in their dynamic, well written as it’s always the case with this author, but nothing much to write home about until what was the turning point for me—.
Just because of that, I was considering rounding my rating up, until I read the bonus material Aftermath, which is told in Edwin’s POV and it’s mostly about Edwin and Adam from Waiting for the Flood, and realized how much more I enjoyed reading about them.
That said, I’m glad I got to read Marius’s story, even though it didn’t make one of my favorite Spires.
February 7, 2024
No surprise but I love, love, love it! It always brings me joy to return to the Spires world.
Prickly, angry Marius and tender, patient Leo. It's grumpy / sunshine dynamic and I found it very engaging. Marius is quite difficult to like and I super appreciate that he is given a second chance at love. Leo has his own issues to deal with though he seems to be in a better place emotionally than Marius. The story doesn't make attraction/intimacy/love a magical solution to one's problems. And it doesn't promise a forever, it rather gives the character a new starting point, the possibility of happiness. This is very much true for Edwin and Adam and found the closure Marius and Edwin got here so, so important and tbh, quite rare in romance. They are angry and sad and bitter but after some late night confessions, they find a way to move on from their break-up.
Beautiful prose, funny at times, higher heat level than Alexis Hall's recent books, this one is a perfect companion to Waiting for the Flood and it made me remember how much joy and happiness I can get by reading romance.
CW: injury, eating disorder
Prickly, angry Marius and tender, patient Leo. It's grumpy / sunshine dynamic and I found it very engaging. Marius is quite difficult to like and I super appreciate that he is given a second chance at love. Leo has his own issues to deal with though he seems to be in a better place emotionally than Marius. The story doesn't make attraction/intimacy/love a magical solution to one's problems. And it doesn't promise a forever, it rather gives the character a new starting point, the possibility of happiness. This is very much true for Edwin and Adam and found the closure Marius and Edwin got here so, so important and tbh, quite rare in romance. They are angry and sad and bitter but after some late night confessions, they find a way to move on from their break-up.
Beautiful prose, funny at times, higher heat level than Alexis Hall's recent books, this one is a perfect companion to Waiting for the Flood and it made me remember how much joy and happiness I can get by reading romance.
CW: injury, eating disorder
February 5, 2024
ALC update:
After listening to 10 Things that never happened, I had such high hopes for Will Watt’s updated version of Waiting for the Flood, as well as the audio for Chasing the Light. And my goodness, I was not disappointed.
As expected, Will does a spectacular job in bringing these characters to life. His voices for Edwin, Adam, Marius, Leo and the cast of side characters are deeply distinctive, nuanced, and somehow *just right* and aligned to an internal expectation I seem to have generated from the text. Like, Leo literally *rumbles* in the most reliable of ways. Marius is just as prickly yet lovable (he’d hate me for saying this) as you’d imagine. Nobody does gentle exasperation, smiling, amused care, or anxious fluster quite like Will.
Get this in your ears, stat! Just prepare to feel a lump in your throat, to have a little cry, to giggle. And then want to start it all over again as you get to the end.
———————————————————————-
**Review for the rerelease ARC for Waiting for the Flood and its new companion piece Chasing the light**
I don’t even know how many times I’ve reread this quiet, carefully stunning novella. And I didn’t hesitate holding it again, like an old friend or a lover, trusting that, as always, it would unspool and reveal another nugget of beauty or quiet wisdom worth witnessing.
The rerelease of this second instalment of Alexis Hall’s beloved Spires series brings back the story of not just Edwin and Adam from Waiting, but also unveils the internal world of mercurial Marius, who was thought to have grown tired of loving and listening and preserving, and a man whose sparkly warm, quiet and slowed down life he crashed into on a frosty and dark Christmas night: Leo Dance.
These two, Waiting and Chasing, are stories about taking care to really listen and see, and the value and restorative impact of truly being witnessed and loved for all that you are. Your hesitations, silences, imperfections, fears, savoury and unsavoury truths, neediness and push-awayness, even and especially your pissyness. Without editing, without beautifying or seeking to change or control, shackle or shoo.
These are also stories about the importance of history and love shared even when it doesn’t lead to a happily ever after. Of attachments that linger and last beyond a goodbye, in memories gathering dust, empty spaces where shared things used to be, the quiet knowledge of how someone did or did not like their tea, how they sounded and looked - and looked at you - in a moment of unguarded ecstasy.
To look for a fig in winter might be the act of a madman - and goodness have I seen a lot of hesitation in some parts of the readership as to whether people might ever thaw to the inexcusable Marius - but maybe, just maybe sometimes we find the richest beauty, and the most sensuous of pleasures, in the darkest, barest moments in the dead of a frosty cold winter’s night. Even if we have to slip and fall on our arses before getting to them.
And as always, Alexis has things to observe about identity, creativity, family, justice and society in the kindest, most clear sighted of ways.
I don’t want to say too much to spoil your pleasure of gradual discovery here. Suffice to say that as always, Alexis made me feel ALL the things. The way these stories unspool and unravel and get woven together again in the most satisfying, most right and most cathartic way I could ever have imagined 🩷 My heart!
I CANNOT wait for my physical annotated copy in February 2024!
After listening to 10 Things that never happened, I had such high hopes for Will Watt’s updated version of Waiting for the Flood, as well as the audio for Chasing the Light. And my goodness, I was not disappointed.
As expected, Will does a spectacular job in bringing these characters to life. His voices for Edwin, Adam, Marius, Leo and the cast of side characters are deeply distinctive, nuanced, and somehow *just right* and aligned to an internal expectation I seem to have generated from the text. Like, Leo literally *rumbles* in the most reliable of ways. Marius is just as prickly yet lovable (he’d hate me for saying this) as you’d imagine. Nobody does gentle exasperation, smiling, amused care, or anxious fluster quite like Will.
Get this in your ears, stat! Just prepare to feel a lump in your throat, to have a little cry, to giggle. And then want to start it all over again as you get to the end.
———————————————————————-
**Review for the rerelease ARC for Waiting for the Flood and its new companion piece Chasing the light**
I don’t even know how many times I’ve reread this quiet, carefully stunning novella. And I didn’t hesitate holding it again, like an old friend or a lover, trusting that, as always, it would unspool and reveal another nugget of beauty or quiet wisdom worth witnessing.
The rerelease of this second instalment of Alexis Hall’s beloved Spires series brings back the story of not just Edwin and Adam from Waiting, but also unveils the internal world of mercurial Marius, who was thought to have grown tired of loving and listening and preserving, and a man whose sparkly warm, quiet and slowed down life he crashed into on a frosty and dark Christmas night: Leo Dance.
These two, Waiting and Chasing, are stories about taking care to really listen and see, and the value and restorative impact of truly being witnessed and loved for all that you are. Your hesitations, silences, imperfections, fears, savoury and unsavoury truths, neediness and push-awayness, even and especially your pissyness. Without editing, without beautifying or seeking to change or control, shackle or shoo.
These are also stories about the importance of history and love shared even when it doesn’t lead to a happily ever after. Of attachments that linger and last beyond a goodbye, in memories gathering dust, empty spaces where shared things used to be, the quiet knowledge of how someone did or did not like their tea, how they sounded and looked - and looked at you - in a moment of unguarded ecstasy.
To look for a fig in winter might be the act of a madman - and goodness have I seen a lot of hesitation in some parts of the readership as to whether people might ever thaw to the inexcusable Marius - but maybe, just maybe sometimes we find the richest beauty, and the most sensuous of pleasures, in the darkest, barest moments in the dead of a frosty cold winter’s night. Even if we have to slip and fall on our arses before getting to them.
And as always, Alexis has things to observe about identity, creativity, family, justice and society in the kindest, most clear sighted of ways.
I don’t want to say too much to spoil your pleasure of gradual discovery here. Suffice to say that as always, Alexis made me feel ALL the things. The way these stories unspool and unravel and get woven together again in the most satisfying, most right and most cathartic way I could ever have imagined 🩷 My heart!
I CANNOT wait for my physical annotated copy in February 2024!
December 23, 2023
Disclaimer: I received a free digital ARC of the rerelease of Waiting for the Flood from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. My understanding is that this novella is exclusively available as part of that release.
Waiting For the Flood is a long-standing favorite and is practically perfect in every way, no notes. This review is for the new accompanying novella Chasing the Light.
I’d like to give Chasing the Light the excuse of being paired with WftF so you theoretically read it right after. Which is a hard act to follow for any book. I love almost everything Alexis Hall wrote before 2020, but almost everything he’s written since Boyfriend Material hasn’t worked for me. Setting these two novellas as a pair shines a light on the things that have changed in his writing and why I haven’t clicked with it of late. And it boils down to something that is going to sound pretty harsh: I don’t feel Hall offers the same level of care and compassion to his characters or readers that he used to.
The thing is, I can’t say that Chasing the Light is a bad book. Hall is as accomplished a writer as ever. I highlighted moving prose, laughed out loud at the wit, have a clear picture in my mind of a narrow boat on a wintry river. But it’s missing all the heart that makes Waiting for the Flood so stunning. I have never finished WftF thinking of Marius as the bad guy. After reading Chasing the Light, I don’t think I like Marius at all. He’s given baggage but it feels like an afterthought. Oh, oops, this guy is kind of a dick, better give a reason for that. It’s presented as more of a character quirk or as justification for how abrasively he behaves. We don’t get any real exploration of Marius’s pain or how that is informing the person he is when we meet him. To be clear, characters do not always have to be “likeable” to be compelling. Something about Marius, though, kept me at arms length. Maybe this needed to be a full-length novel to get there but ultimately I’m left frustrated with Marius being such a tool and confused about why Leo is interested in him.
Leo, too, doesn’t feel fully formed. He is a tangle of threads that I never felt I truly grabbed onto. What does he want? How did he get here? The “prison changed me” thing felt too easy, too straight-line to be authentic. And why the fuck does he find Marius appealing, when all he’s done is try to act like the biggest asshole he can the entire time? Again, these are things that could have potentially been resolved in a longer format but my takeaway feeling is uneasiness about the future of this relationship.
The other thing that strikes me about Chasing the Light in comparison to Waiting for the Flood is that this one is quite divorced from community. Though WftF features a lot of lonely characters it is ultimately about connection. Marius and Leo are both hardcore in retreat, seeming to actively distance themselves from other people. Marius comes across as resentful toward everyone no matter how much they care for him and Leo has chosen to sever all ties for reasons were given minimal insight into. Neither of them seem to have friends (and Hall usually writes great friendships). But the isolation doesn’t seem to be serving any purpose. Neither is truly aware of the implications and the resolution of the story doesn’t seem to bring them any closer to a sense of being in the world. It’s just so bizarrely…empty.
One final quibble: one of Marius’s baggage quirks is an eating disorder, though it’s never labeled as such. Essentially, he denies himself food to prove to himself that he can. It’s implied that he’s underweight. None of the other characters seem to be aware of this, so it’s presented merely as evidence of Marius being all jagged around the edges. The treatment of disordered eating in Boyfriend Material was my one concern from that book, so encountering something like this again was jarring.
Maybe I’m being extremely critical. I kind of feel entitled to that, since one of my former favorite authors is now writing stories that leave me feeling vaguely irritated, unsettled, and disappointed. But Waiting for the Flood is literally RIGHT THERE showing us that at some point, Hall had the capacity to write stories that are compelling, moving, and caring. I want that Alexis Hall back.
Waiting For the Flood is a long-standing favorite and is practically perfect in every way, no notes. This review is for the new accompanying novella Chasing the Light.
I’d like to give Chasing the Light the excuse of being paired with WftF so you theoretically read it right after. Which is a hard act to follow for any book. I love almost everything Alexis Hall wrote before 2020, but almost everything he’s written since Boyfriend Material hasn’t worked for me. Setting these two novellas as a pair shines a light on the things that have changed in his writing and why I haven’t clicked with it of late. And it boils down to something that is going to sound pretty harsh: I don’t feel Hall offers the same level of care and compassion to his characters or readers that he used to.
The thing is, I can’t say that Chasing the Light is a bad book. Hall is as accomplished a writer as ever. I highlighted moving prose, laughed out loud at the wit, have a clear picture in my mind of a narrow boat on a wintry river. But it’s missing all the heart that makes Waiting for the Flood so stunning. I have never finished WftF thinking of Marius as the bad guy. After reading Chasing the Light, I don’t think I like Marius at all. He’s given baggage but it feels like an afterthought. Oh, oops, this guy is kind of a dick, better give a reason for that. It’s presented as more of a character quirk or as justification for how abrasively he behaves. We don’t get any real exploration of Marius’s pain or how that is informing the person he is when we meet him. To be clear, characters do not always have to be “likeable” to be compelling. Something about Marius, though, kept me at arms length. Maybe this needed to be a full-length novel to get there but ultimately I’m left frustrated with Marius being such a tool and confused about why Leo is interested in him.
Leo, too, doesn’t feel fully formed. He is a tangle of threads that I never felt I truly grabbed onto. What does he want? How did he get here? The “prison changed me” thing felt too easy, too straight-line to be authentic. And why the fuck does he find Marius appealing, when all he’s done is try to act like the biggest asshole he can the entire time? Again, these are things that could have potentially been resolved in a longer format but my takeaway feeling is uneasiness about the future of this relationship.
The other thing that strikes me about Chasing the Light in comparison to Waiting for the Flood is that this one is quite divorced from community. Though WftF features a lot of lonely characters it is ultimately about connection. Marius and Leo are both hardcore in retreat, seeming to actively distance themselves from other people. Marius comes across as resentful toward everyone no matter how much they care for him and Leo has chosen to sever all ties for reasons were given minimal insight into. Neither of them seem to have friends (and Hall usually writes great friendships). But the isolation doesn’t seem to be serving any purpose. Neither is truly aware of the implications and the resolution of the story doesn’t seem to bring them any closer to a sense of being in the world. It’s just so bizarrely…empty.
One final quibble: one of Marius’s baggage quirks is an eating disorder, though it’s never labeled as such. Essentially, he denies himself food to prove to himself that he can. It’s implied that he’s underweight. None of the other characters seem to be aware of this, so it’s presented merely as evidence of Marius being all jagged around the edges. The treatment of disordered eating in Boyfriend Material was my one concern from that book, so encountering something like this again was jarring.
Maybe I’m being extremely critical. I kind of feel entitled to that, since one of my former favorite authors is now writing stories that leave me feeling vaguely irritated, unsettled, and disappointed. But Waiting for the Flood is literally RIGHT THERE showing us that at some point, Hall had the capacity to write stories that are compelling, moving, and caring. I want that Alexis Hall back.
February 8, 2024
Disclaimer: so this novella is part of the new edition of "Waiting for the Flood", for which I received an ARC from Netgalley, but since I loved that one so much, I couldn't stand to write this not-so-positive review in the same section of a book that felt so special to me. So separate reviews it is.
So, where to start. The bundle of these novellas, "Waiting for the Flood" and "Chasing the Light", is the perfect example of why at times Alexis Hall's writing works for me perfectely ("Waiting for the Flood" is my favourite of his to date, and made me cry my eyes out) and why in other instances it doesn't work for me at all.
So yep, I really disliked this novella.
I love redemption arc stories, I really do, and I also love asshole characters that hide behind a mask of hurtful words and unlovable attitudes to protect their squishy, vulnerable hearts and hidden pains. Ash, in "Glitterland", is the perfect example: he's an asshole, he's mean, and he's also depressed, afraid, terrified, lost, and wholly relatable for it.
Marius, in some ways, has a bit of that in him too: he lashes out and makes a ton of mistakes, hides behing stupid, hurtful words and a self-distructive façade, but yeah... I don't know, unlike Ash, I just didn't buy it (and not even the fact that ), and I just didn't like him. Not one bit. He's mean, he's entitled, he's insensitive, he's a brat (and not the fun type), he absolutely does not learn from his mistakes and keeps acting up and being an asshole up until the very end, when he suddenly has a change of heart. Yep, nope, not buying it.
Alexis Hall's humour walks a very fine line between being hilarious and heartfelt and snarky in a good way (i.e. "Ten Things That Never Happened", "Glitterland"), and being so mean it stops being funny; this was the case with Marius. He reminded me of Luc, and if you've read my reviews of Hall's stuff since my ill-fated reading of Husband Material, that is not a good thing.
Also, Leo was... bland. So very unlike Alexis Hall's usually incredible and unforgettable love interests. So not even the romance worked for me.
I'm giving this two stars only because of Marius's parents (I LOVED THEM TO BITS) and the Edwin and Adam crumbs (my precious babies).
Redemption arc? Not achieved.
I'm still excited for "For Real" though.
TWs/CWs: eating disorder.
So, where to start. The bundle of these novellas, "Waiting for the Flood" and "Chasing the Light", is the perfect example of why at times Alexis Hall's writing works for me perfectely ("Waiting for the Flood" is my favourite of his to date, and made me cry my eyes out) and why in other instances it doesn't work for me at all.
So yep, I really disliked this novella.
I love redemption arc stories, I really do, and I also love asshole characters that hide behind a mask of hurtful words and unlovable attitudes to protect their squishy, vulnerable hearts and hidden pains. Ash, in "Glitterland", is the perfect example: he's an asshole, he's mean, and he's also depressed, afraid, terrified, lost, and wholly relatable for it.
Marius, in some ways, has a bit of that in him too: he lashes out and makes a ton of mistakes, hides behing stupid, hurtful words and a self-distructive façade, but yeah... I don't know, unlike Ash, I just didn't buy it (and not even the fact that ), and I just didn't like him. Not one bit. He's mean, he's entitled, he's insensitive, he's a brat (and not the fun type), he absolutely does not learn from his mistakes and keeps acting up and being an asshole up until the very end, when he suddenly has a change of heart. Yep, nope, not buying it.
Alexis Hall's humour walks a very fine line between being hilarious and heartfelt and snarky in a good way (i.e. "Ten Things That Never Happened", "Glitterland"), and being so mean it stops being funny; this was the case with Marius. He reminded me of Luc, and if you've read my reviews of Hall's stuff since my ill-fated reading of Husband Material, that is not a good thing.
Also, Leo was... bland. So very unlike Alexis Hall's usually incredible and unforgettable love interests. So not even the romance worked for me.
I'm giving this two stars only because of Marius's parents (I LOVED THEM TO BITS) and the Edwin and Adam crumbs (my precious babies).
Redemption arc? Not achieved.
I'm still excited for "For Real" though.
TWs/CWs: eating disorder.
February 22, 2024
I LOVED it, I think I loved Marius & Leo even more than Edwin & Adam.
Hall’s books have a cinematography to them that always make me imagine them on screen.
But with these two short stories I couldn’t help but think they could work wonderfully as theater plays. So much meaningful and complex dialogs, few but well-defined characters and even fewer scenarios, haha.
Can we now have the play, please?!🤣
Hall’s books have a cinematography to them that always make me imagine them on screen.
But with these two short stories I couldn’t help but think they could work wonderfully as theater plays. So much meaningful and complex dialogs, few but well-defined characters and even fewer scenarios, haha.
Can we now have the play, please?!🤣
February 6, 2024
Spires has always been my absolute favorite of Alexis Hall’s books since I first read the series in early 2021. The atmosphere, romance and heart in the writing is something special. To now get a new companion story with Chasing the Light is such a treat and is the perfect bookend to Waiting For the Flood. If you liked Glitterland, the first in the series, you will absolutely love this one.
Water plays a role in meeting someone new in both of these stories and becomes a metaphor for where the MC is in their lives. In Waiting, it’s a flood in Oxford. In Chasing, it’s a frozen river in winter where Marius sprains his ankle and meets Leo who lives on a narrowboat on the Thames. Leo comes to his aid, feeds him, f*cks him, listens to his sarcastic quips and grabs ice from the towpath to help with the swelling. Marius stays on the boat while he heals and feelings happen between them. Both Edwin and Marius are stuck in different ways and the resolution between them is so beautiful it made me tear up.
But I think the thesis statement for the Spires series, and especially this book, is that Love has nothing to do with Worth–Everyone is Worthy and Deserving of Love–no matter how rude, broken or messed up you are. It’s the importance of being seen by someone who gets you, who fits with you. And it’s about accepting life’s conditions in order to move on with the freedom to trust someone new. It’s the truth in this that becomes so relatable and endearing in these companion stories. I absolutely loved it and can't recommend it enough.
This story is a delight. It's funny, snarky, touching, sexy, brooding and just wonderful. I absolutely loved this book and can't recommend it enough.
I also caught a few Spires cameos & mentions: Coal (For Real), Ash, Max (Glitterland), Lionel Dance of Jarndyce & Dance (Pansies)
**Thanks to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC**
Water plays a role in meeting someone new in both of these stories and becomes a metaphor for where the MC is in their lives. In Waiting, it’s a flood in Oxford. In Chasing, it’s a frozen river in winter where Marius sprains his ankle and meets Leo who lives on a narrowboat on the Thames. Leo comes to his aid, feeds him, f*cks him, listens to his sarcastic quips and grabs ice from the towpath to help with the swelling. Marius stays on the boat while he heals and feelings happen between them. Both Edwin and Marius are stuck in different ways and the resolution between them is so beautiful it made me tear up.
But I think the thesis statement for the Spires series, and especially this book, is that Love has nothing to do with Worth–Everyone is Worthy and Deserving of Love–no matter how rude, broken or messed up you are. It’s the importance of being seen by someone who gets you, who fits with you. And it’s about accepting life’s conditions in order to move on with the freedom to trust someone new. It’s the truth in this that becomes so relatable and endearing in these companion stories. I absolutely loved it and can't recommend it enough.
This story is a delight. It's funny, snarky, touching, sexy, brooding and just wonderful. I absolutely loved this book and can't recommend it enough.
I also caught a few Spires cameos & mentions: Coal (For Real), Ash, Max (Glitterland), Lionel Dance of Jarndyce & Dance (Pansies)
**Thanks to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC**
December 12, 2023
Apparently I don't know how to Goodread because I originally reviewed this alongside a re-read of Flood (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) which will include this novella (ARC courtesy NetGalley, thank you)
Marius Chankseliani is the ex-partner to Edwin Tully and prior to this new novella he has existed mostly off page in Waiting for the Flood and a brief cameo in For Real. Marius is extremely prickly, often mean, messy, vulnerable, and afraid. And in his story, Marius finds himself relying on the kindness of a stranger, Leo Dance, and his narrowboat. This story is the perfect bookend to Flood about forgiveness, vulnerability, hope, and love - and how absolutely terrifying the journey can be to let people see your full self - your insecurities, selfishness, fear, pain - and love you for all of it.
"Love has nothing to do with worth"
Marius Chankseliani is the ex-partner to Edwin Tully and prior to this new novella he has existed mostly off page in Waiting for the Flood and a brief cameo in For Real. Marius is extremely prickly, often mean, messy, vulnerable, and afraid. And in his story, Marius finds himself relying on the kindness of a stranger, Leo Dance, and his narrowboat. This story is the perfect bookend to Flood about forgiveness, vulnerability, hope, and love - and how absolutely terrifying the journey can be to let people see your full self - your insecurities, selfishness, fear, pain - and love you for all of it.
"Love has nothing to do with worth"
February 21, 2024
When I found out that the new edition of Waiting for the Flood would come with a longer novella companion piece about Marius, I was excited and intrigued. I never saw Marius as a villain, and was super curious to get to know him. It turns out Marius is in fact quite a difficult character in many ways. He is full of pain and self-loathing, and behaves quite atrociously. A very sharp contrast to Edwin, and to Marius’ love interest Leo in this novella.
Marius is a fascinating character, and I enjoyed his love story with Leo. My favourite part is hard to discuss without spoilers. I will say that I appreciated that there was a lot about compassion, understanding, honesty, and forgiveness in this book. That every person is worthy of being fully seen and accepted and loved. That people can live a situation very differently, and that without information or a full perspective, one can easily fill in the mental blanks in different ways. That it’s possible to come to understanding, resolution, and healing. That part gave me hope. I wish there was more of that in the world.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC
Marius is a fascinating character, and I enjoyed his love story with Leo. My favourite part is hard to discuss without spoilers. I will say that I appreciated that there was a lot about compassion, understanding, honesty, and forgiveness in this book. That every person is worthy of being fully seen and accepted and loved. That people can live a situation very differently, and that without information or a full perspective, one can easily fill in the mental blanks in different ways. That it’s possible to come to understanding, resolution, and healing. That part gave me hope. I wish there was more of that in the world.
Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC
December 25, 2023
Chasing the Light is a gorgeous companion novella to Waiting for the Flood. The two stories beautifully dialogue with one another, in a way I don’t think I’d seen before and certainly didn’t expect from the loose connections otherwise present in the Spires series. Chasing continued the melancholic but hopeful flavor of Waiting, providing continued independence for both Edwin and Marius while allowing their lives to come back together in a new way.
Chasing is the story of Marius, the man who left Edwin prior to Waiting, some year or so after Edwin and Adam’s meeting. Marius is all sharp claws and hissing and teeth and longing — a true feral kitten. He’s lost and listless and deeply sad, and ends up in the care of a scruffy but generous stranger on a house boat after spraining his ankle on Christmas Eve (Yes! It’s also a Christmas story!! Our second in several months from Alexis Hall!). It’s a story of perseverance and opening up and finding self worth, of light in the darkness, and I found it simultaneously excruciating and bright, like a sunrise on a cold midwinter day.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
Chasing is the story of Marius, the man who left Edwin prior to Waiting, some year or so after Edwin and Adam’s meeting. Marius is all sharp claws and hissing and teeth and longing — a true feral kitten. He’s lost and listless and deeply sad, and ends up in the care of a scruffy but generous stranger on a house boat after spraining his ankle on Christmas Eve (Yes! It’s also a Christmas story!! Our second in several months from Alexis Hall!). It’s a story of perseverance and opening up and finding self worth, of light in the darkness, and I found it simultaneously excruciating and bright, like a sunrise on a cold midwinter day.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
December 29, 2024
As this title is only available in the new edition of Waiting for the Flood, I posted my review of both books together HERE
This is the portion of that review that pertains to Chasing the Light
Edwin’s ex, Marius Chankseliani, doesn’t appear in Waiting for the Flood, but has a strong presence in it nonetheless. Chasing the Light, which begins a few months or so after the events of Waiting for the Flood, brings him into sharper focus and reveals more about the complex, messed-up man who hurt Edwin so very deeply.
A mishap down by the river on Christmas Eve finds Marius alone, injured and unable to stand or walk. He doesn’t expect cursing loudly into the dark to be any use, but fortunately for him, help does arrive in the form of Leo, who lives on one of the narrowboats moored along the bank. He helps Marius aboard and proceeds to take care of him, wrapping Marius up in the kind of warm, tender care he normally hates – but which this time, he can’t bring himself to walk away from.
Although Marius is the cause of Edwin’s heartbreak, he doesn’t come across as a bad person in WftF, but rather as someone doesn’t know what he wants or needs in order to be happy - although when we finally meet him in person, there’s no denying he’s a bit of an arsehole. He’s extremely prickly, sarcastic and often mean, but it doesn’t take very long to see that he’s sad and lost and full of self-loathing, the hurtful words he so frequently spits out a mask to hide his vulnerable underbelly. He’s struggling to come to terms with something that is potentially life-altering and he pushes away anyone who tries to offer him the comfort he doesn’t feel he deserves and tells himself he doesn’t want.
Leo is a lovely man – thoughtful, kind, funny and comfortable in his own skin. He’s been through a lot but has finally found his place in life and his peace far away from the man he used to be, and his patience and understanding are exactly what Marius so desparately needs - although Marius would rather die than admit it. Once again, the relationship in the story develops quickly but it’s so well-crafted that it’s easy to believe that these two will find their way.
Both stories end in a very firm HFN, giving Edwin and Marius new starting points that offer the potential for future happiness. I liked the emphasis on love being nothing to do with worth; that everyone, no matter how messed up or how broken, deserves love, acceptance and to be seen by someone who gets them, and I also really appreciated the fact that Edwin and Marius finally get the opportunity to talk and achieve some closure.
Waiting for the Flood and Chasing the Light are perfect companion pieces featuring similar themes of heartbreak, loss, and recovery. The prose is beautiful and profound, the characters are endearing and their love stories are full of compassion and hope. Highly recommended.
This is the portion of that review that pertains to Chasing the Light
Edwin’s ex, Marius Chankseliani, doesn’t appear in Waiting for the Flood, but has a strong presence in it nonetheless. Chasing the Light, which begins a few months or so after the events of Waiting for the Flood, brings him into sharper focus and reveals more about the complex, messed-up man who hurt Edwin so very deeply.
A mishap down by the river on Christmas Eve finds Marius alone, injured and unable to stand or walk. He doesn’t expect cursing loudly into the dark to be any use, but fortunately for him, help does arrive in the form of Leo, who lives on one of the narrowboats moored along the bank. He helps Marius aboard and proceeds to take care of him, wrapping Marius up in the kind of warm, tender care he normally hates – but which this time, he can’t bring himself to walk away from.
Although Marius is the cause of Edwin’s heartbreak, he doesn’t come across as a bad person in WftF, but rather as someone doesn’t know what he wants or needs in order to be happy - although when we finally meet him in person, there’s no denying he’s a bit of an arsehole. He’s extremely prickly, sarcastic and often mean, but it doesn’t take very long to see that he’s sad and lost and full of self-loathing, the hurtful words he so frequently spits out a mask to hide his vulnerable underbelly. He’s struggling to come to terms with something that is potentially life-altering and he pushes away anyone who tries to offer him the comfort he doesn’t feel he deserves and tells himself he doesn’t want.
Leo is a lovely man – thoughtful, kind, funny and comfortable in his own skin. He’s been through a lot but has finally found his place in life and his peace far away from the man he used to be, and his patience and understanding are exactly what Marius so desparately needs - although Marius would rather die than admit it. Once again, the relationship in the story develops quickly but it’s so well-crafted that it’s easy to believe that these two will find their way.
Both stories end in a very firm HFN, giving Edwin and Marius new starting points that offer the potential for future happiness. I liked the emphasis on love being nothing to do with worth; that everyone, no matter how messed up or how broken, deserves love, acceptance and to be seen by someone who gets them, and I also really appreciated the fact that Edwin and Marius finally get the opportunity to talk and achieve some closure.
Waiting for the Flood and Chasing the Light are perfect companion pieces featuring similar themes of heartbreak, loss, and recovery. The prose is beautiful and profound, the characters are endearing and their love stories are full of compassion and hope. Highly recommended.
March 23, 2024
Alexis Hall used to be one of my auto-buy authors but his releases since Boyfriend Material have been more miss than hit. A few I’ve skipped entirely. However, I harbored high hopes for this new novella in my beloved Spires series with the re-release of Waiting for the Flood. Unfortunately, it left me disappointed.
I won’t bury the lede: I didn’t buy the romance between Marius and Leo whatsoever. Marius was the worst. He was mean to the point of verbal abuse. I love a feral cat character but he was just an asshole for reasons I don’t understand. Given that, I couldn’t buy how understanding Leo was, much less that he’d be interested in a relationship.
Hall is typically thoughtful when it comes to his characters’ struggles. That was not the case here. Marius’s disordered eating and retinitis pigmentosa were essentially lobbed into the story and then forgotten about. He never told anyone about his RT diagnosis four years ago, which partly led to him breaking up with Edwin. The internalized ableism was a lot to take. I’m unclear if this was supposed to be the reason why Marius was so mean to everyone? If so, yikes. I really hope he wasn’t like that while he was with Edwin. But also: receiving a diagnosis doesn’t give anyone license to treat others like dirt. Marius needed to be held accountable for his actions. He also needed to address his disordered eating but the other characters either aren’t aware or enable him. It was quite concerning to read.
Waiting for the Flood and Chasing the Light are intended to bookend one another. Perhaps this was too ambitious. I didn’t think less of Marius while reading Edwin’s story but I sure don’t think much of him now.
Characters: Marius is a disabled white artist and describes his sexuality as flexible. Leo is a gay white jack-of-all-trades and was formerly incarcerated. This is set in Oxford, England.
Content notes: verbal abuse by Marius, disordered eating (Marius), retinitis pigmentosa (Marius), internalized ableism, sprained ankle, past incarceration (insider trading; took the fall for his dad), family estrangement, unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussion of STI status; Marius is on PrEP), on page sex, past recreational drug use, marijuana (secondary characters), bestiality joke, gendered pejoratives, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide
I won’t bury the lede: I didn’t buy the romance between Marius and Leo whatsoever. Marius was the worst. He was mean to the point of verbal abuse. I love a feral cat character but he was just an asshole for reasons I don’t understand. Given that, I couldn’t buy how understanding Leo was, much less that he’d be interested in a relationship.
Hall is typically thoughtful when it comes to his characters’ struggles. That was not the case here. Marius’s disordered eating and retinitis pigmentosa were essentially lobbed into the story and then forgotten about. He never told anyone about his RT diagnosis four years ago, which partly led to him breaking up with Edwin. The internalized ableism was a lot to take. I’m unclear if this was supposed to be the reason why Marius was so mean to everyone? If so, yikes. I really hope he wasn’t like that while he was with Edwin. But also: receiving a diagnosis doesn’t give anyone license to treat others like dirt. Marius needed to be held accountable for his actions. He also needed to address his disordered eating but the other characters either aren’t aware or enable him. It was quite concerning to read.
Waiting for the Flood and Chasing the Light are intended to bookend one another. Perhaps this was too ambitious. I didn’t think less of Marius while reading Edwin’s story but I sure don’t think much of him now.
Characters: Marius is a disabled white artist and describes his sexuality as flexible. Leo is a gay white jack-of-all-trades and was formerly incarcerated. This is set in Oxford, England.
Content notes: verbal abuse by Marius, disordered eating (Marius), retinitis pigmentosa (Marius), internalized ableism, sprained ankle, past incarceration (insider trading; took the fall for his dad), family estrangement, unsafe sex practices (no condom for penetrative sex without discussion of STI status; Marius is on PrEP), on page sex, past recreational drug use, marijuana (secondary characters), bestiality joke, gendered pejoratives, ableist language, hyperbolic language around suicide
February 25, 2024
So satisfying to have this narrative arc completed in such a lovely way. One of my favorite things about books with artist characters is invariably getting evocative writing about light.
Yesterday I somewhat off the cuff asserted that Marius is my favorite Spires character; I realized that he actually is. All of them start, in some way, stuck. And all of them fight their way out or through, by hook or by crook, alone and then together. They resist and then reluctantly accept help and comfort. They are scrappy and tenacious, and that is what we love about them.
Marius, though. Marius is deeply craving space (around him, within or from himself, to breathe), and light (again, inside and out), and water that isn't drizzling on you or seeping into your house. All of this is extremely relatable, yet can be incredibly hard to find in England! So Marius runs.
It is a truism of course, that you can't run from yourself (wherever you go, there you are!). But Marius achieves a kind of escape velocity, at a cost to himself and those he loves that he had previously been unwilling to pay. He will pay it, though, because he is also scrappy and tenacious! In doing so, he finds maybe the one place in England where you can always move, where you can live with light coming in from windows on all sides, where the water is mostly under and beside you, not dripping on your head.
I love that for him.
Yesterday I somewhat off the cuff asserted that Marius is my favorite Spires character; I realized that he actually is. All of them start, in some way, stuck. And all of them fight their way out or through, by hook or by crook, alone and then together. They resist and then reluctantly accept help and comfort. They are scrappy and tenacious, and that is what we love about them.
Marius, though. Marius is deeply craving space (around him, within or from himself, to breathe), and light (again, inside and out), and water that isn't drizzling on you or seeping into your house. All of this is extremely relatable, yet can be incredibly hard to find in England! So Marius runs.
It is a truism of course, that you can't run from yourself (wherever you go, there you are!). But Marius achieves a kind of escape velocity, at a cost to himself and those he loves that he had previously been unwilling to pay. He will pay it, though, because he is also scrappy and tenacious! In doing so, he finds maybe the one place in England where you can always move, where you can live with light coming in from windows on all sides, where the water is mostly under and beside you, not dripping on your head.
I love that for him.
Read
February 23, 2024I'm not even sure how to talk about this novella. I've started and restarted this so many times now, struggling to balance an analytical discussion about Themes and Character, metaphorically resonant boats and the labor of freedom, while craving to convey the emotional weight of your deepest self--the one you know is an ass, sarcastic, distant, the one you try to keep in line because the world doesn't need more cruelty--staring up at you from words on a page. How do I describe the relief, the catharsis, that comes from being explained, challenged, and loved anyway? How do I explain the giggling euphoria of Marius's redemption via jacket potatoes and pierogi, two of my favorite foods on earth? Or the simple relief of reassurance that efforts to be kind are never in vain, even if you have to read self-help Marcus Aurelius. Even if you backslide.
I suppose I don't explain any of it. I suppose I just point at the book and say "Alexis Hall has once again made my self seem ok. Now go read about grace, and love, and pierogi."
I suppose I don't explain any of it. I suppose I just point at the book and say "Alexis Hall has once again made my self seem ok. Now go read about grace, and love, and pierogi."
"You'll feel better . . . when you're warmer."
Read
February 24, 2024Just wasn’t getting into it so DNFed pretty quickly. I also didn’t feel that strongly about the partner story to this (which I’ve pretty much forgotten everything about and even now typing this have forgetten the name) so I think this style/approach/something might just not be my thing.
December 13, 2023
Chasing the Light is such a wonderful addition to the Spires universe. It fits in so seamlessly, it makes me curious to know whether it was written contemporaneously with the other books or if AJH can easily slip back into that world to produce new stories for these characters.
This is a novella, but it packs in a complete romance arc, starting with one of my favorite setups: a one-night stand to HFN. Marius, cantankerous, self-loathing, unlovable brat, sprains his ankle, gets rescued by a gentle boat owner, propositions him, and then proceeds to try to be as awful as possible. He didn't count on Leo's unseen depths, his patience, and his own dark backstory. The attraction is instant, but the romance has to take a bit of a journey. By boat as it turns out.
Premise sorted - these are some of the things I loved:
Mr. F. Just gonna get that one out of the way because it's frivolous and such a small detail, but everyone should have a Mr. F to speak the scary, awkward words we don't want to voice ourselves. And it's just adorable to see such a spikey shell like Marius cling onto this softy. Really top-notch character-building.
Leo Dance. What a guy. While Leo has complications, he isn't complicated. He's hot, sweet, funny, and thoughtful. Plus he reads. He's pitch perfect through the entire story, and I would like to mail-order one for me, please and thanks.
The *fans self* glorious pages of hookup. Spires has some of the best sex scenes, and this book does not fall short.
Marius's mother. The cringe is hilarious and so relatable. I love how her presence pushes the romance forward by giving Leo a glimpse of this other side of Marius, and vice versa.
Overlap with WftF - which I won't elaborate on to avoid spoilers, but the Balzacian "Comédie humaine" aspect of the Spires series is very satisfying. While I think CtL could easily be published as a standalone (esp with that gorgeous cover) and hope one day it might, it fits so perfectly as a companion piece to WftF and gives us a really nice full circle.
The luscious writing. The writing in all of Spires is lush and unapologetically poetic. This is part of what brings me back again and again to these books. The humor is still there because there isn't a universe in which AJH isn't hilarious, but it's always side by side with melancholy and navel-gazing and profound (or often mundane) questions about life, art, family, self. Like: What does it mean to be an artist who isn't arting?
What did I leave out? The ambiance, the banter, the bad-assery of Adam, the parallels of their own former prisons, the gorgeous redemption...
I just really loved this and am excited to have this on my shelf in a couple of months. Also, I cannot wait to see what additions to this universe we'll see in the upcoming re-releases.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC.
This is a novella, but it packs in a complete romance arc, starting with one of my favorite setups: a one-night stand to HFN. Marius, cantankerous, self-loathing, unlovable brat, sprains his ankle, gets rescued by a gentle boat owner, propositions him, and then proceeds to try to be as awful as possible. He didn't count on Leo's unseen depths, his patience, and his own dark backstory. The attraction is instant, but the romance has to take a bit of a journey. By boat as it turns out.
Premise sorted - these are some of the things I loved:
Mr. F. Just gonna get that one out of the way because it's frivolous and such a small detail, but everyone should have a Mr. F to speak the scary, awkward words we don't want to voice ourselves. And it's just adorable to see such a spikey shell like Marius cling onto this softy. Really top-notch character-building.
Leo Dance. What a guy. While Leo has complications, he isn't complicated. He's hot, sweet, funny, and thoughtful. Plus he reads. He's pitch perfect through the entire story, and I would like to mail-order one for me, please and thanks.
The *fans self* glorious pages of hookup. Spires has some of the best sex scenes, and this book does not fall short.
Marius's mother. The cringe is hilarious and so relatable. I love how her presence pushes the romance forward by giving Leo a glimpse of this other side of Marius, and vice versa.
Overlap with WftF - which I won't elaborate on to avoid spoilers, but the Balzacian "Comédie humaine" aspect of the Spires series is very satisfying. While I think CtL could easily be published as a standalone (esp with that gorgeous cover) and hope one day it might, it fits so perfectly as a companion piece to WftF and gives us a really nice full circle.
The luscious writing. The writing in all of Spires is lush and unapologetically poetic. This is part of what brings me back again and again to these books. The humor is still there because there isn't a universe in which AJH isn't hilarious, but it's always side by side with melancholy and navel-gazing and profound (or often mundane) questions about life, art, family, self. Like: What does it mean to be an artist who isn't arting?
What did I leave out? The ambiance, the banter, the bad-assery of Adam, the parallels of their own former prisons, the gorgeous redemption...
I just really loved this and am excited to have this on my shelf in a couple of months. Also, I cannot wait to see what additions to this universe we'll see in the upcoming re-releases.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC.
November 3, 2024
Received from NetGalley and Edelweiss, thanks!
Reread December 2023
I’ve read Waiting For the Flood numerous times and I was so excited to learn that it was being rereleased, along with a bonus Marius story. And, wow. Just wow. I’m so happy to be reading a new Spires story and Marius’ story is perfect. It’s beautiful and sad and made me cry. I love that there are cameos from other Spires books. Leo and his narrowboat is romantic, yet realistic, and having seen these narrowboats along the Thames in Oxford really helped bring this to life for me.
I am continually blown away by how Alexis Hall is able to write these incredibly emotional stories and how he’s able to make me care about characters I had thought terrible and irredeemable. Chasing the Light was the perfect companion to Waiting For the Flood and I am so thankful that we finally get this story.
Reread December 2023
I’ve read Waiting For the Flood numerous times and I was so excited to learn that it was being rereleased, along with a bonus Marius story. And, wow. Just wow. I’m so happy to be reading a new Spires story and Marius’ story is perfect. It’s beautiful and sad and made me cry. I love that there are cameos from other Spires books. Leo and his narrowboat is romantic, yet realistic, and having seen these narrowboats along the Thames in Oxford really helped bring this to life for me.
I am continually blown away by how Alexis Hall is able to write these incredibly emotional stories and how he’s able to make me care about characters I had thought terrible and irredeemable. Chasing the Light was the perfect companion to Waiting For the Flood and I am so thankful that we finally get this story.
February 15, 2024
Chasing for the Light is the bonus novella inside Waiting for the Flood and even if I was skeptical about reading a story about the one who broke my little Edwin I actually ended up loving Marius and Leo´s story.
Leo is such a sweet man, with his past giving him some perspective he is able to help a lost Marius in more ways than one.
When little by little the author unravels Marius story then the two novellas come together and give us a super satisfying conclusion.
Leo is such a sweet man, with his past giving him some perspective he is able to help a lost Marius in more ways than one.
When little by little the author unravels Marius story then the two novellas come together and give us a super satisfying conclusion.
February 10, 2025
Marius is a bit of douche. Okay, that’s a lie. He’s a giant dick. But I somehow didn’t mind it. Four Stars.
August 15, 2025
Had to talk myself into this one because I was *convinced* I did not want to read about Marius......and then was incredibly invested in him and his story within the first chapter.
February 12, 2024
Will Watt's narration was wonderfully done.
Marius, the MC, is Edwin's ex. We hear a good deal about him in Waiting for the Flood, so I was interested to get to know him better. I think he's changed a good deal in the four years since he and Edwin broke up. In WFTF, it seemed like Edwin and Marius were two people who had drifted apart. I didn't get the sense that Marius was cruel or especially closed off. But the Marius we meet in Chasing the Light is practically wrapped in barbed wire. He hurts himself and the people around him, including Edwin. He is not a likeable character, but I did find him a relatable one. I know what it's like for discomfort to turn to prickliness, especially around family. I certainly don't think I'm as much of an asshole as Marius is, but I did understand many of his reactions. He's going through something that feels life shattering, and hates himself for the way he's handling it, and hates anyone who tries to offer him what he feels he doesn't deserve, what he tells himself he doesn't want. He's an interesting, infuriating character. I don't know if he's purposefully written as being neurodivergent, but there were definitely times his feelings about things reminded me of my own.
Chasing the Light is higher heat than Waiting for the Flood, as is Aftermath, the short bonus at the very end that mostly features Edwin and Adam. Chasing the Light also has a lot of those intricate details about a subject, as WFTF did with book binding and game theory, this time about living on a boat. And pierogi :) Again, I felt it gave the story a cozy aspect that I really enjoyed. Though Chasing the Light is certainly less soothing than WFTF, because Marius is who he is, I'd still classify it as comforting. I laughed a good deal during Chasing the Light and Aftermath.
I think my one slight disappointment with both novellas is that I wanted Leo and Adam, the love interests of the MCs whose POV we get, to be a bit less... perfect? I mean I love that both Edwin and Marius get these wonderful people to care for them. And I loved what we got of their characters. But I wanted them to have a few more flaws. And I actually loved that Aftermath shows us Marius is still very much Marius.
It is also worth noting that Marius has what I would classify as an eating disorder. I'm guessing this is listed in the CWs but I don't think my audio ARC had them.
I enjoyed this, and I'd recommend it, though Waiting for the Flood is still my favorite of the two.
Marius, the MC, is Edwin's ex. We hear a good deal about him in Waiting for the Flood, so I was interested to get to know him better. I think he's changed a good deal in the four years since he and Edwin broke up. In WFTF, it seemed like Edwin and Marius were two people who had drifted apart. I didn't get the sense that Marius was cruel or especially closed off. But the Marius we meet in Chasing the Light is practically wrapped in barbed wire. He hurts himself and the people around him, including Edwin. He is not a likeable character, but I did find him a relatable one. I know what it's like for discomfort to turn to prickliness, especially around family. I certainly don't think I'm as much of an asshole as Marius is, but I did understand many of his reactions. He's going through something that feels life shattering, and hates himself for the way he's handling it, and hates anyone who tries to offer him what he feels he doesn't deserve, what he tells himself he doesn't want. He's an interesting, infuriating character. I don't know if he's purposefully written as being neurodivergent, but there were definitely times his feelings about things reminded me of my own.
Chasing the Light is higher heat than Waiting for the Flood, as is Aftermath, the short bonus at the very end that mostly features Edwin and Adam. Chasing the Light also has a lot of those intricate details about a subject, as WFTF did with book binding and game theory, this time about living on a boat. And pierogi :) Again, I felt it gave the story a cozy aspect that I really enjoyed. Though Chasing the Light is certainly less soothing than WFTF, because Marius is who he is, I'd still classify it as comforting. I laughed a good deal during Chasing the Light and Aftermath.
I think my one slight disappointment with both novellas is that I wanted Leo and Adam, the love interests of the MCs whose POV we get, to be a bit less... perfect? I mean I love that both Edwin and Marius get these wonderful people to care for them. And I loved what we got of their characters. But I wanted them to have a few more flaws. And I actually loved that Aftermath shows us Marius is still very much Marius.
It is also worth noting that Marius has what I would classify as an eating disorder. I'm guessing this is listed in the CWs but I don't think my audio ARC had them.
I enjoyed this, and I'd recommend it, though Waiting for the Flood is still my favorite of the two.
April 8, 2024
Marius is a deeply flawed character - and I think that’s part of the charm. Would have been nice if the complicated relationship between Leo and his family could have been explored a bit more - but maybe that’s the job of a sequel …
September 8, 2024
It made me cry so of course it gets 4.5 stars. I’ve been Edwin, but I’ve also been Marius so I can’t hate him. I loved seeing Adam again too (him I’ve never been, nobody can’t be that good in real life, right?).
February 26, 2024
I very much enjoyed revisiting Edwin and Adam in Waiting for the Flood. And I was delighted to finally get Marius’ story in Chasing the Light, where we get his motivation for things, even if it’s almost 4 years after their breakup. I knew he had a heart from the peek we had of him in For Real. And the Aftermath epilogue showing Edwin and Marius several months after CtL happy with their new lives was nice.
Will Watt did an excellent job with the new narration.
Will Watt did an excellent job with the new narration.
April 14, 2024
I read this IMMEDIATELY after I read "Waiting for the Flood" and I am glad that I did. It was nice to see that Edwin's ex, though not a good fit for Edwin, was still able to find the guy that fit him. The difference between Marius and Leo only brought them more together, because they both had attributes that the other needed. This was a lovely short read.
February 9, 2024
I had read Waiting for the Flood a few years ago and have been looking forward to this release, with the addition of Chasing the Light.
Edwin lives his quiet life in the Oxford home he bought with the man he loved. But Marius is two years gone now and time seems to have stood still for Edwin.
The rains have come and his beloved home is threatened by the rising waters. Enter Adam, from the Environmental Agency, who strides into the narrative to not only safeguard Edwin’s home but also gently pull down the walls around Edwin’s tender heart.
The audiobook is exquisite—the gentle charm of the original story shines through Will Watt’s narration. The vulnerability and lyricism of Edwin. The smile that comes through in Adam’s voice. The lush, glowing writing that brings the story to life. This is a gentle, kind, warm, and hopeful story—tender and moving in every way.
I was eager to read Chasing the Light, which is Marius’s story. I should have known, this being Hall’s writing, that Marius’s story would touch my heart and make me care deeply for a character I was prepared to heartily dislike.
There is a brittleness to Marius—a soft, vulnerable core wrapped in self-loathing and finished off with a thick, protective layer of prickly sarcasm. He’s tempestuous, grumpy, distant. The narration brings these qualities out in stunning layers that slowly unwrap who Marius truly is, when he’s at his most vulnerable. Leo comes into his life—at literally his darkest hour—and wraps him up in the tender, kind care that Marius can’t walk away from this time.
Leo is lovely—a deeply complicated man who has found his place and his peace far from who he used to be. A better self, a better life. Somehow he gets Marius to find hope and consolation. And contentment.
There is also a beautiful epilogue, an unexpected and deeply satisfying coda for these characters.
Highly recommended. The stories are brilliant—they are like a warm hug, tea, and a blanket on a dreary day.
The narrator is sublime. His empathy for the characters shines through.
This is my personal opinion. My thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the audiobook.
Edwin lives his quiet life in the Oxford home he bought with the man he loved. But Marius is two years gone now and time seems to have stood still for Edwin.
The rains have come and his beloved home is threatened by the rising waters. Enter Adam, from the Environmental Agency, who strides into the narrative to not only safeguard Edwin’s home but also gently pull down the walls around Edwin’s tender heart.
The audiobook is exquisite—the gentle charm of the original story shines through Will Watt’s narration. The vulnerability and lyricism of Edwin. The smile that comes through in Adam’s voice. The lush, glowing writing that brings the story to life. This is a gentle, kind, warm, and hopeful story—tender and moving in every way.
I was eager to read Chasing the Light, which is Marius’s story. I should have known, this being Hall’s writing, that Marius’s story would touch my heart and make me care deeply for a character I was prepared to heartily dislike.
There is a brittleness to Marius—a soft, vulnerable core wrapped in self-loathing and finished off with a thick, protective layer of prickly sarcasm. He’s tempestuous, grumpy, distant. The narration brings these qualities out in stunning layers that slowly unwrap who Marius truly is, when he’s at his most vulnerable. Leo comes into his life—at literally his darkest hour—and wraps him up in the tender, kind care that Marius can’t walk away from this time.
Leo is lovely—a deeply complicated man who has found his place and his peace far from who he used to be. A better self, a better life. Somehow he gets Marius to find hope and consolation. And contentment.
There is also a beautiful epilogue, an unexpected and deeply satisfying coda for these characters.
Highly recommended. The stories are brilliant—they are like a warm hug, tea, and a blanket on a dreary day.
The narrator is sublime. His empathy for the characters shines through.
This is my personal opinion. My thanks to NetGalley and publisher for the audiobook.
February 13, 2024
I read this as part 2 of the new edition of Waiting for the flood, which it is now part of as it should be. Because these stories are kind of one.
I’ve read romance novels before that start with a break up, the MC finding a new love during the book. But I’ve never read anything quite like this.
Two people breaking up a long term relationship. Sometimes you just grow apart, it just doesn’t work out, no matter how much you want it to. No one is the villain, but there is still pain and grief and loss.
I think it’s so cleverly done, that this book includes both stories, because none of the two were “responsible” that the relationship didn’t work out. None of them is “the bad one”. It just didn’t work and now there are new paths to find.
Waiting for the Flood tells the story of Edwin, who’s still alone two years after the breakup, lonely and believing he’s not capable to love again.
But then he meets Adam, the nice civil engineer who helps him while his house is suffering a flood.
This story was so melancholic and beautifully written, my heart ached. It’s so hard to let yourself open up again after a decade sharing your life with someone. I would have loved to read even more!
Chasing the Light tells Marius story, full of self hatred and unspoken secrets.
I don’t know how he and Edwin ever were a couple, because while Edwin is soft and sweet Marius is the exact opposite and often quite mean.
When he slip and fell on an ice patch and needed to be rescued by a stranger living on a boat I rejoiced because he kinda deserved it.
This story was filled with much more passion and steam, Marius being completely closed off from his feelings.
But in the end he finally thawed and opened up as well.
I love that the audio also includes the “Aftermath” story, because I think it again adds so much more closure to the story, same as it did in Glitterland.
The two MCs meeting again, showing how their lives progressed apart from each other, while still staying in each others lives, just not as a couple.
I’ve read romance novels before that start with a break up, the MC finding a new love during the book. But I’ve never read anything quite like this.
Two people breaking up a long term relationship. Sometimes you just grow apart, it just doesn’t work out, no matter how much you want it to. No one is the villain, but there is still pain and grief and loss.
I think it’s so cleverly done, that this book includes both stories, because none of the two were “responsible” that the relationship didn’t work out. None of them is “the bad one”. It just didn’t work and now there are new paths to find.
Waiting for the Flood tells the story of Edwin, who’s still alone two years after the breakup, lonely and believing he’s not capable to love again.
But then he meets Adam, the nice civil engineer who helps him while his house is suffering a flood.
This story was so melancholic and beautifully written, my heart ached. It’s so hard to let yourself open up again after a decade sharing your life with someone. I would have loved to read even more!
Chasing the Light tells Marius story, full of self hatred and unspoken secrets.
I don’t know how he and Edwin ever were a couple, because while Edwin is soft and sweet Marius is the exact opposite and often quite mean.
When he slip and fell on an ice patch and needed to be rescued by a stranger living on a boat I rejoiced because he kinda deserved it.
This story was filled with much more passion and steam, Marius being completely closed off from his feelings.
But in the end he finally thawed and opened up as well.
I love that the audio also includes the “Aftermath” story, because I think it again adds so much more closure to the story, same as it did in Glitterland.
The two MCs meeting again, showing how their lives progressed apart from each other, while still staying in each others lives, just not as a couple.
March 1, 2024
Quanto sono contenta che Alexis Hall sia tornato a scrivere romance MM! Mi mancavano ❤️
Chasing the Light mi è piaciuto molto; l’ho trovato la perfetta metà della mela per Waiting for the Flood, che ho riletto per la prima volta subito prima di leggere questo libro, per godere al meglio dell’esperienza e della storia completa, così come immaginata originariamente dall’autore, e devo dire che così è stato.
È stato bellissimo anche tornare nel mondo di Spires, una serie che adoro ❤️ e questo me l’ha soltanto confermato. E non vedo davvero l’ora che arrivino anche gli altri due romanzi che vi fanno parte che sono stati annunciati!
In più, mi era mancato tanto lo stile di scrittura lirico dell’autore in Spires, le atmosfere che crea nei suoi romance e i personaggi e i sentimenti che è in grado di descrivere. Sono felice di aver ritrovato in questo libro tutto quanto.
La storia di Marius e Leo mi è piaciuta molto e mi ha colpita, e mi sono piaciuti tanto tutti e due come personaggi.
Infine, trovo meravigliose le nuove copertine di tutti i volumi della serie!
Chasing the Light mi è piaciuto molto; l’ho trovato la perfetta metà della mela per Waiting for the Flood, che ho riletto per la prima volta subito prima di leggere questo libro, per godere al meglio dell’esperienza e della storia completa, così come immaginata originariamente dall’autore, e devo dire che così è stato.
È stato bellissimo anche tornare nel mondo di Spires, una serie che adoro ❤️ e questo me l’ha soltanto confermato. E non vedo davvero l’ora che arrivino anche gli altri due romanzi che vi fanno parte che sono stati annunciati!
In più, mi era mancato tanto lo stile di scrittura lirico dell’autore in Spires, le atmosfere che crea nei suoi romance e i personaggi e i sentimenti che è in grado di descrivere. Sono felice di aver ritrovato in questo libro tutto quanto.
La storia di Marius e Leo mi è piaciuta molto e mi ha colpita, e mi sono piaciuti tanto tutti e due come personaggi.
Infine, trovo meravigliose le nuove copertine di tutti i volumi della serie!
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