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Windfall
Classical linguist Joseph “Grimm” Jaeger may be neither well-known nor well-liked among his peers at his university, but he does have his own office. That’s a cold comfort, sometimes, between his crushing workload and his tyrannical boss, but Grimm has a long of history of making do with what he has. He’s just not always so good at holding onto it.
When his boss springs a brand new project and an absolutely unwelcome officemate on him, Grimm finds himself hard-pressed to adapt. The project is as nebulous as it is pointless, and his new officemate and rival researcher, Key Haddock, proves to be a bit much for even the world-weary Grimm to handle. Key serves up equal portions of soothing tea and scathing commentary on a daily basis, and the two have endless opportunities to get under each others’ skin—or at least under Grimm’s. Key remains unfazed, no matter how often Grimm attempts to rile him back, until their joint project takes a turn for the worst, and an unexpected encounter outside of work forces the two to spend a weekend—and then more—together.
Grimm keeps plenty to himself, but he quickly learns that Key has secrets of his own, and that they share more common ground than either of them would have thought possible. As work and happenstance push them into closer and closer quarters, Grimm abruptly begins to see Key in a new light, but no matter how sudden the onset of attraction, the process of falling for a colleague and roommate kicks up more than the expected amount of emotional dust. As his future begins to look less and less certain, Grimm is forced to delve into his own foggy past—for his sake, and for Key’s.
Fast-paced and laced with cheeky humor, in-jokes, and wordplay, Windfall unravels as both a cozy, sensuous mystery and an intensely intimate view into the small cast’s tragic pasts and intriguing inner lives.
When his boss springs a brand new project and an absolutely unwelcome officemate on him, Grimm finds himself hard-pressed to adapt. The project is as nebulous as it is pointless, and his new officemate and rival researcher, Key Haddock, proves to be a bit much for even the world-weary Grimm to handle. Key serves up equal portions of soothing tea and scathing commentary on a daily basis, and the two have endless opportunities to get under each others’ skin—or at least under Grimm’s. Key remains unfazed, no matter how often Grimm attempts to rile him back, until their joint project takes a turn for the worst, and an unexpected encounter outside of work forces the two to spend a weekend—and then more—together.
Grimm keeps plenty to himself, but he quickly learns that Key has secrets of his own, and that they share more common ground than either of them would have thought possible. As work and happenstance push them into closer and closer quarters, Grimm abruptly begins to see Key in a new light, but no matter how sudden the onset of attraction, the process of falling for a colleague and roommate kicks up more than the expected amount of emotional dust. As his future begins to look less and less certain, Grimm is forced to delve into his own foggy past—for his sake, and for Key’s.
Fast-paced and laced with cheeky humor, in-jokes, and wordplay, Windfall unravels as both a cozy, sensuous mystery and an intensely intimate view into the small cast’s tragic pasts and intriguing inner lives.
- GenresContemporaryQueer
507 pages, ebook
Published February 28, 2018
3 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 11, 2018
Amazing book! The characters are all fully formed, interesting people that you would actually want to know. You get incredibly attached through the insight the author provides, to the point where you can't help but root for them while also wanting to shout at them for their believable hangups. It's not normally my genre but I couldn't stop reading. Great characters, a believable and intriguing story, and fun banter.
June 11, 2018
I absolutely adore this book. I think I've been looking for something like it for a long, long time...and even so, it went far above and beyond my expectations, time after time. Within a day of finishing it, I started it over—and was immediately moved all over again, even more than I had been the first time. The reread value's through the roof on this one.
The only part of the summary that I'd criticize is the descriptor "fast-paced," because to me, this was a brilliant example of a "slow burn," and compared to thrillers or suspense novels—or even many of the romance novels I've read—the timeline isn't compressed all that much. Moreover, individual scenes spend a lot of time on internal monologue. It's handled beautifully, but it still means that a lot of the book goes forward in a kind of suspense-laden slow motion.
Speaking of which, that beautifully-paced narration, at any given point in time, is managed carefully, strategically, so that reveals happen exactly at the moment of greatest impact. What starts as a fairly straightforward story of antagonistic acquaintances, to friends, to lovers—crackling with delicious, agonizing romantic tension all the while—quickly broadens and deepens using crucial, staggering bits and pieces of the main and supporting characters' lives and pasts.
Reading through the book again, I was blown away by how subtly and consistently certain elements were downplayed in the text, invisible on the first read-through but impossible to miss once I had the bigger picture. It had me questioning everything, digging down into the story for foreshadowing and moments of unreliable narration. It also had me desperate for the sequel, as I'm sure there are plenty more twists yet to be revealed, and threads yet to be explored.
The world, from actual, physical settings to the situations of the characters, was fleshed-out and intense, adding a great deal to the plot and the reading experience. The references to post-graduate academia, and the characters' areas of expertise in general, are solid and conversational enough to not only hold up, but also keep me fascinated, interested in exploring them further myself. The book has one solid foot in academia, across a number of disciplines, without being dry for a single moment.
Possibly because of that academic tone, this is a book I found myself analyzing it like I was going to write essays about it. I found myself actively wanting to write essays about it, in truth—and there's so much to write about! I found myself wanting to analyze , or , or discourse on —or I could keep it literary, and yell about how partway through my second read-through, I realized that is a freaking leitmotif.
This is an excellent example of why the #ownvoices movement is so important. The depth and breadth of issues touched on in this book, the complex realism of the main characters' interactions, and simply the portrayal of the characters themselves, is something someone not steeped in the queer community just could not pull off so naturally.
After years of reading m/m fiction written by women, I was a little bit worried that more "realistic" fiction would be off-putting to me, even as a queer man. I am delighted to report that the opposite is true. This book is marvelous, and is already starting to inspire me to come out of my shell and engage more with myself and the queer community where I live. I cannot wait for future installments, and more chances to continue learning (and, occasionally, being turned on) by spending more time in the heads of these marvelous, fascinating characters.
The only part of the summary that I'd criticize is the descriptor "fast-paced," because to me, this was a brilliant example of a "slow burn," and compared to thrillers or suspense novels—or even many of the romance novels I've read—the timeline isn't compressed all that much. Moreover, individual scenes spend a lot of time on internal monologue. It's handled beautifully, but it still means that a lot of the book goes forward in a kind of suspense-laden slow motion.
Speaking of which, that beautifully-paced narration, at any given point in time, is managed carefully, strategically, so that reveals happen exactly at the moment of greatest impact. What starts as a fairly straightforward story of antagonistic acquaintances, to friends, to lovers—crackling with delicious, agonizing romantic tension all the while—quickly broadens and deepens using crucial, staggering bits and pieces of the main and supporting characters' lives and pasts.
Reading through the book again, I was blown away by how subtly and consistently certain elements were downplayed in the text, invisible on the first read-through but impossible to miss once I had the bigger picture. It had me questioning everything, digging down into the story for foreshadowing and moments of unreliable narration. It also had me desperate for the sequel, as I'm sure there are plenty more twists yet to be revealed, and threads yet to be explored.
The world, from actual, physical settings to the situations of the characters, was fleshed-out and intense, adding a great deal to the plot and the reading experience. The references to post-graduate academia, and the characters' areas of expertise in general, are solid and conversational enough to not only hold up, but also keep me fascinated, interested in exploring them further myself. The book has one solid foot in academia, across a number of disciplines, without being dry for a single moment.
Possibly because of that academic tone, this is a book I found myself analyzing it like I was going to write essays about it. I found myself actively wanting to write essays about it, in truth—and there's so much to write about! I found myself wanting to analyze , or , or discourse on —or I could keep it literary, and yell about how partway through my second read-through, I realized that is a freaking leitmotif.
This is an excellent example of why the #ownvoices movement is so important. The depth and breadth of issues touched on in this book, the complex realism of the main characters' interactions, and simply the portrayal of the characters themselves, is something someone not steeped in the queer community just could not pull off so naturally.
After years of reading m/m fiction written by women, I was a little bit worried that more "realistic" fiction would be off-putting to me, even as a queer man. I am delighted to report that the opposite is true. This book is marvelous, and is already starting to inspire me to come out of my shell and engage more with myself and the queer community where I live. I cannot wait for future installments, and more chances to continue learning (and, occasionally, being turned on) by spending more time in the heads of these marvelous, fascinating characters.
March 7, 2018
This book worked so well as literary fiction and as an achingly tender, passionate, slow-burning romance. Of the hundreds of MM romances I have read, this one is probably my favorite, and I am so hopeful that other readers will discover this book. Grimm and Key are such beautiful characters—obstinate, brilliant, complex, generous—and their love for each other is both honest and hard-won. The supporting cast is terrific, too (please, kind universe, give us Red’s story).
September 11, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. The story is simple, relatable, and also deeply compelling. I'm looking forward to the sequel!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews