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Alpaca My Bags
Silver fox Scott Riley is holidaying on the Isle of Wight with his newborn granddaughter and her parents following the breakup of his relationship. A bit of fun in the sun with rugged alpaca farmer, Ryan, could be just what the doctor ordered for Scott—but first he’ll need to get past his over-protective daughter! Stressed out from new motherhood, Katie’s worried her dad’s going to get his heart broken.
Free spirit Ryan doesn’t believe in relationships. An ex foster child, he’s learned to move on quickly from hook-ups and cut his emotional losses. But with the island’s limited dating opportunities, he’s taken up knitting to while away the lonely evenings. Ryan’s not planning to waste a minute in getting Scott into his bed—but into his life?
They’ve said all along it’s just a holiday fling. When both men realise it could be the start of something more, they’ll need to work hard to counter Scott’s family’s misgivings—not to mention their own.
Note: this novella first appeared in the Hot Summer Nights anthology.
Free spirit Ryan doesn’t believe in relationships. An ex foster child, he’s learned to move on quickly from hook-ups and cut his emotional losses. But with the island’s limited dating opportunities, he’s taken up knitting to while away the lonely evenings. Ryan’s not planning to waste a minute in getting Scott into his bed—but into his life?
They’ve said all along it’s just a holiday fling. When both men realise it could be the start of something more, they’ll need to work hard to counter Scott’s family’s misgivings—not to mention their own.
Note: this novella first appeared in the Hot Summer Nights anthology.
99 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 20, 2019
12 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
J.L. Merrow
145 books1,324 followersJL Merrow is that rare beast, an English person who refuses to drink tea. She read Natural Sciences at Cambridge, where she learned many things, chief amongst which was that she never wanted to see the inside of a lab ever again. Her one regret is that she never mastered the ability of punting one-handed whilst holding a glass of champagne.
She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and the paranormal, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novella Muscling Through was a 2013 EPIC Award finalist, and her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy. Her novel Relief Valve is a finalist in the 2015 EPIC Awards.
JL Merrow is a member of the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.
Find JL Merrow online at: www.jlmerrow.com, on Twitter as @jlmerrow, and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jl.merrow
She writes across genres, with a preference for contemporary gay romance and the paranormal, and is frequently accused of humour. Her novella Muscling Through was a 2013 EPIC Award finalist, and her novel Slam! won the 2013 Rainbow Award for Best LGBT Romantic Comedy. Her novel Relief Valve is a finalist in the 2015 EPIC Awards.
JL Merrow is a member of the UK GLBTQ Fiction Meet organising team.
Find JL Merrow online at: www.jlmerrow.com, on Twitter as @jlmerrow, and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/jl.merrow
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
August 1, 2023
The daughter ruined the mood for me . Too bad , apart from that it was quite lovely.
December 4, 2019
I don’t get to say this often but I loved the way this read started. The writing was smooth and engaging right off the bat. Let’s be honest, this was a fun light, well written, breezy read.
JL Merrow is a insta-buy for me and this one doesn’t fail. I loved the sense-of-place in this one to the point I had to stop and research going there for visit. The potential lovers were over thirty five, that always makes me happy. Overall, I just plain enjoyed Alpaca My Bags.
JL Merrow is a insta-buy for me and this one doesn’t fail. I loved the sense-of-place in this one to the point I had to stop and research going there for visit. The potential lovers were over thirty five, that always makes me happy. Overall, I just plain enjoyed Alpaca My Bags.
November 2, 2019
Really cute story. I appreciated that this story featured an older character. I also appreciated how fun, sexy, and real the story felt. My only quibble is the epilogue was far too short--I would have loved to see more of what life was like after the story technically ended. :)
February 24, 2020
Awwww, that was a cute and entertaining one. Light, kind of easy going....like the main characters.
May 3, 2020
I liked it. It was short and sweet. Didn’t like the daughter’s interference. The knitting and alpacas were interesting. Cute story.
January 10, 2020
Short, sweet, delightful romance between two 40-something men, with bonus introduction to the best tourist attractions on the Isle of Wight.
June 9, 2023
A quick, complete read.
I love this author. Whether short or long form with their writing, they always get the story told. This was a sweet and satisfying read about two men finding love when they weren't looking or expecting it. I, personally, love romances between characters over 40 and I really love how Ryan and Scott were so comfortable with their ages. Was Scott's breakup with Shallow Cal extremely close to him meeting and connecting to Ryan? Yes, but they're the kind of pairing you feel would have happened whether they met years after that breakup or while Cal was still in the picture. Not that they're necessarily fated to be together, but they just work so well that they would have gotten together whenever they met. The dynamics with Scott's family were adorable and I just loved all the details put into this.
I love this author. Whether short or long form with their writing, they always get the story told. This was a sweet and satisfying read about two men finding love when they weren't looking or expecting it. I, personally, love romances between characters over 40 and I really love how Ryan and Scott were so comfortable with their ages. Was Scott's breakup with Shallow Cal extremely close to him meeting and connecting to Ryan? Yes, but they're the kind of pairing you feel would have happened whether they met years after that breakup or while Cal was still in the picture. Not that they're necessarily fated to be together, but they just work so well that they would have gotten together whenever they met. The dynamics with Scott's family were adorable and I just loved all the details put into this.
October 31, 2021
From the detailed description of the Isle of Wight as a holiday destination to Scott's delightful and loving family, this story was so warmly engaging. Scott's fiercely over-protective daughter might cramp the style of her dad's holiday romance with loner Ryan, but this gave a real emotional sweetness and humour to this lovely tale and made the growing connection between the couple all the more believable. Delighfully escapist and emotionally down to earth.
July 1, 2020
I do like JL Merrow’s writing style and enjoy her stories.
This is a short one and I could have read a longer version very easily!
The MCs are slightly older than the norm, at either end of the 40’s.
Scott, on hols with family, meets Ryan and a quick holiday tryst or two turns into more.
A nosy Alpaca, protective Llama, some knitting and a baby complete the round up
This is a short one and I could have read a longer version very easily!
The MCs are slightly older than the norm, at either end of the 40’s.
Scott, on hols with family, meets Ryan and a quick holiday tryst or two turns into more.
A nosy Alpaca, protective Llama, some knitting and a baby complete the round up
December 19, 2020
Will a holiday romance between a guy who's just ended a relationship and another man he meets by chance last beyond the week he's visiting with his family? The story dealt more with the man's relationship with his adult daughter than any other subject.
April 8, 2020
Light, funny and angst-free. I really needed this book right now! Perfect if you need to escape for a little while.
April 13, 2020
4.25 stars
October 11, 2019
💖💖 A fantastic start to the book, I loved how it's been written.
Yah good riddance to the Ex with that attitude. Katie certainly gave her opinion of her dad's nights out with Ryan, she acts like his mum rather than the daughter lol. The finish was fantastic as a HEA ending.
Includes a silver fox (no, not the animal type) humour, great descriptions, rebound or not, 101 of knitting lol, hot sexy scene and more.
At 48 and single again, Scott was on holidays from teaching job on the Isle of wright. With his granddaughter they visit an alpaca farm.
Ryan 40 years and was happy working with the alpacas and didn't do relationships.
Yah good riddance to the Ex with that attitude. Katie certainly gave her opinion of her dad's nights out with Ryan, she acts like his mum rather than the daughter lol. The finish was fantastic as a HEA ending.
Includes a silver fox (no, not the animal type) humour, great descriptions, rebound or not, 101 of knitting lol, hot sexy scene and more.
At 48 and single again, Scott was on holidays from teaching job on the Isle of wright. With his granddaughter they visit an alpaca farm.
Ryan 40 years and was happy working with the alpacas and didn't do relationships.
January 5, 2020
Delightful and fun.
There's a reason JL Merrow is an insta-buy for me. Imagine my surprise to see one of her best on Kindle Unlimited. Gives me hope there's a few more excellent reads to find during my trial period.
This story was fun, funny, and a great little smile-maker. Loved it. And gave me the itch to get back in my yarn stash.
There's a reason JL Merrow is an insta-buy for me. Imagine my surprise to see one of her best on Kindle Unlimited. Gives me hope there's a few more excellent reads to find during my trial period.
This story was fun, funny, and a great little smile-maker. Loved it. And gave me the itch to get back in my yarn stash.
October 9, 2019
Lovely read
Enjoyed this read...48 year old granddad (Oy, that’s too young to be a granddad) meets an Alpaca trainer on the Isle of Wight. Enjoyed their relationship as well as the father/daughter relationship.
Enjoyed this read...48 year old granddad (Oy, that’s too young to be a granddad) meets an Alpaca trainer on the Isle of Wight. Enjoyed their relationship as well as the father/daughter relationship.
October 17, 2019
A Fun Romance
Wouldn’t we just love a holiday fling that becomes a romantic forevermore? This short story tells it well, with good character development and supporting cast. Even complete to the promised HEA.
Wouldn’t we just love a holiday fling that becomes a romantic forevermore? This short story tells it well, with good character development and supporting cast. Even complete to the promised HEA.
November 2, 2019
4 stars
J.L. Merrow's style of simplicity and the down to earth characters she draw are what I love about her. The humour in these stories is also appreciated. Even though this is a relatively shorter story, I loved the settings, MCs and of course the alpacas.
J.L. Merrow's style of simplicity and the down to earth characters she draw are what I love about her. The humour in these stories is also appreciated. Even though this is a relatively shorter story, I loved the settings, MCs and of course the alpacas.
October 10, 2019
A cute, low angst, quick read that hit the spot for me. MCs in their 40s with an instant attraction that they see as a quick holiday fling that turns into more.
October 26, 2019
Very nice, nice short story. I loved it!
November 24, 2019
Cute comfort read
December 16, 2019
Love this author's style. This is a great novella-length story, that offers strong characters and a terrific setting.
Loved it.
Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews