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His Perfect Companion
Two men, one with a past and one determined to give them a future.
Mick Flanagan has kept himself hidden since his only lover died three years ago. He works at night, keeps to his routine, has impressive facial hair and avoids contact with other people as much as possible. Enter Ceri Llewellyn, with his constantly changing rainbow-colored hair, who, for reasons Mick doesn’t understand, seems determined to talk to him. Gradually, Mick reveals his traumatic past as he begins to trust Ceri enough to shake himself out of his entrenched routines.
Ceri Llewellyn has no idea why Mick intrigues him, but he determines to bring this shy man out of his protective shell, especially when he discovers they share a mutual love of all things Doctor Who. Ceri faces his own turning point, a moment when he must decide on his future. The more time he spends with Mick, the more he realises he wants Mick to be a part of this new life. Can Ceri show Mick he’s his perfect companion, give him the new beginning he needs and, above all else, help him find his true self?
Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of homophobia and the misgendering of a child.
Publisher's Note: This book was previously released elsewhere. It has been expanded, revised and reedited for release with Pride Publishing.
General Release Date: 23rd June 2020
Mick Flanagan has kept himself hidden since his only lover died three years ago. He works at night, keeps to his routine, has impressive facial hair and avoids contact with other people as much as possible. Enter Ceri Llewellyn, with his constantly changing rainbow-colored hair, who, for reasons Mick doesn’t understand, seems determined to talk to him. Gradually, Mick reveals his traumatic past as he begins to trust Ceri enough to shake himself out of his entrenched routines.
Ceri Llewellyn has no idea why Mick intrigues him, but he determines to bring this shy man out of his protective shell, especially when he discovers they share a mutual love of all things Doctor Who. Ceri faces his own turning point, a moment when he must decide on his future. The more time he spends with Mick, the more he realises he wants Mick to be a part of this new life. Can Ceri show Mick he’s his perfect companion, give him the new beginning he needs and, above all else, help him find his true self?
Reader advisory: This book contains scenes of homophobia and the misgendering of a child.
Publisher's Note: This book was previously released elsewhere. It has been expanded, revised and reedited for release with Pride Publishing.
General Release Date: 23rd June 2020
204 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 23, 2020
2 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Alexa Milne
29 books37 followersOriginally from South Wales, Alexa has lived for over thirty years in the North West of England. Now retired, after a long career in teaching, she devotes her time to her obsessions.
Alexa began writing when her favourite character was killed in her favourite show. After producing a lot of fanfiction she ventured into original writing.
She is currently owned by a mad cat and spends her time writing about the men in her head, watching her favourite television programmes and usually crying over her favourite football team.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 30, 2020
I ABSOLUTELY ADORED THIS BOOK!!!
The MCs are so sweet and wonderful, the fact that they are both Doctor Who Fans and the story this author wrote was just pure perfection!
The MCs are so sweet and wonderful, the fact that they are both Doctor Who Fans and the story this author wrote was just pure perfection!
June 25, 2020
A Joyfully Jay review.
3.25 stars
This book started out so well, for me, as Ceri and Mick struck up a friendship based on their favorite show, favorite episodes, Mick’s love of a man in a flashy coat, and Ceri’s natural charm. Their cautious steps into dating, into a relationship, worked and worked well. The friends who played matchmaker did so to see their friends make new friends. They knew the two would get along, if only they’d give each other a chance, and that very natural and easy introduction and supportive relationship between friends was so well and so lightly done. Even the brief moment of conflict flowed naturally and believably.
And then with a wave of a magic pen, Mick, who has been told what to do by a caretaker figure (mother, Alfie, older work friend, more mature and bossy childhood friend) gets over his problems because he’s told to. He has no agency and makes no decisions for himself; someone simply tells him to get over Alfie and, obediently, he does. And because he obeyed the right people, people who honestly cared about him, it all went well. Which is a shame, because I really liked the first half of this book.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
3.25 stars
This book started out so well, for me, as Ceri and Mick struck up a friendship based on their favorite show, favorite episodes, Mick’s love of a man in a flashy coat, and Ceri’s natural charm. Their cautious steps into dating, into a relationship, worked and worked well. The friends who played matchmaker did so to see their friends make new friends. They knew the two would get along, if only they’d give each other a chance, and that very natural and easy introduction and supportive relationship between friends was so well and so lightly done. Even the brief moment of conflict flowed naturally and believably.
And then with a wave of a magic pen, Mick, who has been told what to do by a caretaker figure (mother, Alfie, older work friend, more mature and bossy childhood friend) gets over his problems because he’s told to. He has no agency and makes no decisions for himself; someone simply tells him to get over Alfie and, obediently, he does. And because he obeyed the right people, people who honestly cared about him, it all went well. Which is a shame, because I really liked the first half of this book.
Read Elizabeth’s review in its entirety here.
July 24, 2020
In the interest of full disclosure – I’ve only watched through the sixth Doctor, where life and lack of cable and no internet took me away from the rebooting of the series. My first two science fiction conventions were, in fact, Doctor Who conventions. This was a quick and engaging read that has a significant emphasis on Doctor Who, mental health, and homophobia. The book blurb summarizes the plot nearly spot on so I won’t re-hash.
As I noted above, I’m about six Doctors behind in the Who-verse, but I had no problem following the conversations as companions and conventions were discussed. I loved the convention setting, which rather jump-started Mick and Ceri’s relationship – something in common to bring the two together, something to gently bump Mick out of his routine and mental fog.
Mick does come with a host of mental issues, and I’m still on the fence about how I feel about the portrayal . On one hand, we need to discuss mental health and how it affects us as a society and books are one place to do that. On the other hand, Mick’s situation seemed to be resolved rather quickly in the story arc, even with the mention of finding a therapist. So I have conflicting opinions here while trying to avoid spoilers.
Dovetailing with the mental health concerns is Mick’s history and background with his mother – who, during Mick’s formative years, due to her own issues, raised Mick as if he were a girl. Her control was obsessive and absolute, and when Mick left to live with his boyfriend, all ties were broken. She absolutely could not accept that Mick was a boy and her homophobia was absolute.
I do think the author handled the multiple complexities of all the mental health issues fairly well, and the history and backstory were spooled out in a logical manner that helped explain Mick’s story. Ceri was a lighter, brighter counterpoint to Mick and helped bring him out of his protective shell. My only issue with the story was the ease and speed at which the mental health issues appeared to be resolved.
Overall, an enjoyable story with lots of Doctor Who references about two men trying to find their next steps individually and together with the support of old and new friends.
NOTE: This book was provided by Pride Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
As I noted above, I’m about six Doctors behind in the Who-verse, but I had no problem following the conversations as companions and conventions were discussed. I loved the convention setting, which rather jump-started Mick and Ceri’s relationship – something in common to bring the two together, something to gently bump Mick out of his routine and mental fog.
Mick does come with a host of mental issues, and I’m still on the fence about how I feel about the portrayal . On one hand, we need to discuss mental health and how it affects us as a society and books are one place to do that. On the other hand, Mick’s situation seemed to be resolved rather quickly in the story arc, even with the mention of finding a therapist. So I have conflicting opinions here while trying to avoid spoilers.
Dovetailing with the mental health concerns is Mick’s history and background with his mother – who, during Mick’s formative years, due to her own issues, raised Mick as if he were a girl. Her control was obsessive and absolute, and when Mick left to live with his boyfriend, all ties were broken. She absolutely could not accept that Mick was a boy and her homophobia was absolute.
I do think the author handled the multiple complexities of all the mental health issues fairly well, and the history and backstory were spooled out in a logical manner that helped explain Mick’s story. Ceri was a lighter, brighter counterpoint to Mick and helped bring him out of his protective shell. My only issue with the story was the ease and speed at which the mental health issues appeared to be resolved.
Overall, an enjoyable story with lots of Doctor Who references about two men trying to find their next steps individually and together with the support of old and new friends.
NOTE: This book was provided by Pride Publishing for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
July 6, 2020
I heard about His Perfect Companion on Twitter and when I read it was an MM Romance about Doctor Who fans I ordered it straight away. While I enjoyed the story, and I loved Ceri, I had a problem with how blank the character of Mick was. He had no agency of his own and came across as one of those motherless ducks who imprint on the first thing they see. I would have liked to see Mick grow during the story, but he went from his mother telling him what to do to his ex-partner telling him what to do, to his old high school friend telling him what to do. Even Ceri with his never take no for an answer stance at the beginning of the story bullied him into going on a date.
The writing style was right, and I'll certainly read more of Alexa Milne's work. Despite my lack of connection to Mick, the story was a fast-paced read, and the other characters were engaging.
The writing style was right, and I'll certainly read more of Alexa Milne's work. Despite my lack of connection to Mick, the story was a fast-paced read, and the other characters were engaging.
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June 20, 2020Just so everyone knows, His Perfect Companion is a rewritten, re-edited and extended version of Rainbow Connection. It also has a different cover and publisher.
When the rights were returned to me last year, I decided to produce the story I wanted to write which I couldn't, for various reasons, the first time around. I have added 12,000 words to the original and there is a completely new epilogue.
When the rights were returned to me last year, I decided to produce the story I wanted to write which I couldn't, for various reasons, the first time around. I have added 12,000 words to the original and there is a completely new epilogue.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews