Books One and TwoVol. 1 Jory Keyes leads a normal life as an architect’s assistant until he is witness to a brutal murder. Though initially saved by police Detective Sam Kage, Jory refuses protective custody–he has a life he loves that he won’t give up no matter who is after him. But Jory’s life is in real jeopardy, especially after he agrees to testify about what he saw. While dealing with … saw.
While dealing with attempts on his life, well-meaning friends who want to see him happy, an overly protective boss, and a slowly unfolding mystery that is much more sinister than he could ever imagine, the young gay man finds himself getting involved with Sam, the conflicted and closeted detective. And though Jory may survive the danger, he may not survive a broken heart.
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I can’t really say if I love or hate A Matter of Time or – as I like to call it – The adventures of Jory, a gay airhead . What is clear though, is that it’s as entertaining as it is irritating. Because the protagonist is just too stupid.
What made me finish the story was that Jory was so bloody endearing. He may be dumb as a post, but he’s so cute and kind you just have to forgive him. He’s like an adorable puppy that keeps peeing on the floor. On the one hand you want to throw him out until he’s been potty-trained, but on the other, he’s too cute to stay mad at.
In fact, nothing in this story would have happened if Jory was smart. But I just can’t decide if it’s on purpose or not. The first book starts out with Jory calling himself the poster-child of ADHD and that his biggest flaw is his way of tuning out in the middle of conversations. So it could absolutely be intentional on Calmes’ part. Because in every other sense, Jory is perfect. He’s beautiful as an angel and everyone loves him, or want to fuck him, or both. And since nothing is more boring than perfection, Jory’s flaw must obviously be a low IQ.
Yeah, that must be it.
Also. In order to enjoy A Matter of Time, you need to be able to overlook not only Jory’s stupidity, but also the most idiotic dialogues ever written. I lost track of how many conversations that went something like this:
Any other person: But why did you do that?
Jory: What?
Any other person: What?
Jory: What?
Any other person: What do you mean what?
Jory: I don’t know.
Any other person: Can’t you tell me?
Jory: Tell you what?
Okay, I admit, I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the gist of it. I’ve never encountered a book where “what” was used to such an extent in dialogues. And as if that’s not enough. Probably half of the dialogues in book 1 and 2 consisted of Jory and (insert name) lobbing questions at each other without anyone ever answering them.
So yes. This is an excruciatingly irritating story. And it’s bloody hilarious – without meaning to. So either way I couldn’t help to be thoroughly entertained. Meaning, despite all its flaws, it’s still a 3-star read. With less inane dialogue, it would be a 4-star though.
https://reflectionsofaswedishgirl.blog.se/a-matter-of-time-a-matter-of-time-1-and-2-by-mary-calmes/
This book has me conflicted. It just wasn’t good, yet somehow it was addicting and kept me reading. The plot was all over the place, the characterization was one-dimensional with a lot of characters acting really similar or in odd ways that just felt weird, and the dialogue was just…strange and stilted. However, there is also a bizarre charm to Jory and I think that’s what kept my attention. I also had to keep reminding myself that this book was written over ten years ago because some things and concepts were pretty dated. Overall, I’m not sure how to recommend this book, but I did end up reading book 2, so there is that.
The audiobook was narrated well and the production was well done.
So many warm fuzzies…
There’s just something about Jory and Sam that grabs you by the heart and won’t let go. Such opposites in many ways and it’s just perfect how they fit together, needing each other in unique ways.
I loved this volume 1. It was a wonderful mix of humor, sass and relationship drama, and in the center of it all was one man – Jory Keyes. It was amazing to see how everyone, man or woman, cleaved to Jory. He has something about him that attracts everyone’s attention and affection. He is so irreverent it’s adorable. His enthusiasm is contagious and inner monologue is very amusing. I loved him. He knew who he was and was unapologetic. This book was suspenseful, action-packed, full of hilarity and had only one POV, Jory’s. I would consider 3 relationships as the focal point of these 2 books.
1. Dane Harcourt and Jory Keyes. These two men are so different but they work so well together. Jory just gets Dane with all his quirks and sharp angles, he loves him for who he is. And Dane is such a character – half the time I was amused, the other half I was mildly irritated. But in the end the moments they had were touching and very heart-felt. They created a family of their own as brothers.
2. Jory and the world. There are so many side characters that zip through Jory’s life – it’s almost a revolving door. I loved that he didn’t have any hang-ups about somebody being different or rich, he just accepted them and was always so affectionate. I loved his simple views on things, his forgiveness and his fearlessness that could at some point have been considered naivete or even luck.
3 Jory and Sam Kage. This is interesting. Many would consider Sam a complete a$$wipe, and I agree that he did have those moments. But the most amazing fact was that Jory loved him as is – possessive, domineering, bossy and aggressive. He got off on it, he felt cared and loved while both Dane, his brother, and Sam, his lover, told him what to do and generally ordered him around. And it suited Jory just fine. Even though the relationship was on and off, I loved them when they were together. Sam on his own was rough around the edges but with Jory he came into his own and became gentle, and he was more amenable and a better man.
The ending was a bit odd, but I guess it takes a lot of courage to come out and not be scared. And for all of his tough exterior Sam is just a man with all of the ingrained social norms that he grew up with that he now must challenge in order to be the man he wants to be. I think what he needs is time. So we will see how long it takes him in the next book. Can’t wait to read it! I loved this story and highly recommend it!
LGBT Book, the beginning of a wonderful love story. This series is 4 or 5 auible books long. I loved all the books except “Bulletproof” read by Jeff Gelder. I love Sam and Jory! IF you enjoy getting to really know your main characters and reading a good series.