#TBRChallenge 2026: Never After

The Book: Never After by Alexis Hall

The Particulars: Historical Fiction / Romance (more on this in a bit...), Amazon Montlake, 2026, stand alone, In Print

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: In terms of my TBR, this is a more recent addition. I've had the ARC for more than a hot minute but it's an April 2026 release that happened to fit this month's Lush Life theme to a T. Also, in case you're new here, I am an Angst Junkie with a capital A and J. 

Trigger Warnings: Suicide, drug addiction

The Review: I have zero patience for folks who tar and feather genre fiction as not "serious." In that same vein, folks who label all romance as unserious smut read by bored women looking to get their rocks off. Hall's done some interesting things with this book. I'm not sure they always work, but it's interesting and likely one I'm going to churn up in my brain for a few days. Meaning, this would be a dynamite book club discussion assuming your book group isn't a bunch of assholes. 

Reverend Thomas Mandeville is a third son (actually a twin, born second) which means he was destined for the church - his father being nothing if not unimaginative. His older by seconds twin went to the military, barely survived Crimea and is now the heir - their oldest brother Edward having died in a "hunting accident." It's that accident that haunts Thomas, a secret he's keeping at his mercurial father's request. So our guy has plenty of his own baggage when he discovers a opium-addicted whore lying in a gutter. 

Michael "Micha" Dashword became a whore after arriving in London, having been spurned by a lover. He continues to be a whore to feed his opium addiction, which Hall doesn't mince words on. This guy is a mess y'all. This would be a chicken or the egg scenario - has Micha fallen ill because of his addiction or is his addiction making his illness worse. Doesn't really matter, he's passed out in a gutter when Thomas finds him, and taking that whole "help / love thy neighbor" thing to heart, Thomas hauls him back to the family's home (currently vacant) in London to nurse him back to health. Just to reiterate, Thomas doesn't know Micha from Adam but can't leave a man dying in the gutter without doing something - so yes, he's that brand of Christian. 

This is very much a slow build book. The author spends the first part of the story setting up backstory, interspersing the narrative with first person accounts (displayed in italics) for both Micha and Thomas - but mostly for Micha, which gives us more information on how unsettling his life is. Sex isn't always about caring or love and if you believe it is, maybe don't read this book and have your illusions shattered. Micha's work is often upsetting to read about, as is his addiction. You're watching a man destroy himself on page and, in turn, taking other folks down with him. Micha is an addict, Micha has problems, doesn't mean I didn't, at times, think Micha was an asshole. He is. 

This isn't an inspirational book but given that Thomas is a man of the cloth expect a lot of religion talk and Thomas wrestling (somewhat) with his faith and occupation. But not much, because he reconciles his faith and his feelings for Micha in short order with the belief that "God cannot hate love..."  I'm not saying Thomas is wrong (I actually agree with him - coming from a God Is Love school of religious thought...) but it feels too pat, too easy. Also, naïve. Thomas doesn't spend any time dithering about actions and consequences which, come on man. Do you spend any time paying attention to the world you live in? The answer is - not so much. His fascination and feelings for Micha also come on fast, at first struck by Micha's beauty - which c'mon. He's an opium addict you found lying in a gutter. I don't care how beautiful the man is, I'm thinking he looked rough.

The story carries the reader through London and back to Thomas' country parish, which is where the relationship work of the story really cooks. Hall populates the story with well-rounded secondary characters (Mrs. Clark the housekeeper steals this book) and our couple falls in love, thereby creating more complications because hello, two gay men in love in Victorian England. I think it's important to note that while there is a romance and Hall does end it happily per se, this is a very melancholy read. It has to be. Queer people have always existed and Victorian England was not safe for them. Hell, today isn't safe for them. Certainly better, but not safe. Hall is navigating this story through the realities of that time frame. It ends on the note that Thomas and Micha love each other and end up together, but not in the way a modern 21st century reader might want. It's not unicorn farting rainbows happy. It's more pragmatic, compromise with the time you're living in happy. This book is very much romantic, but a romance as we define and look at the genre today? That's stickier. Also possibly why a lot of the tags I'm seeing on this book at retail sites lean towards "historical fiction." 

With all the talk of faith and religion, the prose runs a little flowery for my tastes, Thomas runs naïve and Micha runs towards asshole on more than one occasion. But you understand as the reader why all this is. I wasn't in love with this book, but it's angsty, meaty and there's a lot to chew on here. I might not be clutching it to my breast and sighing dramatically, but I'm also going to end up thinking about it for a few days after. For all those reasons, don't be shocked if this ends up on my Best Of list at the end of the year.

Final Grade = B-

#TBRChallenge 2015: Glitterland

The Book: Glitterland by Alexis Hall

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, M/M, Riptide Publishing, 2013, In Print

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: Sarah Lyons (Riptide's Editorial Director) pressed a print copy of this book into my hands at an RWA conference (um, Atlanta 2013?) and  said something along the lines of "I know you don't read a lot of m/m but you must read this."  Or something like that.  In true Wendy fashion I had every intention of reading it back then and....yeah.  Then the book came out, it got a TON of attention, the hype happened and then....the dissenting voices.  Being less than a newb to m/m (at that time) I just didn't have the energy to wade into the fray.  Plus - hype.  It freaks me out.

The Review: Ash Winters is a writer - something of a literary wunderkind, although his last book was a crime novel (it was well received by the by).  He's also clinically depressed, suffers from bipolar disorder, has spent time committed in a hospital, and has tried to kill himself.  So yeah.  Ash has issues.  He also has friends, although his relationships have been complicated by his mental illness.  To that end he has forced himself to attend a stag party at a local club for one of said friends when he meets Darian Taylor who is so far the opposite of Ash it's almost absurd.  Darian is from Essex, with his orange spray tan and aspirations to be a model.  Ash starts to think of him as a "glitter pirate."  Lots of flash, seemingly little substance, but holy hell - he wants him.  Just looking at him Ash wants him.  And for reasons that escape just about everybody - bubbly, positive Darian seems to want Ash.

What we have here is your basic opposites attract romance.  Ash is the guy who lives in his own head, consumed by his illness.  Just about everything in Ash's life is a struggle.  There's a scene where Darian shanghaies Ash into making a grocery store run and to watch Ash struggle with this, for what is for most of us totally mundane, task is heartbreaking and exhausting. 

As much as Ash is in his own head, Darian is the guy you want to be BFFs with.  It's not that he's stupid or simple or even superficial.  There's depth to Darian, he just doesn't wear it on his sleeve.  Darian is all about taking care of his beloved nan, his friends, fashion, fun; he's the model of positive living.  It's not that Darian never gets sad or upset or even angry - he just doesn't waste needless energy on letting those things weigh him down.

Parts of this story are quite funny, in a dorky book nerd sort of way.  Ash has a new book out that's doing well so he decides to call his agent, Amy.

I rang Amy, so she could congratulate me and I could congratulate her and to confirm my attendance at the proposed readings, signings, and interviews.  And possibly the Edinburgh International Book Festival next year, an occasion I thoroughly despised.  I always seemed to get stuck next to the new Martin Amis.  As if the old one wasn't bad enough.

Yeah, I'm a librarian - but seriously, I laughed until I fell out of my chair after reading that.

The most emotionally touching parts of this story, for me, came at the end.  Inevitably (because, like duh) Ash ends up stepping in it big time with Darian.  I mean rips his heart out, stomps on it for a while, and then shoves it back into his bare hands.  Which means we, dear readers, get a grovel scene.  A really, really good one.  Because after Ash screws up (and boy, does he screw up!), he has to admit some hard truths to himself and when he finally does?  Will he be too late to win back Darian?

But, alas, I did have some quibbles.  Like I mentioned, Ash is a writer, words are his life, and boy howdy does our guy get wordy (yep, first person point-of-view).  This story is very, very wordy in parts.  I started imagining the author gazing at a Post-It note stuck to his computer monitor that read: If 5 words are good, 20 words are better.  Sometimes this wordiness is great, lyrical even, and the prose melts your heart.  Other times?  It could have been dialed back a notch from exhausting.

Also there's the small matter of our Essex boy, Darian.  Vernacular folks, we haz it.  Darian has problems with the letter T and he hasn't met an H he couldn't drop.  For example, instead of "thanks," we're reading "fanks."  Instead of "think," we get "fink."  Honestly it takes a while to get used to and like all dialogue written in the vernacular (Scottish historical romance authors, I be lookin' at you...), it can be hard to pick up a flow or rhythm to reading those sections.  I liked the story and really liked the romance despite this writing choice - but I could easily understand some readers getting highly annoyed and throwing up their hands.

Quibbles aside, I really enjoyed this story quite a bit.  It didn't pass my OMG Must Reread This Someday test, but it's still a good solid read and I loved the romance.  As a character study it flipped most of my switches, and as a romance it hit most of my favorite sweet spots.  Sarah was right - I had to read this.  I'm kinda sorry now I didn't sooner.

Final Grade = B+