I had allowed hurt to gain such ascendancy over me. Given it so much power. But I had come, at last, in the middle of a flood, to some fresher, deeper truth that was simply this: love is stronger than grief.
This updated edition of Waiting for the Flood contains Edwin’s story but also includes a new companion novella, Chasing the Light, which is Marius’s story. Plus a bonus short story epilogue titled Aftermath. Edwin and Marius had been together for 10yrs until one day Marius suddenly ended it. Edwin had spent the better part of the last 2yrs suspended in this state of wanting to move on but not quite being able to. Until a storm came and the threat of flood brought civil engineer, Adam, into his life.
Waiting for the Flood is Edwin and Adam’s story and it’s lovely. The writing is beautiful. There were many times when I’d read a line that made me stop and say “wow”. Edwin was so sweet and my heart hurt for him and how lonely he had become. He so badly wanted someone he could share a life with. He thought he had that with Marius and was having difficulty coming to terms with the reality that wasn’t going to happen. But then Adam shows up and Edwin sees new possibilities for his future for the first time in a long time. Edwin was so scared to open himself up again but Adam was patient and persistent. Persistence that ultimately pays off.
Chasing the Light lets us get to know Marius better. All we knew of him was that he left Edwin brokenhearted with littlebexplanation. Whereas Edwin was easy to love, Marius was a bit more complicated. After injuring himself on Christmas Eve, he is rescued by Leo and ends up spending a few days with him on Leo’s narrowboat while he recovers. We see how self-sabotaging and prickly he can be in the face of kindness. It gave us a taste of how things might have been between him and Edwin. We do see glimpses of the vulnerability that he works so hard to keep hidden, though, and I better understand the bits of Marius that Edwin once loved. Leo was a great guy, I loved the little life he built for himself on his narrowboat. I loved how kind he was to Marius, even when he maybe didn’t deserve it.
Both novellas show Edwin and Marius moving on from their breakup but it also provides closure between them. I thought this was a beautiful scene between them near the end there. I think that conversation gave them both the freedom they needed to pursue their new relationships with open hearts. I also enjoyed the bonus epilogue to see a little further into how things were going for all these men. It was interesting to see what changed but also what had stayed the same.
The Book Boyfriend Addict 