Merry Measure

By: Lily Morton

Narrated by: Joel Leslie

Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

Arlo Wright’s introduction to his sexuality came when he saw his older brother’s best friend, Jack Cooper, in his sweaty football kit. Unfortunately, he didn’t have long to enjoy the revelation because he promptly knocked himself out on a table.

Relations between them have never really moved on from that auspicious beginning. Arlo is still clumsy, and Jack is still as handsome and unobtainable as ever. However, things look like they’re starting to change when Arlo finds himself sharing a room with Jack while on holiday in Amsterdam at Christmas.

Will the festive spirit finally move them towards each other, or is Arlo just banging his head against a wall this time?

From best-selling author Lily Morton comes a warm romantic comedy set in chilly Amsterdam.

©2020 Lily Morton (P)2021 Lily Morton

What a joyful, crazy, sweet Christmas romance!

Lily Morton is the queen of snark and quirky characters and Arlo is no exception. A clumsy, rumbly mess with a giant crush on his older brother’s best friend, Jack.
Jack is the stereotypical perfect man: composed, put together and as a bisexual man, has had a number of picture-perfect boyfriends and girlfriends.
That’s why Arlo doesn’t think he stands a chance with him.
A family vacation in Amsterdam, a mix up with reservations which leads to them sharing a room, and Arlo will be proven wrong in his assumptions.
This book features a slightly-crazy family (Arlo’s) a freezing-cold one (Jack’s), copious amounts of alcohol and two sweet and goofy guys finding their way to their HEA!
Joel Leslie is the perfect choice for Lily Morton’s books, as no one does romance and snark quite like him!

Couple Goals

I loved this book. I laughed from start to finish. Joel does a fabulous performance of Lily’s excellently written book. So sweet with some steam.

Extremely cute and predictable

They were points where I didn’t wanna stop listing. Some what of a predictable plot and trite but the story flows effortfully

fabulous

M/M
Friends to lovers
Brothers best friend
Forced close proximity/One hotel room available
Quick read

Story = 5 stara
Narration = 4.5 stars

I was given a free audio copy from the author and the GRR arc team for review.

This was by far one of my fav books. I cannot say enough great things about it. It was so funny and so sweet. I was skeptical going in based on the title, as I don't like Christmas and it's not even Nov., but I was pleasantly surprised that there was no mention of Christmas really. This was a shorter length story buy felt complete. I do wish though that last page didn't leave us hanging. It wasn't a cliffhanger but rather an implied ending that I wanted to see on page.

I was sucked into the story from the very start and couldn't not stop listening from start to finish. The story stayed fabulous the whole time. It was full of sweet friendship, mutual pining, hilarious snarky banter and romance. There is some steam but I found it pretty low heat. There were a couple off page mentions that I wish would have been on page. Even still the story was wonderfully written and the characters were charming and well developed. Arlo was delightfully snarky and feisty and very humorously clumbsy and Jack was so sweet and protective. They were the perfect match. I also loved the group of friends and the great world building and I hope there is more of them. I absolutely recommend this story.

This is only my second time reading this author. The second being Best Man. Both books are 5 stars so I'll have to read more from this author.

Joel Leslie is fabulous as always. He has such a pleasant voice and accent. He keeps a good pace. He expresses all the emotions and brings the story to life and makes it such a wonderful listening experience. He is great with side character voices especially females which not all narrators can do. The only criticism I can make is that the main characters voices sometimes sound the same. The is a difference but it is very suttle.

A cute and lighthearted romance

The last thing Arlo expects is to share a hotel room with his childhood crush, who also happens to be his brothers best friend, while on vacation. You can feel the chemistry between Arlo and Jack right from the beginning. Arlo is insecure, clumsy, and totally adorable. Jack is just a perfect person for him to help him see just how wonderful he really is. They are totally great together and incredibly hot. The narrator was absolutely spectacular with his interpretation of all of the different characters and the story. I voluntarily reviewed a gifted copy of this audio book.

Lovely but not too much Christmas

A goofy nerd plus older brother's hot best friend story, with a hint of the holidays. While this story takes place at Christmastime and there are references to the time of year, there is not much focus on Christmas. But it is a funny story with the city of Amsterdam creating a lovely backdrop and setting for the story. It is very low angst and has a sweet twist in the relationship dynamic between Arlo and Jack. The bickering between Arlo and his brother is fabulous and creates laugh-out loud situations. Joel Leslie does an amazing job as usual giving life to the hilarious and sweet dialog.

completely in love

This story was amazing. I loved the emotion that was conveyed in this book. Arlo and Jack were completely adorable and I love that they finally pulled their heads out of you know where and realized they were in love with each other.

Lily Morton's funniest yet

I love this author's books so much and I think Arlo and Jack are her best characters so far.

MM Best Friend's Brother Romance

This was a very sweet MM romance. It was Lily's signature humor and had all the character development that is so wonderful. I loved Arlo and thought he was hilarious, then you have Jack, who you just have to look a bit deeper to see the very loveable center and outside stoicism. I adored the side characters of Tom, Bee, Diana and Freddy! They were all so great. I actually would have loved more scene's with Tom & Arlo's parents, as they seem like a trip. I thought the whole book was light and fun and a great Best Friend's brother trope. Arlo is Tom's brother and Tom and Jack are best friends and have been for a very long time. Joel Leslie was superb on the audio, as I have come to know this will be the case. Definitely recommend, and the perfect book to follow-up a very heart-wrenching one.

Audio ARC provided and this is my honest review.

hilarious!

This is one of the funniest stories I’ve listened to in a while. This story was everything!!! Arlo is messy, sassy, snarky and in love with his brothers’ best friend. Jack is serious and buttoned up and secretly in love with his best friends’ brother. Arlo and Jack were perfect for each other. The secondary characters were awesome. This was fantastic. Joel Leslie was fantastic with his narration, sooo good!!