The Way She Reads

What can I say? It is getting very hard to write about Jay Northcote’s books without repeating myself because she consistently gets it spot on. Helping Hand, like every previous book by her I’ve read, drew me in from the opening paragraph and kept me hooked until the very last sentence.

This is a sweet, somewhat angsty and very hot story. Mac and Jez's journey from friends via friends with benefits to more than friends was compelling and the characters themselves were vivid, realistic and relatable.

While this is a light and mostly fun read, it did provide me with food for thought. It must be very confusing when you suddenly find yourself attracted to somebody of the same gender when you’ve always considered yourself straight. I was mesmerized with Mac’s journey from denial, to enjoyment to the realisation that no matter how much he might want to blame it all on lust there was more happening between him and Jez. And I loved how Jay Northcote dealt with Jez and Mac’s confusion as to how to label themselves in the future.

“Labels can be restrictive. Sometimes you need to stop thinking about gender and sexuality and focus on the person. If you care about them, if you feel good when you’re with them, if you’re hot for them...then what does any of the rest matter?”

What does the rest matter indeed. As a fervent hater of labels in general, this quote spoke to my heart and my believes.

Once again, I highly recommend a book by Jay Northcote. Written so fluidly the book almost reads itself, Helping Hand will entertain and excite you in equal measure.

Take a look at my blog post for all the buy links as well as an excerpt.