Twice Shy by Sally Malcolm Blog Tour

The last thing Joel Morgan wants is to fall in love again. Scarred by his failed marriage, Joel’s determined to keep his life emotionally stable—which means taking a job teaching fourth grade, fixing up his house on weekends, and avoiding absolutely all romantic entanglements. And he's doing great.

Until he meets sweet but struggling single dad, Ollie Snow.

Following the tragic death of his sister and her husband two years earlier, Ollie became the legal guardian of their two young sons—much to the horror of the boys’ conservative grandparents. They think Ollie’s too young and too unreliable to raise their grandsons. So to prove them wrong, Ollie’s determined to parent the boys without anyone’s help.

Until he meets reserved but caring teacher, Joel Morgan.

As the only two men in the school’s Parent-Teacher Association, Joel and Ollie are thrown together over a series of fundraising events, and somewhere between the Beach Fun Run and the Fall Festival they fall in love. But Ollie has another reason for moving to New Milton—a reason he’s keeping close to his chest—and Joel’s wounded heart won’t trust a man with secrets.

Dare they hope for a future together, or will their past pain keep them apart forever?

Book 3
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
This is the third book in the series, but I have to admit my first. I will be going back and reading how the other two pairings unfolded as we do get to see the men and the fact that they are together, without any details which might spoil the earlier books – so win-win!

Ollie Snow moves to the area with his two nephews in order to find them more family, now that both their parents are dead. He is incredibly selfless, and very hard on himself at his parenting skills. This is undoubtedly endearing to the PTA group that he helps with and teacher Joel Morgan in particular.

Joel had a high-powered, well-paid job in the city and a marriage to a high-powered wife. Then he admitted to her that he had had a relationship with a man whilst at college, and she used his bisexuality as an excuse to leave him for another man. His mental health suffered very badly, and so he moved and changed careers and is now all about a stable, calm, and solitary life. Ollie Snow is definitely a threat to that and Joel is really not sure how he is going to deal with it all.

As the story unfolds and we get to care about the men, and the boys, it is difficult to see how the square can be rounded into a circle, but at the same time, clearly they are meant to be a family. The interference of the PTA committee is at times annoying, but also very funny. The timing of events in the book is very clever at giving one hope and humour, and then making one question how they will ever sort it out.

If you enjoy single dad books, then this will be perfect for you – just make sure you have plenty of time, as once you have started you won't want to put it down!


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars

This is a crazy emotional read. It’s the story of two men who have both lost their confidence after major life changes. Overnight, Ollie went from single student to single father while Joel started a whole new life when his wife left him.

There are so many passages in this book that feel raw and real – but there is also humour and little touches of joy and hope that add light to the book. Ollie is a bit of a hot mess as he takes on fatherhood and his interactions with the PTA are highly entertaining. But while Ollie is brave, Joel is a little bit too careful.

The relationship that builds between Joel and Ollie is painfully slow and awkward. I feel like the personal growth aspect of the book is more successful than the romance. Joel and Ollie are cute together but they kinda think the relationship to death before it even happens. I really don’t love kids in romance and Ollie’s kids are very young and meeting their practical needs kinda kills any potential sexual tension between Joel and Ollie. Readers who enjoy gentle family dramas will probably enjoy this more than I did.

I really engaged with Ollie’s grief and Joel’s self-doubt and I loved the way the two men grow into their new lives. I didn’t get on terribly well with the romance, but I enjoyed the colourful PTA and the sense of community that surrounds Joel and Ollie. I haven’t read any of the rest of the series so I didn’t get the references to characters from previous books.


Angie – ☆☆☆
This was a slow book for me that at times I struggled to get into. There were a few times the wrong character’s name was used and I had to re-read things to see if I had misread something. I loved Ollie and how he was doing the best he could with what he had. Been there, done that. Joel is a good guy who has some issues in his past, but holy cow does he take it to the extreme sometime! Overall, it was an okay book for me, it was just too slow for my taste and a little on the long side.

Sally Malcolm was bitten by the male/male romance bug in 2016 and hasn’t looked back.

Perfect Day was her first published male/male romance, with the follow-up (Between the Lines) out later in 2018 and a dozen other ideas bubbling away on the back burner. Her stories are emotional, sweetly angsty, and always have happy endings.

Sally also writes tie-in novels for the hit TV shows Stargate: SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. To date she’s penned nine novels and novellas, and four audio dramas.

She lives in South West London with her American husband, two lovely children, and two lazy cats.

Connect with Sally

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Twice Shy (New Milton #3) by Sally Malcolm to read and review for this tour.