Review: A Twist and Two Balls by Clare London

Eduardo Mancini is going to be a star of the London stage and screen. Or that was the plan. His alter ego Eddy March hasn't got further than the chorus and a bit part in a TV series. His parents aren't supportive, his agent can’t place his particular skills, and he's finding it hard to hang onto his young dreams. Things go from bad to worse when he's late for an important audition, hasn't got enough to money to pay the taxi fare, and is chased across the streets of Soho by the irate driver.

Eddy reaches what he believes is sanctuary - With A Kick, a store where ice creams are blended with alcohol and imagination, and where his friends can help him. But Nuri the taxi driver is persistent in his steady pursuit, above and beyond the money he’s owed. Despite their very different characters and background, Eddy and Nuri’s relationship goes from a complete unknown to a wary balancing act. There are still mistakes to be made, and hurdles to clear. And both of them have to admit that their life so far hasn’t gone the way they planned.

But maybe being caught by Nuri was just what Eddy’s career needed – both for his job and his heart.

Just a warning, when you read this book, you will crave ice cream.

Just like that ice cream is a delicious little snacky, this story will give you the same kind of satisfying happy feeling. Eduardo Mancini has got some problems of his own making and lucky for him his bad luck takes a turn in the form of taxi driver Nuri. What starts off as a day from hell ends up being the best opportunity Eddy will ever get. And, make no mistake, as much as his stage diva self would like to be Eduardo Mancini, he’s really Eddy March and it isn’t until he can accept himself as Eddy with all his faults and fears that Eddy will ever be happy. Eddy has big dreams of life on stage to the exclusion of reality unfortunately and his view of himself is holding him back from achieving any kind of success with his narrow minded view of what his life should be. It was really cute how he knew he was a bit of a ridiculous diva, but he held on to it like a shield and his attitude got him through some rough times. It’s also what catches the eye of the slightly intimidating Nuri. It takes some time for Eddy to understand that all the things that drive Eddy crazy about himself are all the things that Nuri is attracted to.

The attraction between the two of them is obvious and their personalities are perfectly balanced against each other. The natural progression of things is to meet the family and Nuri takes Eddy home to meet his. Nuri’s family is big, loud, loving and a little overwhelming to poor Eddy. Things started out well and because things were going too well, it was time to throw some angst into the story. Eddy’s diva takes over when he learns things about Nuri that were a surprise to him. The things he learned were actually all good things, but he was hurt that Nuri didn’t share more of himself sooner and he pitched a bitch-fit in front of the family. Woops. I wanted to throttle Eddy at that point myself much like Nuri’s mother did. To be fair, Nuri should have been more willing to share of himself, you can only be the strong, solid, and obviously too quiet character for so long.

The guys took a ride on the angst train, but it’s nothing too heavy and it’s reasonably resolved. Eddy has some growing up to do and thankfully he has his rock that is Nuri who’s got his back no matter what and Nuri has the firecracker that is Eddy to give him the kick in the ass motivation when he needs it. They also have their sanctuary, With a Kick, the ice cream shop that blends tasty frozen treats with alcohol run by his good friends, Lee and Patrick. I’m hoping the next story in the series is about them. They obviously have a story to tell! I’d also like a With a Kick shop to open up in my neighborhood ASAP.

This was a sweet little start to a feel good series that I would definitely recommend to cleanse your palate between more angsty and heavy reads. The characters were unique and I liked that they had flaws to keep them interesting and memorable. The end felt a little rushed as I would have liked to see more of them after they pulled it together, but hopefully they’ll make an appearance in book 2.

Find out more about this book over on Goodreads!

***a copy of this book was provided by the author for an honest review***