Arlo Wright’s older brother, Tom, plays unwitting host to the romance blossoming between Arlo and Tom’s best friend, Jack Cooper, when Tom invites friends and family along on a getaway to play witness to his own romantic plans for his boyfriend, Bee. Using the setting to its best effect, Morton offers up the canals, the museums, the overall charm, and the snowy landscapes of Amsterdam at Christmastime as the stage for this utterly delightful love story.

Review: There are few authors who can simultaneously tickle the funny bone and tug at the heartstrings quite like Lily Morton, so who better to pen a warm and lovely and playful Christmas romance? I’m shocked this is her first, to be quite honest, and hope it won’t be the last. Will the festive spirit finally move them towards each other, or is Arlo just banging his head against a wall this time? 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. Arlo is still clumsy, and Jack is still as handsome and unobtainable as ever. Relations between them have never really moved on from that auspicious beginning.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have long to enjoy the revelation because he promptly knocked himself out on a table. It’s sweet and sexy, snarky and sincere, and really, truly, supremely romantic.īlurb: Arlo Wright’s introduction to his sexuality came when he saw his older brother’s best friend, Jack Cooper, in his sweaty football kit.

At a Glance: Merry Measure fulfills every single need I could demand from a holiday romance.

Merry Measure by Lily Morton