Review: Clarity of Lines Is Perfectly Drawn
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 19, 2014
I fell truly, madly and deeply in love with Thomas Elkin and Cooper Jones in N.R. Walker’s Elements of Retrofit, and Clarity of Lines did nothing but cement the foundation of my obsession with this series.These two men work, maybe in spite of their age difference or perhaps because of it, as there are many times during the reading of these books that Cooper has blurred, if not obliterated, the two decades that separate he and Thomas in age, which often seems to give Cooper an emotional advantage in their relationship. It’s not a matter of Thomas playing the “daddy” role in their romance as much as it is Cooper grooming Thomas to become the man with whom he wants to spend the rest of his life, not trying to change Thomas but simply showing him all the ways in which he is who Cooper wants and needs.Clarity of Lines is the litmus test of their relationship, when they each decide it’s time to introduce the other to their respective families; the one disadvantage for Thomas being not only that he’ll be introducing Cooper to his ex-wife but will also be introducing their son’s friend as his new boyfriend. And then, of course, Thomas also has to out himself to his parents. There’s a fair amount of drama in all of the introductions but through it all, there is never a doubt that Thomas and Cooper are in this together, for better or worse.The Thomas Elkin series has another book yet to come in February, and I for one am waiting for it with little patience and a lot of anticipation. N.R. Walker has authored a lovely example of a May/December romance that doesn’t belabor the difference in the characters’ ages as much as it makes the reader believe that Thomas and Cooper work because of their differences.