A Matter of Time (A Matter of Time #1 and #2) by Mary Calmes

I can’t really say if I love or hate A Matter of Time or – as I like to call it – The adventures of Jory, a gay airhead. What is clear though, is that it’s as entertaining as it is irritating. Because the protagonist is just too stupid.

Synopsis: This is the story about Jory Keyes, a young gay man who happens to witness a murder. And even though the murderer and his companions have sworn to kill Jory, Jory refuses to go into protective custody despite the police trying to convince him. Instead, Jory goes on with his life as nothing happened, partying with his friends almost every night. Detective Sam Kage is determined to protect Jory however, but it also turns out the detective has a more personal interest in the young man. Sam isn’t out and has no intention of coming out, but he still wants Jory.

What made me finish the story was that Jory was so bloody endearing. He may be dumb as a post, but he’s so cute and kind you just have to forgive him. He’s like an adorable puppy that keeps peeing on the floor. On the one hand you want to throw him out until he’s been potty-trained, but on the other, he’s too cute to stay mad at.

In fact, nothing in this story would have happened if Jory was smart. But I just can’t decide if it’s on purpose or not. The first book starts out with Jory calling himself the poster-child of ADHD and that his biggest flaw is his way of tuning out in the middle of conversations. So it could absolutely be intentional on Calmes’ part. Because in every other sense, Jory is perfect. He’s beautiful as an angel and everyone loves him, or want to fuck him, or both. And since nothing is more boring than perfection, Jory’s flaw must obviously be a low IQ.

Yeah, that must be it.

Also. In order to enjoy A Matter of Time, you need to be able to overlook not only Jory’s stupidity, but also the most idiotic dialogues ever written. I lost track of how many conversations that went something like this:

Any other person: But why did you do that?

Jory: What?

Any other person: What?

Jory: What?

Any other person: What do you mean what?

Jory: I don’t know.

Any other person: Can’t you tell me?

Jory: Tell you what?

Okay, I admit, I’m paraphrasing here, but you get the gist of it. I’ve never encountered a book where “what” was used to such an extent in dialogues. And as if that’s not enough. Probably half of the dialogues in book 1 and 2 consisted of Jory and (insert name) lobbing questions at each other without anyone ever answering them.

So yes. This is an excruciatingly irritating story. And it’s bloody hilarious – without meaning to. So either way I couldn’t help to be thoroughly entertained. Meaning, despite all its flaws, it’s still a 3-star read. With less inane dialogue, it would be a 4-star though.