Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook ARC (3 Feb 2024)

Somehow I was lucky enough to get an ARC ofboth the ebook and the audiobook. I was really looking forward to the audiobook because the narrator, Will Watt, also narrated 10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall, which is one of my all time favourite audiobook performances. His performance in Waiting for the Flood is also fantastic, and I'm so happy I got to listen to it.

I'm also happy to say the audiobook included the Aftermath bonus epilogue, which the ebook ARC did not include (my reviews for Waiting for the Floor and Chasing the Light can be read below, I wrote them after my read of the ebook). Aftermath is quite short, but it's incredibly sweet, told from Edwin's perspective as he and Adam are on holiday and go to visit Marius on Leo's boat. They don't meet Leo, but as they leave they turn to see Marius and Leo interacting, and it's absolutely adorable. It's such a wonderful ending for both couples in this book.

I am beyond excited for this book to come out on 20 Feb, as I desperately need to get my hands on a paperback to attack with a highlighter. I will also undoubtable be listening to the audiobook on repeat.

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Thank you NetGalley for the ebook ARC (3 Jan 2024)

I have listened to the original Waiting for the Floor once before, in 2022. I apparently gave it 3 stars then, though I thought I had given it 4.

This new addition has a bonus story Chasing the Light, about Edwin's ex Marius. I was surprised when I finished the Waiting for the Flood story and realised I was only 35% into the book - it's very odd for a "bonus story" to be two-thirds of the book, and felt like maybe Chasing the Light should be in it's own book - but then I got to the end of Chasing the Light and realised exactly why these two stories were in the same volume together - these stories need to be read together, because they're so tightly interwoven.

On Alexis Hall's Instagram he said there was also a bonus epilogue called Aftermath included in this new edition, but my ARC copy did not include it - which is a pity, as I feel like I'm reviewing a book I only read 95% of. I guess I'll have to update my review once the book comes out and I buy myself a copy.

Review for Waiting for the Flood: 4 stars
I really like Waiting for the Flood. It's a pretty melancholic story, and one I would absolutely love to listen to in audio format on a rainy day. Edwin spends a lot of his time in the story grieving over the relationship he had with his ex Marius. Adam, Edwin's love interest, is a ray of sunshine though, and every conversation they have is lovely. My only reason to not give this 5 stars is because the ending just doesn't feel like an ending, it needed a little extra something. Again, if the Aftermath epilogue had been included in my copy of the ARC this review might have changed to 5 stars, but as its missing from my review copy I can't really review it.

Review for Chasing the Light: 5 stars
I LOVED this. I liked the idea for seeing things from Marius's POV after seeing the aftermath of their relationship from Edwin's POV. In WftF Marius's mother invites Edwin to come to Christmas, and when Marius arrives at his parents house and sees his ex-boyfriend with his new boyfriend, he's so angry that he immediately leaves the party. He ends up walking to the river, and slips in a puddle and sprains his ankle. A man living on a narrowboat, Leo, comes to his rescue.

I really loved Leo and Marius's romance. It's a great second-chances kind of a story - not in that it's a second-chance romance for them (they're complete strangers), but in the fact that Leo is starting his life over, and Marius has been dwelling in his own misery for so long that meeting Leo helps him realise he doesn't HAVE to be miserable if he doesn't want to be.

The last part of this story sees Edwin and Marius interacting with each other and clearing the air a bit of the resentment they both hold after their breakup, and GOD this segment gave me a good cry. I really loved this and it ties both stories together beautifully.

Different. In a good way.

This is the most unique romance I've ever read. It is entirely Edwin's story, told from his perspective. There was less conversation and more remembering and living in that memory. What he'd lost crippled him in many way.

Adam wasn't the kind of guy Edwin would have gone for, supposing he could bring himself to do so. He was gruff and nothing like a fashion model. He was kind, patient, takes an interest in the things Edwin likes and really listens. Anyone would want a guy like him.

This story is a very slow burn. Be prepared for that. I thought the buildup was intense. for Edwin it couldn't have gone any other way. Fortunately there was Adam. I'd recommend greatly. Just don't expect the normal back and forth showing how both thought and felt throughout the story. You won't find it. Have some patience. The payoff is well worth it.

• I just love AH as a writer so much- he with such care and self-awareness and just writes the sweetest books that are also smart 
• I know AH loves a self-hating hero but Marius was hard for me to ever get around to liking bc he was just such a dick to ppl- and there’s this point of like- your self hate doesn’t make me think it’s okay for you to legit be horrible to ppl
• Waiting for the flood (vs chasing the light) was perfect tho