Waiting for the Flood

Hall follows up Glitterland with a poignant brace of interconnected novellas about exes each being saved by a different stranger. In the eponymous opener, Edwin Tully meets Adam Dacre, a civil engineer in flood management, after Edwin’s Oxford apartment comes under threat by rising waters. Lonely-hearted after breaking up with Marius, his boyfriend of 10 years, Edwin just “wants someone to make tea for.” Patient, burly Adam may be just the man—but Edwyn feels unworthy of his love. “Chasing the Light” turns the focus onto Marius, who sees Edwin and Adam together at a Christmas Eve party and flees the event. In his haste, he injures his ankle and is rescued by ex-con Leo, who lives on a nearby houseboat. The men act on their instant attraction, but Marius “is not really a staying person,” and anticipates their tryst will be short-lived—even if Leo exacts an inexplicable pull on him. A final reunion with Edwin wherein both men seek closure may be just the push Marius needs to get out of the way of his own happiness. Each of these slender tales move from melancholy to joy and Hall makes the emotional arc satisfying. These tender love stories are sure to please the author’s many fans. Agent: Courtney Miller-Callihan, Handspun Literary. (Feb.)