Thomas & January

Thomas & January
Sleepless Book Two
Written By Fisher Amelie
Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Published June 15th 2012
175 Pages
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★★★

Thomas Eriksson thinks he has it all figured out.

People crossed the street when they saw me. I’m not really sure why that was. I mean, okay, I might have looked a bit intimidating if I was being truthful with you. I’d changed since New York. New York represented a life that wasn’t real, not truthfully, anyway. No, New York was the young, immature, in love, idiot side of Tom. The Tie Dye Tom of New York City didn’t exist anymore. Tie Dye Tom was dead.

January Mac Lochlainn thinks she’s her own worst enemy. I quit Berkeley. Threw away a full scholarship. Plans, you ask? What plans? But they’re both wrong.

Tom approached me slowly and met me under the light on the stone walkway. He leaned over me so closely, my neck craned to see his face. His expression was one of confusion as he studied my own.

What is it about you? he asked me. I gulped. What do you mean? I whispered, closing my eyes and swallowing again, my breaths becoming labored. He lifted his hand and dragged the backs of his fingers across my jaw so lightly I barely felt them, but they made me feel dizzy all the same.

How can you be this extraordinary, January MacLochlainn? He leaned closer, a look of pure frustration and anger lit his eyes and pressed his lips.
And why couldn’t I have met you before I realised I didn’t want anyone... Ever?

Life for Thomas and January will never be the same again... Whether they like it or not.

Thomas, originally from the book Callum & Harper, is now living in Austin, working as a talent scout and wears his anger as a shield. You see, Tom fell in love with his best friend who is marrying someone else, so rather than stay in New York with his support group, he fled to Austin. The Ivories have gone their separate ways and everyone is moving on into new phases in their lives.

January is the oldest in a whole herd of kids in her family. There is January, April, July... Her parents are free spirits. She is a piano prodigy and is attending Berkeley as part of a full scholarship, until she quits. She wants to help other bands get off their feet and into the music world, so when she meets Tom, the talent scout at a gig one night, instincts take over and she finds herself drawn to him. They share a life altering, mind blowing kiss on the dance floor and life will never be the same for either of them again.

January is a likable character, she's funny and carefree and has just enough quirks to make her cool, without being weird. Tom on the other hand is scorned and his heartbreak keeps him from wanting anything to do with January, so when she is offered a position as a scout, Tom knows he's in big trouble.

Not as endearing as the first in the Sleepless series by Fisher Amelie, Callum & Harper, but entertaining. This book is extremely short, it could be considered a novella. January really is a lovely character, she brings life to the story. Tom is radically different to how his character was portrayed in Callum & Harper, when he was known as happy go lucky, tie dye Tom. In this, he is moody, black wearing, cold and emotionless. I understand it's easier to portray him as heartbroken with the black, emo cliche, but he sounds more like Ten Second Tom from 50 First Dates, I could have sworn he was quite a bit older than his 22 years. I enjoyed seeing the old friends from Callum & Harper woven throughout the story.