Turn isn't your typical romance, and that's why I love it. This book made me hold my breath, tear up, smile, and my heart ache so deeply at times I thought it would ache. It's hard to to believe that I'm reading about fictional characters. I found myself flying through this book, and I was pretty disappointed when I realized I'd reached the end. Hoping to read more by Grillot in the future!

This was an interesting book. I gave it three stars, because while it’s not bad, it also felt a bit anticlimactic in a lot of ways. Nathan works for something called Department 5. You are never really given a ton of details, but it involves life or death decisions often in other countries. These type of decisions are ones that Nathan often has to make and while those with higher morals might balk, Nathan is good at his job. He’s not so great with relationships. Enter Eli, who is a new employee and determined to get close to Nathan. Now the lack of real detail around Department 5 would have been fine if this was more of a romance, but it’s really not. It’s a romance for a bit, and then a crash and burn, and then a possibility of…well…more. I’d be curious to read whatever the author does next, but I can’t say this one is a personal favorite.

I absolutely loved this MM romance.

Such a great book with a solid storyline and great characters.

I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

A definite recommend!

Doing shady ish for the government can have it's drawbacks. I wont lie, I struggled a bit to connect with both characters even though I was more drawn to Nathan. Nathan and Eli are complete opposites, character-wise. Nathan is definitely a bit morally challenged, as he is working with the government and at times seem a little closed off for me. Eli on the other hand is open and of course a genius. The writing style took some getting used to but you I did get the feels a bit over some heartbreak. I WAS NOT A FAN OF THE ENDING. Just saying. I wont add any spoilers but I had hopes and dreams, and even though I understand that some decisions could in the end be amazing, I was not amused. I did enjoy it for the most part though.

I was given a eBook copy of the book for my honest review.


Turn Revolves around Nathan a man set in his way's a troubled and Who's Morals Stride in the gray zone. He Works for a Corrupt Government Organization.

One day His World is Thrown Into a Spin He Meets His New Co Worker Eli Who is The Complete Opposite of Himself.

Eli Is A Walking Ball of Sunshine an Extrovert Linguistic Genius.

Nathan Has a somewhat Self Realization of His Current state of mind, The the Story Follow Them Both and Nathans Struggle Of Self Expression he is a Ambiguous and Ruthless Person and seeing him in a different light going forward in the story you start to cheer for him as you see he can be sweet and his inexperience in many things that come easy to Eli.

I Give this a 4/5

Description
The responsibilities Nathan has taken on are sometimes daunting, even as he loves his job. Always ready to rise to the occasion, he is both respected and feared in the office and in the field. His rise to quiet power has shaped his very being, and he knows each and every move as he plots his days and watches over his agents. His life has shaped him into a loner, however, and that is never more noticeable than when Eli begins work in Department 5.

Eli is not the typical Department 5 recruit, and his cheerful and polite nature is both intriguing and off-putting to Nathan. But as Eli weakens and breaks through Nathan’s walls, they gradually embark on a path of discovery and a relationship that defies both of their assumptions. It is by times quirky and odd, sometimes a little rough around the edges, always a bit fragile. But secrecy, lies, plots, and executions are Nathan’s job, and life—and some habits are hard to break. Finally, the tension their work holds can no longer be contained or ignored, and it threatens to destroy either themselves or all that they’ve found together.

Turn is a story about power, tough choices, and strategic moves—of knowing when to sacrifice a piece in this ongoing game of chess, sticking by your actions, and knowing what the endgame is—no matter what the personal cost. Most importantly, it’s about life’s hardest lesson. Sometimes love isn’t all that you need, and the wants of our hearts aren’t always enough to overcome who we are and the realities of life.

The new guy at work seems to get more and more in Nathan’s personal space, subtle admittedly but still.
Falling in love isn’t easy when you live on the dark side of life. Nathan is quite distant and oblivious about life and relationship. It’s nothing he desires and still, without even knowing he’s in one, tentative.
With Eli next to him he experiences a whole other dimension of life. Nathan is melting and he can’t afford it with the kind of work he does. He has to make choices. Love isn’t always enough.

It all quite delicate and with finesse, almost beautifully minimalistic, a film noir.

This story is not a regular romance, it’s more a journey, and while I understand the way it ended I didn’t like it.
Beautifully written narrative.

This book was not what I expected, I still did enjoy it but took me a while to get into it. I wasn't gripped which was a shame as I was thoroughly looking forward to reading this.

Thank you to Erin and Netgalley for allowing me to read this.

I loved this book. I loved the fact that the main character was morally grey, I loved the fact that the relationship took time and was properly built instead of being instalove. I loved the fact that there was no description of graphic sexual content on page. I loved that they fell in love slowly. I loved the pacing. I loved the writing style. I loved the characters. I loved how realistic this book was written. I loved the chess-references. Most of all, I loved the open ending. If this book was a TV show, I'd binge-watch it all day. If there were to be more books, I'd devour them immediatly. This book was absolute perfection in my eyes; it's one of my favourite reads of the year.
I loved how Eli manages to slowly break through Nathan's shell. I loved the constant chess-references. I loved how realistic it was written and although I wished there was a second book, I am perfectly happy with that semi-open ending.

I received a free copy by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review.

Right off the bat I was uncertain about this book. First person present tense I could probably have gotten over, but the writing is awkward and clunky. It was like reading an academic paper instead of a novel. The main character's name isn't even mentioned until 60 pages in since it's all "I". I think his name is used maybe 14 times in the entire book. It's unfortunate the writing is so clunky since this has the bones of a really good story. The plot is good, it's just not very well executed. I think with a rewrite and less attempt to sound smart it could be a 4 star book.

I kind of struggled with how to describe "Turn" it is probably one of the most unique romances I have read this year. This book takes a deep look at Nathan as a person and him opening up to a relationship with Eli. "Turn" reads partly like an office romance and partly an introspective look on the life of one character.

While I don't think this style of romance is for everyone, I do think there are people out there who will absolutely fall in love with this story.

"Turn" was absolutely surprising.
The story revolves around Nathan, a troubled and morally grey man working for a shady governement organization, who finds his life upended when Eli, a sunny and extrovert linguistic genius, starts working with him.
I'm not sure I've read anything quite like this book before. The writing is very good and at the beginning I thought the "monologue-like" style would put me off, but instead I got used to very quickly and by the second chapter I was absolutely hooked.
I devoured it in a few hours and it made me feel all kinds of feelings: loneliness and heartbreak, anxiety and sorrow and happiness and warmth too.
I adored Nathan with my whole heart: his story, his thoughts and feelings capture you from the start and make you want to stay inside his head. He's ambiguous and ruthless, but also so sweet and inexperienced at times I wanted to hug him.

If you don't mind bittersweet, but hopeful, endings, and if your looking to read about tough choices and the unexpectedness of life, "Turn" is the book for you.