He’s the One, a low-angst, cross-class romance, is the first book in a new series from Barbara Elsborg. I enjoyed it, although the the pacing lags in places and there’s an odd disconnect between the fluffy, light-hearted and very sweet romance and the traumatic backgrounds of the two leads. This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Elsborg, though, so perhaps that’s her usual MO.

Col and Theo meet when Col saves Theo from being crushed by a piece of falling masonry. Col is a stonemason, but is temporarily part of the construction/restoration team working at Asquith Hall, seat of the Marquess of Farnstall, and Theo is – as Col thinks – one of the estate workers. There’s a definite spark of interest on both sides, but before either of them can say much, a man Col assumes must be Theo’s boss appears and starts berating Theo, who quickly heads off to man the entry gate as he’s told. Cute, skinny guys with floppy hair aren’t Col’s usual type, but given the way his last relationship went (with Col discovering his live-in boyfriend was married with kids) maybe he needs to find a different type. He has a few weeks of work left at the hall, and looks forward to meeting Theo again.

Except, as it turns out, he doesn’t get that chance. Col is called to the site manager’s office later that day and told his services are no longer required. He’s stunned – the crew is barely big enough at it is – but there’s nothing he can do, and he goes home at the end of the day feeling dejected. Not that his life’s ambition is to work on a restoration crew – what he really loves is stone carving – but it was a job and an income, and was enabling him to save a bit of money so that he will be able to support his older brother Dominic when he’s released from prison. Fortunately for Col, he has the most wonderfully supportive (adoptive) parents who aren’t going to let him wallow in self-pity; his mum insists he take part in the promises charity auction being held at Asquith in a few weeks… and maybe while he’s there, Col might be able to find that cute guy again and pick up where they left off.

Theo is, in fact, the son of the marquess and the heir to the title and estate (owing to the disappearance of his elder brother some years earlier.) He’s twenty-one, yet his parents and grandmother treat him like an idiot child. He knows he’s not clever or charming or smooth – he knows he doesn’t fit in and knows he’s a disappointment and he tries hard to please – but nothing he says or does is ever good enough. His father has insisted that he shadow Darnley, the estate manager (whom Theo has nicknamed ‘Dick Dastardly’ because he looks like the cartoon character) and learn how to run the estate from him, but doesn’t realise – or care – that his own dismissive attitude towards his son has given Darnley tacit permission to bully Theo and treat him like crap.

He’s the One is a long book by romance standards, coming in at just under 400 pages, and there’s quite a lot going on in the story, although oddly enough, it can feel under- rather than over-stuffed, because the pacing slows too much in places. There’s a sub-plot in which Col and Theo try to find out who is embezzling funds from the estate; there’s Col’s ex, who not only wants him back, but whose wife verbally abuses Col and physically assaults him (and has a hand in his dismissal); there’s Theo’s father’s miserable marriage (I worked out what was going on there fairly quickly) and the way he’s so dismissive of Theo’s ideas; there’s Theo’s horrible mother and grandmother, for whom he can do nothing right and who expect him to get married and produce offspring even though they know he’s gay; there’s the fact that Col grew up in care, and that his brother is in prison for the torture and murder of their parents (who were sexually abusing him and about to start on Col – not a spoiler, it’s revealed early on) and that he’s having trouble with other inmates, so Col fears for his safety… it’s a LOT. Dare I say, too much? I like angsty romances, I like there to be some degree of conflict, but it needs to feel believable and organic, and that just isn’t the case here. As soon as I read about Col’s past, I expected this book to be dark and angsty, but it isn’t; somehow, Col and Theo are both sweethearts who have managed to retain their kindness and ability to be happy despite serious trauma (Col) and a family who constantly dismisses and belittles him (Theo). On the one hand, that they’ve reached their twenties and are pretty well-adjusted is great – the author makes it clear that Col has “worked through his feelings and accepted he couldn’t change what had happened, that some things could never be put right” – and I was pleased that he had made a conscious decision not to let his past define his future. On the other, it doesn’t make for particularly gripping fiction, or a relationship that’s easy to invest in, because the conflict is all external and the characters seem almost incidental.

I did like them both, though, and they really are cute together. I enjoyed watching Theo gaining confidence as a result of Col’s support and his conviction that Theo is capable and deserving of so much more than he thinks he is. On the downside, Theo’s constant stream of babbling does get a bit tiring; he has pretty much no verbal filter (or mental one – his thoughts are equally chaotic) and while they’re quite funny and endearing at first, by the final chapters, they’re exhausting. I liked him and felt angry on his behalf at the situation he was in; it’s fairly clear that he has some kind of learning disability, but also that he’s bright and enthusiastic and very, very far from stupid, despite his family’s opinion to the contrary.

Speaking of his family, I had a real problem with the way things pan out, because Theo’s father – who has been every bit as dismissive of Theo’s ideas and abilities as his wife and mother-in-law, has never stood up for him, and has allowed his estate manager to treat him like shit – suddenly becomes a caring and supportive parent so fast I’m worried about whiplash; and while Theo’s mother and grandmother really are horrible people, it feels like they get all the blame for the way Theo was treated and his father gets none. Theo’s mother is a total cow, no doubt about it, and I’m glad she gets her comeuppance, but his father hasn’t exactly covered himself in glory, either, and yet he gets away with his poor behaviour.

He’s the One didn’t quite work for me, although I did enjoy certain aspects of it. The romance is sweet and I liked the leads (despite Theo’s verbal diarrhoea) – but so much of the extraneous drama is over-the-top and I have too many reservations to be able to recommend the book to any but – perhaps – the author’s existing fanbase.