He addled Laurence’s gaydar and Laurence wasn’t sure it was because the guy was British or straight. [loc. 1289]
Laurence is a former heroin addict, now a florist living above his mother's shop. He's still trying to get rid of Dan, a troublesome ex, and he's painfully aware of the urge to relapse into his addiction. Laurence has inherited, from his mother, a supernatural gift for horticulture, but he also sees visions of the future, and when he encounters a familiar-looking young Englishman in the park, he's keen to advance the friendship.
Quentin d'Arcy, who happens to be the Earl of Banbury, has led an extremely sheltered life, is unaccustomed to commoners, and refuses to accept that there's anything unusual about him -- even though freak weather events seem to occur when he's scared or angry. He's fled England following conflict with his father, and is leading a nomadic existence, moving from city to city across America with only his mother's piano and his own vast wealth to insulate him from, well, people.
This might be a straightforward slow-burn opposites-attract romance if not for the presence of the eponymous Jack, who shows up during one of Laurence's prayer/meditation sessions, apparently in response to Laurence's cry for help. Jack might be a god (he certainly presents as one) and he's keen for Laurence to 'feed' him. Jack's influence grows, and Laurence and Quentin must work together to defeat him -- while negotiating their budding relationship, Quentin's horror of his own body, and Laurence's ever-present craving for something stronger than the cannabis he grows in the greenhouse.
This was free on Kindle, and a pleasant enough read. There are intriguing hints of Quentin's backstory, and Laurence has a lot to learn about himself as well as his new friend. But I don't feel inclined to follow the series: the prose style didn't grab me, and Quentin's exaggerated, comic-book Englishness ('really, old boy ... one doesn't recall ...') was overdone. Yes, it was amusing the first few times that Laurence misunderstood Quentin's (stereo)typically British understatement, but one would have hoped that Quentin would loosen up just a little by the end of the novel.
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