Musings on Romance

Tag: gay (Page 5 of 7)

REVIEW: Candy Hearts by Erin McLellan

Very edge of a the body and upper legs of a hot young white guy wearing only lacy boy shorts and holding a pair of pink boxer briefs from one upraised fingerWhy I read it:  I saw some buzz about this one on Twitter so I bought it.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads)  Mechanic Benji Holiday is so over Valentine’s Day and men who don’t get him. A weekend getaway with friends to escape the holiday hubbub is exactly what he needs. But William O’Dare—a stern and silent nightclub owner with “Be My Valentine” practically stamped on his forehead—throws a wrench into Benji’s plans.

William has spent years focused on his career, and it has cost him friendships and love. Inexperienced in the business of romance, he’s on the hunt for the perfect partner, and he’s armed with specific criteria to guide him. But William didn’t expect a hunky mechanic wrapped in satin and lace to show up on his doorstep.

Unable to resist their attraction, Benji and William agree to be secret fake valentines for the weekend, but secrets have a way of getting out. William gets struck by Cupid’s arrow, and as the weekend winds down, he doesn’t want fake or secret. He wants Benji to be his valentine for real and for keeps.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): What a charming delight this novella was! Benji was funny and sweet and he won my heart as he was winning William’s. And William was fabulous too in his own way. Benji is more out there, very emotionally open and a little messy. William is more controlled and reserved but the perfect foil for Benji. Both of them are emotionally vulnerable and very brave as they find their way toward one another and I loved how the dynamic shifted from one to the other in that regard.
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August Round Up

Monthly Mini Review

planetscape in reds yellows and oranges - looks kind of like MarsTo See The Sun by Kelly Jensen, narrated by TJ Clark – B Gael Sonnen is a young man living in the undercity of his home planet, Zhemosen, never allowed to see the sun which is only for the wealthy and privileged who live above ground. He’s also beholden to a bad guy because reasons. When said bad guy requires Gael to murder someone, he is unable to go through with it. With the help of a friend, Gael flees to Alkirak as a kind of “mail order groom”  on a “companion contract”.  Alkirak is very far away from Zhemosen way out of reach of the commonwealth law; a kind of wild west frontier planet, still being terraformed. Abraham (Bram) Bauer is an older guy who is lonely and looking for more than just hook ups. He can get hook ups easily enough but he wants more.

His friend suggests a companion contract and when he sees Gael’s “holo video” he is smitten.  Bram is a farmer and a miner and life is fairly hard where he is but as difficult as things are, for Gael it is a paradise compared to where he grew up (even though he doesn’t immediately see that is the case).

I don’t want to give too much way but I will say there is a strong found family vibe and I was here for it.

I liked the gradual slow burn of the romance and how Gael and Bram made a family together. The last section felt a bit out of left field and I wasn’t convinced the narrative had truly set up the scenario but it wasn’t the main part of the story and I guess things had to come to a head somehow. Continue reading

November Round Up

Monthly Mini Review

face and upper chest of a hot rock star wearing dark sunglasses and a leather jacket but no shirt, his visible chest tattooedInfamous by Jenny Holiday, narrated by Michael Fell – A- On the face of it, Infamous isn’t a particularly revolutionary story: slow burn romance between an out gay guy and a bisexual rock star whose image is decidedly straight. But what it does it does very very well. It delivers all the feels and kept me glued to my earbuds.

Rocker Jesse Jamison has made a deal with the manager of his dreams to tow the line and stay away from liaisons with men in order to project the ideal image for superstardom. After meeting Dr. Hunter Wyatt, a paediatric hospitalist on the way to Toronto one day, the pair strike up a somewhat unlikely friendship. The book skips forward two years after that initial meeting and the bulk of the story takes place as the pair become buddies and when Jesse’s career has really taken off. Hunter left a relationship with a closet case in Montreal and moved to Toronto for a fresh start. He won’t go back in the closet for anyone – not even Jesse.

It’s not really a surprise what happens but this is one of those cases where the what isn’t as important as the how. The characterisations are strong, the connection between the two men is built up over a long period of time and is based on a solid friendship that is completely believable notwithstanding their differences. While I was dismayed by the predictable black moment I was pleased that Jesse’s decision to come out was about being himself and not “for” anyone and it was a book where the grand gesture had appropriate context and worked really well. Continue reading

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