5* Book Review: Patchwork Paradise

Title: Patchwork Paradise   

Author: Indra Vaughn

Publisher/GR Link: GR, Riptide

Genre: MM Contemporary (in Belgium)

Vice: Loss, children

Rating: 5 stars

Lock this book up: 3 keys.  The sex builds off the plot, but isn’t the focus

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: It doesn’t really suit the story, but I can’t imagine one that would

Best Line: “I was always there for you, Ollie.”

Synopsis: Oliver and Samuel’s relationship is fairy-tale perfect. They share a gorgeous house in Antwerp, go out with their friends every weekend, and count down the days to their dream wedding. But their happy ending is shattered one late night, and just like that, Ollie is left bereft and alone.

The months that follow are long and dark, but slowly Ollie emerges from his grief. He even braves the waters of online dating, though deep down he doesn’t believe he can find that connection again. He doesn’t think to look for love right in front of him: his bisexual friend Thomas, the gentle giant with a kind heart and sad eyes who’s wanted him all along.

When Thomas suddenly discovers he has a son who needs him, he’s ill prepared. Ollie opens up his house—Sam’s house—and lets them in. Ollie doesn’t know what scares him more: the responsibility of caring for a baby, or the way Thomas is steadily winning his heart. It will take all the courage he has to discover whether or not fairy tales can happen for real.

Impressions:  I had to let this book settle before I could attempt to do it justice.  This book was not what I expected, and I couldn’t get it out of my head.

I thought this would be a sweet, low angst read, but in fact it was a complex, sometimes heart breaking read that left me feeling a sense of satisfaction that stayed with me for days.

I knew going into this that Ollie would lose Sam, but I didn’t realize that we would get to see their love, and Ollie’s loss, so completely open for us to experience.  It was heartbreaking, but so realistic.  The author covers a lot of time in Ollie, Sam and Thomas’ life.  About 30% in I wasn’t sure if this would be the book for me, but I was enchanted by Thomas and connected to Ollie (and really their whole friend group) that I kept with it, and I am so happy that I did.

It’s really difficult to put into words why this book works so well, but I hope you will trust me that it does.  The love between Ollie and Thomas is always there, but watching it grow from friendship to love was simply beautiful. 

I really enjoyed this book, and I ended up staying up WAY too late to finish it, and when I did I had a terrible (read: wonderful) book hangover that lasted for days!

Don’t miss this amazing read, and don’t underestimate it they way I almost did!

5+ Banned in Boston Review: Beneath the Stain

Title: Beneath the Stain

Author: Amy Lane

Publisher/GR Link:Dreamspinner, GR

Genre: MM Contemporary

Vice: Rockstars, Loss, Recovery, Coming Out

Rating: 5 out of 5- Banned in Boston

Lock this book up: 4 out of 5 keys- Sex is hot but necessary to the plot

Length: 7 short novellas, or one juicy novel

Satisfaction: Bring your tissues, but you'll get an HEA

Cover Impressions: I love it.  Has Lane's style all over it

Best Line: “I love you, McKay. I love you so much it would kill me not to try.”

Synopsis: In a town as small as Tyson, CA, everybody knew the four brothers with the four different fathers-- and their penchant for making good music when they weren't getting into trouble. For Mackey Sanders, playing in Outbreak Monkey with his brothers and their friends—especially Grant Adams--made Tyson bearable. But Grant has plans for getting Mackey and the Sanders boys out of Tyson, even if that means staying behind. 

Between the heartbreak of leaving Grant and the terrifying, glamorous life of rock stardom, Mackey is adrift and sinking fast. When he's hit rock bottom, Trav Ford shows up, courtesy of their record company and a producer who wants to see what Mackey can do if he doesn't flame out first. But cleaning up his act means coming clean about Grant, and that's not easy to do or say. Mackey might make it with Trav's help--but Trav's not sure he's going to survive falling in love with Mackey. 

Mackey James Sanders comes with a whole lot of messy, painful baggage, and law-and-order Trav doesn't do messy or painful. And just when Trav thinks they may have mastered every demon in Mackey's past, the biggest, baddest demon of all comes knocking.

Impressions:  Part of me feels like the author name says everything I could say in a review.  Amy Lane means the most delicious of angst, love, and enough hope to keep you holding on until the teary finish.  It means your heart getting rung out, and you coming back for more every single time.  It means a cast of characters that come alive, and that you feel like you know.

This book was no exception.  Mack and Trav are great for each other, and I loved every second of watching them find their love, their happiness, and their family.

If you love Amy Lane, and really, who doesn't?, get this one and get started.  You can buy this as one novel, or as seven short novellas.  When I bought it, I bought the seven shorts for the bonus material which, though I enjoyed it, you did not need it to fully experience the novel.  Luckily for you all, the novel is totally released now, so there is no need to wait each week for it to arrive in your bookshelf.

There is an amazing cast of characters, and I know this will be a read I return to time and time again.

5 Star Review: Godsend

This novel is being released on 2/9!  Pre-order it today!

Title: Godsend

Author: Sloan Johnson

Publisher/GR Link: GR

Genre: Contemporary MM

Vice: Loss, Coming Out, Complex identities 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Lock this book up: 4 out of 5 keys.  Sex is super hot and fits the plot.

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: Well earned HEA

Cover Impressions: I love it.

Best Line: "The man Chris is comforting isn't the man I was married to, he's the man I always felt was lingering somewhere beneath the surface."

Synopsis: You can’t choose who you fall in love with. Despite knowing from a young age that he was gay, Scott Murphy couldn’t imagine life without Shelly. He threw away the labels and had eleven amazing years with her, but now, he feels even more lost trying to figure out how to move on after Shelly’s death. After nearly a year of watching Scott fade away, Shelly’s father forces him to start living again.

As much as Chris loathes the idea of attending a bereavement group week after week, it’s one of the only places he can go in this town, other than the bar, to not feel so alone. When there’s nothing to distract him or dull his senses, he spends too much time obsessing over how he should have been able to help his sister. When Scott shows up at his group session, Chris decides that maybe some good can come out of his sister’s death. 

There’s no denying that Chris is the first man to catch Scott’s attention in a long time, but how can he move on when just thinking of Shelly sends him to his dark place? 

The road to recovery won’t be an easy one, but Chris is determined to help Scott see that life is still worth living. But before Scott can allow himself to admit what he feels for Chris, he knows he has to reveal the full truth about Shelly’s death. 

Impressions: This is an amazing book, full of such deep emotions and such all consuming love, that I could barely put it down. 

The beginning of this book had me in literal tears.  Not like LOLing when I'm not really doing anything more than a smirk- but honest to God tears on my cheeks.  It was beautifully written, and in a lesser author's hands that could have been cheesy, in Ms. Johnson's capable hands it was moving and effective.

Having been part of a bereavement process in the past,  I was very interested to see how this was written, and I found it to be very accurate and honest.  The grieving that both Chris and Scott are experiencing is poignant and practically tangible.  

What really impressed me in this book, besides the love story, was how well she handled the complexities of Scott's sexuality coupled with his true love for Shelley.  I found this so authentic and so well portrayed that it truly impacted me as an observer to their love and friendship.  In the same vein that many of us love OFY and GFY stories, I loved this version of a friendship so deep that it became a true love.  There was no "cop out" on their love, and it made Scott's suffering so much deeper.

Obviously the best thing about this novel is the love story at the heart of this tale.  Chris and Scott do not have any easy path ahead of them, but I was swept away by their connection.  There were amazing secondary characters and plot developments, but it was the journey of love and connection between these two hurt men that made this a 5 star read for me.  

Highly recommended.