lomax61

Downloaded based on your review. Already love the writing style. Thanks for the recommendation.

I am in total agreement with your review, score and all. I read this after a string of not-so-good MM stories and wondered if my opinion was skewed. But everything you mention resonates with my evaluation. Graham is damaged goods, and Rikker is such a wonderful human being. At first he seems too good to be true, until you meet his family. Great writing, fab dialogue and basically great storytelling—from someone who honestly couldn’t care less about hockey!

Interesting story, Cole, well done. This could easily be the start of a longer story, if you wanted to take this further, because there are so many questions unanswered (What was the nature of the job they did together, if they actually did, or was the light haired guy mistaken? Or did they actually know each other, and in what way? Did anyone witness the hit and run driver climbing out of the smashed up car? Did the army dude force the old guy who confessed to the hit and run take the fall for him?). So many ways you could continue this story. Straight away, the reader would have a sense of danger in the protagonist investigating this closed case further. I would definitely read it! Your call, Cole.

I love this collection of connected Haiku, so evocative of autumn. You’re lucky to have this kind of inspiration on your doorstep. I agree that words work better than a photograph.

Beautiful poem, thanks for sharing.

“Parce que c’était lui, parce que c’était moi.” I read CMBYN after a recommendation from a writing buddy back in 2015 around two years before a movie version was announced. This friend described the book as Aciman’s exploration of the stickiness and ecstasy and transcendence of fullblooded, devoted, naked human desire. The description almost put me off. And if I’m going to be perfectly honest, I had to start the story a couple of times, found the adolescent voice of Elio difficult to tune into initially, the affected ennui and indifference that Timothy Chalamet pulls off so beautifully in the movie. But I respected my writing buddy’s opinion, and am so glad I persevered because this is a most incredible love story—yes, a eulogy—and is easily in my top 10 favourite gay romances of all time. As always, if I like a book, I usually go back and read the story at least a couple more times. And this is one of those rare ones where I catch something new each time. When the movie version was announced I was torn because some stories do not translate to the big screen, but on the other hand, I liked both main actors announced to play the leads. Although for me, it’s Elio’s father in both the book and film, who stays with me, the heartfelt fireside chat in part four that Michael Stuhlbarg delivers so beautifully. Should Aciman have included HIV and homophobia? The remote location in Italy felt like a safe haven from the rest of the world. Moreover, I’m not sure this would have been the same story, had Aciman included these elements. Have you read the follow up, Find Me? I have not, and am in two minds whether I want to, after reading the very mixed reviews.

The act of finishing writing a book is so momentous that I respect any author who manages to get that far. If they’ve also done the legwork of getting published and marketing (or self-published, and done a good job of redrafting and editing) then I am never going to give someone a 1 star review. If it’s dreadful, I would rather not review at all. I have been known to give low reviews when the gay characters are inauthentic and unbelievable, or if the story feels contrived or unrealistic. My problem is that I read MM romance and fiction from the perspective of a living, breathing gay man, and forget that we were never the intended audience. Does that mean the concept of Queerbaiting does not apply? (Discuss, lol). These writers are creating a fictionalised world in which usually masculine men (policemen, sportsmen, detectives, firemen, soldiers) have romantic feelings for another man and the setup plays out a sexual fantasy on the page for their female readers. Conversely, a lesbian friend tells me that a significant proportion of lesbian fiction is written and read by straight men. The key for me is whether it’s done well. That’s why I love writers like NR Walker, Sabrina Bowen, River Jaymes, and, to a lesser extent, Abigail Roux and Madeleine Urban, because they research and write their characters realistically. Maybe that’s also why gay male authors like Brad Boney, J F Smith and Marshall Thornton, who (IMHO) truly understand and create believable gay characters, are often passed over by female readers of gay romance, because they include all aspects of gay culture, warts and all. I’ve downloaded EPIC, by the way, and am already halfway through Blood and Milk, and loving the storyline. N R Walker has a real knack for taking you to another place, the way she did in the Red Dirt series.

I agree wholeheartedly with your review, although I would struggle to give this more than 2 stars. I bought the book straight after finishing HIM and US, both of which have become firm favourites. Fortunately, at the same time as downloading Top Secret, I stumbled upon Sabrina Bowen’s solo effort The Understatement of the Year, which in my view is far superior. I finished Roommate last month and agree it’s better than Top Secret, but still not her finest work.

Ordered and promoted to my ‘to read’ pile. Thank you.

Do you like Durian? I think TJ Klune is like Durian, a fruit you either love or hate. I’m afraid I fall into the latter category. Lynn Flewelling sounds more my kind of thing. I’ll check her out her Nightrunner and Tamir Triad series. I recently tried the acclaimed Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, but have found myself struggling to finish the book. Again, I think it’s the writing. I loved CS Pascat’s Captive Prince trilogy, even though the books garnered a lot of criticism for the depiction of brutality. But what a great ride. Probably shows my age when I say that my fantasy tastes are more serious mainstream, growing up with the Narnia books, the Hobbit, and then Lord of the Rings, before being hooked on Stephen Donaldson’s Thomas Covenant epics. When my brother introduced me to Terry Pritchett and, by association, Neil Gaiman, I found my-go to books. Good Omens is still one of my favourites. I tried Harry Potter which got better with each book, and Stephanie Meyers Twilight (because I quite enjoyed the film) but hers were just awful.

Ah, T J Klune. Sorry, I tried, I honestly did. I still have Tell Me It’s Real and The Lightning Struck Heart sitting largely unread on my kindle, purchased based on the number of positive reviews I read on Amazon and Goodreads. I’ve been back a couple of times, but am still struggling to get past the first few pages. We all have books we know we’re supposed to like, but don’t, right? (I even gave James Joyce’s Ulysses a go in my youth!) I love humour in a story, but not when the comedy overshadows or replaces the story. I can see how some readers enjoy the frenetic stream of sassy dialogue from the gay unicorn and other My Little Pony type of characters at the beginning of Lightning Struck Heart, but it does nothing for me. I want to read characters I care about. Sorry, going to have to pass on this one. But I would be happy to hear any other recommendations from you.

I am in complete agreement with your review and I’d give this book the same high score. You have only made one omission, that of Henry’s Nigerian pal, Percy Okonjo, the producer of the kimonos. To know now that Greg Berlanti’s outfit might be involved in a movie version has had me singing in the shower. I’m frankly astonished by the amount of negative responses to this book. I have read and reread the story and find something new every time. Every time I read those texts and emails I still laugh aloud especially at Alex’s list of things he likes about Henry. Each time, I feel more and more in love with the two of them. People do know this is fiction, don’t they, a modern day fairytale? I read a long review on Goodreads from someone berating the author for not fully understanding British royal titles, and how dare she call the prince, Henry of Wales. Ah well, goes to show we all have different triggers and tastes. I just wish I could write a book that garnered over 350,000 largely positive reviews on Goodreads.

Totally agree. Loved both of those books as well as the Red Dirt series, and Evolved. Sometimes her stories don’t hit the mark (I didn’t take to Cronin’s Key or Imago) but nobody can dispute her amazing body of work.

Hey there. I just stumbled upon this. I’m really glad you started this thread. While there are many books in your reviews that I’ve read, there are many I haven’t, so it’s also great to use something like this as a potential recommendation for someone else to read. I already notice you don’t have The Nothingness of Ben by Brad Boney, the first of his Austin trilogy books. Have you any of his? And it’s already encouraging to see you’ve started with a favourite book series. I’ve been party to a Facebook page where gay male writers of gay romance were bemoaning the number of straight women living out their fantasies writing gay romances. While I didn’t and don’t want to get into the argument, I have to agree with you that this series by Serina Bowen and Elle Kennedy (my Kindle version has Elle Kennedy credited as co-author whereas your Goodreads link does not. Is there a story there?) is damned good, definitely not a pronoun switch and also well written and researched. On the strength of reading Him and Us, I even bought Good Boy, about Jamie’s sister coming to visit to look after him, expanding the scene that was not really played out in full during Us. Serina Bowen also wrote The Understatement of the Year, part of a more general romance series, a book in the series with a gay romance that I enjoyed immensely. Good job, W_L. I’ll see what else you’ve got here.

Thanks Gary, I need to finish reading the rest of the anthology entries, too. This little ditty was a whim based on the first line, and I had a lot of fun figuring out how this was going to work out. I have a coupe of follow up short stories (based on the PROM theme) that I have on a back burner. I'll check over your latest work when I get more than a quick break from work. Brian

HI @W_L, Sorry I haven't thanked you for the kind review. Not sure if you were aware but I live in Hong Kong and my hubby is a Canto-speaking Malaysian Chinese. We have a number of friends (mainly from Singapore) who speak either the Hakka or Hokkien dialects. I have trouble enough with Cantonese and it's nine tones. Brian

Hi @Aditus, thank you for your comment. I’m very pleased you enjoyed the story. I really enjoyed writing this with two very different characters.

Thanks so much @Parker Owens. Yes, I had fun imagining what each man would experience as the other, uninhibited Don confident in his straight world but about to mess up the best thing in his life and being thrown off balance in Stanley’s skin. Stanley living many gay men’s fantasy of inhabiting the hot body of a well built and handsome hunk, only to find the attention uncomfortable.

Hi @Leo C, I would love to say I channeled Ray Bradbury, but I should be so lucky. Thanks for reading and posting a great comment.

Thanks @Danilo Syrtis. The story evolved from that first line. And having spent the past twenty-three years here in Hong Kong, I thought it was time I got inside the head of a gay Asian man. Stanley’s character is derived from many of my local gay friends. A series may well be forthcoming. Thanks again for the wonderful comments.

I really enjoyed this. A nice blend of contemporary subject matter, and heartbreakingly emotional honesty. Never considered it before, but you paint content moderators as the modern day sweatshop workers. I would never do a job like that, although these guys seem as though they have little choice. My blood pressure rises every time I read more than a couple of crazed comments. Lovely work, Northie, keep on writing.

Thanks @Onim. Quite a long story, so thank you for persevering. And, yes, the concept of a series is firmly fixed in my head.

Thank you @84Mags. I hadn’t considered a series of short stories around PROM cabs until I read some comments, but I think I might put that one in my slush pile. This was difficult to write, trying to make sure the reader knew who was talking, even though the person was someone else, if you know what I mean! But I had a lot of fun writing the story.

A gentle coming of age story about Jamison being dropped off by his over-possessive parents for his first ever a Greyhound bus ride to visit his brother in college, and his chance meeting with likeminded Diego. Beautifully told from the POV of Jamison, with all his teenage innocence and insecurities. I did hope there would be a breadcrumb of hope at the end, with maybe even just a text message between them, but, what Ho!

Nice vignette of Zane’s life. I really felt for him being hemmed in at the bar. I’ve been there many times, hoping someone doesn’t spill their drink on me. I thought Zane might might bail at any moment, but I’m really the the story brought in Fenix. And I love the optimistic texts at the end, hinting at a happy ending. Thank you for sharing.