Title: Sidecar
Author: Amy Lane
Genre: m/m romance
Print length: 270 pages
Publication date: June 28, 2012
Rating: Four Stars
Blurb: The year is 1987. The boys wear pink Izod shirts, the girls wear big hair, everyone has a stash box, and AIDS is just an ugly rumor rumbling like a thunderstorm from the cities. A teenage runaway wanders the side of the road, a heartbeat away from despair, and is rescued by a long-haired angel on a Harley.
But that's just the beginning of their story.
Josiah Daniels wanted peace and quiet and a simple life, and he had it until he rescued Casey from hunger, cold, and exhaustion. Then Joe's life is anything but simple as he and his new charge navigate a world that is changing more rapidly than the people in it. Joe wants to raise Casey to a happy and productive adulthood, and he does. But even as an adult, Casey can't conceive of a happy life without Joe. The trouble is getting Joe to accept that the boy he nurtured is suddenly the man who wants him.
Their relationship can either die or change with the world around them. As they make a home, negotiate the new rules of growing up, and swerve around the pitfalls of modern life, Casey learns that adulthood is more than sex, Joe learns that there is no compromise in happy ever after, and they’re both forced to realize that the one thing a man shouldn’t be is alone.
Review:
Now here is something from Amy Lane I could sink my teeth into. Even though I'm not a fan, every once in a while I will buy one of her novels, fully expecting her to live up to her potential. She comes very close in this one. The story is interesting, the characters well done. Her power of description is one of her strengths and she finally lets it loose in this story, instead of wasting time by filling the novel with things she is not so good at (sex and humor come to mind). I've never recommended a novel by this author, but I will do so now. It was an enjoyable read.
Buy it from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sidecar-ebook/dp/B008G1GFX6/ref=cm_cr-mr-img
More titles from Amy Lane:
Title: Racing for the Sun
Author: Amy Lane
Genre: m/m romance
Print length: 233 pages
Publication date: April 25, 2013
Overall reviewer rating: Five Stars
Blurb: "I'll do anything."
Staff Sergeant Jasper "Ace" Atchison takes one look at Private Sonny Daye and knows that every word on paper about him is pure, unadulterated bullshit. But Sonny is desperate, and although Ace isn't going to take him up on his offer of "anything," that doesn't mean he isn't tempted.
Instead, Ace takes Sonny under his wing, protecting him when they're in the service and making plans with him when they get out. Together, they're going to own a garage and build race cars and make their fortune hurtling faster than light across the desert. Together, they're going to rewrite the past, make Sonny Daye a whole and happy person, and put the ghosts in Ace's heart to rest.
But not even Sonny can build a car fast enough to escape the ghosts of the past. When Sonny's ghosts drive them down and run their plans off the road, Ace finds out exactly what he's made of. Maybe Sonny was the one to promise Ace anything, but there is nothing under the sun Ace won't do to keep Sonny safe from harm.
But Colby is out of college now, and he has grand plans for the future—plans Terrell is sure will leave his scrawny black ass in the Sacramento dust until a breathless moment stolen from the chaos of the restaurant tells Terrell he might be wrong. When the moment is shattered by a mystery and an act of violence, Terrell and Colby are left with two puzzles: who killed their scumbag manager, and how to fit their own lives—the black and the white of them—into a single shining tomorrow.
More titles from Amy Lane:
Title: Racing for the Sun
Author: Amy Lane
Genre: m/m romance
Print length: 233 pages
Publication date: April 25, 2013
Overall reviewer rating: Five Stars
Blurb: "I'll do anything."
Staff Sergeant Jasper "Ace" Atchison takes one look at Private Sonny Daye and knows that every word on paper about him is pure, unadulterated bullshit. But Sonny is desperate, and although Ace isn't going to take him up on his offer of "anything," that doesn't mean he isn't tempted.
Instead, Ace takes Sonny under his wing, protecting him when they're in the service and making plans with him when they get out. Together, they're going to own a garage and build race cars and make their fortune hurtling faster than light across the desert. Together, they're going to rewrite the past, make Sonny Daye a whole and happy person, and put the ghosts in Ace's heart to rest.
But not even Sonny can build a car fast enough to escape the ghosts of the past. When Sonny's ghosts drive them down and run their plans off the road, Ace finds out exactly what he's made of. Maybe Sonny was the one to promise Ace anything, but there is nothing under the sun Ace won't do to keep Sonny safe from harm.
Review by R. Parklane ( Top 1000 Amazon Reviewer ):
I have a soft spot for stories on young military gay men. Amy Lane has created two complex and such appealing characters in Ace and Sonny. I could not stop reading once I started. I was just overwhelmed by their intense, gritty, convoluted, obsessive and all consuming love. The story is told through Ace's narration but Sonny was never overshadowed because their exchanges were so alive, filled with so much conviction and emotions.
Every gay man should have his Ace, who love unconditionally, passionately and all consuming. And how could we not love complex, vulnerable, feral and tough Sonny who somehow did the impossible against all odds. Boys like Sonny die young but this boy has changed his name to Sonny Daye and is determined to find his sun and live another day.
The plot is riveting, raw, tough, searing, heart breaking and above all it is about the power of love which at the end does heal and lessen the pain. The setting is so fitting for their love story, be it the military outpost in Iraq, their little garage and home in the middle of nowhere or the blazing race tracks as they race for the sun. I love those parts where tough choices were made, without compromise, because that is the only way to protect the one you love. Because it is the only choice and to do otherwise is just unthinkable. I like all the secondary characters who are so well developed. Ace's elder brother may be dead but his story is no less impactful. Amy Lane is famous for the angst, sometimes too much. This time the angst is just right in Racing for the Sun.
One reviewer says the story feels cut off. I disagree. Maybe the reveiwer feels this way because she wants more because I certainly do. I do not have enough of Ace and Sonny and wish Amy Lane will give us a sequel. Beautiful story Amy Lane!
Every gay man should have his Ace, who love unconditionally, passionately and all consuming. And how could we not love complex, vulnerable, feral and tough Sonny who somehow did the impossible against all odds. Boys like Sonny die young but this boy has changed his name to Sonny Daye and is determined to find his sun and live another day.
The plot is riveting, raw, tough, searing, heart breaking and above all it is about the power of love which at the end does heal and lessen the pain. The setting is so fitting for their love story, be it the military outpost in Iraq, their little garage and home in the middle of nowhere or the blazing race tracks as they race for the sun. I love those parts where tough choices were made, without compromise, because that is the only way to protect the one you love. Because it is the only choice and to do otherwise is just unthinkable. I like all the secondary characters who are so well developed. Ace's elder brother may be dead but his story is no less impactful. Amy Lane is famous for the angst, sometimes too much. This time the angst is just right in Racing for the Sun.
One reviewer says the story feels cut off. I disagree. Maybe the reveiwer feels this way because she wants more because I certainly do. I do not have enough of Ace and Sonny and wish Amy Lane will give us a sequel. Beautiful story Amy Lane!
Buy it from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Racing-for-the-Sun-ebook/dp/B00CJ3GWM6/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1368070642&sr=1-1&keywords=amy+lane
Title: Bolt Hole
Author: Amy Lane
Genre: m/m romance
Print length: 246 pages
Publication date: March 26, 2013
Overall reviewer rating: Four and a Half Stars
Blurb: Terrell Washington’s childhood was a trifecta of suck: being black, gay, and poor in America has no upside. Terrell climbed his way out of the hood only to hit a glass ceiling and stop, frozen, a chain restaurant bartender with a journalism degree. His one bright spot is Colby Meyers, a coworker who has no fear, no inhibitions, and sees no boundaries. Terrell and Colby spend their summers at the river and their breaks on the back dock of Papiano’s. As terrified as Terrell is of coming out, he’s helpless to stay away from Colby's magnetic smile and contagious laughter.
But Colby is out of college now, and he has grand plans for the future—plans Terrell is sure will leave his scrawny black ass in the Sacramento dust until a breathless moment stolen from the chaos of the restaurant tells Terrell he might be wrong. When the moment is shattered by a mystery and an act of violence, Terrell and Colby are left with two puzzles: who killed their scumbag manager, and how to fit their own lives—the black and the white of them—into a single shining tomorrow.
Review by Ulysses Dietz:
Colby Meyers is a lucky boy. A California golden boy, he's gay and proud and comfortable in his skin. He's got plans, a masters in social work; but he's biding his time because he can afford to. And he's got eyes for Terrell Washington, a bartender at the restaurant where he waits tables.
Terrell, on the other hand - not so lucky. Born on the wrong side of Sacramento, he was raised by his deeply religious grandmother, who's had to raise too many of her own grandchildren. Against the odds, Terrell struggled through college while holding down a job and continuing to support his not-very-supportive family. Then he found that a degree in journalism only gets you so far when your skin is brown and you have no connections. He's biding his time, too, but he's not sure what sort of a future he has. He's crushing on Colby, but where he comes from you can't be gay; and white boys don't look at black boys anyway.
"Bolt-Hole" is the story of changing someone's life by sharing your dreams. It's a romantic clash of two realities, two different truths; one limiting, one boundless in its possibilities. Terrell is more than he knows, more attractive than he thinks. Colby doesn't quite understand how privileged he is, but neither does he prejudge others, because he's that open-hearted and generous. Colby is naive and Terrell is bitter, but the "pas de deux" these two smart young men perform with each other is touching to read and hopeful in its progress. Amy Lane knows how to elicit emotions, and how to use them to make us better than we were before we picked up her book.
Terrell, on the other hand - not so lucky. Born on the wrong side of Sacramento, he was raised by his deeply religious grandmother, who's had to raise too many of her own grandchildren. Against the odds, Terrell struggled through college while holding down a job and continuing to support his not-very-supportive family. Then he found that a degree in journalism only gets you so far when your skin is brown and you have no connections. He's biding his time, too, but he's not sure what sort of a future he has. He's crushing on Colby, but where he comes from you can't be gay; and white boys don't look at black boys anyway.
"Bolt-Hole" is the story of changing someone's life by sharing your dreams. It's a romantic clash of two realities, two different truths; one limiting, one boundless in its possibilities. Terrell is more than he knows, more attractive than he thinks. Colby doesn't quite understand how privileged he is, but neither does he prejudge others, because he's that open-hearted and generous. Colby is naive and Terrell is bitter, but the "pas de deux" these two smart young men perform with each other is touching to read and hopeful in its progress. Amy Lane knows how to elicit emotions, and how to use them to make us better than we were before we picked up her book.
Buy it from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Bolt-hole-ebook/dp/B00C1V2MK2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1368071077&sr=1-1&keywords=amy+lane+bolt+hole
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