It's Another M/M (Gay) Weekend

Seems like my M/M (Gay) romance reviews are being featured pretty regularly on Saturdays and Sundays at All About Romance.

This weekend's featured review is The Way Back by newbie author Carter Quinn, who is a promising new writer in my opinion.  His story is nothing new in romance circles, but Quinn's style and deft ability with words infuses a new and compelling quality to revitalize what otherwise might be considered trite.

Established authors work their entire careers for this quality, so for a new writer to achieve it is something very special.

Good work, Carter Quinn!  I eagerly await your next book.

Mature, Successful Men in Love

Shira Anthony's Aria is a delight--mainly because the two love interests are successful men in totally divergent fields and working out of completely different parts of the world.  When they fall in love, unlike many "straight" romances where the woman defers to the man and either reestablishes herself wherever he's based or completely quits her career to move where he lives, Athony's superstar tenor and talented lawyer must figure out how to make their lives mesh while keeping their careers.

Writers of "straight" romances should learn something from this and make their women characters more assertive.  No, this doesn't mean that the women demand that the men give up their jobs, but rather that the men and women learn how to negotiate in order to make their lives mesh.

If we're talking real equality, then this is a must.  A round of applause for Anthony who figured this out and made it a plot point in Aria.

My review of Aria was featured on AAR this weekend and can be read at the links associated with the book's title in this blog piece.

In Love with a Movie Star

I read Tina Reber's Love Unscripted first when it was just available in e-book form.  I remember it being much tighter and not as nuanced as the book I reviewed for AAR.  That being said, I must add that either version of the book is very good.  My only quibble with it was what Ryan saw in Taryn other than the comfort factor.

I wanted to see more information on why Ryan loved this woman who comes across as remarkably bland.  Just because her bar is a haven and she seems "normal" to him, is that enough for a lasting relationship?  I don't know.  Do mega-stars look for mates who will ground them?  Is that what everyone is actually looking for in someone to spend a lifetime with?

That's not to say there isn't sex in this book.  There is.  But considering that part of what Ryan does for a living is creating sex scenes with hot co-stars, Reber seems to understand that sex isn't enough and portrays that, unlike other contemporary romances these days.

I still wonder, however, what the glue that binds Ryan to Taryn is.  Is "normal" (in this case, slightly boring) enough?