Gay Romance Challenge: February 2013

Here is the Bestsellers List on Amazon I'm referring to for the challenge:

Bestsellers in Gay Fiction

And here is the actual situation (in bold the books I read with link to the review and marked as New the books entering the Challenge this month):

1) Summer of Awakenings (Assassin/Shifter) by Sandrine Gasq-Dion
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B95LV3U/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review:
2) Social Skills by Sara Alva
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B45MZOE/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review:
3) Dirty Laundry (A Tucker Springs Novel) by Heidi Cullinan
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1937551792/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review:
4) Wide Awake by Kade Boehme
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B5P2476/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review:
5) A Volatile Range (Stories from the Range) by Andrew Grey
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1623803330/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review:
6) Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B7T18UY/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review:
7) Blind Faith by N.R. Walker
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B9I13DA/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review:
8) Second Chance Summer by Diana DeRicci
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B871BZ2/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review:
9) The Last Day Of Summer by JF Smith
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1481929380/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review:
10) Plan B by SJD Peterson
Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1623803373/?tag=elimyrevandra-20
Review:

( books from 11 to 100 )

Shane and Trey (Enemies to Lovers) by Anyta Sunday

I’m true, I was not expecting much by this novel if not yet another cute story of pretty college boys in love. Instead I found quite an interesting plot, some social issue dealt in a sensitive way and a good writing style.

A lot is changing in Shane’s life: he is going to college, he is starting to acquire his own self-knowledge of being gay, he is moving from a knit-closed environment of his home and family to the college and the need to change his circle of friends. Suddenly something unexpected happens: his coming out to his best friend goes terribly bad and instead he acquires a new friend, his sister’s boyfriend, Trey, the bully boy he has tried to avoid as much as possible in high school. Not only that, Trey and June broke up, and Trey does coming out as well… and they are now roommate in college!

I like how the author deals with the big changes happening in Shane and Trey’s lives, not only the coming out, but also the college, and the need to build a new environment for them; for different reasons, Shane and Trey don’t have a supporting family, it’s not really a matter of them being gay, but more a lacking of family infrastructure in general. Shane is really close to June, but college means they are no more able to live together, both of them have to rethink their day-to-day life, and Shane finds a new routing with Trey. They moving from friends to lovers is almost natural, sure there is the realization of being attracted to each other, but the actual relationship is made almost of taking care of each other rather than bond through sex, so much that, indeed, sex arrives later in their bonding.

Very nice supporting characters, like June, Syd and above all Lucas, the HIV positive middle-20 guy who presents to both Shane and Syd a look into what means being adult and gay.

Amazon Kindle: Shane and Trey (Enemies to Lovers)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle