2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Lavender in Bloom by Lily Velez (258-08-10-2016)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

1) Not your usual m/m romance, by far. A literary novel of higher ranks. The shimmering heat of Southern France, the heady perfume of lavender on the fields, the labour but also the freedom of a rural society, the chill in the château; two young and confused and lost and searching souls, the barrier in 19th century and the barrier in your own heart and head; joy and wonder and sadness and despair... The author draws a picture like a tableau of a famous impressionist artist, and draws the reader in, from warm summer winds to absolute heart wrench. I do not shed tears easily. I did this time.

2) A bittersweet historical story that captured my heart and then broke it. Faithful to the era, and lyrically descriptive.

Lavender in Bloom by Lily Velez
Gay Historical Romance
Paperback: 276 pages
Publisher: House of Capet Publishing; 1 edition (July 21, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0692699309
ISBN-13: 978-0692699300
Amazon: Lavender in Bloom
Amazon Kindle: Lavender in Bloom

A heartbreaking tale about love and loss...

It’s the year 1802 in Avignon, France.

Noah Capet has spent most of his young life living simple and unvaried days in the hushed countryside of southern France. Quiet, reserved, and diffident, his preference for existing is to do so in solitude, keeping to himself both in town and on his family’s farm—a predilection that’s altogether disrupted when a newcomer to town by the name of Jeremie Perreault begins an unremitting quest to befriend him.

Jeremie is everything Noah is not. Charismatic and gregarious, he leaves a trail of charmed admirers in his wake wherever he goes. Expressive and idealistic, he talks without end about his deep love for old books and his spirited dream to one day travel the world on a literary pilgrimage.

Over the course of a single summer, the two form an unlikely friendship, but just as quickly as it develops, it soon entirely dissolves as they’re forced to face the truth of what has unexpectedly emerged between them.

Lavender in Bloom is a tender and tragic coming-of-age story about first love and self-discovery, and a poignant reminder that time is fleeting and always takes with it the choices we’re too afraid to make.

Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2016.html