Awakening by Terry O'Reilly

[reviews_and_ramblings]

When you are writing a gay historical romance, you can face the matter in two ways: as a romantic, and build an happily ever after for your heroes, and as a prosaic, and be true to the history that not let your heroes to be together.

If you don't like to have major spoiler in the story, stop here and don't read on, since I really thought on what to write on this story, but if I don't say some salient point, you will end not liking the story, and instead I think that this book is worth your time.

In the previous book I read by this author, Mr O'Reilly (I didn't know he was a male, not that matter, but maybe this could explain this last book) was a romantic: his nineteen century white man manages to be happy ever after with his Native American lover. True they are both wandering men without a family or a society to call their own, and so maybe they have less binding with the world.

In this book instead Jonathan is a school teacher and Nathaniel a master cooper, and they both live in the puritan society of Newburyport; how can these two men be together? As the same author said in the afterword "Homosexuals back in the Puritan era couldn’t live like we can now", and with "we" he means himself and his husband Drew. Drew is the romantic in the couple and he is not happy of Terry's decision to be "honest and true-to-life", he thinks that "the gay men and straight women who buy your books will like you ending it like that"... I'm called in? yes I think so. Yes, you are right Drew, I didn't like the end, but I see also Terry's point... how could he write something different? true, he could be romantic also this time, Jonathan could leave all he knew, his family, his work, and live as beau savage in the wilderness... how many men probably did the same? But how many instead give up to what society asked them? Probably more.

Jonathan and Nathaniel are in love, but they are not long time lover; the book starts with Nathaniel that is deflowering Jonathan... and the "ing" verbal form is actually right, since we are plunged in the middle of the action, when there is no return way... Nathaniel and Jonathan meet a day, like a lightning in a clear day they find themself soulmates and the same night Nathaniel (who is a bit more experience than Jonathan, but not so much) shows to Jonathan what he is searching all his life, but his puritan upbringing didn't allow him to find. And the day after Jonathan's father announces to his son that he is betrothed and soon-to-be married to the daughter of a business partner. I was just dreading a seventeenth century menages, when the author decided to be "honest and true-to-life", and truth be told, better not having my happily ever after than having a half-way convenient ending.

And now remember what I said at the beginning, the book is worth your time, Jonathan and Nathaniel's love story is sweet and tender, Nathaniel is really a gentle character, so open and sincere. Jonathan maybe is only naivee, young and with a lot of road under his shoes still to take; yes, I believe that he is in love with Nathaniel, but maybe not so much and deeply as Nathaniel himself.

In the end two pleas to the author: even if I heart for Nathaniel, don't write a sequel only to please "the gay men and straight women who buy your books" :-) and instead, consider to write your own story, Terry and Drew's love story; if it's a real story, it's really good, and instead if it's fiction, it's really good as well!

http://www.aspenmountainpress.com/more-hot-reads/awakening/prod_164.html

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Cover Art by Amanda Kelsey

Comments

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Si anche io ho pensato di scrivergli e di chiederglielo, perchè no, sul web non ho trovato niente, a parte che una delle storie che ha messo libere sul suo sito è stata dedicata al suo "amico" (friend, non boyfriend) Drew. Elisa