Sometimes the adventure chooses you.
Lover of fine poetry and lousy choose-your-own-adventure novels, Professor Sebastian Swift was once ...
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reviews
Sep 04, 2011
Lauraadriana
rated it: 
The burden of choice...Good choices, bad choices, made out of selfishness or selflessness, and where they lead in our lives.
Sebastian Swift is a man at a time of his life where he has learned to live with the effects of his past bad choices and has found the strength to make better ones. He was a lauded poet once, and now he is a professor at a distinguished Literary program in a small university in Maine, he has a job he enjoys, he is a recovering cocaine addict six years sober, he More...
Sebastian Swift is a man at a time of his life where he has learned to live with the effects of his past bad choices and has found the strength to make better ones. He was a lauded poet once, and now he is a professor at a distinguished Literary program in a small university in Maine, he has a job he enjoys, he is a recovering cocaine addict six years sober, he More...
25 comments
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(19 people liked it)
Sep 14, 2011
Heather C
rated it:
Amazing and Intense
Well, Josh has done it again. Written another amazing romantic mystery with realistic imperfect characters and such vivid imagery that I felt so connected with the story and the main characters. Only this time Swift made me cry even more than Adrien. Swift's struggle to stay sober was breaking my heart. I cried when he wanted to use and I cried when Max was there to save him. (Those that know me well, know that I hardly ever cry!!!) He only wanted to help a fr More...
Well, Josh has done it again. Written another amazing romantic mystery with realistic imperfect characters and such vivid imagery that I felt so connected with the story and the main characters. Only this time Swift made me cry even more than Adrien. Swift's struggle to stay sober was breaking my heart. I cried when he wanted to use and I cried when Max was there to save him. (Those that know me well, know that I hardly ever cry!!!) He only wanted to help a fr More...
27 comments
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(13 people liked it)
Jan 30, 2012
Moss
rated it:
It's very hard to get any emotional distance from a lot of Lanyon's work, because he's got such a fine eye for tenderness and poignancy and vulnerability, and all the delicate details that underlie those things. He also writes sex scenes that will make your head explode. So at the end of every book I'm all melancholy and dreamy with the resonance good writing will give you, as well as so aroused that my husband is starting to talk about back twinges.
All this makes it hard to write More...
All this makes it hard to write More...
4 comments
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(6 people liked it)
Oct 22, 2011
MsMiz (Tina)
rated it: 
Often times when I read short stories (to me that equates to less than 200 pages) I do not feel like I am able to get the depth of plot, background or characters that are traditionally afforded longer books. On occasion I am pleasantly surprised that more words do not necessarily make a story better and that would be the case with this book. Come Unto These Yellow Sands is in fact 145 pages. It was satisfying, submerged me into the story from the first sentence and had outstanding characters (fl
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2 comments
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(5 people liked it)
Jan 31, 2012
Nikyta
rated it: 
It's hard to adequately express myself on this book. As is always the case, there were things I loved and things I didn't. It was extremely hard for me to get into the story. I started and stopped it three times before I pushed myself to keep reading. I've heard that the second half is better than the first half and I'd have to agree with that.
I say this because I felt like the first half of the story was very dull. The mystery didn't draw me in as a usual JL mystery would. I think t More...
I say this because I felt like the first half of the story was very dull. The mystery didn't draw me in as a usual JL mystery would. I think t More...
0 comments
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(6 people liked it)
Jun 15, 2011
Damon
rated it:
A seductive daylit noir-romance from Josh Lanyon writing against the grain. Fantastic mystery with hot, tortured heroes, smoldering intimacy, and characteristic Lanyon craft. Fantastic.
Check out my full review for jessewave here:
http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/2011/0...
Check out my full review for jessewave here:
http://www.reviewsbyjessewave.com/2011/0...
Jan 08, 2012
Kat
rated it:
Blue Ribbon Rating: 5 out of 5
Original Review Link
Sebastian Swift was once a poet better known for his literary genius heritage and self-destructive behavior than the lines he wrote. To everyone’s surprise – including his own – Swift is now a clean-living, well-mannered professor living in a quiet town in Maine. He’s even in a healthy, stable – if somewhat more casual than Swift would like – relationship with the town’s chief of police, Max Prescott. Then, on a seemingly normal More...
Original Review Link
Sebastian Swift was once a poet better known for his literary genius heritage and self-destructive behavior than the lines he wrote. To everyone’s surprise – including his own – Swift is now a clean-living, well-mannered professor living in a quiet town in Maine. He’s even in a healthy, stable – if somewhat more casual than Swift would like – relationship with the town’s chief of police, Max Prescott. Then, on a seemingly normal More...
3 comments
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(2 people liked it)
Jun 17, 2011
Kate
rated it:
3.5 stars
See Ella Jane's review because she says everything I want to. :)
I liked this. The writing was good and Swift was an intriguing character, but overall 'Come Unto These Yellow Sands' felt very derivative of AE. The mystery didn't add anything for me, in fact it got in the way of Swift's clueless battle with a closed and somewhat homophobic academic community, his conflicted choices both present and past, and his sketched in relationship with Max. This is a pre More...
See Ella Jane's review because she says everything I want to. :)
I liked this. The writing was good and Swift was an intriguing character, but overall 'Come Unto These Yellow Sands' felt very derivative of AE. The mystery didn't add anything for me, in fact it got in the way of Swift's clueless battle with a closed and somewhat homophobic academic community, his conflicted choices both present and past, and his sketched in relationship with Max. This is a pre More...
4 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Jun 15, 2011
Ami
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
2 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Jan 27, 2012
Peyrac
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Nov 15, 2011
Bee
rated it:
Ok, Josh Lanyon. Not sure how to put this but here it goes. I absolutely loved the Adrien English series. I kind of liked the Holmes and Moriarity series…even though it reminded me a little too much of AE. This book reminds me a little too much of both. Without the humor. And that is why I found this book a little…meh.
Sebastian Swift is a Literature Professor who once was a very raved about poet. That was before his coke addiction put his career and life in a big mess. Now he’s living More...
Sebastian Swift is a Literature Professor who once was a very raved about poet. That was before his coke addiction put his career and life in a big mess. Now he’s living More...
Oct 12, 2011
GymGuy aka D Brian
rated it:
"'Murder,' He Wrote"
"Come Unto These Yellow Sands", a book titled after a song sung in Shakespeare's "Tempest," is a story about guilt, forgiveness, empathy, the struggles to overcome personal weakness and briefly love and tenderness.
Swift, the main character is constantly challenged with his struggles to overcome drug addiction. It is also laced with his attempts to overcome guilt laid on him by his mother due to his father's death and the More...
"Come Unto These Yellow Sands", a book titled after a song sung in Shakespeare's "Tempest," is a story about guilt, forgiveness, empathy, the struggles to overcome personal weakness and briefly love and tenderness.
Swift, the main character is constantly challenged with his struggles to overcome drug addiction. It is also laced with his attempts to overcome guilt laid on him by his mother due to his father's death and the More...
Sep 28, 2011
jeayci
rated it:
3.5
Beautifully (poetically, even ;) written. I couldn't put it down and loved it right up until the end, when I settled in for a cozy wrap-up in what I expected to be the last few pages. Instead of pages I got paragraphs and then it was suddenly over! I can see the argument for ending where it did and letting the reader's imagination fill in the rest. But there were a few things I really expected to see in the text even if I were left to imagine the rest.
<spoiler>Things More...
Beautifully (poetically, even ;) written. I couldn't put it down and loved it right up until the end, when I settled in for a cozy wrap-up in what I expected to be the last few pages. Instead of pages I got paragraphs and then it was suddenly over! I can see the argument for ending where it did and letting the reader's imagination fill in the rest. But there were a few things I really expected to see in the text even if I were left to imagine the rest.
<spoiler>Things More...
Aug 08, 2011
Jess the Romanceaholic
rated it:
This is a Quickie Review. For the full review, please visit The Romanceaholic.
Expected Release Date: June 14, 2011
Publisher: Samhain
Imprint: N/A
Author’s Website: http://www.joshlanyon.com/
My Source for This Book: Amazon.com
Part of a Series: No
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Steamy
Professor Sebastian Swift grew up in the limelight. The only child of two brilliant and highly acclaimed poets, he himself was a rising star i More...
Expected Release Date: June 14, 2011
Publisher: Samhain
Imprint: N/A
Author’s Website: http://www.joshlanyon.com/
My Source for This Book: Amazon.com
Part of a Series: No
Series Best Read In Order: N/A
Steam Level: Steamy
Professor Sebastian Swift grew up in the limelight. The only child of two brilliant and highly acclaimed poets, he himself was a rising star i More...
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(2 people liked it)
Jun 29, 2011
Pamela
rated it:
First, a caveat. I love mysteries. Cozy or hard-boiled, I’m cool with either. And if romance happens to be part of the package, that’s fine too. For me it’s all about motive. But, as Max reminds Swift, motive isn’t always clear-cut. And in Come Unto These Yellow Sands what do you do when motives become personal and detrimental?
One of Josh Lanyon’s talents as a mystery writer is the ability to create a protagonist the reader can relate to and pair him with someone wiser in the experti More...
One of Josh Lanyon’s talents as a mystery writer is the ability to create a protagonist the reader can relate to and pair him with someone wiser in the experti More...
Jun 26, 2011
Crys
rated it: 
I'm clearly the odd person out, here, but I just thought this book was ok. I thought the writing was rather self-indulgent and the prose overly 'poetic'. Perhaps that word is used by suggestion, as Swift is a poet. For a short novel, this book felt long. There was too much introspection on the part of Swift and too little insight into the motivations of Max. The murder mystery didn't feel like the central element of this story; it just felt like a plot device used to progress the relationship of
More...
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(1 person liked it)
Jun 22, 2011
Grey853
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
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(1 person liked it)
Jun 17, 2011
LdDurham
rated it:
One of the most heartfelt books that I've read of Lanyon's. Truly beautiful.
I bought this book without reading an excerpt. Josh Lanyon is on my automatic buy list and he has yet to make me question that in the slightest. When I first started it, I saw the classic duo: the writer and the cop. I like that, it's fun, it's Lanyon. But this time, it changes. Not only because the writer is a poet, or because the cop is a Chief this time. No, this time, our lead hero has more fragility tha More...
I bought this book without reading an excerpt. Josh Lanyon is on my automatic buy list and he has yet to make me question that in the slightest. When I first started it, I saw the classic duo: the writer and the cop. I like that, it's fun, it's Lanyon. But this time, it changes. Not only because the writer is a poet, or because the cop is a Chief this time. No, this time, our lead hero has more fragility tha More...
Jun 14, 2011
Patty
rated it:
Come Unto These Yellow Sands is the story of a man, Swift, and his journey from simply living, "..healthy, whole, and mostly happy," to being an active participant, more fully engaged, and ready to reconnect with life. The vehicle for Swift's metamorphosis is a murder mystery; but Swift is not a police officer, FBI agent, or even an athlete. He is a college professor and a poet.
The journey for Swift is bumpy and perilous. Josh Lanyon has written a story that is like walking More...
The journey for Swift is bumpy and perilous. Josh Lanyon has written a story that is like walking More...
Jan 24, 2012
Coral
rated it:
This book is the reason I don't give out five stars often. Wonderful and amazing are the first two words that come to mind, but that just sounds like empty praise, so let me dial that back and tell you what this book is without all the hyperbole.
It's a contemporary murder mystery, but also so much more than that. The themes of love, loyalty and addiction that occur throughout are powerful. Swift is a beautiful character that will win your heart. He's so lovely and complicated that on More...
It's a contemporary murder mystery, but also so much more than that. The themes of love, loyalty and addiction that occur throughout are powerful. Swift is a beautiful character that will win your heart. He's so lovely and complicated that on More...
Jun 16, 2011
Ella Jane
rated it:
3.5 stars. A good cosy mystery, well-written (none of the faults of This Rough Magic), vintage Lanyon (but a little same-old, same-old: very similar to the Adrien English (minus the humor) and very very similar to Fair Game). It’s smartly done: Lanyon knows back to front the rules of amateur sleuths and plays with them a little (just like in AE, H&M, etc). As usual, there is very little “romance” (few romantic scenes but a very interesting turning point in a relationship). So it’s another good L
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9 comments
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(6 people liked it)
Jun 21, 2011
Anna
rated it:
I buy all of Josh's books because I have so far enjoyed them all.
SPOILERS AHEAD! STOP READING!
This book had a good story line and I liked the main character, Swift, very much. His lover, Max, was also very well established. I enjoyed it.
The reason why it isn't getting 5 stars is because I found the beginning very hard to read. I shall try to explain this: usually a book by Josh always sucks me in from the very first word. This time I had to 'force' myself to More...
SPOILERS AHEAD! STOP READING!
This book had a good story line and I liked the main character, Swift, very much. His lover, Max, was also very well established. I enjoyed it.
The reason why it isn't getting 5 stars is because I found the beginning very hard to read. I shall try to explain this: usually a book by Josh always sucks me in from the very first word. This time I had to 'force' myself to More...
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(1 person liked it)
Jun 17, 2011
Rhys
rated it:
10671152
"I've never hid my love for Lanyon's writing and I'm not going to do so now. Some are less intriguing than others, most notably the "Dangerous Ground" series which I enjoy but there's something about Lanyon's writing voice in mysteries that does it for me. Wordgasms.
Josh doesn't disappoint with "Come Unto These Yellow Sands".
There IS a formula to Lanyon's mysteries. Usually the one of the male leads is hindered in some way, either physica More...
"I've never hid my love for Lanyon's writing and I'm not going to do so now. Some are less intriguing than others, most notably the "Dangerous Ground" series which I enjoy but there's something about Lanyon's writing voice in mysteries that does it for me. Wordgasms.
Josh doesn't disappoint with "Come Unto These Yellow Sands".
There IS a formula to Lanyon's mysteries. Usually the one of the male leads is hindered in some way, either physica More...
Jun 19, 2011
Betsy
rated it:
A wonderful book - one of Josh Lanyon's best.
Swift has built his life with determination and difficulty. Rising above his wild past, he is established now. He's a professor at a small college. He has a sometime lover in Max, the chief of police. And yeah, he might want more, especially from Max, but he's...normal.
Then one of his students disappears, suspected of his father's murder. And Swift unwittingly helped him get away.
As in all Josh Lanyon books, the mystery More...
Swift has built his life with determination and difficulty. Rising above his wild past, he is established now. He's a professor at a small college. He has a sometime lover in Max, the chief of police. And yeah, he might want more, especially from Max, but he's...normal.
Then one of his students disappears, suspected of his father's murder. And Swift unwittingly helped him get away.
As in all Josh Lanyon books, the mystery More...
Jun 29, 2011
J. Rosemary
rated it:
Sebastian Swift has given up both his work as a poet and cocaine in favor of the quiet life of a professor in a small college. He has what seems to be a 'safe' boyfriend--one who asks for no commitments--in Max, the local police chief. Swift seems content with that . . . at least sometimes.
But Swift isn't as free from his addiction as he thought--nor is Max as safe he seems. When Swift entangles himself in a murder mystery for the sake of one of his students, he finds out just how quic More...
But Swift isn't as free from his addiction as he thought--nor is Max as safe he seems. When Swift entangles himself in a murder mystery for the sake of one of his students, he finds out just how quic More...
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Jun 16, 2011
thelastaerie
rated it:
It's not a surprise that I loved this new mystery from Josh Lanyon, I'm just surprised how much I loved it. It has gone straight into my top 5 of his favourite books.
Though not in first person style, the voice of Swift, the main protagonist, dominates the pages, set the mood and the tone of the story. I didn't know I could feel vulnerabilities, fear, kindness sipping through the pages, and that's how Swift is. The flawed and beautiful wunder-boy of poetry, made big mistakes in hi More...
Though not in first person style, the voice of Swift, the main protagonist, dominates the pages, set the mood and the tone of the story. I didn't know I could feel vulnerabilities, fear, kindness sipping through the pages, and that's how Swift is. The flawed and beautiful wunder-boy of poetry, made big mistakes in hi More...
0 comments
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(1 person liked it)
Oct 22, 2011
Mel
rated it:
(3,5 stars really)
I have to admit that I feel bad giving a Josh Lanyon book a 'mere' 3 star rating. I could almost say that his writing is just so good, it deserves a 5 star rating by default. But in comparison to the Adrien English books (which I gave 4 and 5 star ratings) this one didn't grab me as much, so I had to round it down to a 3.
That's not to say that these books are very similar to the Adrien English series. Yes: both are about well bred gay men with a love for lite More...
I have to admit that I feel bad giving a Josh Lanyon book a 'mere' 3 star rating. I could almost say that his writing is just so good, it deserves a 5 star rating by default. But in comparison to the Adrien English books (which I gave 4 and 5 star ratings) this one didn't grab me as much, so I had to round it down to a 3.
That's not to say that these books are very similar to the Adrien English series. Yes: both are about well bred gay men with a love for lite More...
Jun 14, 2011
Minh
rated it:
Josh Lanyon has this brilliant ability to create multi-layered characters who make me take a step back and wonder whether or not I should be rooting for them. Despite how I feel personally about the characters I'm still pulled into their story and just need to know what is about to happen to them.
Sebastian is definitely high on my list of Josh Lanyon characters and I'd be more than pleased if a sequel (or two!) were announced just revolving around him. He's a Professor of Poetry who More...
Sebastian is definitely high on my list of Josh Lanyon characters and I'd be more than pleased if a sequel (or two!) were announced just revolving around him. He's a Professor of Poetry who More...
Oct 22, 2011
Chris
rated it:
Excellent m/m romantic suspense about a professor and rehabilitated addict whose relationship with the town's police chief is jeopardized by his helping one of his students leave town for a few days, then not coming clean about it when he learns the student is wanted for questioning.
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Aug 24, 2011
Addicted2M/M
rated it:
2.5. The last 20% saved it from a 2. So~I'm one of the odd ones.
I found it to be poetically written, but lacking humor, heat and intensity. I felt distant from the characters until the end, when Max started to get more vocal. I didn't know who was guilty until Swift did, but frankly I didn't really care.
If I'd read it expecting it to focus on Swift's struggles with addiction and self-absorption, I may have enjoyed it more. Instead I was expecting the focus to be on th More...
I found it to be poetically written, but lacking humor, heat and intensity. I felt distant from the characters until the end, when Max started to get more vocal. I didn't know who was guilty until Swift did, but frankly I didn't really care.
If I'd read it expecting it to focus on Swift's struggles with addiction and self-absorption, I may have enjoyed it more. Instead I was expecting the focus to be on th More...
