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By Your Side

2.98 of 5 stars 2.98 · rating details · 46 ratings · 8 reviews

Seven years ago, during a sultry summer by a lake, Matthieu fell in love with a man fifteen years his junior. Intelligent, passionate and talented, Roman swore he wanted nothing more than to settle down with Matthieu for the rest of his life. Matthieu couldn't let that happen. The way he saw it, Roman had too much talent to waste with a small life and small dreams. He trie...more

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Published November 2nd 2010 by Loose Id

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Nov 19, 2010 Kassa rated it 2 of 5 stars

This is a lovely, easy going book with two bland, inoffensive characters. There is no real tension, no conflict, and no real development either. The two men meet when Roman is just 18. Matthieu is convinced that at 32, he’s too old for Roman and after one night together Matthieu leaves. For 7 years the two men live apart and experience their life until they find each other once again and Roman is determined they should be together and won’t take no for an answer.

The prologue is almost 20 pages...more This is a lovely, easy going book with two bland, inoffensive characters. There is no real tension, no conflict, and no real development either. The two men meet when Roman is just 18. Matthieu is convinced that at 32, he’s too old for Roman and after one night together Matthieu leaves. For 7 years the two men live apart and experience their life until they find each other once again and Roman is determined they should be together and won’t take no for an answer.

The prologue is almost 20 pages and sets up the one sexual encounter between Roman and Matthieu on Roman’s 18th birthday. The two men had only known each other a week but the chemistry was there and Roman wanted Matthieu badly. This is the strongest part of the book as the two men are interesting contrasts. Roman is very confident and knows exactly what he wants while the worldlier of the two, Matthieu, is racked with indecision. The idea that Roman should experience more and live his life is not a bad one and so the reason Matthieu leaves actually makes a lot of sense.

What doesn’t make much sense is that when they reconnect seven years later, Matthieu still thinks he’s too old for Roman. Although there is a considerable age difference this doesn’t play into the story except for some false tension. It’s so clearly manipulated and contrived since there is no question the two men will get together once they meet up again. In fact they’re having sex that same day. I couldn’t quite understand why Matthieu was verbally rejecting Roman with such a weak excuse.

I also could never get a handle on Roman’s character. He’s a musician so music is an integral part of the story, a lyrical romance between the two on top of their connection. Yet I couldn’t understand why Roman was so in love with Matthieu and determined they should be together. It’s romantic sure that one night together leads to forever but the two had only known each other for a week seven years ago and it was a fleeting acquaintance. It didn’t quite ring true that Roman would search all over for Matthieu and be so determined to have him back.

The writing is steeped in musical allusions and offers a very ethereal quality. Since the characters never really connected much with me, I found this descriptive element to further disconnect me from the story. It feels very fey reading and in some ways lovely and charming. Yet the non-existent tension and weak connection had me wondering. I just couldn’t quite get a handle on the characters, their relationship, and even the secondary characters all felt forced and never really natural.

For whatever reason this story didn’t work for me but it feels very much like a Willa Okati story. In fact I’d have guessed the author even if I didn’t know so fans of Okati may enjoy this. There’s nothing especially wrong with it but it didn’t sing to me sadly.
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Apr 20, 2011 D.H. Starr rated it 4 of 5 stars

Willa Okati is an author I came across when reading a compilation of three stories put together in the book Hearts From the Ashes. I had been following one of the authors who contributed to that book and lucked into Ms. Okati’s story Café Noctem…another book you should read by this creative and talented author. I then read another book by Ms. Okati entitled Karma Chameleon and I was hooked. In reading By Your Side, I feel I have come to understand some of the characteristics of Ms. Okati’s writi...more Willa Okati is an author I came across when reading a compilation of three stories put together in the book Hearts From the Ashes. I had been following one of the authors who contributed to that book and lucked into Ms. Okati’s story Café Noctem…another book you should read by this creative and talented author. I then read another book by Ms. Okati entitled Karma Chameleon and I was hooked. In reading By Your Side, I feel I have come to understand some of the characteristics of Ms. Okati’s writing that make her stories so enjoyable.

From the first page, I was drawn into the action. No words were wasted to bring the two heroes together. It only took a few pages for the conflict they would have to overcome to be revealed. Matthieu is a hard-working man with a great body, but a bit of a self-esteem problem. Roman, an eighteen-year-old musician and fifteen years his junior, is infatuated with Matthieu and they have a wonderful night of passion. Not wanting to stand in Roman’s way, Matthieu leaves him and town during the night. When he leaves Roman behind, he is leaving a piece of himself behind as well.

Jump forward seven years and the story continues with Matthieu returning home to help his sister and brother-in-law with their store while his sister is mandated to bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. On the first day of work, Roman walks into the store and back into Matthieu’s life. The once young and inexperienced boy of eighteen is now a grown man of twenty-five and his passion seems just as strong as it had seven years earlier. Now forty, Matthieu can’t fathom why such a young man with a promising musical future would be interested in him. Despite attempts to thwart Roman’s advances, the young man proves to have grown more stubborn and tenacious with his added years. You will need to read the book to find out how the story ends.

There were a number of things in this romantic tale that captured my interest and filled my mind with the sensory experiences of the characters. First and foremost, Ms. Okati’s use of language, turns of phrase, and colloquialisms, ground the characters as real and help the reader to feel like they have known these people, or people like them, their whole lives. Although seamless in the flow of the narrative, the language and words are chosen with precision and the result is a series of bright and vivid images.

Along with a brilliant use of language to evoke the most beautiful images, he words Ms. Okati’s words also reveal great passion. As the characters act and interact, their feelings emerge gracefully from the page and the story becomes as much an exploration of human desire as it is a journey toward happiness and finding love. Even the sex scenes, which are interspersed with a perfect balance of story to intimacy, are written in such a way that the physical and emotional aspects of each sensation are clear to smell, feel, hear, and taste.

The story tightly revolves around the two heroes, Matthieu’s sister, and his brother-in-law. As Matthieu and Roman take steps towards each other, readers get to reflect on the journeys they have taken and the thoughts and fears they have faced along the way. For a reader who needs an action-driven plot, this book may fall short of their expectations. If you are like me and love the tender dance of character-driven stories, this tale is one you must read.

My hat is tipped to Ms. Okati for providing me and others with such rich and diverse stories to enjoy. I look forward to reading many, many more of her works.
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Apr 16, 2011 Blackraven's Reviews rated it 5 of 5 stars

Overall, I loved this book for the sweet, slow drawl, the perfect symbiosis between characters, setting and style. It was an absolute joy to bask in this lazy summer journey with these characters and Ms. Okati. Read the rest of the review here http://www.blackravensreviews.com/?p=...

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Jan 22, 2011 Helen Beattie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I found this to be really disappointing. To me the story and characters seemed to be quite bland. I kept hoping that something would happen to stir things up just a little bit but nothing ever did. I kept thinking is this EVER going to end, I really had to force myself to finish it.

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Jan 15, 2011 Tracy rated it 2 of 5 stars

It was not as enjoyable as I thought it would have been, it was long and it was not an exciting read. I forced myself to finish it.

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Feb 22, 2011 Lily rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebook, m-m, age-gap, what-i-read-in-2010, contemporary

I've enjoyed many of this author's stories but this one was a disappointing read for me. Roman and Matthieu are nice enough characters but their romance never engaged me. The fifteen year age difference between them was useful to create the book's tension but I just didn't "get" their love. They only know each other for a week, have sex on Roman's 18th birthday and then don't see each other at all for seven years. I just didn't buy the all consuming love Roman has for the older man. For me perso...more

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Apr 17, 2011 JenMcJ added it

Shelves: e-books, mm-mmm-a-few-mmf-too

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Mar 03, 2011 Juli rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 10, 2013 Wirees marked it as to-read

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Shelves: waiting-to-be-read

Mar 31, 2013 Vangosh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Mar 04, 2013 Lissa Matthews rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Jan 21, 2013 Bronwyn rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

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Shelves: own

Jan 23, 2013 Gigi marked it as queue-back-burner

Aug 24, 2012 Tammy K. marked it as to-read

Shelves: adult-content, mm-romance

Aug 09, 2012 Jennifer marked it as wishlist-allromance-com

Aug 03, 2012 Eva S rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: july-12, m-m, e-book, contemporary

Jun 14, 2012 JustJen marked it as to-read

Shelves: ebook, mm

May 28, 2012 Maxine rated it 3 of 5 stars

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May 10, 2012 Anna rated it 2 of 5 stars

May 08, 2012 Syfy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: m-m-romance

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Apr 23, 2012 Johanna rated it 5 of 5 stars

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About Willa Okati

A multi-published author of GLBT erotic, romantic fiction since 2004, I love trying new things -- I have 1001 crazy ideas and want to write them all! I exist primarily on caffeine and pixels, take “camera shy” to a whole new level, and persist in trying to learn the pennywhistle despite being woefully tone-deaf. During the summer, I’m a wild woman with henna.

You can find me on the web here, at my...more

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“You’ll only fall if you doubt your balance.” — 15 people liked it

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