2 Book Recs

Snowball in Hell by Josh Lanyon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



It's 1943 and the world is at war. Journalist Nathan Doyle has just returned home from North Africa--still recovering from wounds received in the Western Desert Campaign--when he's asked to cover the murder of a society blackmailer.

Lt. Matthew Spain of the LAPD homicide squad hates the holidays since the death of his beloved wife a few months earlier, and this year isn't looking much cheerier what with the threat of attack by the Japanese and a high-profile homicide investigation. Matt likes Nathan; maybe too much.

If only he didn't suspect that Nathan had every reason to commit murder.(less)

Excellent mystery/romance set during 1943. The authors attention to all the details of this era is what set it apart for me. I could smell the cigarettes, taste the highballs, and hear the gravely voices of the people hanging around the piano bars. Nathan Doyle is a man on the brink of despair who meets and is attracted to widower cop, Matt Spain, an improbable pairing. Nathan has got to be one of the most fascinating, but truly fractured characters Josh Lanyon has created. I fell in love with him from the onset and was crossing my fingers as I watched his story unfold. I hope this is the first of a long series.


The Cranberry Hush: A Novel by Ben Monopoli

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Vince Dandro might be going through the quietest quarter-life crisis of all time. He lives alone, works at a comic book shop, and has a crush on his coworker he can't seem to act on. His life is just fine, but only just fine. Everything changes when Vince's long-lost friend Griff shows up at his house in the middle of a blizzard. They were roommates in college, so close back then that Griff's girlfriend called them "lifebuddies" -- but Vince's love for Griff ended the friendship, he thought, forever. They haven't spoken in years. Why has Griff shown up again? And, more importantly, can Vince handle his return?

Vince and Griff are two twentysomethings struggling to find their places in the world and in each other's lives. This is a story of friendship and love, both unrequited and requited, and learning how to fly through the post-college void, where sometimes the only sound you can hear is The Cranberry Hush.

I found this book through the review on Jessewave and was not disappointed. This is a new author who has self-published this jewel of a book about a gay man in love with his straight best friend. The excellent writing takes the reader on a journey between past and present quite effortlessly. Most of the sex is off page but I never missed it. Highly recommended.