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Honeytrap
At the height of the Cold War, a Soviet and an American agent fall in love.
Soviet agent Gennady Matskevich is thrilled when he's assigned to work with American FBI agent Daniel Hawthorne. There’s just one catch: Gennady’s abusive boss wants him to honeytrap his American partner. Gennady doesn't want to seduce his new American friend for blackmail purposes… but nonetheless, he can’t stop thinking about kissing Daniel.
FBI agent Daniel Hawthorne is delighted to get to know an agent from the mysterious Soviet Union… and determined not to repeat his past mistake of becoming romantically involved with a coworker. But soon, Daniel finds himself falling for Gennady. Can their love survive their countries’ enmity?
Soviet agent Gennady Matskevich is thrilled when he's assigned to work with American FBI agent Daniel Hawthorne. There’s just one catch: Gennady’s abusive boss wants him to honeytrap his American partner. Gennady doesn't want to seduce his new American friend for blackmail purposes… but nonetheless, he can’t stop thinking about kissing Daniel.
FBI agent Daniel Hawthorne is delighted to get to know an agent from the mysterious Soviet Union… and determined not to repeat his past mistake of becoming romantically involved with a coworker. But soon, Daniel finds himself falling for Gennady. Can their love survive their countries’ enmity?
334 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2020
About the author
Aster Glenn Gray
15 books103 followersAster Glenn Gray writes fantasies with a romantic twist, or romances with a fantastic twist. (And maybe other things too. She is still a work in progress.) When she is not writing, she spends much of her time haunting libraries, taking long walks, and doing battle with the weeds that seek to topple her tomato plants.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 236 reviews
September 28, 2020
4.5 stars
This was really good.
My first book by this author and i was mind blown.
This is the story of Gennady a Soviet agent and Daniel an American FBI agent. The story is divided into 3 parts. Gennady and Daniel were awesome characters.
The character development is evident throughout the book. I fell in love with them hard. Gennady was sweet, practical and so lovable. Daniel was awesome, thoughtful and lovable. The chemistry between the two was so sweet and jumped off the pages. Their conversations were so engaging and funny. I found myself laughing so hard and awwwing.
We will sit in the garden under the sun and eat the tomatoes still warm from the vine, just sprinkled with salt, and make strong black tea in the old charcoal samovar. And in the night we will drink vodka and sing all the old songs around a fire.”
“I wouldn’t know any of your songs.”
“Well, so, I’d teach you. Everyone has to learn sometime. Grandfather will play for us on the ukulele.”
“The ukulele!”
“Yes! Did you think only Americans had ukuleles? They were very popular with us too, in the twenties.
The writing is so good and felt realistic. The beginning of part 2, threw me off a bit. But i ended up enjoying it too as the story progressed. I loved how the author incorporated all 3 parts.
This is a story of love, friendship, family and every awesome thing in between. I had a wonderful time reading the story of Gennady and Daniel. Thanks Cristina, Rosa, Teal and Xia for the buddy read.
This was really good.
My first book by this author and i was mind blown.
This is the story of Gennady a Soviet agent and Daniel an American FBI agent. The story is divided into 3 parts. Gennady and Daniel were awesome characters.
The character development is evident throughout the book. I fell in love with them hard. Gennady was sweet, practical and so lovable. Daniel was awesome, thoughtful and lovable. The chemistry between the two was so sweet and jumped off the pages. Their conversations were so engaging and funny. I found myself laughing so hard and awwwing.
We will sit in the garden under the sun and eat the tomatoes still warm from the vine, just sprinkled with salt, and make strong black tea in the old charcoal samovar. And in the night we will drink vodka and sing all the old songs around a fire.”
“I wouldn’t know any of your songs.”
“Well, so, I’d teach you. Everyone has to learn sometime. Grandfather will play for us on the ukulele.”
“The ukulele!”
“Yes! Did you think only Americans had ukuleles? They were very popular with us too, in the twenties.
The writing is so good and felt realistic. The beginning of part 2, threw me off a bit. But i ended up enjoying it too as the story progressed. I loved how the author incorporated all 3 parts.
This is a story of love, friendship, family and every awesome thing in between. I had a wonderful time reading the story of Gennady and Daniel. Thanks Cristina, Rosa, Teal and Xia for the buddy read.
January 19, 2022
4.5
Told in three parts (1959, 1975, 1992) Honeytrap is a quiet romance between two men who should never have been in the same zip code much less the same car or house or dacha.
What makes this pairing inherently interesting is their being in opposite camps based solely upon their country of origin and the time in which Gennady and Daniel find themselves. They're "enemies" but in name only as they actually get on quite well almost from the beginning.
The bulk of the book takes place on a road trip of sorts from 1959 to 1960 which provides a rich backdrop for this story to unfold, not just the pairing of a Soviet and an FBI agent but the idea of contravening the code of conduct of the Midwest in the 1950s-1960s not to mention navigating the directives of their respective superiors?
Yes, please!
Part 1 was where the book really made its mark on me. The atmosphere from the dialogue to the peripatetic lifestyle to the general quaintness I associate with this time period was captured perfectly. Nestled right next to all that atmosphere that had me sinking directly into the reading bublé was the development of this complicated relationship along with these two characters.
Both characters are charming in their own way with Gennady being zealous to experience all things American and Daniel being tasked to give him just that, only the America with its pageant face on rather than the seedy underbelly. Can't give the Soviets fodder for the gristmill and all that jazz. Daniel is slightly naive and approaches life with gusto, the perfect foil for the somewhat jaded Gennady.
However, what really stood out for me was the clever, astute and somewhat arcane understanding of the distinction between Americans and Russians in how we view the world and the people in it and all the other existential qualities of its rotation. Anything that makes me stop and think, to consider my own myopia without devolving into didacticism and while developing characters takes skill and is worthy of notice.
I noticed. And I like it very much.
Why not 5 stars then?
I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book, had trouble putting it down and am still thinking about these characters but I thought parts 2 and 3 were weaker. They lost some of the magic part 1 had in spades, though they both had their moments.
So, if you're interested in a slow burn, quiet, historical romance with smart writing give Honeytrap a try. I'm off to try something else by this author because I liked the writing that much.
Told in three parts (1959, 1975, 1992) Honeytrap is a quiet romance between two men who should never have been in the same zip code much less the same car or house or dacha.
What makes this pairing inherently interesting is their being in opposite camps based solely upon their country of origin and the time in which Gennady and Daniel find themselves. They're "enemies" but in name only as they actually get on quite well almost from the beginning.
The bulk of the book takes place on a road trip of sorts from 1959 to 1960 which provides a rich backdrop for this story to unfold, not just the pairing of a Soviet and an FBI agent but the idea of contravening the code of conduct of the Midwest in the 1950s-1960s not to mention navigating the directives of their respective superiors?
Yes, please!
Part 1 was where the book really made its mark on me. The atmosphere from the dialogue to the peripatetic lifestyle to the general quaintness I associate with this time period was captured perfectly. Nestled right next to all that atmosphere that had me sinking directly into the reading bublé was the development of this complicated relationship along with these two characters.
Both characters are charming in their own way with Gennady being zealous to experience all things American and Daniel being tasked to give him just that, only the America with its pageant face on rather than the seedy underbelly. Can't give the Soviets fodder for the gristmill and all that jazz. Daniel is slightly naive and approaches life with gusto, the perfect foil for the somewhat jaded Gennady.
However, what really stood out for me was the clever, astute and somewhat arcane understanding of the distinction between Americans and Russians in how we view the world and the people in it and all the other existential qualities of its rotation. Anything that makes me stop and think, to consider my own myopia without devolving into didacticism and while developing characters takes skill and is worthy of notice.
I noticed. And I like it very much.
Why not 5 stars then?
I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book, had trouble putting it down and am still thinking about these characters but I thought parts 2 and 3 were weaker. They lost some of the magic part 1 had in spades, though they both had their moments.
So, if you're interested in a slow burn, quiet, historical romance with smart writing give Honeytrap a try. I'm off to try something else by this author because I liked the writing that much.
September 16, 2020
On the surface this may look like a slow burn romance between an American FBI agent, and an USSR KGB (?) agent who become intimate friends while trying to solve a mystery. Going deeper, this book is about safety and security, love and belonging, vulnerability and choices. This is a book about wounds, and being lonely when surrounded by people. It's about finding temporary solace from the deep dark woods of one's existence.
Daniel and Gennady were born in two very different worlds, that shared one similarity. Both societies ruthlessly controlled whom they were supposed to be as men, what they were supposed to hide, and whom were they supposed to love.
Their friendship is tentative and vulnerable like a snowflake. It's the slowest of slow burns. It's sweet and true, and it made my heart quiver.
The author did a great job portraying the historical aspect of the book. Reading Honeytrap felt like watching a favorite film noir.
If you loved Box 1663, you will love this book as well, even though the only thing they have in common is the atmosphere the books generate.
4.5 Highly recommended.
Thank you very much to my buddy reading friends: Teal , Rosa and Cristina for the wonderful conversations!
Anyone who could afford special vodka glasses probably had less sorrow to drink for, anyway.
Daniel and Gennady were born in two very different worlds, that shared one similarity. Both societies ruthlessly controlled whom they were supposed to be as men, what they were supposed to hide, and whom were they supposed to love.
Their friendship is tentative and vulnerable like a snowflake. It's the slowest of slow burns. It's sweet and true, and it made my heart quiver.
The author did a great job portraying the historical aspect of the book. Reading Honeytrap felt like watching a favorite film noir.
If you loved Box 1663, you will love this book as well, even though the only thing they have in common is the atmosphere the books generate.
4.5 Highly recommended.
Thank you very much to my buddy reading friends: Teal , Rosa and Cristina for the wonderful conversations!
February 8, 2022
1.5 stars
This review is a mess, but since my experience with this book was a mess, it seems only fitting.
While the writing wasn’t technically bad, I’ve had the same problem I’ve experienced with this author before: it failed to make me connect with the story and the characters. The best word I can come up with to describe it is “sterile,” although I suspect it’s one of those cases I think of as reader/writing style incompatibility. It sucks to be the reader when that happens.
That was part of the reason the romance didn’t work for me. From the beginning, I was unable to believe in this couple and it got only worse as the story progressed. I say that was part of the reason because the romance wouldn’t have worked even without my problems with the writing. Other things combined to make me unable to appreciate even what wasn’t connected to the romance and that’s why my rating.
Getting those few sentences out took me a week. It started with a different review that was expanded, and expanded, until I had on my hands a monster badly in need of editing—the editing equivalent of an axe followed by a fire, to be precise—while I couldn’t stand to think about this book one more second. I was so fed up with it, I wanted to slap a rating on it and forget it ever existed. A few days later, I was able to write what you’ve read above, and I would’ve left it at that, if I hadn’t already told a friend that my review (the first version, before all the additions) would’ve all the details I hadn’t been able to share while I was reading. My choices are to post a (maybe, probably) unnecessarily harsh review (not that I’m retracting any of it, I just wouldn’t have chosen to express it like that), to leave it to the bare bones above or to edit the monster. I’m not masochistic enough for the latter. I really can’t bear to get sucked into it again, but I’ve added it below for those among my BR friends who were maybe expecting me to elaborate on the book and may be wondering why I didn’t—or not, you’re pretty smart, I’m sure you guessed already.
I didn’t want to inflict my dissenting opinion on an entire group of people who love the book, while I wasn’t even in the right head space to discuss what hadn’t worked for me and hear why everybody else had loved it instead. I know you would’ve handled it gracefully and been fully supportive as always, there just didn’t seem to be a lot to be gained on either side, I didn’t see much point in spreading the misery around only to be left wondering what I was missing that everybody else was seeing.
I don’t particularly want you to read the unedited version, but it’s the only one with details I have to offer.
This review is a mess, but since my experience with this book was a mess, it seems only fitting.
While the writing wasn’t technically bad, I’ve had the same problem I’ve experienced with this author before: it failed to make me connect with the story and the characters. The best word I can come up with to describe it is “sterile,” although I suspect it’s one of those cases I think of as reader/writing style incompatibility. It sucks to be the reader when that happens.
That was part of the reason the romance didn’t work for me. From the beginning, I was unable to believe in this couple and it got only worse as the story progressed. I say that was part of the reason because the romance wouldn’t have worked even without my problems with the writing. Other things combined to make me unable to appreciate even what wasn’t connected to the romance and that’s why my rating.
Getting those few sentences out took me a week. It started with a different review that was expanded, and expanded, until I had on my hands a monster badly in need of editing—the editing equivalent of an axe followed by a fire, to be precise—while I couldn’t stand to think about this book one more second. I was so fed up with it, I wanted to slap a rating on it and forget it ever existed. A few days later, I was able to write what you’ve read above, and I would’ve left it at that, if I hadn’t already told a friend that my review (the first version, before all the additions) would’ve all the details I hadn’t been able to share while I was reading. My choices are to post a (maybe, probably) unnecessarily harsh review (not that I’m retracting any of it, I just wouldn’t have chosen to express it like that), to leave it to the bare bones above or to edit the monster. I’m not masochistic enough for the latter. I really can’t bear to get sucked into it again, but I’ve added it below for those among my BR friends who were maybe expecting me to elaborate on the book and may be wondering why I didn’t—or not, you’re pretty smart, I’m sure you guessed already.
I didn’t want to inflict my dissenting opinion on an entire group of people who love the book, while I wasn’t even in the right head space to discuss what hadn’t worked for me and hear why everybody else had loved it instead. I know you would’ve handled it gracefully and been fully supportive as always, there just didn’t seem to be a lot to be gained on either side, I didn’t see much point in spreading the misery around only to be left wondering what I was missing that everybody else was seeing.
I don’t particularly want you to read the unedited version, but it’s the only one with details I have to offer.
October 21, 2020
4.5 rounded up. This story of two intelligence agents - an American FBI and a Soviet GRU agent - was engaging and unexpected, a story of love across boundaries, with setbacks and separations. Gennady is told by his GRU boss to try to honeytrap his new American colleague, as they collaborate on an investigation into a fumbled assassination attempt on Khrushchev. His boss has the idea because he's been sexually harassing Gennady for years, not knowing Gennady is actually bisexual, and not caring that his actions have left Gennady with a flinch at the idea of being undressed and touched. Gennady- delighted at the prospect of weeks or even months touring America- agrees to the plan, with minimal intention of following through. From the first he's planning how he'll explain his failure.
Except that Daniel is also bisexual, his past relationship with a partner tacitly known to his boss. And his liking for Gennady - for his open-eyed enjoyment of what he can wring out of life, for his stoicism, and good heart- turns into something more.
As these two men cross the US on the trail of a shooter whom they'll be very surprised to actually catch, their affection for each other grows. But nothing can remove the risks to both of them, in this Cold War era, not only as enemies, but as queer men in a world where that's still illegal.
This came very close to being 5 stars, except at the long-awaited end, while I got my hopefully-HEA, it was just a little sparse, a little suggested and not shown, artistic, but after all the author put these guys through, I really wanted that cheesy moment of deeper warmth. Don't let that stop you, though. The story is well worth a read. This was full of fallible, believable characters, of lovely brief moments, of real, complex emotions, of risk and chance and inevitability. The historical elements over the eras are well done. The ending only happens when life will allow it to. I turned around and picked up another (MMF this time) by this author.
Except that Daniel is also bisexual, his past relationship with a partner tacitly known to his boss. And his liking for Gennady - for his open-eyed enjoyment of what he can wring out of life, for his stoicism, and good heart- turns into something more.
As these two men cross the US on the trail of a shooter whom they'll be very surprised to actually catch, their affection for each other grows. But nothing can remove the risks to both of them, in this Cold War era, not only as enemies, but as queer men in a world where that's still illegal.
This came very close to being 5 stars, except at the long-awaited end, while I got my hopefully-HEA, it was just a little sparse, a little suggested and not shown, artistic, but after all the author put these guys through, I really wanted that cheesy moment of deeper warmth. Don't let that stop you, though. The story is well worth a read. This was full of fallible, believable characters, of lovely brief moments, of real, complex emotions, of risk and chance and inevitability. The historical elements over the eras are well done. The ending only happens when life will allow it to. I turned around and picked up another (MMF this time) by this author.
September 17, 2020
4,5 stars
This was not at all what I expected.
The title might suggest a romantic romp between two agents a la James Bond, but you would be totally wrong.
This is so much better than that!
Honeytrap is one of those books I would not classify as romance. It is a novel telling the tale of two men over the course of 35 years, two men who are quintessentially different, but fall in love anyway.
Nothing about their story is average or conventional.
Mainly, it felt utterly realistic, and very much like a look at times in history seen through the eyes of two men from different ideological POVs. And while the theme of a honeytrap is there, it didn’t feel really prominent to me.
Divided in three parts (1959 / 1975 / 1992), we meet Daniel and Gennady (one American, one Russian, both agents) at very different stages of their life and in history, all of which is reflected beautifully in their opinions, conversations and actions.
The writing is fantastic – the verbal sparring between the men, discussing their countries’ advantages and faults when they meet in part 1, for example, was one of my most favourite things about this book. As is the deep and detailed characterization.
I loved open, inquisitive Gennady who revels in trying anything new and in experiencing anything American, and I adored genuine, warm-hearted Daniel who tries to come to terms with his bisexuality. For them to connect not only personally, but also sexually in the late 50s is incredibly dangerous and highly contemptuous, for professional and personal reasons.
But as times change, so does their relationship.
I was truly captivated by these two men and what they go through and surprised again and again where their lives take them. And it’s certainly not easy with both working in the secret service for their own country.
A fabulous book, but not for those who expect pure romance.
This was not at all what I expected.
The title might suggest a romantic romp between two agents a la James Bond, but you would be totally wrong.
This is so much better than that!
Honeytrap is one of those books I would not classify as romance. It is a novel telling the tale of two men over the course of 35 years, two men who are quintessentially different, but fall in love anyway.
Nothing about their story is average or conventional.
Mainly, it felt utterly realistic, and very much like a look at times in history seen through the eyes of two men from different ideological POVs. And while the theme of a honeytrap is there, it didn’t feel really prominent to me.
Divided in three parts (1959 / 1975 / 1992), we meet Daniel and Gennady (one American, one Russian, both agents) at very different stages of their life and in history, all of which is reflected beautifully in their opinions, conversations and actions.
The writing is fantastic – the verbal sparring between the men, discussing their countries’ advantages and faults when they meet in part 1, for example, was one of my most favourite things about this book. As is the deep and detailed characterization.
I loved open, inquisitive Gennady who revels in trying anything new and in experiencing anything American, and I adored genuine, warm-hearted Daniel who tries to come to terms with his bisexuality. For them to connect not only personally, but also sexually in the late 50s is incredibly dangerous and highly contemptuous, for professional and personal reasons.
But as times change, so does their relationship.
I was truly captivated by these two men and what they go through and surprised again and again where their lives take them. And it’s certainly not easy with both working in the secret service for their own country.
A fabulous book, but not for those who expect pure romance.
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February 26, 2022This is a sweet and generous gift from BookshELF Vixen, thank you so much! I look forward to reading it! 😘
September 17, 2020
Hmm, well I guess I'll say this was more realistic than anything else. Which doesn't make this bad, far from it. This was a well written book and there was depth to it and its characters. I just...real life is already so shitty that when I'm reading romance I'm more looking for Romance with a capital R. The whole falling head over heels in love, will love you forever, there's no one else, there's a HFN or HEA and all that. Not to say this didn't have romance, it did. But it didn't feel like Romance, the romance we get in the genre romance. Even though it focused on Daniel and Gennady throughout, it just didn't feel like the type of romance novel we usually get.
Especially because, well...these two never really get to be together in this book. They get like a night in the 1959 part, and a few months in 1975 and all that, but they're not together together. There's a hopeful note at the end in 1992, but I can't even put it as HFN because they weren't solidly together, and while we can imagine it all works out, we don't know that it does, even though it hints at it. Not a HFN in my book.
And I have to say...I skimmed and skipped a lot of this. I'm sorry but the case stuff in 1959 was boring to me, this was a very, very, very slow burn between these two and even when they finally did stuff, the sex was very rushed and glossed over, it felt like. (Like when Daniel first tries to blow Gennady, all he really does is lick his dick a little and lick around his head and then Gennady comes and so it's done. Not very detailed or lasting very long. Even when they have penetrative sex in 1975/76, it didn't last long.)
Also the realism just made it all fucking suck, for the most part. There was barely any happiness for these two. It took awhile for Gennady to seem to feel anything romantic for Daniel in 1959/60, while Daniel was clearly pining, and there wasn't enough build-up, in my opinion, of Gennady's feelings for Daniel because he spent so long not seeing it or thinking it wasn't possible and so on and so forth. Then when he finally does, they have one night and then it skips ahead 15 years and Daniel's married with kids and Gennady's married as well and while Daniel's wife is good with them being together - seriously, Elizabeth was a great person and a great wife and I did love her - they couldn't be together together as a couple, and definitely not just them as a couple, so it spoiled it. As awesome as Elizabeth was, she was still Daniel's wife and Gennady and Daniel couldn't be together, just the two of them.
Also, it only lasts about 6-ish months before it goes to shit and it ends again, so oh what fun *sighh* and then 16 freaking years go by, so yeah it's been about 33 years since these two met and it ends with only the possibility of them getting to be together for the rest of their lives - which, at 57 for Gennady and what, 59 or over 60 for Daniel? That's...not a lot.
So it just left me feeling...sad about it all and bummed and all that. They fall in love slowlyyyy and then only have one night, then don't see each other for 15 years - they wrote for a time, but then at the start of the 1975 segment, Daniel says Gennady hasn't written for 6 years! - and then they have about 6 months so sleep with each other, but not truly be together, and then another 16 years - with Daniel having written in 1988, but still 16 years since they last saw each other - and then oh yeah now it might just work out when 2/3 of our lives have gone by?! It just sucked all around.
I mean yay that they probably get together for real this time and all that, but almost a whole lifetime of not seeing each other or being together just...sucks ass. Also that ending felt way too abrupt for me. It would have been nice to at least see them together, maybe a "few months later" epilogue that just shows them being happy, finally? Like a payoff for all this crap they've had to go through for over 30 damn years?
I know I know, one's an American and one's a Soviet and blah blah blah. All very realistic how much it sucked that it couldn't work out - and it was the 50, 60's and then 70's and so on and being queer was illegal and then when not, still looked at as bad anyway, and I get all that. But still....I've read many a Romance book that is historical where they shouldn't be able to be together but they find a way, even when it is even worse than it was in the 50's, 60's. These two didn't even ever really try to make more work, to try to be together somehow and it just sucked.
It didn't feel like they loved each other as much as they said. Why didn't they try harder in 1960 to be together somehow? In reality, sure it would probably go like this, but couldn't they have at least tried? I would have felt a lot better if they'd tried and failed instead of never trying at all.
This just...overall it wasn't the best fit for me. For others, it might be. But I just couldn't past the constant fucked-upness of their situation and them never really ever being able to be together and a life without the other, really. At times their love was poignant and wonderful, but other times it left me severely wanting. And the other plot stuff with the US vs. Soviet shit and all that just bored me more than anything. Not always, but enough that I skimmed and skipped.
I liked this, I just didn't love it. I got into it at parts, and was bored in others. I was up and down throughout this.
Overall, it didn't work the best for me. Maybe for others it will. But not for me, unfortunately. Still a good story that I enjoyed in parts and liked well enough. But not enough.
Especially because, well...these two never really get to be together in this book. They get like a night in the 1959 part, and a few months in 1975 and all that, but they're not together together. There's a hopeful note at the end in 1992, but I can't even put it as HFN because they weren't solidly together, and while we can imagine it all works out, we don't know that it does, even though it hints at it. Not a HFN in my book.
And I have to say...I skimmed and skipped a lot of this. I'm sorry but the case stuff in 1959 was boring to me, this was a very, very, very slow burn between these two and even when they finally did stuff, the sex was very rushed and glossed over, it felt like. (Like when Daniel first tries to blow Gennady, all he really does is lick his dick a little and lick around his head and then Gennady comes and so it's done. Not very detailed or lasting very long. Even when they have penetrative sex in 1975/76, it didn't last long.)
Also the realism just made it all fucking suck, for the most part. There was barely any happiness for these two. It took awhile for Gennady to seem to feel anything romantic for Daniel in 1959/60, while Daniel was clearly pining, and there wasn't enough build-up, in my opinion, of Gennady's feelings for Daniel because he spent so long not seeing it or thinking it wasn't possible and so on and so forth. Then when he finally does, they have one night and then it skips ahead 15 years and Daniel's married with kids and Gennady's married as well and while Daniel's wife is good with them being together - seriously, Elizabeth was a great person and a great wife and I did love her - they couldn't be together together as a couple, and definitely not just them as a couple, so it spoiled it. As awesome as Elizabeth was, she was still Daniel's wife and Gennady and Daniel couldn't be together, just the two of them.
Also, it only lasts about 6-ish months before it goes to shit and it ends again, so oh what fun *sighh* and then 16 freaking years go by, so yeah it's been about 33 years since these two met and it ends with only the possibility of them getting to be together for the rest of their lives - which, at 57 for Gennady and what, 59 or over 60 for Daniel? That's...not a lot.
So it just left me feeling...sad about it all and bummed and all that. They fall in love slowlyyyy and then only have one night, then don't see each other for 15 years - they wrote for a time, but then at the start of the 1975 segment, Daniel says Gennady hasn't written for 6 years! - and then they have about 6 months so sleep with each other, but not truly be together, and then another 16 years - with Daniel having written in 1988, but still 16 years since they last saw each other - and then oh yeah now it might just work out when 2/3 of our lives have gone by?! It just sucked all around.
I mean yay that they probably get together for real this time and all that, but almost a whole lifetime of not seeing each other or being together just...sucks ass. Also that ending felt way too abrupt for me. It would have been nice to at least see them together, maybe a "few months later" epilogue that just shows them being happy, finally? Like a payoff for all this crap they've had to go through for over 30 damn years?
I know I know, one's an American and one's a Soviet and blah blah blah. All very realistic how much it sucked that it couldn't work out - and it was the 50, 60's and then 70's and so on and being queer was illegal and then when not, still looked at as bad anyway, and I get all that. But still....I've read many a Romance book that is historical where they shouldn't be able to be together but they find a way, even when it is even worse than it was in the 50's, 60's. These two didn't even ever really try to make more work, to try to be together somehow and it just sucked.
It didn't feel like they loved each other as much as they said. Why didn't they try harder in 1960 to be together somehow? In reality, sure it would probably go like this, but couldn't they have at least tried? I would have felt a lot better if they'd tried and failed instead of never trying at all.
This just...overall it wasn't the best fit for me. For others, it might be. But I just couldn't past the constant fucked-upness of their situation and them never really ever being able to be together and a life without the other, really. At times their love was poignant and wonderful, but other times it left me severely wanting. And the other plot stuff with the US vs. Soviet shit and all that just bored me more than anything. Not always, but enough that I skimmed and skipped.
I liked this, I just didn't love it. I got into it at parts, and was bored in others. I was up and down throughout this.
Overall, it didn't work the best for me. Maybe for others it will. But not for me, unfortunately. Still a good story that I enjoyed in parts and liked well enough. But not enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 14, 2020
Let's get the rating question immediately out of the way: this was for me a glowing 5 stars and I utterly loved it.
Set over the span of roughly thirty-two years (from 1959 to 1992), Honeytrap follows FBI agent Daniel Hawthorne and Red Army lieutenant (or KGB agent?) Gennady Matskevich as they travel across America on the trail of the mysterious person who attempted the life of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
Their journey is slow and winding - while they go from small towns to bigger cities, from rural America to more industrialised areas, Daniel and Gennady develop a tentative friendship that will slowly evolve into something more profound
Daniel and Gennady are both wonderful characters. Daniel is romantic and idealistic, a bit of a classical Hollywood hero, whilst Gennady is sharp and witty, fascinated by America but still very critical of social inequalities and injustice.
They are also deeply complex characters, with areas of darkness and suffering that come up in the novel very slowly and subtly but in a heartbreaking manner.
Gennady is scarred by the brutality of his upbringing during WW2 and by the abusive system and hierarchy of the Red Army. Daniel, apparently wholesome and happy, an all American boy, is also tormented by his desires and frightened by previous experiences.
Their fragility and need come together in the "slowest of slow burns" (as eloquently put by my buddy reader Xia Xia Lake) and once they found each other... well, you'll have to read the book to find out.
As a long-standing lover of both Russian and American classics, I found Daniel and Gennady's conversations around Steinbeck, Dostoevsky and the like utterly delightful. The irony and levity Aster Glenn Gray put in those passages made me fall completely in love with the novel.
If you love historical fiction supported by solid research, amazing characters and wonderful writing, please, read Honeytrap!
Set over the span of roughly thirty-two years (from 1959 to 1992), Honeytrap follows FBI agent Daniel Hawthorne and Red Army lieutenant (or KGB agent?) Gennady Matskevich as they travel across America on the trail of the mysterious person who attempted the life of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
Their journey is slow and winding - while they go from small towns to bigger cities, from rural America to more industrialised areas, Daniel and Gennady develop a tentative friendship that will slowly evolve into something more profound
Daniel and Gennady are both wonderful characters. Daniel is romantic and idealistic, a bit of a classical Hollywood hero, whilst Gennady is sharp and witty, fascinated by America but still very critical of social inequalities and injustice.
They are also deeply complex characters, with areas of darkness and suffering that come up in the novel very slowly and subtly but in a heartbreaking manner.
Gennady is scarred by the brutality of his upbringing during WW2 and by the abusive system and hierarchy of the Red Army. Daniel, apparently wholesome and happy, an all American boy, is also tormented by his desires and frightened by previous experiences.
Their fragility and need come together in the "slowest of slow burns" (as eloquently put by my buddy reader Xia Xia Lake) and once they found each other... well, you'll have to read the book to find out.
As a long-standing lover of both Russian and American classics, I found Daniel and Gennady's conversations around Steinbeck, Dostoevsky and the like utterly delightful. The irony and levity Aster Glenn Gray put in those passages made me fall completely in love with the novel.
If you love historical fiction supported by solid research, amazing characters and wonderful writing, please, read Honeytrap!
November 22, 2022
Not the usual banter-filled enemies-to-lovers story. The MCs are actually very friendly from the start, of course they're not trusting each other because of their countries. If they weren't on opposing sides, their friendship would have bloomed easier and faster.
The first part is kind of uplifting, and based on that, you wouldn't think that there will be tears at the end of the book. Gennady is an easygoing person, despite his past hardships. He is enjoying his time in America, it's like a roadtrip for him. And he found the perfect partner in crime in Daniel. In this regard they have a manner of ease between them.
The second part is gloomy. There doesn't seem to be a solution in sight and time is passing. There's some glimmer of happiness along the way but the road is not easy for these two.
The first part is kind of uplifting, and based on that, you wouldn't think that there will be tears at the end of the book. Gennady is an easygoing person, despite his past hardships. He is enjoying his time in America, it's like a roadtrip for him. And he found the perfect partner in crime in Daniel. In this regard they have a manner of ease between them.
The second part is gloomy. There doesn't seem to be a solution in sight and time is passing. There's some glimmer of happiness along the way but the road is not easy for these two.
October 7, 2021
I'm so glad I read this. I almost didn't because I was afraid the MC's circumstances were going to make it too bittersweet for me, but I loved it. Seeing the U.S. through the eyes of a Soviet spy on a road trip was actually quite fun. I love you, Gennady!
It's spoiled me a little for excellent relationship development, though. It took me several books to stop constantly wondering when the MCs were going to have a real conversation already! These two get to know each other so well through their continuously looping trip as they conduct a joint investigation, and it was lovely.
I also have a thing for books that can make me brutally aware of how lucky I am to live here without turning a single blind eye on the many flaws of our society/government/capitalism. Gennady's POV was excellent. He had such pride for certain parts of his country/family life and took so much joy from his American experiences while also having a very objective view of the corrupt underbelly of both countries/governments/philosophies. This may sound strange, but it's the type of thing that makes me feel a little better at a time when my country is trying to break my heart.
And that probably makes this sound a lot heavier than it is!! It's really not heavy at all. It's a slow-burn/second chance/friends-to-lovers/LEO procedural/rival spy shenanigans mish mash of pure awesomeness. I loved it.
It's spoiled me a little for excellent relationship development, though. It took me several books to stop constantly wondering when the MCs were going to have a real conversation already! These two get to know each other so well through their continuously looping trip as they conduct a joint investigation, and it was lovely.
I also have a thing for books that can make me brutally aware of how lucky I am to live here without turning a single blind eye on the many flaws of our society/government/capitalism. Gennady's POV was excellent. He had such pride for certain parts of his country/family life and took so much joy from his American experiences while also having a very objective view of the corrupt underbelly of both countries/governments/philosophies. This may sound strange, but it's the type of thing that makes me feel a little better at a time when my country is trying to break my heart.
And that probably makes this sound a lot heavier than it is!! It's really not heavy at all. It's a slow-burn/second chance/friends-to-lovers/LEO procedural/rival spy shenanigans mish mash of pure awesomeness. I loved it.
September 14, 2020
This has been a great surprise from a new to me author. Historical isn't my favourite genre, usually I don't want to deal with the anguish feeling those readings inspire me, but despite that, this book has been really good.
I went into this thinking this was going to be a spy novel, but it wasn't. Instead we get to know two strong men and learn how they affect each other life. Yesterday, I closed the book with a sad feeling despite the hopeful note in which this ends. Some of the themes addressed here are too close for comfort. I can't help but feeling really close to Gennady and the relationship he has with his country. Dictatorships are the same in every place, it doesn't matter which side they're upholding, at the end, all of them crush their citizens without compassion. I haven't endured it myself first hand, but my granparents and parents did, and what I know through them is enough to make me really anguish when I read about that. But, at the end, I did it and I'm glad I read their story.
I also enjoyed this more thanks to my fellow BReaders, I can't wait to keep discussing this with you all.
I went into this thinking this was going to be a spy novel, but it wasn't. Instead we get to know two strong men and learn how they affect each other life. Yesterday, I closed the book with a sad feeling despite the hopeful note in which this ends. Some of the themes addressed here are too close for comfort. I can't help but feeling really close to Gennady and the relationship he has with his country. Dictatorships are the same in every place, it doesn't matter which side they're upholding, at the end, all of them crush their citizens without compassion. I haven't endured it myself first hand, but my granparents and parents did, and what I know through them is enough to make me really anguish when I read about that. But, at the end, I did it and I'm glad I read their story.
I also enjoyed this more thanks to my fellow BReaders, I can't wait to keep discussing this with you all.
November 22, 2020
3.75 stars, rounded up
For a story about a couple of guys working for opposing governments during the Cold War, there was very little in the way of espionage. Don't go into this expecting a James Bond or Alias, or even The Americans, type story structure or plot, because you won't find it. What you will find is a near unputdownable story about an unlikely romance between a pair of star-crossed lovers who have everything going against them.
In a rare moment of international cooperation, Gennady (USSR) and Daniel (FBI) were assigned on a case together to try to find out who attempted to assassinate a Russian official while he was visiting the States. There were a couple of time jumps, which threw me out of the story a little bit each time, but I settled back in quickly enough each time. I would have liked for the casework to be more balanced out with the romance, but the emotional story was strong enough for that not be a huge deterrent.
Gennady was a cinnamon roll and I loved seeing his joy at getting to experience America, which was in contrast to his realism and cynicism but makes his joy that much sharper. Daniel's more of a straight man to Gennady's more outgoing personality, but they're well-suited for each other. Getting to see how Gennady thought and how he saw Americanism and capitalism was interesting and carried most of the story. I do wish there could've been a bit more with his side of things - nearly the whole story is set in America, so we see very little of his life back in Russia - but even with that lack, the story was still effective in showing how he experienced life.
For a story about a couple of guys working for opposing governments during the Cold War, there was very little in the way of espionage. Don't go into this expecting a James Bond or Alias, or even The Americans, type story structure or plot, because you won't find it. What you will find is a near unputdownable story about an unlikely romance between a pair of star-crossed lovers who have everything going against them.
In a rare moment of international cooperation, Gennady (USSR) and Daniel (FBI) were assigned on a case together to try to find out who attempted to assassinate a Russian official while he was visiting the States. There were a couple of time jumps, which threw me out of the story a little bit each time, but I settled back in quickly enough each time. I would have liked for the casework to be more balanced out with the romance, but the emotional story was strong enough for that not be a huge deterrent.
Gennady was a cinnamon roll and I loved seeing his joy at getting to experience America, which was in contrast to his realism and cynicism but makes his joy that much sharper. Daniel's more of a straight man to Gennady's more outgoing personality, but they're well-suited for each other. Getting to see how Gennady thought and how he saw Americanism and capitalism was interesting and carried most of the story. I do wish there could've been a bit more with his side of things - nearly the whole story is set in America, so we see very little of his life back in Russia - but even with that lack, the story was still effective in showing how he experienced life.
March 2, 2022
4.5. This was lovely, the discussions between Daniel and Gennady, especially in the first part were fantastic. This is not a conventional romance but I liked the spy intrigue and their relationship was lovely too. I did not like the final conflict because it felt forced to me. I still liked the ending so really I did not love like 20 pages towards the end, a very small complaint. I would highly recommend this one because the plot is gripping, the characters are well drawn out and I felt their love. It does not really follow any tropes and that's a nice refresher.
March 23, 2021
oh my god I loved absolutely everything about this book. so beautifully and eloquently written, I truly had a difficult time putting it down. I adore both Daniel and Gennady, their discussions over their countries, love, literature... just beautiful. one of the easiest 5 star ratings in a while for me ♥️
January 6, 2021
Honeytrap by Aster Glenn Gray is a big surprise for me because it is not often talked about and yet it should be given the spotlight it deserves. I am glad to have discovered this book on Goodreads. It even reminds me of Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey Mcquiston. You have two main characters: one is an American FBI agent and the other is a Soviet military spy. Two incongruous characters who must unite together to solve a crime so enormous it will create a thermonuclear war if not solved. As they work together, they also need to confront their inner struggles on identity, loyalty, desire, lust, family and sexuality. Honeytrap proves that even the power of friendship overpowers the power of state and that love is stronger than fear. This book is steamy, sexy, thrilling, and absolute joy to read.
November 1, 2020
I was born in 1957; I learned about and lived the history this book covers. And that was interesting, and the author did a great job bringing it to life via these characters, but it is the characters who pulled me in and kept me reading. The jumps in time only made that more striking. The last line made me cry and smile. Highly recommended.
July 4, 2021
2020 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): Blogger Rec
Everyone told me to read HONEYTRAP and everyone was right.
Everyone told me to read HONEYTRAP and everyone was right.
January 12, 2021
I've given this an A- at AAR, so that's 4.5 stars rounded up.
Aster Glenn Gray’s Honeytrap is a compelling and unique story that charts the development of the unlikely relationship between an American FBI agent and a lieutenant in the Red Army (and possible KGB agent) over a period of around thirty-five years. It’s extremely well-written, and the author does an amazing job of exploring the cultural and ideological differences between the societies in which the two men live in a way that is thought-provoking without being preachy or didactic. The leads are multi-faceted, flawed but likeable men, and their romance is a very slow burn that evolves organically from the tentative and then genuine friendship that grows between them; it’s quietly understated yet full of longing and boasts some truly beautiful moments of poignancy and real, complex emotion.
It’s 1959, and FBI agent Daniel Hawthorne Is assigned to investigate what is believed to have been an attempt to assassinate Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev while he was on a recent visit to the US. Daniel is going to be temporarily partnered with Lieutenant Gennady Matskevitch in order to diffuse the tensions over Russian accusations of a cover up. Daniel’s boss tells him to befriend Matskevitch and to show him America in the best possible light during their travels.
Matskevitch is given official instructions to keep an eye on his American partner and use his assignment as a way to gather intelligence about American investigative methods. Unofficially, however, he’s told to honeytrap the American agent in order to gather blackmail material.
Thus begins a months-long road-trip through small towns and large cities, from rural to industrial America, during which Daniel and Gennady go from initial suspicion to a tentative friendship which gradually turns into something more, something that will endure for over three decades and will survive long separations, betrayal, political upheaval, marriage, divorce and family tragedy.
In 1959, Daniel is twenty-seven, and Gennady twenty-four, and the only thing they really have in common – of which they are of course totally unaware at the beginning – is that they exist in a world that holds strict views as to what a man should be and who he should love. Otherwise, the gulf between them is huge; their countries are enemies and they’ve been instructed to spy on one another, so the idea there could be any real trust or friendship between them is a non-starter. It would do neither of them any good and can go nowhere; and it could actually be dangerous both professionally and personally.
But after spending months together on the road and in cramped motel rooms, learning things about each other and bantering about the advantages and flaws of their respective countries, it’s impossible to keep their distance from each other, and although they both know it’s a bad - probably disastrous - idea, they fall into a warm and affectionate friendship. From that friendship emerges a strong and genuine attraction that neither man really knows what to do with; Daniel knows he’s attracted to men as well as women (he had a sexual relationship with his previous work-partner, which is how he ended up being given the sort of assignment usually given to a ‘problem’ agent) while for Gennady, fooling around with men is something that has happened rarely and only while drunk. The way they fall for each other is gorgeous and incredibly sweet, the UST is delicious and the author has created a real, deep emotional connection between them, a romance that doesn’t rely on the grand gesture but which is instead built on a foundation of lots of little ones, small moments and actions that show the depth of their feelings for one another.
The story is split into three sections; the first is the longest, taking up around two-thirds of the book, and it’s where the relationship and romantic development takes place. Of course, given the time period and the serious external obstacles to any relationship between Daniel and Gennady, a convincing HEA (or HFN) is difficult to achieve and the author wisely opts not to try to contort reality or the personalities she has established for her characters in order to make one. After they part in 1960, they don’t meet again until 1975, when Gennady is sent to Washington D.C on a two year posting. Life has changed for both of them, but is no less complicated.
Their feelings for each other are as real and strong as ever, but they both know Gennady’s time in the US is finite, which makes their reunion, wonderful as it is, rather bittersweet.
The final section, set in 1992 after Glasnost and the splitting up of the Soviet Union, is squashed into the final ten percent of the book and is rushed. It feels almost like an afterthought rather than an epilogue; there is an HEA/HFN, but it’s left right to the last minute so there’s no time for it to fully sink in before the book ends.
That – and the unrealistic element I mentioned under the spoiler bar – are the reasons this book isn’t a flat-out A; but it deserves the highest praise for its characterisation and relationship and character development. Daniel and Gennady are superbly drawn, fully-rounded characters it’s easy to like and root for and their romance is – for the most part – beautifully done. Daniel is genuine and warm-hearted, a bit idealistic and a romantic at heart, while Gennady is possessed of a quick, dry wit, and his enthusiasm for American experiences and fascination with everything new he learns is infectious and totally endearing. Their discussions about the differences between the US and the USSR are clever and insightful (and often dryly funny); Gennady’s reactions to Americanism and capitalism are interesting, and even though we never see him at home in the USSR, the author does convey a strong sense of what his life there is like.
Honeytrap is a clever, engrossing read that’s unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s not perfect – the pacing is uneven and the time jumps are a bit hard to adjust to - but it’s still one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I’ll certainly be looking for more from this author.
Aster Glenn Gray’s Honeytrap is a compelling and unique story that charts the development of the unlikely relationship between an American FBI agent and a lieutenant in the Red Army (and possible KGB agent) over a period of around thirty-five years. It’s extremely well-written, and the author does an amazing job of exploring the cultural and ideological differences between the societies in which the two men live in a way that is thought-provoking without being preachy or didactic. The leads are multi-faceted, flawed but likeable men, and their romance is a very slow burn that evolves organically from the tentative and then genuine friendship that grows between them; it’s quietly understated yet full of longing and boasts some truly beautiful moments of poignancy and real, complex emotion.
It’s 1959, and FBI agent Daniel Hawthorne Is assigned to investigate what is believed to have been an attempt to assassinate Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev while he was on a recent visit to the US. Daniel is going to be temporarily partnered with Lieutenant Gennady Matskevitch in order to diffuse the tensions over Russian accusations of a cover up. Daniel’s boss tells him to befriend Matskevitch and to show him America in the best possible light during their travels.
Matskevitch is given official instructions to keep an eye on his American partner and use his assignment as a way to gather intelligence about American investigative methods. Unofficially, however, he’s told to honeytrap the American agent in order to gather blackmail material.
Thus begins a months-long road-trip through small towns and large cities, from rural to industrial America, during which Daniel and Gennady go from initial suspicion to a tentative friendship which gradually turns into something more, something that will endure for over three decades and will survive long separations, betrayal, political upheaval, marriage, divorce and family tragedy.
In 1959, Daniel is twenty-seven, and Gennady twenty-four, and the only thing they really have in common – of which they are of course totally unaware at the beginning – is that they exist in a world that holds strict views as to what a man should be and who he should love. Otherwise, the gulf between them is huge; their countries are enemies and they’ve been instructed to spy on one another, so the idea there could be any real trust or friendship between them is a non-starter. It would do neither of them any good and can go nowhere; and it could actually be dangerous both professionally and personally.
But after spending months together on the road and in cramped motel rooms, learning things about each other and bantering about the advantages and flaws of their respective countries, it’s impossible to keep their distance from each other, and although they both know it’s a bad - probably disastrous - idea, they fall into a warm and affectionate friendship. From that friendship emerges a strong and genuine attraction that neither man really knows what to do with; Daniel knows he’s attracted to men as well as women (he had a sexual relationship with his previous work-partner, which is how he ended up being given the sort of assignment usually given to a ‘problem’ agent) while for Gennady, fooling around with men is something that has happened rarely and only while drunk. The way they fall for each other is gorgeous and incredibly sweet, the UST is delicious and the author has created a real, deep emotional connection between them, a romance that doesn’t rely on the grand gesture but which is instead built on a foundation of lots of little ones, small moments and actions that show the depth of their feelings for one another.
The story is split into three sections; the first is the longest, taking up around two-thirds of the book, and it’s where the relationship and romantic development takes place. Of course, given the time period and the serious external obstacles to any relationship between Daniel and Gennady, a convincing HEA (or HFN) is difficult to achieve and the author wisely opts not to try to contort reality or the personalities she has established for her characters in order to make one. After they part in 1960, they don’t meet again until 1975, when Gennady is sent to Washington D.C on a two year posting. Life has changed for both of them, but is no less complicated.
Their feelings for each other are as real and strong as ever, but they both know Gennady’s time in the US is finite, which makes their reunion, wonderful as it is, rather bittersweet.
The final section, set in 1992 after Glasnost and the splitting up of the Soviet Union, is squashed into the final ten percent of the book and is rushed. It feels almost like an afterthought rather than an epilogue; there is an HEA/HFN, but it’s left right to the last minute so there’s no time for it to fully sink in before the book ends.
That – and the unrealistic element I mentioned under the spoiler bar – are the reasons this book isn’t a flat-out A; but it deserves the highest praise for its characterisation and relationship and character development. Daniel and Gennady are superbly drawn, fully-rounded characters it’s easy to like and root for and their romance is – for the most part – beautifully done. Daniel is genuine and warm-hearted, a bit idealistic and a romantic at heart, while Gennady is possessed of a quick, dry wit, and his enthusiasm for American experiences and fascination with everything new he learns is infectious and totally endearing. Their discussions about the differences between the US and the USSR are clever and insightful (and often dryly funny); Gennady’s reactions to Americanism and capitalism are interesting, and even though we never see him at home in the USSR, the author does convey a strong sense of what his life there is like.
Honeytrap is a clever, engrossing read that’s unlike anything I’ve read before. It’s not perfect – the pacing is uneven and the time jumps are a bit hard to adjust to - but it’s still one of the best books I’ve read this year, and I’ll certainly be looking for more from this author.
December 16, 2021
This m/m lovestory about a russian and an american spy spans over three separate parts and over 30 years. The story starts in 1959 when FBI agent Daniel Hayworth and the russian agent Gennady Matskevich are sent on a road trip to solve an assasination attempt on the russian president during his US visit and both discover just how much they enjoy the partnership.
Because of this and the enemy-countries setting it was clear before the beginning that this would be a story in which the couple would be breaking up in intervals at least. I expected this to be very painful but it was a lot more positive and feel-good than I anticipated. Still there is this last bit of wistfulness and melancholy that shows you the two well over middle aged and having lost sooo much time that they will never get back. No, it is not an entirely happy story either. But. Well written. I was hardly able to put the book down and while there was pain, the author did not wallow in it.
Because of this and the enemy-countries setting it was clear before the beginning that this would be a story in which the couple would be breaking up in intervals at least. I expected this to be very painful but it was a lot more positive and feel-good than I anticipated. Still there is this last bit of wistfulness and melancholy that shows you the two well over middle aged and having lost sooo much time that they will never get back. No, it is not an entirely happy story either. But. Well written. I was hardly able to put the book down and while there was pain, the author did not wallow in it.
November 28, 2020
Wow! That was beautiful.
This book first came to my notice when I saw that Teal read it. Cold War, spies, historical. Count me in. Teal, also, said it was her best book of 2020. She’s not wrong.
I tried to read it right after that but pandemic brain prevented from it from drawing me in.
Then the Fated Mates podcast (mostly m/f romance but I love how the two hosts get SO excited about books and completely crack each other up) named it as one of their favorite romances of 2020. And I got excited again about reading it. https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2020/... They start talking about Honeytrap around 31 minutes in.
This book first came to my notice when I saw that Teal read it. Cold War, spies, historical. Count me in. Teal, also, said it was her best book of 2020. She’s not wrong.
I tried to read it right after that but pandemic brain prevented from it from drawing me in.
Then the Fated Mates podcast (mostly m/f romance but I love how the two hosts get SO excited about books and completely crack each other up) named it as one of their favorite romances of 2020. And I got excited again about reading it. https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2020/... They start talking about Honeytrap around 31 minutes in.
November 28, 2020
Highly recommended! 18/20 4.5 stars
Very nice cold war story with a plausible straight-to-gay plot. Ms Gray takes her time to immerse us into her universe. With 30 pages less about the blurry line between friendship & love, the book would've obtained the last half-star. Still altogether an incredibly enjoyable book. In turn sad and funny, it doesn't read like the ubiquitous romance which have more stars on GR than they deserve IMAO. The clever division into 3 eras shows the change in mentalities and mores, avoiding any anachronism in the description of an MM relationship. Ms Gray's writing is beautiful and devoid of superfluous stylistic effect. All characters are interesting and never used as sidekicks. Even when you -as a reader- disagree with a behaviour, there’s no right and wrong from the author. Her aim is not to teach you a lesson but to tell you a story. And she does that as beautifully as she did in The Threefold Tie or in Briarley. Just when I was starting to think MM romance was no more my cup of tea...
Thank you, Ms Gray, for a great book with a distinctive voice.
September 19, 2021
I liked the political/logistical/historical parts of it. And that cover!! The story and the premise were good, I just didn't like how it was written, if that makes sense.
September 7, 2020
A book of two parts.
The first part is set in 1959, and , once you've suspended some credibility abut the actual situation, is a funny and rather sweet story about a Russian and a US agent starting to fall in love. It has a lot of banter. it's very funny in places. But it's set in 1959, and the two bisexual leads recognise that their relationship comes with an expiration date. At this point I wondered how he book would pan out.
Despite the slightly unreal feeling I had about how real Arkady's mission was ( given the era ) part of me thought they would end up in another county, somewhere Scandinavian perhaps, and would live there as a couple making this a much more traditional m-m romance.
However the second part of the book went in a very different direction. The guys parted, and they did wrote to each other, but 15 years passed before they met again. Both men had married, with varying success and had families. Daniel's wife was aware of his previous relationship with Arkady and encourages him to restart a romantic relationship again. So they do. Once again the relationship has an expiration date, they part.
Finally in 1992 ! they meet once more, having always been in touch, both are divorced . The ending is hopeful that they will pursue a relationship together.
I really enjoyed this book, but it was not at all what I expected. The realism of the men's lives once they parted for the first time , still having feelings for each other felt much more realistic than the initial honeytrap part.
It does seem a little confused at times, and for me it worked as a book, but I'm not tally sure that it's a romance.
The first part is set in 1959, and , once you've suspended some credibility abut the actual situation, is a funny and rather sweet story about a Russian and a US agent starting to fall in love. It has a lot of banter. it's very funny in places. But it's set in 1959, and the two bisexual leads recognise that their relationship comes with an expiration date. At this point I wondered how he book would pan out.
Despite the slightly unreal feeling I had about how real Arkady's mission was ( given the era ) part of me thought they would end up in another county, somewhere Scandinavian perhaps, and would live there as a couple making this a much more traditional m-m romance.
However the second part of the book went in a very different direction. The guys parted, and they did wrote to each other, but 15 years passed before they met again. Both men had married, with varying success and had families. Daniel's wife was aware of his previous relationship with Arkady and encourages him to restart a romantic relationship again. So they do. Once again the relationship has an expiration date, they part.
Finally in 1992 ! they meet once more, having always been in touch, both are divorced . The ending is hopeful that they will pursue a relationship together.
I really enjoyed this book, but it was not at all what I expected. The realism of the men's lives once they parted for the first time , still having feelings for each other felt much more realistic than the initial honeytrap part.
It does seem a little confused at times, and for me it worked as a book, but I'm not tally sure that it's a romance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 4, 2021
[9.74/10]
This book blew me away. Holy shittt it was so good. Every single bit of it was exactly my kind of book. I wasn’t really anticipating it becoming my highest rated of 2021 (so far) but here I am, enamoured, wowed, verklempt, awed, and so very whole in the way that only an amazing book can make you.
Honeytrap follows a slow burn love affair between an American FBI agent and a Russian GRU agent that begins in the 1950s and spans the decades of changing history and relationship between the US and Russia, taking us up to the early 1990s. The atmosphere of this story was really the shining glory though because this book lived and breathed the various time periods that we were placed in throughout and used those time periods (and the nature of their jobs) to hone in on the upward trajectory of acceptance for queerness. The romance was so lovely to read because it cycled through (kind of) enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers. There was a lot of time given to building the foundation of this relationship that paid off so incredibly well later in the book.
An absolute stunner of a book and I feel so lucky to have read it.
This book blew me away. Holy shittt it was so good. Every single bit of it was exactly my kind of book. I wasn’t really anticipating it becoming my highest rated of 2021 (so far) but here I am, enamoured, wowed, verklempt, awed, and so very whole in the way that only an amazing book can make you.
Honeytrap follows a slow burn love affair between an American FBI agent and a Russian GRU agent that begins in the 1950s and spans the decades of changing history and relationship between the US and Russia, taking us up to the early 1990s. The atmosphere of this story was really the shining glory though because this book lived and breathed the various time periods that we were placed in throughout and used those time periods (and the nature of their jobs) to hone in on the upward trajectory of acceptance for queerness. The romance was so lovely to read because it cycled through (kind of) enemies to reluctant allies to friends to lovers. There was a lot of time given to building the foundation of this relationship that paid off so incredibly well later in the book.
An absolute stunner of a book and I feel so lucky to have read it.
September 3, 2020
(This review can also be found over on Dreamwidth)
“At the height of the Cold War, a Soviet and an American agent fall in love.”
Not only are their countries enemies, but the agents are both men, in an era when being gay was still taboo. Fans of Aster Glenn Gray know that she’s excellent at complicated and anguished love—and Honeytrap really lets her show her stuff.
She’s also in top form when it comes to another of her strengths: the intelligence of her characters. Gennady and Daniel are interested in ideas and ideals, in what poetry’s all about, what happiness is, what freedom means, or love, and they talk about all these things, and when they fall for one another, it’s for the beautiful mind as well as the beguiling body.
I completely fell for Gennady, the Russian agent—I submit by way of explanation the following conversation:
So that’s Gennady on poetry. He’s also cogent on abuse and love:
And he has no patience with Shakespeare’s dictum that “love is not love which alters when it alteration finds”:
I realize I’m giving Daniel short shrift in this review. Daniel doesn’t have as many quotable gems as Gennady, but he holds his own in conversation, and he’s got some skills as an agent that Gennady lacks. Suffice it to say that having fallen for Gennady, I can completely see how Gennady falls for sunny, warm-hearted Daniel.
The trajectory Aster Glenn Gray traces for their love is interesting and unexpected, and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. The only thing I’ll say is that while it might have been possible to end the story in the same year in which it began (1959), it actually spans decades. I found it rich and satisfying.
“At the height of the Cold War, a Soviet and an American agent fall in love.”
Not only are their countries enemies, but the agents are both men, in an era when being gay was still taboo. Fans of Aster Glenn Gray know that she’s excellent at complicated and anguished love—and Honeytrap really lets her show her stuff.
She’s also in top form when it comes to another of her strengths: the intelligence of her characters. Gennady and Daniel are interested in ideas and ideals, in what poetry’s all about, what happiness is, what freedom means, or love, and they talk about all these things, and when they fall for one another, it’s for the beautiful mind as well as the beguiling body.
I completely fell for Gennady, the Russian agent—I submit by way of explanation the following conversation:
“I can still do ‘Paul Revere’s Ride,’ though not as well as you do Pushkin.”
“Let’s hear it, then.”
So Daniel stood and recited, and Gennady lay down again and listened with his head on his crossed arms. “There’s a galloping rhythm to it,” he said, enchanted. “That’s very American, isn’t it? A poetry of movement.”
“Yes,” said Daniel.
But he looked at Gennady so strangely that Gennady said, “What?”
“I don’t know. Most people aren’t interested in poetry, I guess,” Daniel said, and then clarified, “Most men, at least.”
“Poetry isn’t manly?” Gennady scoffed. “Like wearing a coat that is actually warm enough isn’t manly? Poetry is…” How to explain? “When there is nothing else, when all the world has gone mad, you recite poetry to hold things together, to give life order and meaning. The world is shaking, but poetry is steady.”
So that’s Gennady on poetry. He’s also cogent on abuse and love:
“You think that if you are afraid it should be possible to do something, to fight back or get away. But sometimes it isn’t, sometimes there is nothing to do but endure, and then people fall in love with the thing that they fear because there is no other way to protect themselves. They hope that if they love perhaps they will be loved in return. Do you see?”
And he has no patience with Shakespeare’s dictum that “love is not love which alters when it alteration finds”:
“Oh, how silly,” Gennady said impatiently. “Everything in this world alters. If love is not love if it changes, then love can’t exist.”
I realize I’m giving Daniel short shrift in this review. Daniel doesn’t have as many quotable gems as Gennady, but he holds his own in conversation, and he’s got some skills as an agent that Gennady lacks. Suffice it to say that having fallen for Gennady, I can completely see how Gennady falls for sunny, warm-hearted Daniel.
The trajectory Aster Glenn Gray traces for their love is interesting and unexpected, and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. The only thing I’ll say is that while it might have been possible to end the story in the same year in which it began (1959), it actually spans decades. I found it rich and satisfying.
September 12, 2020
There is a lot of stuff to like about this book! It's well-written, wonderfully evocative of time and place, the characters are interesting and you can tell the author has done a lot of work both on evoking the US in the fifties but also the Soviet Union. And the central conflict - lifted with grace from The Man from UNCLE - is moreish as all-get-out, obviously. But structurally it's all over the place, with a lot of long interludes that don't advance the plot along much, and there is scarcely a plot, really - the plot against Khrushchev is so slight as to be barely there, and it's never replaced. I'm also completely unconvinced about the happy marriage that disappears between parts 2 and 3. I enjoyed the book, but can't help but think it could have been much tighter.
September 25, 2020
4.25 stars
A lovely book, and likely to go on my best of the year list. Sirius and I now have a joint review on DA.
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o...
A lovely book, and likely to go on my best of the year list. Sirius and I now have a joint review on DA.
https://dearauthor.com/book-reviews/o...
February 17, 2022
I know we’re not even 2 months into 2022 and I’m only 33 books into my yearly reading challenge, but so far Honeytrap is my favorite book of the year. The writing is soft spoken and lovely. The story unique and thoughtful. The characters compelling and complex. This story captured my heart, poking it, poking it, POKING it, twisting it, soothing it, ripping it out and putting it back in only to rip it back out, put it back in and caress it gently.
Lately I’ve been wavering and questioning how well m/m works for me but stories like this and ones by ‘Nathan Burgoine and Chase Verity confirm that it’s NOT m/m that’s not working, it’s the uniqueness and ‘voice’ of the m/m that’s the challenge. Honeytrap met and exceeded that challenge in every way! I will DEFINITELY be checking out more by Aster Glenn Gray, Aster’s voice really resonated with and soothed my queer greedy reader’s soul.
For a more thorough and illuminating review, check out Optimist ♰King's Wench♰‘s brilliant review ❤️
I read this on KU and though my book budget is overdrawn at the moment, the second there’s money to spend, Honeytrap will be added permanently to my library. I am positive I will read it again. Hell, I just finished and already want to read it again!
5 emotionally wrecked and recovered stars!
Lately I’ve been wavering and questioning how well m/m works for me but stories like this and ones by ‘Nathan Burgoine and Chase Verity confirm that it’s NOT m/m that’s not working, it’s the uniqueness and ‘voice’ of the m/m that’s the challenge. Honeytrap met and exceeded that challenge in every way! I will DEFINITELY be checking out more by Aster Glenn Gray, Aster’s voice really resonated with and soothed my queer greedy reader’s soul.
For a more thorough and illuminating review, check out Optimist ♰King's Wench♰‘s brilliant review ❤️
I read this on KU and though my book budget is overdrawn at the moment, the second there’s money to spend, Honeytrap will be added permanently to my library. I am positive I will read it again. Hell, I just finished and already want to read it again!
5 emotionally wrecked and recovered stars!
November 16, 2020
Really liked this slow burn romance between two agents -one American, the other Soviet - that begins during the Cold War a deepens over decades. The author does a lovely job of capturing the different time periods as well as fleshing out the two main characters. I'll definitely read more by this author. This book gave me the feels.
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