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Pacific Nights
LGBT WWII-Era Historical
On a deserted island in the Pacific, surrounded by the enemy, two very different men learn to rely on each other for survival. Mike is an uneducated rascal, one step ahead of prison and a court-martial. He's given one chance to redeem if he wants to stay out of jail, he has to keep Professor James Hamilton alive. No matter what.
James is everything Mike isn't--suave, educated, intellectual, and rich. He's also a conscientious objector and he's made a deal with the army--three months on the island breaking codes as long as he doesn't have to kill anyone.
Mike is Catholic, the son of immigrants, and has never acted on his desires. James is Jewish, the son of Boston society, and experienced in love between men. During their hazardous stay on the island, they teach each other about life, friendship, and survival. With only them to say what's right and wrong, the men make a Mike must give himself to James for one day, submit to him completely, and James will allow Mike to take him whenever Mike wants to slake his sexual needs.
But once the war is over, can they keep the promises made on those hot Pacific nights and find one place both of them can call home?
Publisher's This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations some readers may find Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices.
On a deserted island in the Pacific, surrounded by the enemy, two very different men learn to rely on each other for survival. Mike is an uneducated rascal, one step ahead of prison and a court-martial. He's given one chance to redeem if he wants to stay out of jail, he has to keep Professor James Hamilton alive. No matter what.
James is everything Mike isn't--suave, educated, intellectual, and rich. He's also a conscientious objector and he's made a deal with the army--three months on the island breaking codes as long as he doesn't have to kill anyone.
Mike is Catholic, the son of immigrants, and has never acted on his desires. James is Jewish, the son of Boston society, and experienced in love between men. During their hazardous stay on the island, they teach each other about life, friendship, and survival. With only them to say what's right and wrong, the men make a Mike must give himself to James for one day, submit to him completely, and James will allow Mike to take him whenever Mike wants to slake his sexual needs.
But once the war is over, can they keep the promises made on those hot Pacific nights and find one place both of them can call home?
Publisher's This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations some readers may find Anal play/intercourse, male/male sexual practices.
113 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2009
About the author
Lynn Lorenz
62 books314 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
(1)gay romance
I’m from New Orleans, that’s N’awlins for those of you who speak the language. I grew up in the Riverbend, or Carrollton, for the old timers, but was a Quarter rat from the age of 11, taking 3 buses to go to art class on Burgundy Street at the Cabrini Doll Museum and NORD center. I attended University of New Orleans and have a BA in Fine Art. My mother worked at Tulane University, six blocks from our house and when we were kids my brother and I parked cars in our driveway for the Saints games at Tulane Stadium. We could get six cars down the drive, two on the front lawn, and two on the street and we only charged $2 a car. We made enough to buy a coupla roast beef po’boys at Comeaux’s on Hickory St. and a snowball over at Williams Snow Ball Stand. We lived 1/2 a block from a cemetery, but doesn’t everyone in N’awlins? We used to watch jazz funerals from our front porch.
Now, my family lives in Katy, Texas. I have a “real” job, a truly supportive and understanding husband, two incredible kids, and a slightly neurotic dog. We used to have a guinea pig, but the dog killed it. Did I say slightly?
My son is 15 and has Asperger’s Syndrome (high functioning Autism) and Crohn’s Disease, and is a constant lesson in patience, acceptance and managing expectations. He’s super smart, loves video games, fencing, movies, building with legos, and hanging around the house. Like me, he believes that it’s all about him. Sometimes, I wonder if I don’t have Asperger’s, too. Oh, and he’s very handsome.
My daughter, 13, is so creative it’s scary- she loves to paint, draw manga and anima, build dioramas with any box she can get her hands on, create worlds with legos and then make movies with them, sculpt people, animals and objects with those little twist ties from the grocery store, does pottery, and wants to be a lifeguard. And she’s smart, too. And
beautiful, inside and out.
I write for a few hours in the evenings and on weekends as much as I can, without neglecting my family. (That laughter you hear is my husband) I attend a critique group, and do whatever the kids are into at the time.
(1)gay romance
I’m from New Orleans, that’s N’awlins for those of you who speak the language. I grew up in the Riverbend, or Carrollton, for the old timers, but was a Quarter rat from the age of 11, taking 3 buses to go to art class on Burgundy Street at the Cabrini Doll Museum and NORD center. I attended University of New Orleans and have a BA in Fine Art. My mother worked at Tulane University, six blocks from our house and when we were kids my brother and I parked cars in our driveway for the Saints games at Tulane Stadium. We could get six cars down the drive, two on the front lawn, and two on the street and we only charged $2 a car. We made enough to buy a coupla roast beef po’boys at Comeaux’s on Hickory St. and a snowball over at Williams Snow Ball Stand. We lived 1/2 a block from a cemetery, but doesn’t everyone in N’awlins? We used to watch jazz funerals from our front porch.
Now, my family lives in Katy, Texas. I have a “real” job, a truly supportive and understanding husband, two incredible kids, and a slightly neurotic dog. We used to have a guinea pig, but the dog killed it. Did I say slightly?
My son is 15 and has Asperger’s Syndrome (high functioning Autism) and Crohn’s Disease, and is a constant lesson in patience, acceptance and managing expectations. He’s super smart, loves video games, fencing, movies, building with legos, and hanging around the house. Like me, he believes that it’s all about him. Sometimes, I wonder if I don’t have Asperger’s, too. Oh, and he’s very handsome.
My daughter, 13, is so creative it’s scary- she loves to paint, draw manga and anima, build dioramas with any box she can get her hands on, create worlds with legos and then make movies with them, sculpt people, animals and objects with those little twist ties from the grocery store, does pottery, and wants to be a lifeguard. And she’s smart, too. And
beautiful, inside and out.
I write for a few hours in the evenings and on weekends as much as I can, without neglecting my family. (That laughter you hear is my husband) I attend a critique group, and do whatever the kids are into at the time.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 3, 2018
Two men on a deserted tropical island in the Pacific could lead to a hot and sultry tale of endless sunny days on the beach, tropical cocktails, and lots of naked fun. Not so in this story – Mike and James have a whole set of issues to deal with and their stay on a deserted island is anything but a vacation. The story is set in World War Two, the Japanese are a constant threat, and their mission of intercepting Japanese messages and decoding them is crucial to the American war effort. They are isolated, have only each other to rely on, and the sexual tension is as vehemently denied by Mike as it is real. With nowhere to go and no future even if they manage to figure out how to deal with their emerging feelings, a catastrophic ending is pretty much guaranteed.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.
March 7, 2013
Didn't love it, didn't hate it......the synopsis held so much promise and in the end it just fell short! I really wanted to like the story, I just couldn't connect with the characters or the story for the most part. It needed more development all the way around in my opinion.
July 16, 2022
I’m digging Lorenz’s books
Second Lynn Lorenz book and I’m really getting into her as an author. Period romances (gay or straight) are not usually my cuppa, but this one was good. You’ll have to suspend disbelief a bit (possibly closeted straight soldier swings wide out for closeted gay professor in short amount of time), but it held my attention, wasn’t overly long OR angsty, and had plenty of steam to keep me sweating.
Second Lynn Lorenz book and I’m really getting into her as an author. Period romances (gay or straight) are not usually my cuppa, but this one was good. You’ll have to suspend disbelief a bit (possibly closeted straight soldier swings wide out for closeted gay professor in short amount of time), but it held my attention, wasn’t overly long OR angsty, and had plenty of steam to keep me sweating.
August 18, 2009
An interesting but mostly fantasy story about two men stuck on a deserted island and naturally fall in love with each other. Not terribly original but readable without a lot of problems. The story is mostly a fantasy though as the action takes place almost entirely on the island with a thrown on happy ending but no ties in to the real world or even potential problems with being in a homosexual relationship in the 1940s. The characterization was decent and the story line moved swiftly leaving this as a really fast read without much thought needed. If you’re looking for a quick, easy story to immerse yourself in without too much depth, this may fill your needs.
The extended blurb gives a good summary of the plot, which includes half of the book as sexual buildup before Mike can’t take it anymore and needs to have sex, thus giving into James and cementing their relationship. The next half of the book focuses on their various sex acts with a final action scene and tacked on happy ending. The ending almost make it seem as though the two will live happily on a deserted island for the rest of their lives but that can’t possibly be true so it certainly is a romantic story meant for entertainment. Nothing at all wrong with that and this story is like I said, readable and quick so as an afternoon read it’s not bad.
The story is told from Mike’s perspective so you only know James through Mike’s admittedly skewed interpretation. Due to this Mike’s motivations are much more understood than James and James’ emotional connection to Mike seems fast and without much depth or reasoning. James accepts his sexuality and lifestyle easily and gives the impression it’s not a problem for his family and social circle, so again some of the reasons offered for actions don’t entirely make sense. Especially show when James shows Mike the various delights of sex with another man, which has the aggressive and dominant Mike in an unusually submissive position that reads awkward for both men involved.
Mike is clearly an aggressive character harboring insecurity over his upbringing, intelligence, and position both socially and in the military. He resents authority and views James as such for most of the book, yet is willing to have sex with the other man simply to meet his needs. However, the author offers teasing tidbits of past attractions to other men to show that Mike is simply in the closet about his sexuality and thus why he falls for James so fast despite his religion and upbringing. This is becoming a common and almost overused device that increasingly reads false within characters, even as the occurrence is no doubt realistic. So for me, the character of Mike was not entirely successful in showing why he suddenly was accepting a change in sexuality.
Overall, this was a fast read so I certainly didn’t hate the book and it was about average of the stories offered in the field. Not horrible, not stellar. If you’re looking for a fantasy like story that is heavy on the romance of the characters and less on the actual time period, you may enjoy this offering.
The extended blurb gives a good summary of the plot, which includes half of the book as sexual buildup before Mike can’t take it anymore and needs to have sex, thus giving into James and cementing their relationship. The next half of the book focuses on their various sex acts with a final action scene and tacked on happy ending. The ending almost make it seem as though the two will live happily on a deserted island for the rest of their lives but that can’t possibly be true so it certainly is a romantic story meant for entertainment. Nothing at all wrong with that and this story is like I said, readable and quick so as an afternoon read it’s not bad.
The story is told from Mike’s perspective so you only know James through Mike’s admittedly skewed interpretation. Due to this Mike’s motivations are much more understood than James and James’ emotional connection to Mike seems fast and without much depth or reasoning. James accepts his sexuality and lifestyle easily and gives the impression it’s not a problem for his family and social circle, so again some of the reasons offered for actions don’t entirely make sense. Especially show when James shows Mike the various delights of sex with another man, which has the aggressive and dominant Mike in an unusually submissive position that reads awkward for both men involved.
Mike is clearly an aggressive character harboring insecurity over his upbringing, intelligence, and position both socially and in the military. He resents authority and views James as such for most of the book, yet is willing to have sex with the other man simply to meet his needs. However, the author offers teasing tidbits of past attractions to other men to show that Mike is simply in the closet about his sexuality and thus why he falls for James so fast despite his religion and upbringing. This is becoming a common and almost overused device that increasingly reads false within characters, even as the occurrence is no doubt realistic. So for me, the character of Mike was not entirely successful in showing why he suddenly was accepting a change in sexuality.
Overall, this was a fast read so I certainly didn’t hate the book and it was about average of the stories offered in the field. Not horrible, not stellar. If you’re looking for a fantasy like story that is heavy on the romance of the characters and less on the actual time period, you may enjoy this offering.
Read
July 2, 2009The starting point of this novella reminded me an old Italian movie "Swept Away... by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August" which was remade by Madonna in recent times, but I had in mind the old version. Two men, from different upbringing and education are brought together in a Pacific Island during WWII; their only purpose is to watch for Japanese movement in the sky and on the sea, and to tap into their signal.
Mike Dabrowski, low-class sergeant of Polish origin, is conscript for the mission to avoid the carcer: he was caught in the act doing an illicit cigars black market; actually it was not a so bad crime, and I believe that this only gave to his superior the right excuse to force him to an unusual mission like the one to babysit a snotty professor for three months. Mike is not the classical hero, strong and essential, he is more a good for the moment hero, one that do the best he could day after day, without planning the future. It's not even since he doesn't believe to have a future, it's more that he has never thought so far. Mike is not a bad man, but truth be told he doesn't excel in the mind compartment. Anyway he has some preconceptions on love and what is right and what is wrong, mainly due to his catholic upbringing, but he is also ready to let them apart when presented with the chance to taste the forbidden fruit, sex with a man. Mike is not even new to have feelings for a man, when he stops to think about it, he reminds his strong youth friendship with a guy who resembles a bit his professor.
James Hamilton is a Jewish mathematician who unlucky him knows the Japanese language, and since he is also a conscientious objector, he is offered with a chance to avoid the military service: doing his time in a Pacific Island translating Japanese codes. Actually of James we don't know so much, Mike starts from the beginning insinuating about his sexual preferences, but James does nothing to back that idea. He feigned no interest whatsoever for Mike, letting the man boil in his broth till the moment he is him to make the first move; at that point, James unveils to be the cleverer of the two, and obtains the things how he like them... Mike is quite played around, and I don't believe he realizes it. But all in all it's Mike's character that shine, and James remains a bit undertone, we don't really know for sure his reasons and dreams.
Putting the two men in a desert island easier a bit the author who can avoid almost all the implications of an homosexual relationship in the '40, if not for the ending that, truth be told, let me a bit perplexed... I wouldn't mind to see the two deal with the society. But I believe this is not the purpose of this novella, above all since the length of the book doesn't allow it.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IPZCGM/?...
Mike Dabrowski, low-class sergeant of Polish origin, is conscript for the mission to avoid the carcer: he was caught in the act doing an illicit cigars black market; actually it was not a so bad crime, and I believe that this only gave to his superior the right excuse to force him to an unusual mission like the one to babysit a snotty professor for three months. Mike is not the classical hero, strong and essential, he is more a good for the moment hero, one that do the best he could day after day, without planning the future. It's not even since he doesn't believe to have a future, it's more that he has never thought so far. Mike is not a bad man, but truth be told he doesn't excel in the mind compartment. Anyway he has some preconceptions on love and what is right and what is wrong, mainly due to his catholic upbringing, but he is also ready to let them apart when presented with the chance to taste the forbidden fruit, sex with a man. Mike is not even new to have feelings for a man, when he stops to think about it, he reminds his strong youth friendship with a guy who resembles a bit his professor.
James Hamilton is a Jewish mathematician who unlucky him knows the Japanese language, and since he is also a conscientious objector, he is offered with a chance to avoid the military service: doing his time in a Pacific Island translating Japanese codes. Actually of James we don't know so much, Mike starts from the beginning insinuating about his sexual preferences, but James does nothing to back that idea. He feigned no interest whatsoever for Mike, letting the man boil in his broth till the moment he is him to make the first move; at that point, James unveils to be the cleverer of the two, and obtains the things how he like them... Mike is quite played around, and I don't believe he realizes it. But all in all it's Mike's character that shine, and James remains a bit undertone, we don't really know for sure his reasons and dreams.
Putting the two men in a desert island easier a bit the author who can avoid almost all the implications of an homosexual relationship in the '40, if not for the ending that, truth be told, let me a bit perplexed... I wouldn't mind to see the two deal with the society. But I believe this is not the purpose of this novella, above all since the length of the book doesn't allow it.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002IPZCGM/?...
March 13, 2024
An intriguing WWII period piece, with interesting characters and some truly steamy sex, but there's far too much telling and not nearly enough showing.
January 1, 2011
Two men, an island during WWII. I love WWII books. Good story.
June 15, 2013
3.5 stars
April 29, 2015
I loved this story.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews