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Idaho Pride
After an attempt to diffuse an explosive situation, Lee Hunter and Jeremy Sheridan end up taking the heat for the conflict and become friends. While researching a tragic local story for Jeremy's magazine, Idaho Pride, Lee agrees to mentor Luis, a troubled young intern. But Jeremy has a problem of his own: a jealous ex-lover who threatens not only Jeremy and Lee's new romance, but also the fledgling family they're trying to create.
Approx. 27,000 words.
Approx. 27,000 words.
108 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2007
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173 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
May 20, 2010
Idaho Pride peaked my interest after Val gave it such a strong positive review. The novella lives up to its hype as a good, solid story with interesting characters and a strong plot driven story. Yet the characterization is not sacrificed for this and the end result is a very appealing, engrossing, and well written story.
There is much more going on in the story than the brief blurb mentions. Lee and Jeremy seem like total opposites when they meet during a fight between their friends. Their mutual desire to keep everyone out of trouble lands them working together on weekends and they become friends. Magazine publisher Jeremy talks sports writer Lee into mentoring a troubled teen, Luis and this brings up a host of conflicts. From teen suicide to gay bashing, sex with minors, closeted orientation, and a small side plot about Jeremy’s ex, there is a lot that happens to these characters but in an understated, quiet manner.
The plot is driven by these various elements and they all work well. The characters and situations feel natural and easy without any forced manipulation. There are no real stumbles or distractions even with the number of things that happen. Lee’s mentoring of Luis is very vivid and interesting depicting Luis’ struggle with his sexuality, maturity, and trying to make a life for himself as an emancipated sixteen year old. Luis is such an interesting character he really deserves his own book. Additionally the small subplots with a local athlete and the police chief are interesting and add to the dimension and depth of the plot and various characters.
While the plot works well, I also don’t think all the issues thrown in are necessary. Jeremy’s ex is such a small part of the story and adds almost nothing. It seems to be added to increase the tension between Jeremy and Lee, prolonging their happy ending, but the story would have been almost exactly the same without the added ex. The undemanding pace helps but the great characters and well described setting to maintain reader interest throughout the quick novella.
The characters are well defined with Lee and Luis really stealing the show. Lee is a very likable guy with his sports obsessed, guy’s guy mentality. He doesn’t want to be called gay because he doesn’t like labels and fears the overly effeminate association with the title, which makes him falling for the quietly but obviously out Jeremy a fun twist. I like the character of Jeremy but he comes across a little too perfect and plastic. He wears a lot of pastel colors, has rose curtains, is movie star handsome, incredibly intelligent, and clearly too good for Idaho. His involvement is really peripheral, although his affection and cute factor with Lee is pretty high. I liked reading the two together whether they were just cuddling or having some pretty hot sex.
Overall this is a very enjoyable lighter read, even though it tackles some heavier subjects. The quick pace, good prose, and well-written story deliver an engaging and interesting novella. This is definitely one I’d recommend and hope that Luis gets his own story in the future.
There is much more going on in the story than the brief blurb mentions. Lee and Jeremy seem like total opposites when they meet during a fight between their friends. Their mutual desire to keep everyone out of trouble lands them working together on weekends and they become friends. Magazine publisher Jeremy talks sports writer Lee into mentoring a troubled teen, Luis and this brings up a host of conflicts. From teen suicide to gay bashing, sex with minors, closeted orientation, and a small side plot about Jeremy’s ex, there is a lot that happens to these characters but in an understated, quiet manner.
The plot is driven by these various elements and they all work well. The characters and situations feel natural and easy without any forced manipulation. There are no real stumbles or distractions even with the number of things that happen. Lee’s mentoring of Luis is very vivid and interesting depicting Luis’ struggle with his sexuality, maturity, and trying to make a life for himself as an emancipated sixteen year old. Luis is such an interesting character he really deserves his own book. Additionally the small subplots with a local athlete and the police chief are interesting and add to the dimension and depth of the plot and various characters.
While the plot works well, I also don’t think all the issues thrown in are necessary. Jeremy’s ex is such a small part of the story and adds almost nothing. It seems to be added to increase the tension between Jeremy and Lee, prolonging their happy ending, but the story would have been almost exactly the same without the added ex. The undemanding pace helps but the great characters and well described setting to maintain reader interest throughout the quick novella.
The characters are well defined with Lee and Luis really stealing the show. Lee is a very likable guy with his sports obsessed, guy’s guy mentality. He doesn’t want to be called gay because he doesn’t like labels and fears the overly effeminate association with the title, which makes him falling for the quietly but obviously out Jeremy a fun twist. I like the character of Jeremy but he comes across a little too perfect and plastic. He wears a lot of pastel colors, has rose curtains, is movie star handsome, incredibly intelligent, and clearly too good for Idaho. His involvement is really peripheral, although his affection and cute factor with Lee is pretty high. I liked reading the two together whether they were just cuddling or having some pretty hot sex.
Overall this is a very enjoyable lighter read, even though it tackles some heavier subjects. The quick pace, good prose, and well-written story deliver an engaging and interesting novella. This is definitely one I’d recommend and hope that Luis gets his own story in the future.
August 18, 2024
I'm impressed by Sarah Black's novellas: they're well-written, with more-than-decent characterisations, and they don't pretend that their (generally HFN) endings are easy ones. Her MCs make compromises that hurt them, but their rewards are love, and a slightly more hopeful future.
April 11, 2011
I read this a little while back but I had to give the story time to percolate.
Lee and Jeremy meet when Lee's hockey buddies start antagonizing a group of young gay men in a bistro. Jeremy is the creator of a new magazine that all of the young men write for. A fight breaks out between the two groups. Because they know the police are on their way, Lee tells his group to make a break for it and Jeremy tells his group to get out of there.
Lee and Jeremy end up doing community service together and so begins the romance. In the course of this romance, Lee agrees to mentor a young man who works on Jeremy's magazine by the name of Luis. And so begins the creation of a family.
Sarah Black has an interesting writing style, at least where this book is concerned. It's not flowery. It's pretty bare bones and a little abrupt. It works though because even though it's abrupt doesn't have a stacatto feel to it.
I liked Lee as a character. Lee doesn't like to say he's gay because he hates labels. He'll tell people he likes to sleep with men but won't say that he's gay. This made me wonder a couple of times if there was a bit of denial there. As the book goes on I realized it wasn't denial. It was just how Lee was. To me, that proved Sarah Black has alot of talent where character development is concerned. She doesn't write an info-dump on the way Lee's brain works. She lets the reader come to that realization on their own through Lee's words and actions.
Jeremy was a little less developed and kind of gets pushed into the background. Lee is such a strong character that I needed a little more from Jeremy. Jeremy also seems a bit faded when put next to the character of Luis, the teenager being mentored by Lee. Luis was an amazingly sympathetic character but still came off as a strong individual who has somehow managed to keep from being beaten down by his circumstances.
Now, the reason I needed to let the story marinate was because of the end of the book. It was so jarring that I wasn't sure it fit the tone of the rest of the story. The end of this book pretty much sucker punched me in the face. I've decided that it was a plus and not a negative. Because I was caught by surprise it magnified the enormity of a situation that should have been a huge shock.
This book has some very serious issues in it and at the end my heart hurt a little for a couple of the characters. This book was good stuff. Very good stuff.
Lee and Jeremy meet when Lee's hockey buddies start antagonizing a group of young gay men in a bistro. Jeremy is the creator of a new magazine that all of the young men write for. A fight breaks out between the two groups. Because they know the police are on their way, Lee tells his group to make a break for it and Jeremy tells his group to get out of there.
Lee and Jeremy end up doing community service together and so begins the romance. In the course of this romance, Lee agrees to mentor a young man who works on Jeremy's magazine by the name of Luis. And so begins the creation of a family.
Sarah Black has an interesting writing style, at least where this book is concerned. It's not flowery. It's pretty bare bones and a little abrupt. It works though because even though it's abrupt doesn't have a stacatto feel to it.
I liked Lee as a character. Lee doesn't like to say he's gay because he hates labels. He'll tell people he likes to sleep with men but won't say that he's gay. This made me wonder a couple of times if there was a bit of denial there. As the book goes on I realized it wasn't denial. It was just how Lee was. To me, that proved Sarah Black has alot of talent where character development is concerned. She doesn't write an info-dump on the way Lee's brain works. She lets the reader come to that realization on their own through Lee's words and actions.
Jeremy was a little less developed and kind of gets pushed into the background. Lee is such a strong character that I needed a little more from Jeremy. Jeremy also seems a bit faded when put next to the character of Luis, the teenager being mentored by Lee. Luis was an amazingly sympathetic character but still came off as a strong individual who has somehow managed to keep from being beaten down by his circumstances.
Now, the reason I needed to let the story marinate was because of the end of the book. It was so jarring that I wasn't sure it fit the tone of the rest of the story. The end of this book pretty much sucker punched me in the face. I've decided that it was a plus and not a negative. Because I was caught by surprise it magnified the enormity of a situation that should have been a huge shock.
This book has some very serious issues in it and at the end my heart hurt a little for a couple of the characters. This book was good stuff. Very good stuff.
August 30, 2011
Sweet, short read, that somehow took me over 24 hours to complete. A lot of heavy topics discussed in this one: gay labels, closets, and teen suicide. I probably could have loved it if it would have been longer. The characters were great but the story was just too short for them to be well developed and explored.
Anyway, its still a good story.
Anyway, its still a good story.
November 18, 2011
Lee is NOT gay. He doesn't care for labels. If he should be labelled, he chooses the label to be "a sport writer". He admit honestly and openly that he sleeps with men, but he refuses to let that fact to define who he is. Jeremy, on the other hand, is out and proud. He used to be an activist back in San Francisco, helping gay and lesbian teens, and had a ten-years relationship with a politician.
It takes awhile for me to get into the story -- trying to figure out what journey will Ms. Black take me this time. At first I think it will be about Lee and Jeremy, and how Lee, who claims that falling in love is not for him (he doesn't care for relationship and all drama that follows) will change his mind.
Until Luis.
This gay teenager, whom Lee is taken under his wing as a writer changes the whole story for me. Suddenly Jeremy fades away, and it's Luis that moves into the spotlight. For me, it is his relationship with Luis that makes Lee also thinks about who he is. When Luis asks Lee ...
“No, I want to know if you’re one of us. Or one of them. When it comes time to choose sides, are you gonna be with us, or you gonna walk away? Pretend you don’t know what’s going on? You don’t see nothing? You gonna just walk away and let it happen?”
I think that is the turning point ... imbued with his new-found feeling for Jeremy. It's a powerful question, isn't it?
The issue with gay-youth suicide is powerful, and I admit it makes me cry. Usually, I reserve the perfect 5-stars for that kind of story. Unfortunately, I also think the story is a bit imbalanced. IF, the issue with Luis is placed forward from the beginning and Jeremy has stronger presence, I might call this perfect. But the switch from Jeremy to Luis as that hook for Lee to evaluate how he views his life, makes the last half one better than the first ... thus, a bit imbalanced.
Still, I love that line before the final sentence ... “Stay with me. I think you might be the love of my life.”. BEAUTIFUL. I just love how Ms. Black closes her stories *sigh*
It takes awhile for me to get into the story -- trying to figure out what journey will Ms. Black take me this time. At first I think it will be about Lee and Jeremy, and how Lee, who claims that falling in love is not for him (he doesn't care for relationship and all drama that follows) will change his mind.
Until Luis.
This gay teenager, whom Lee is taken under his wing as a writer changes the whole story for me. Suddenly Jeremy fades away, and it's Luis that moves into the spotlight. For me, it is his relationship with Luis that makes Lee also thinks about who he is. When Luis asks Lee ...
“No, I want to know if you’re one of us. Or one of them. When it comes time to choose sides, are you gonna be with us, or you gonna walk away? Pretend you don’t know what’s going on? You don’t see nothing? You gonna just walk away and let it happen?”
I think that is the turning point ... imbued with his new-found feeling for Jeremy. It's a powerful question, isn't it?
The issue with gay-youth suicide is powerful, and I admit it makes me cry. Usually, I reserve the perfect 5-stars for that kind of story. Unfortunately, I also think the story is a bit imbalanced. IF, the issue with Luis is placed forward from the beginning and Jeremy has stronger presence, I might call this perfect. But the switch from Jeremy to Luis as that hook for Lee to evaluate how he views his life, makes the last half one better than the first ... thus, a bit imbalanced.
Still, I love that line before the final sentence ... “Stay with me. I think you might be the love of my life.”. BEAUTIFUL. I just love how Ms. Black closes her stories *sigh*
May 20, 2012
Truthfully, this is more like a 2 for me. I can appreciate the tough subject matter though so I bumped it up another star. My problem with this was the random writing. I never felt like any of it fit with the characters presented. One moment its sports talk, and Lee is not gay. Next thing you know he's describing porcelain skin, spun silk hair, melting chocolate body, pineapple pits, and ocean, salty cock. I mean where in the hell did any of that come from? Secondly, I'm supposed to just believe in the romance of Lee and Jeremy, but I never really saw any reason to. I never saw moments with them together to believe that a relationship for them made sense. It was all rose-colored couches, fruit salad ass grabs, beautiful men wearing aprons and baking cookies. This book was just completely all over the place that I never knew what to make of it. For me, the author tried to fit way too many issues in 100 or so pages that none of them got the words and time that they deserved. Also, the thing with Luis really bothered me how it was written. I can't say I liked this book at all. It almost felt like 3 different authors wrote this or else the author wrote sections in completely different points in her life.
I'm tempted to read the sequel just to see if it gets better, but frankly I have no desire to right now.
I'm tempted to read the sequel just to see if it gets better, but frankly I have no desire to right now.
April 16, 2013
This story is about the journey Lee Hunter takes over a short period in his life. He begins the story as a sports-writer who sleeps with men but has no interest in romance and dislikes the label "gay." Then he meets Jeremy, who is trying to mentor a group of young gay men by publishing a newspaper - the Idaho Pride. Some of Lee's athlete friends are less than sympathetic, and some of Jeremy's young guys are hot-headed too. In trying to smooth the waters between the groups, Lee finds himself thrown together with Jeremy, and begins to see the appeal and the strength in a man and a community that is out and proud.
Add in one of Jeremy's young guys, Luis, thrown out of his home and trying hard to make it on his own, and Lee has to finally step up and commit himself to ideals and people, beyond just where he likes to get his sex.
This was sweet and touched fairly well, if a bit lightly, on some heavy issues including abuse. Because they were secondary to the MCs, that superficial touch worked all right. I did appreciate that Lee couldn't just march out and save the day for everyone, and in fact had to learn to cope with events as they happened.
I think, had this book been about 1/3 longer, it would have been five stars. I liked so much about it, but felt that everything rushed along to the resolution. I wish there had been more time for both the relationship and for some of the darker and more difficult undercurrents. I also had a few moments of confusion at the beginning - if you go in knowing that the whole story is only told from Lee's 3rd person POV, never Jeremy's, that may be avoided. A nice story with a sweet romance, and a smooth, realistic writing style.
Add in one of Jeremy's young guys, Luis, thrown out of his home and trying hard to make it on his own, and Lee has to finally step up and commit himself to ideals and people, beyond just where he likes to get his sex.
This was sweet and touched fairly well, if a bit lightly, on some heavy issues including abuse. Because they were secondary to the MCs, that superficial touch worked all right. I did appreciate that Lee couldn't just march out and save the day for everyone, and in fact had to learn to cope with events as they happened.
I think, had this book been about 1/3 longer, it would have been five stars. I liked so much about it, but felt that everything rushed along to the resolution. I wish there had been more time for both the relationship and for some of the darker and more difficult undercurrents. I also had a few moments of confusion at the beginning - if you go in knowing that the whole story is only told from Lee's 3rd person POV, never Jeremy's, that may be avoided. A nice story with a sweet romance, and a smooth, realistic writing style.
June 27, 2010
Very good m/m romance about a sports writer who ends up in an altercation between some hockey players and staff members of the Idaho Pride newspaper - an altercation that changes the lives of many of the guys involved.
February 23, 2011
I really liked this one. The words flowed easily and while it was a fast-paced read and never felt rushed.
I loved the characters. Jeremy was sweet and easy to fall in love with. He had determination and a desire to help the kids struggling with their identity and where they fit in the world. I found Lee's aversion to labels pretty funny. He denied that he was gay but easily announced that he was attracted to, and slept with, men. He said he'd never fall in love but then after a few days, he couldn't sleep without his cuddly bear, Jeremy.
I liked the plot. It was rather refreshing to see an author address the topic of teen suicides. I especially liked how it didn't just focus on the teenager but also the after effects it had for the dad who happens to be Captain McClain. And I loved the fact that we see it happening in Luis, a sixteen year old intern for Idaho Pride, the magazine Jeremy created. Luis gave the book a sweeter taste because of how he affects not only Lee but Jeremy and Captain McClain, too, and how all three of them help Luis makes it even more sweeter.
I felt bad for the bad guy, Alfarr. I mean, in some ways, he was just as confused as those teenagers. He was in his thirties, a famous hockey player and just couldn't accept his attraction to men unless he was drunk. Of course, a majority of my sympathy for him went out the window with what he did to Luis (who's a minor!) and how he used and abused him. But I still felt a little sorry for Alfarr because he had the same dilemma as those teenagers did. :-(
The only little niggle I had was with some of the reactions Jeremy and Lee have. I mean, the characters are well described and have enough of a background to connect to but there were little things they each did that made me think there was more to their story then meets the eye. Like flinches or winces and a time or two when one of them would stiffen without ever being explained why they did such things. Still, it wasn't so bad that it bothered me enough to take away how much I enjoyed the story.
All in all, this was a great book. I loved Lee and Jeremy and Luis and Captain McClain. Jeremy and Lee's story felt as if it were just being, though, so I hope one day we get a sequel to see how their lives are coping with Luis as a type of 'son'. Definitely recommended! :D
I loved the characters. Jeremy was sweet and easy to fall in love with. He had determination and a desire to help the kids struggling with their identity and where they fit in the world. I found Lee's aversion to labels pretty funny. He denied that he was gay but easily announced that he was attracted to, and slept with, men. He said he'd never fall in love but then after a few days, he couldn't sleep without his cuddly bear, Jeremy.
I liked the plot. It was rather refreshing to see an author address the topic of teen suicides. I especially liked how it didn't just focus on the teenager but also the after effects it had for the dad who happens to be Captain McClain. And I loved the fact that we see it happening in Luis, a sixteen year old intern for Idaho Pride, the magazine Jeremy created. Luis gave the book a sweeter taste because of how he affects not only Lee but Jeremy and Captain McClain, too, and how all three of them help Luis makes it even more sweeter.
I felt bad for the bad guy, Alfarr. I mean, in some ways, he was just as confused as those teenagers. He was in his thirties, a famous hockey player and just couldn't accept his attraction to men unless he was drunk. Of course, a majority of my sympathy for him went out the window with what he did to Luis (who's a minor!) and how he used and abused him. But I still felt a little sorry for Alfarr because he had the same dilemma as those teenagers did. :-(
The only little niggle I had was with some of the reactions Jeremy and Lee have. I mean, the characters are well described and have enough of a background to connect to but there were little things they each did that made me think there was more to their story then meets the eye. Like flinches or winces and a time or two when one of them would stiffen without ever being explained why they did such things. Still, it wasn't so bad that it bothered me enough to take away how much I enjoyed the story.
All in all, this was a great book. I loved Lee and Jeremy and Luis and Captain McClain. Jeremy and Lee's story felt as if it were just being, though, so I hope one day we get a sequel to see how their lives are coping with Luis as a type of 'son'. Definitely recommended! :D
May 8, 2010
I am very excited to have Sarah Black back to write m/m romance, one of the finest writers I've read. And what a joy to read this short story. The writing is sharp and the story flows easily.
I don't think the book's blurb does the story justice. Idaho Pride is a story that deals with some heavy issues, such as gay teenage suicide, homophobia etc, but it does it in a humane, sincere and delightful way. Lee is a sports writer who hangs out with local hockey players, he sleeps with men but doesn't buy into the whole gay style, he hates labels, period. When Lee meets Jeremy, an gay-right activist who publishes the town's first gay magazine, Idaho Pride, he wants to get into jeremy's pants - but he can tell Jeremy is the "good girl" type, he does relationships, not casual sex. But apparently, the attraction is mutual, and slowly Lee realises - he might just be able to do the "relationship" thing. So while Lee and jeremy build their tentative relationship, there are subplots of clashes between interns for the magazine and Lee's "jock" friends, Jeremy's powerful ex still casts a shadow over them. And a police captain with a big regret of his life...
Idaho Pride is great read because both of the main protagonists really come alive and there are distinct voices from both of them. Lee is an easy-going guy, he's a self-proclaimed "jock" but we can see his gentle side when he looks after a homeless intern, Luis and how he is gradually influenced by Jeremy's gay-right thinking. Jeremy is the sweetest guy, he's idealistic and understanding, just about the most gentle soul one can meet - no wonder even the "I don't do relationship" Lee couldn't resist falling in love with him.
Two really outstanding characters and a really beautiful story.
I don't think the book's blurb does the story justice. Idaho Pride is a story that deals with some heavy issues, such as gay teenage suicide, homophobia etc, but it does it in a humane, sincere and delightful way. Lee is a sports writer who hangs out with local hockey players, he sleeps with men but doesn't buy into the whole gay style, he hates labels, period. When Lee meets Jeremy, an gay-right activist who publishes the town's first gay magazine, Idaho Pride, he wants to get into jeremy's pants - but he can tell Jeremy is the "good girl" type, he does relationships, not casual sex. But apparently, the attraction is mutual, and slowly Lee realises - he might just be able to do the "relationship" thing. So while Lee and jeremy build their tentative relationship, there are subplots of clashes between interns for the magazine and Lee's "jock" friends, Jeremy's powerful ex still casts a shadow over them. And a police captain with a big regret of his life...
Idaho Pride is great read because both of the main protagonists really come alive and there are distinct voices from both of them. Lee is an easy-going guy, he's a self-proclaimed "jock" but we can see his gentle side when he looks after a homeless intern, Luis and how he is gradually influenced by Jeremy's gay-right thinking. Jeremy is the sweetest guy, he's idealistic and understanding, just about the most gentle soul one can meet - no wonder even the "I don't do relationship" Lee couldn't resist falling in love with him.
Two really outstanding characters and a really beautiful story.
February 10, 2017
This was an ok read. Sportswriter Lee is hanging out with local hockey team the Idaho Steelheads at a restaurant when a small group of interns from a magazine arrive. When the Steelheads realize what kind of magazine Idaho Pride is one of them mouths off. The resulting confrontation escalates, despite the efforts of Lee and the magazine's publisher Jeremy. Lee and Jeremy are the end up in jail and then ordered to do community service. Jeremy who is out and proud is dealing with a painful breakup is a bit shy although he is attracted to Lee. Lee is also struggling with his attraction to Jeremy. This book read like a feel good story too me there was no heat that I was looking for. This was my first time reading this author. While this book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling. I am looking forward to reading more from this author.
January 7, 2014
4.5 stars
Such effortless writing. This story has a fly-on-the-wall feel that makes me think of Friday Night Lights. (BEST tv show, ever -Damn, just realised that Coach Taylor could be right out of a Sarah Black story!) Idaho Pride has the same distilled, pared down... totally natural feel to it. The reader must fill in some of the quiet spaces themselves, make the connections and think about what the story is trying to say. I loved that about it.
Effortless writing. Wonderful characters, especially Lee. Great dialogue.
Highly recommended.
ETA- Just lost almost an hour looking at FNL clips on Youtube.... I miss those guys :(
Such effortless writing. This story has a fly-on-the-wall feel that makes me think of Friday Night Lights. (BEST tv show, ever -Damn, just realised that Coach Taylor could be right out of a Sarah Black story!) Idaho Pride has the same distilled, pared down... totally natural feel to it. The reader must fill in some of the quiet spaces themselves, make the connections and think about what the story is trying to say. I loved that about it.
Effortless writing. Wonderful characters, especially Lee. Great dialogue.
Highly recommended.
ETA- Just lost almost an hour looking at FNL clips on Youtube.... I miss those guys :(
July 7, 2011
I really liked this story. Very authentic voices for the characters and great dialogue. A lot of action in a short book - very concise and well written. Didn't feel like there was any fluff or filler. I can't wait to read more work from this author.
July 5, 2011
4.5 stars
Loved it!
Loved it!
June 30, 2011
3.5 stars.
I was struggling with rating this one. While I liked both characters as well as the story, there was just too little detail for me. The relationship ended up being much more serious than I got the impression during the story, and while their interactions were wonderful and often funny, there wasn't enough of them to make the couple seem more in love with each other.
The story itself is surprisingly deep and I loved the subject it revolved around. I also missed a lot of detail when it came to that and I feel the word count could have easily been double. But, the story is why I'm giving it 4 instead of 3 stars. It is a book people should read.
I was struggling with rating this one. While I liked both characters as well as the story, there was just too little detail for me. The relationship ended up being much more serious than I got the impression during the story, and while their interactions were wonderful and often funny, there wasn't enough of them to make the couple seem more in love with each other.
The story itself is surprisingly deep and I loved the subject it revolved around. I also missed a lot of detail when it came to that and I feel the word count could have easily been double. But, the story is why I'm giving it 4 instead of 3 stars. It is a book people should read.
January 18, 2011
Nothing aggravates me more than feeling like I'm having an opinion shoved down my throat or like I'm being lectured in whatever fiction it is I happen to be reading. That being said, I enjoyed how Ms. Black tackled many realistic issues surrounding gay youth and men and interwove them in this beautifully written novella very effectively bringing them to light without slapping you in the face with them.
October 26, 2011
Good story with a nice writing style that I found enjoyable. I liked the nice and easy pacing of the romance between Lee and Jeremy plus the interesting side characters like the troubled young man, Luis. There was a lot packed into such a short story and not all of it got to be explored as fully as you'd want. Even though everything is neatly wrapped up by the end, it needed more story to get to that place. I'm surprised that a sequel was never done for this.
September 1, 2011
This was a short, wonderful read! Lee and Jeremy we very cute together. Even though this book was about some hard, sad events, it was written in a way that the most important aspect was love. I'm so glad that Luis was able to find a family with Lee and Jeremy. This story was moving and heartwarming.
4.5 Stars
4.5 Stars
July 17, 2010
I can't really put my finger on why I didn't like this one more than I did. I guess I just didn't connect with the characters as a couple very well, although I liked them both individually.
April 14, 2018
2.5 Stars
February 9, 2022
If you like MLM books this one's for for you. Pretty trashy in a good way.
December 15, 2024
Very good, as usual.
Trigger warning for suicide. (not the MCs). It was not a good time for me to read this.
Trigger warning for suicide. (not the MCs). It was not a good time for me to read this.
March 8, 2017
I actually enjoyed this one. It was short and a kind of insta love but I like how the pieces all fit. Jeremy did fall for Lee fast after claiming to still be in love with ex.
February 8, 2017
2.8 Stars
Good-ish until the end. Going after someone with a shotgun, really? Violence as the answer to violence? No. Also, I feel like Alfarr was just some asshole-prop for all the bad things; super one-dimensional...even with the attempt to make his issues a result of him probably being some self-loathing homophobe.
And while I appreciate the MCs holding off on the heavy sex, combining it with the instalove trope just wasn't all that believable. I could easily understand why anyone, hell everyone would want to be with Jeremy...but I just didn't see the attraction for Lee. Sorry, skating through a shallow life until finally offering to help mentor a kid and offering them your couch simply aren't enough reasons to fall head over heels with someone - unless it's also because he's the hot jock-type. *eyeroll*
I do have to say that while I liked Lee's consternation at being labeled, his reasoning also felt borderline homophobic. Denying the gay because he didn't want to be lumped in with the make-up wearing, fashion conscious & more feminine appearing men? 'Cause he's all manly and a jock and rawr-chest-thumpy! Again, not a personality trait worthy of being loved within the span of less than 10 days. He still felt like a "them" at the end of the book, despite his call to action in attacking Alfarr; he only did it because the guy hurt a child he'd sort of adopted...as in "family" - little 'f' - not "Family" (LGBTQIA+).
For such a short book, it sure did make an effort to cram in a lot of the typical drama found in this genre: child abuse, bullying, parental abandonment, suicide (x2), sexual assault...even the choice of the featured Olympian (Greg Louganis) felt like an attempt to make sure we got a mention of HIV, too.
(Gawd, the more I write the lower the rating drops...)
Good-ish until the end. Going after someone with a shotgun, really? Violence as the answer to violence? No. Also, I feel like Alfarr was just some asshole-prop for all the bad things; super one-dimensional...even with the attempt to make his issues a result of him probably being some self-loathing homophobe.
And while I appreciate the MCs holding off on the heavy sex, combining it with the instalove trope just wasn't all that believable. I could easily understand why anyone, hell everyone would want to be with Jeremy...but I just didn't see the attraction for Lee. Sorry, skating through a shallow life until finally offering to help mentor a kid and offering them your couch simply aren't enough reasons to fall head over heels with someone - unless it's also because he's the hot jock-type. *eyeroll*
I do have to say that while I liked Lee's consternation at being labeled, his reasoning also felt borderline homophobic. Denying the gay because he didn't want to be lumped in with the make-up wearing, fashion conscious & more feminine appearing men? 'Cause he's all manly and a jock and rawr-chest-thumpy! Again, not a personality trait worthy of being loved within the span of less than 10 days. He still felt like a "them" at the end of the book, despite his call to action in attacking Alfarr; he only did it because the guy hurt a child he'd sort of adopted...as in "family" - little 'f' - not "Family" (LGBTQIA+).
For such a short book, it sure did make an effort to cram in a lot of the typical drama found in this genre: child abuse, bullying, parental abandonment, suicide (x2), sexual assault...even the choice of the featured Olympian (Greg Louganis) felt like an attempt to make sure we got a mention of HIV, too.
(Gawd, the more I write the lower the rating drops...)
May 15, 2010
3.5 stars rounding down to 3.0 stars.
This novella read more like a short story to me. The writing was fine, sentence by sentence, but I felt the construction of the story was lacking. I never got comfortable with either character, and agree with other reviewers that Jeremy was the more difficult of the two to grasp.
The most interesting character for me was Luis, actually, the minor character in more ways than one, and it was his story that kept me reading. I also felt that the ending was rushed and presented without much support.
There were some interesting ideas contained in Idaho Pride. For me, the most intriguing was how Lee declined to be called "gay," saying among other things that he didn't like labels. This is a theme that could have been used to really enhance the story; I wanted to see it echoed through other threads of the tale, echoed thematically, and also explored more in a forthright manner. As it is, Lee seems to change awfully quickly, and seems to be more willing to embrace what being "gay" means even if the subject of the word as a label is never really brought up again.
If this plotline had been reduced by forty pages to a short story or enhanced by a hundred pages to a novel, I think the ideas contained in Idaho Pride would have been better served. Sorry to say that this story didn't work for me.
This novella read more like a short story to me. The writing was fine, sentence by sentence, but I felt the construction of the story was lacking. I never got comfortable with either character, and agree with other reviewers that Jeremy was the more difficult of the two to grasp.
The most interesting character for me was Luis, actually, the minor character in more ways than one, and it was his story that kept me reading. I also felt that the ending was rushed and presented without much support.
There were some interesting ideas contained in Idaho Pride. For me, the most intriguing was how Lee declined to be called "gay," saying among other things that he didn't like labels. This is a theme that could have been used to really enhance the story; I wanted to see it echoed through other threads of the tale, echoed thematically, and also explored more in a forthright manner. As it is, Lee seems to change awfully quickly, and seems to be more willing to embrace what being "gay" means even if the subject of the word as a label is never really brought up again.
If this plotline had been reduced by forty pages to a short story or enhanced by a hundred pages to a novel, I think the ideas contained in Idaho Pride would have been better served. Sorry to say that this story didn't work for me.
May 25, 2011
This book was an interesting contrast of ups and downs for me. I really enjoyed the storyline – it was refreshing and different. The length of the book was shortish in relation to doing justice to some of the story concepts. The style of writing was pleasant to read and descriptive. The character development was done well, but I really had an issue with Lee never being able to say he was gay. My biggest concern was with the ending. For someone who has taken in a gay minor and is supposed to be setting an example to go after someone else with a gun? What?? I don’t care that the someone else may have abused the minor, it just didn’t sit right. Additionally, the someone else ends up dead, having shot himself with Lee’s gun, and Lee never has any trouble over that? It felt way too simplified. Plus, big questions remain around Lee and Jeremy’s relationship in the future. So, while I generally liked this book, I definitely didn’t like a few aspects of it and settled on 3 stars for the rating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 5, 2015
Unexspected. Very unexspected. I bought this some time ago on a whim because it was on sale during a publishers marketing action. And to be true - I kind of forgot about it. But - what a sweet and curious little gem. Both MC's are very likable and especially Lee's interpretation of life and himself is not that often seen in this genre. And Jeremy is just adorable. Also there are so many remarkable side-characters, not at least to mention Luis. They all present very different sides and perspectives of life and connect the many small plotlines into an interesting whole picture. I found it astounding that this author was able to put so many different ideas and elements and storyline-snipets into such a short story and it still didn't feel overcrowded and without making it feel too rushed or cut off as it often happens towards the end of short novellas. This was just right!
February 8, 2017
So what if Lee goes from being a sports writer that sleeps with men to a sports writer that is falling in love with a gay man, having a gay "son" sleeping on his couch and writing an article for a gay magazine... So, what does that make him? A sports writer! *snort* LOL!!!
Well written story that tells a tale that will touch our hearts but still yet have us reading with a smile on our face... I am going to have to make time to read some more of Ms. Black's stories in the very near future! :D
Well written story that tells a tale that will touch our hearts but still yet have us reading with a smile on our face... I am going to have to make time to read some more of Ms. Black's stories in the very near future! :D
November 26, 2013
Lee is a sportswriter who believes he is not gay, he just likes to sleep with men, the more of a jock they are the better. Jeremy is publishing a new gay pride magazine and is mentoring a group of young gay interns. I really enjoyed this story, where Lee is attracted to Jeremy and discovers that there is more to sleeping with men than just sex.
While Lee is shown as a nice guy initially, he becomes protective towards Jeremy and the interns, and I liked him more and more as the story progressed. As others have said, the story would have been even better if it were longer, but there was plenty of character development and romance for the length it was.
While Lee is shown as a nice guy initially, he becomes protective towards Jeremy and the interns, and I liked him more and more as the story progressed. As others have said, the story would have been even better if it were longer, but there was plenty of character development and romance for the length it was.
January 26, 2013
This is another one of Sarah's books that I really like. The sports writer and the magazine editor; the jock and the "member of the french club" (as one of the Idaho Steelheads would say) meet during an altercation between their two factions. Once again she writes a good story without filling it up with page after page of meaningless sex scenes. She tells a story and she does it very well. I like her primary characters as well as the secondary ones. A very good story and I would recommend it.
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