From the Bookshelf of Q&A with Josh Lanyon…

Come Unto These Yellow Sands

Josh Lanyon

Start date: May 1, 2013

Finish date: May 31, 2013

Discussion: Book of the Month Club

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What Members Thought

Oct 02, 2011 Johanna rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, ebook, favorites, m-m, josh-lanyon

Josh Lanyon's writing tends to put my brain and emotions on overdrive... for a long time after I've already finished with his book. That's exactly what happened with Come Unto These Yellow Sands. It's like when you've seen a great movie and you return to the characters and events days later and wonder about these characters' intentions and layers you overlooked while actually sitting in the movie theatre.

Like many other readers I felt that Swift was very easy to like and fall in love with (becau Josh Lanyon's writing tends to put my brain and emotions on overdrive... for a long time after I've already finished with his book. That's exactly what happened with Come Unto These Yellow Sands. It's like when you've seen a great movie and you return to the characters and events days later and wonder about these characters' intentions and layers you overlooked while actually sitting in the movie theatre.

Like many other readers I felt that Swift was very easy to like and fall in love with (because of his flaws and all the struggling). Max completes him nicely - though Max really got me a little bit worried for a while there... and got my husband to worry a little bit, too, after he found me in bed sobbing and reading one night. But how sweet was it, when (view spoiler) *looooong sigh* This story made my heart ache like no other! ... Well, I take that back... what I meant to say was this story made my heart ache like only Lanyon's writing can!

The Choose Your Own Adventure quotes in the beginning of chapters fit perfectly in the story by making suggestions about the storyline. Those quotes define Swift's character: his past, his present and his future. We all have books from our childhood that we still love and cherish, right? And because Swift had practically grown up surrounded by words and media, those books must have meant a world to him. And since Swift had for years been struggling (more or less) in his every day life with choices that were related to his addiction, I really, really liked the idea that in the CYOA quotes making choices affects the course of the narrative and the final result of the journey! And I absolutely loved how Josh Lanyon used Wilfred J. Funk's list of the most beautiful words as Swift's mantra!

This book is beautifully written, heartbreaking, intelligent, satisfying, overwhelming - perfect. It went straight to my soul and to my favorites shelf! I miss Swift already terribly!!! Five stars feels too small amount. ...more

11 likes · Like · see review

Oct 16, 2012 Joy rated it it was amazing

Josh Lanyon is quickly becoming a favorite author--Swift and Max are intriguing characters- Swift's addiction and fight to stay clean make a strong statement--Max's character developed into a sweetheart of a guy--really enjoyed this book ...more

6 likes · Like · see review

Jun 13, 2013 JR rated it it was amazing

Shelves: romance, favorites, mystery, leo

Another Josh Lanyon that I found to be absolutely enthralling. I am talking more from the relationship/mystery angle, rather than hot sweaty sex. It doesn't have that, but that does not diminish the story, characters by any means. Swift is a literary professor and poet, Max the local police chief, and they are the only openly gay men in the small Maine community. Swift is also a recovering crack addict. For 6 years he has been clean, but a murder involving one of his students has brought back o ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Sep 28, 2011 Josephine Myles added it

Shelves: contemporary, m-m, romance, mystery

This is one of the more serious of Josh's books I've read, but I was captivated. Swift's status as a recovering cocaine addict gave the book really high stakes as I constantly worried he'd be tipped back into it. Fortunately, love interest Max turns out to be far more supportive than he seems at first.

One of the things I most appreciated about this was that Swift isn't your typical sleuth and actually has no interest in solving the murder beyond locating the student of his at the heart of it. Sw ...more

3 likes · Like · see review