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Edward Unconditionally
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Edward Unconditionally by Lynn Lorenz
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Bought for summer reading...You know how I feel about these endless predictable covers...
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Ulysses wrote: "Bought for summer reading...You know how I feel about these endless predictable covers..."Yes- why is there always some pet or cuddly creature?? LOL.
PaperMoon wrote: "Yes- why is there always some pet or cuddly creature?? LOL. "I read this book about 3 months ago and can't recall who had the dog. I guess it was a very forgettable story for me.
Winston belongs to Edward, but like many of these meet-cute books, it is the pet that makes a feigned move to switch affections that sparks the romance dance.I read this about two years ago and it fell into what Octobercountry terms a "pleasant diversional read" for me.
PaperMoon wrote: "Winston belongs to Edward, but like many of these meet-cute books, it is the pet that makes a feigned move to switch affections that sparks the romance dance."oh right! and I think the grandma was allergic and couldn't keep the dog at her home right? In the words of Celine Dion "It's all coming back to me now"... lol
Allergic grandmothers ... hmmm - now you're really stretching my memory-cells. Now where is Amanda and her amazing re-collective powers when I need her???
PaperMoon wrote: "Allergic grandmothers ... hmmm - now you're really stretching my memory-cells. "we make a right pair, lol!
Octobercountry - I know I can lend this via Kindle now - I just finished this book last night - and I did enjoy it. The idea of unconditional love is very appealing, and central to my own writing... This is classic, stock m/m - sex is delivered up like dessert, the reward for sticking with the story. I did like both Edward and Jack - the sort of "screwball comedy" set up between the flamboyant big-city queen and the macho repressed small-town cop is right out of a (imaginary gay) Frank Capra movie.
But of course Edward is the queeny, gym-bunny perfect hot boy toy (even at the ancient age of 35). And Jack, interestingly older for this genre at 45 (when I still felt like a young man) is big and butch and has remained stereotypically repressed and closeted in order to escape a bad childhood.
The author does give you enough fleshing out of these characters to make you care about them - to see them as real people and not just set pieces. And again, I like the screwball comedy set up (as in Bringing Up Baby) of an goofy animal - Winston the little bulldog - as a linking character. The idea of training Winston - moderating life with some control, as opposed to unthinking hedonism or repressive self-control - is a nice metaphor for the shifting relationship between these two men.
And I liked the cast of characters scattered around Jack and Edward - interesting and believable enough, although they really are used as convenient props.
The best was Olivia - Edward's grandmother. She is a key element in the driving of the narrative.
The "magic" element (which seems to be linked with a previous story about Sammi and Mitchel) appealed to me (who wouldn't want to be able to do this?) but didn't feel incorporated in any sort of integrated way into Edward's personality or his life - like the secondary characters, Edward's "power" rather seems a prop that is brought out when it seems useful.
This is a fun read - but it is also a standard m/m book that could have been a really great book in the hands of a Harper Fox or a K.A. Mitchell.
When Jack meets Edward at a traffic stop, his world is rocked -- and not for the better. Edward is the gayest man he’s ever seen, and Spring Lake is a small town just getting comfortable with its own new gay couple, Brian Russell and Rush Weston. Unlike Edward, Rush and Brian are big, strapping, manly men. But manly isn’t what turns Jack on. It’s Edward -- everything about the younger man drives Jack wild with desire and the need to control Edward’s wild, impetuous spirit.
For Edward, his attraction to “bad boys” has been his romantic downfall. His heart’s been broken so many times he’s lost count. When he meets Jack, Edward falls for the all-American by-the-book lawman, but finds his attempts rebuffed and his pride severely wounded. Jack’s straight, or at least says he is, but Edward knows that look in Jack’s eyes, he’s seen it before from other men. How can a man so right be so wrong?
Edward tempts Jack beyond anyone he’s ever met and his desire for Edward builds each time he encounters the younger man, until he can no longer deny it or himself. But Edward doesn’t want sex on the side, he wants forever. He wants the fairy tale.
Can Jack give Edward what he wants or will Jack’s fear of being ridiculed for his choice of a partner keep them from their Happily Ever After?
A quick glance at Amazon indicates that this author has been fairly prolific in the field of gay lit, but this is the first of her books that I’ve read. I really did wonder where to file this review---it probably could just as easily gone under "Contemporary Romance," but the psychic aspect to the plot, though muted, does push it into paranormal territory.
The first meeting of the two protagonists was a lot of fun, when Jack pulls Edward over for speeding and chaos ensues. After their initial encounter I expected the plot to develop as a straightforward contemporary romance, but not too far in I was surprised to find that it contained some paranormal elements as well. A little on-line research quickly enlightened me to the fact that this book is part of the “Common Powers” series. While each of the novels in the series is basically a stand-alone focusing on a different set of characters, they all feature a protagonist with some sort of psychic ability. The paranormal element is restrained---it isn’t the major focus of this book, but it does provide a little additional interest as the story progresses.
It’s a light-weight read, but very enjoyable. I found both the main characters to be interesting and likeable (despite the fact that they are so very different). I don’t think there’s the least bit of doubt as to a “happily ever after” ending for this type of story, but the journey in getting there was fun. Not overly taxing to the intellect perhaps, but then I confess that a fair amount of my reading falls into the “escapist” category! And I found several of the passages rather moving, so it did engage me on an emotional level.
The book is well written, and I may very well add more stories by this author to my wish list---goodness knows she has plenty of titles from which to choose. Recommended for those looking for a light and pleasant read. (Now, if only I could figure out what on earth I could have done with my copy....)
The cover, unfortunately, features that old cliché found currently found on far too many gay novels---an image of two shirtless torsos. Okay, I enjoy looking at a shirtless guy as much as the next fellow, but enough is enough. Oh, and NEITHER of the models on this cover fit the descriptions of the characters in the book at all, which is an added annoyance.