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Windows in Time
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Windows in Time by M. Jules Aedin
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Man, I'm totally wiped out after the holiday rush these past few days---feel like I've gotten run over by a train. (Well, okay, if I had actually gotten run over by a train I doubt I would be feeling much of anything...) At any rate, I decided to take it easy this evening and propped myself up in bed as I dived into another one of my Christmas presents: Windows in Time by M. Jules Aedin.
Fate added injury to insult when Jonah Sellers’s live-in boyfriend left him: while moving out his ex’s belongings, Jonah fell down the stairs and broke his leg. Now his house is a prison, and he's working from home while his sister checks up on him. The only diversion in Jonah’s routine is catching the odd glimpse of a man in the apartment across the way taking off his clothes in front of the window.
But then Jonah is distracted by Liam Brooks, the nurse his sister sends over when she goes on vacation. As they dance around their growing attraction, Jonah and Liam begin to wonder about the man in the window. Why is he always dressed in the same clothes? Why is he there one minute and not the next? How is it that he lives in an old woman's apartment? It's while trying to answer these questions that they stumble across a fifty-year-old missing persons case they can't resist trying to solve.
I've been quite drawn to ghost stories and time-slip tales ever since I was quite young, but I haven't found very many gay-themed books in this vein. So, it was a given that I'd be intrigued by this story, and I have to say that for the most part I was quite pleased with the tale.
The bulk of the novel alternates between the stories of two pairs of men, with chapters set in the late 1950's interspersed with those set in the present day. (Only toward the end of the book does the focus shift entirely to what is happening in the present---though as the reader will see, what has happened in the past is still very much having an effect on the present.) As I was reading, I did slightly prefer the modern-day material, if only because ----and this isn't really a spoiler----I could easily guess that the period relationship would not end well. Because if it did, why would the time slip exist in the first place? And so I suppose I did enjoy seeing where the modern relationship would lead.
I enjoyed the book---couldn't put it down because I simply had to know how things turned out. I didn't really have any idea for certain how the vintage material would pan out until fairly near the end of the book, but it all came together very well.
Just a couple of tiny nit-picks---the 1950's material contains a reference concerning the on-screen chemistry of Rock Hudson and Doris Day (despite Hudson being gay---and yes, plenty of people in the business did know about him at the time). However, this part of the story took place two years BEFORE the first on-screen pairing of these two stars. Also, there's a plot point that seemed more than a little contrived, which of course served to wind things up neatly at the end. But----I did like the story, so I'm willing to overlook this.
Recommended if you're looking for a hint of the supernatural! I just wish I could find more gay lit in this vein. I liked the book well enough that I've just ordered another by the author ( Every Good Thing ). Boy, I'm having a terrible time sticking to a strict book-buying budget here---hmmm, maybe I won't start being frugal until the first of the new year. Heh.
The cover, though---well, it's a bit on the cheesy side I'd say, and not really accurate to the text. I'd chalk it up as being an example of the style of covers popular in the infancy of e-books---but unfortunately you'll still find covers in this vein that aren't as professionally-done as one may wish. Does get one's attention, though.