by Carol Lynne, $13.99, eBook $5.50; Totally Bound. Publishing; 185 pages
This male-on-male book of erotic romance is set in the South Side of Chicago. The story is told in alternating first person through the main character Lucky Gunn and his lover, Dray. The story follows the trials and tribulations faced by many of the youth that go through the Brick Yard—the local gym—run by Tony Brick. Brick plays the role of a surrogate father for these kids and teaches them how to fight using MMA ( mixed martial arts ). Lucky found refuge at the Brick Yard from his abusive, drug-addicted mother.
When Lucky learns that Brick is suffering from end-stage cancer, Dray returns from Kansas to help out with the Brick Yard. Consequently, latent feelings of desire between Lucky and Dray are challenged in conjunction with facing the eventual death of the only person that ever showed them love.
The author catches the reader's attention in the beginning scenes a locker-room sex scene that sets the emotional tension between the two main characters. The author then effectively develops each character in so much as you only know as much as the narrators. As the story develops, the reader becomes invested in the stakes of Lucky's life and sex life—making subsequent sex scenes full of passion because of an established level of reader empathy.
Intrigued from start to finish, the author effectively blends the erotic with tragedy, pain and hope. I found myself absorbed in Lucky's story and invested in the outcome of his relationship with Dray—hoping Lucky would choose Dray over his past demons.
Some moments of the narrative weren't as fluid as others, particularly in the beginning; however, as the story went on I understood these glitches to signify Lucky's refusal to face his demons. Each abrupt stop, though choppy and confusing to the reader the beginning, served an important literary function throughout the novel to show moments when Lucky was disconnecting from his feelings.
The author, Carol Lynne, will be in attendance at the GayRomLit Retreat Oct. 16-19. GayRomLit is an annual retreat in which creators of LGBT romance novels congregate to celebrate. This year the event will be held at Indian Lakes Resort in Bloomingdale, Illinois.
