Amy Lane, Amy Lane, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...
1. I love the cover of Chase in Shadow. It is more "real" looking than I have seen from you in the past. It is also dark and a little scary-looking. Just like the inside of Chase's mind!
2. I love that you have created more characters that are (to quote Donkey from Shrek) like onions. They appear to be solid, but as you masterfully remove one layer after another, we see that they are made up of thin, sometimes pellucid parts that only make them appear to be whole.
3. I love that you have given us a behind-the-scenes look into the world of gay porn. Who knew so many of the men involved claim to be straight? That gives a girl hope! You put alot of hot, steamy sex into a book that is at it's heart a story about healing and becoming the person you were meant to be before all the shit in the world surrounded you.
4. I love that you generated men who are true friends to each other. They are able to see through the layers to the solid core an know that in that place is the essence of the man. They know that sometimes the layers, no matter how ugly they are, are worth dealing with to get to the man inside.
5. I love that you brought back Doc Stevenson and his knitting. Only your fans will get him and his Talker reference. It was an appropriate example for him to use with Chase. And it made me smile to remember another set of human beings you created out of thin air for us, your demanding consumers (because we demand that you write more books for us to consume) to love.
6. I love that we see another gay man for whom the closet, however excrutiatingly painful it may be, seems a better place than any other. We see that Chase's inability to conceive of a world without that closet has far reaching effects. Those effects aren't glossed over in an effort to get to the HEA. The work that Chase has to suffer through to be able to become whole is hard to read about. I found myself cheering for him when he wanted to give up and go back inside his head. I found myself wanting to shake him when he wanted to go back inside his head. I found myself crying with him when the door was smashed to pieces in the safety of Doc's office. The pain which causes Chase's (bad) decisions pays itself forward and we are able to witness how it changes everyone in his life. We see the work that they must all do to get to the other side of the havoc that has been wreaked in their lives.
7. I love that not everyone comes around. That is real. It is sad. It is true.
8. I FLOVE that Chase got the bike(s) and the action figure.
Thank you Amy for another novel that falls into many categories, but is very much NOT limited to the M/M genre.
1. I love the cover of Chase in Shadow. It is more "real" looking than I have seen from you in the past. It is also dark and a little scary-looking. Just like the inside of Chase's mind!
2. I love that you have created more characters that are (to quote Donkey from Shrek) like onions. They appear to be solid, but as you masterfully remove one layer after another, we see that they are made up of thin, sometimes pellucid parts that only make them appear to be whole.
3. I love that you have given us a behind-the-scenes look into the world of gay porn. Who knew so many of the men involved claim to be straight? That gives a girl hope! You put alot of hot, steamy sex into a book that is at it's heart a story about healing and becoming the person you were meant to be before all the shit in the world surrounded you.
4. I love that you generated men who are true friends to each other. They are able to see through the layers to the solid core an know that in that place is the essence of the man. They know that sometimes the layers, no matter how ugly they are, are worth dealing with to get to the man inside.
5. I love that you brought back Doc Stevenson and his knitting. Only your fans will get him and his Talker reference. It was an appropriate example for him to use with Chase. And it made me smile to remember another set of human beings you created out of thin air for us, your demanding consumers (because we demand that you write more books for us to consume) to love.
6. I love that we see another gay man for whom the closet, however excrutiatingly painful it may be, seems a better place than any other. We see that Chase's inability to conceive of a world without that closet has far reaching effects. Those effects aren't glossed over in an effort to get to the HEA. The work that Chase has to suffer through to be able to become whole is hard to read about. I found myself cheering for him when he wanted to give up and go back inside his head. I found myself wanting to shake him when he wanted to go back inside his head. I found myself crying with him when the door was smashed to pieces in the safety of Doc's office. The pain which causes Chase's (bad) decisions pays itself forward and we are able to witness how it changes everyone in his life. We see the work that they must all do to get to the other side of the havoc that has been wreaked in their lives.
7. I love that not everyone comes around. That is real. It is sad. It is true.
8. I FLOVE that Chase got the bike(s) and the action figure.
Thank you Amy for another novel that falls into many categories, but is very much NOT limited to the M/M genre.
I've only read one novel by Amy Lane and it completely gutted me. I keep meaning to read the rest of her work but something else always gets in the way. When I saw this book available I grabbed it knowing that I'd probably toss everything else in my life aside until I read every last grueling word. And that's exactly what happened. It's probably a good thing most books are easier to put down because my dogs would be mighty skinny.
Chase in Shadow is told entirely from Chase's point of view. He is a damaged character and will not be someone every reader will love. He's in a dark, bleak place when the book opens and then the story flashes back a year to explain how he reached such a level of despair. It turns out it was something simmering since childhood but the events of the past year brought all of the pain and ugly to the surface.
Chase is gay but living in denial. He has spent his life refusing to face the truth about himself and has tried to create his idea of a "perfect" life by moving in with his best female friend Mercy. He loves and adores Mercy but not in "that" sort of way but he does a good job of pretending. He lies to himself and to Mercy every day and it is tearing him apart. Needing money to pay his way through college and save for a house he secretly accepts a job as a "gay for pay" porn actor. This reckless move changes his life. He loves touching and being touched in return by the other guys but he can shake it off as just "doing a job", a fun, sexy and really satisfying job. But then he meets and falls in love with a fellow porn actor named Tommy. Tommy is sweet and wicked and loves Chase desperately. He needs Chase and he has issues of his own and he sacrifices his own well-being to keep Chase in his life. It's here that Chase's perfectly built world starts to unravel.
What follows is honest and painful and raw and that's all I'm saying about the plot. You cannot get more out of me.
Chase lies and cheats but he is so filled with self-loathing that I was able to sympathize with him when normally a character like this would have me cursing. I love that about this book. The characters are achingly real and the author made me feel terrible and heart-broken right along with them. And did I mention the sex scenes? They are as raw (and as well written) as the rest of the story. Even the porn guys become real people not just scenery.
After a long journey out of despair the story ends on a hopeful note but I have a few niggles regarding events near the end that drag it down to a four. Things happen that didn't quite sit right, though they made me cry, and there will be major spoilers if I don't shut up now. In the end, I understood Chase, understood why he self-sabotaged himself and did the things he did but I have a suspicion some readers may not. He makes some very bad decisions and is a bit of a train wreck but is still so worthy of love. I recommend this very highly to angst lovers but you should know what you're getting into. The flaws, the ugliness of life and the pain, it's all laid out in the open. It's not easy to read. My heart hurt just as it did the entire time I was reading Amy Lane's Keeping Promise Rock and that doesn't happen to me often. I need to read something light and silly next.
Chase in Shadow is told entirely from Chase's point of view. He is a damaged character and will not be someone every reader will love. He's in a dark, bleak place when the book opens and then the story flashes back a year to explain how he reached such a level of despair. It turns out it was something simmering since childhood but the events of the past year brought all of the pain and ugly to the surface.
Chase is gay but living in denial. He has spent his life refusing to face the truth about himself and has tried to create his idea of a "perfect" life by moving in with his best female friend Mercy. He loves and adores Mercy but not in "that" sort of way but he does a good job of pretending. He lies to himself and to Mercy every day and it is tearing him apart. Needing money to pay his way through college and save for a house he secretly accepts a job as a "gay for pay" porn actor. This reckless move changes his life. He loves touching and being touched in return by the other guys but he can shake it off as just "doing a job", a fun, sexy and really satisfying job. But then he meets and falls in love with a fellow porn actor named Tommy. Tommy is sweet and wicked and loves Chase desperately. He needs Chase and he has issues of his own and he sacrifices his own well-being to keep Chase in his life. It's here that Chase's perfectly built world starts to unravel.
What follows is honest and painful and raw and that's all I'm saying about the plot. You cannot get more out of me.
Chase lies and cheats but he is so filled with self-loathing that I was able to sympathize with him when normally a character like this would have me cursing. I love that about this book. The characters are achingly real and the author made me feel terrible and heart-broken right along with them. And did I mention the sex scenes? They are as raw (and as well written) as the rest of the story. Even the porn guys become real people not just scenery.
After a long journey out of despair the story ends on a hopeful note but I have a few niggles regarding events near the end that drag it down to a four. Things happen that didn't quite sit right, though they made me cry, and there will be major spoilers if I don't shut up now. In the end, I understood Chase, understood why he self-sabotaged himself and did the things he did but I have a suspicion some readers may not. He makes some very bad decisions and is a bit of a train wreck but is still so worthy of love. I recommend this very highly to angst lovers but you should know what you're getting into. The flaws, the ugliness of life and the pain, it's all laid out in the open. It's not easy to read. My heart hurt just as it did the entire time I was reading Amy Lane's Keeping Promise Rock and that doesn't happen to me often. I need to read something light and silly next.
