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The General And The Horse-Lord (2013)

by Sarah Black(Favorite Author)

4.19 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

1623805147 (ISBN13: 9781623805142)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Dreamspinner Press

series

The General and the Horse-Lord

review 1: There's so much to love about this book. In a genre (romance) where youth and beauty are damn near fetishized, we have two protagonists who have retired after long military careers. Fifty-two and forty-eight years old. I can't begin to say how positively that colors my impression of the author--she strode right out on that limb, no fucks given, and it was brilliant.The cast of secondary characters in this story sprawls around like a pile of puppies, and that's sort of how I felt about Kim and Billy and the Ho-Ho sisters and juan and All. Those. Artists. A puppy pile, squirming and wriggling and occasionally tugging each other's ears before they all collapse in an exhausted heap in John's garage. And i loved it. There was genuine affection and a little conflict between them... more, and it never felt forced or like they threw in some extra characters just to round out the cast. They were John and Gabriel's family.The plot is a quiet one, dealing with the end of a marriage, the beginning of a life after the military, and a series of episodes of violence committed by a predator. It's laid out methodically, just like John laying out the evidence he collected on the assaults. It culminates in a showdown at Ho-Ho's, which, come on, is a way cool place for a book to have it's climax. I'd recommend this to anyone, but especially those who want a smart and sweet story with lots of love to go around.
review 2: This book is different. The writing, the characters and just the overall feel of it is not like other MM romances I’ve read before. Really quite unique! In the beginning, the writing felt choppy but it smoothed out fairly quickly. Also, the characters are introduced as if we already know them and it takes a little while to know who they are in relation to everything and just the overall description of them – we eventually get the picture though. This book is also a relatively clean read in the intimacy department which I actually kind of liked. Another difference is that our MCs are older and we’re reading about their romance as a mature couple (John is 52 and Gabriel is 48) with a 25 year history. Therefore although we get a good bit of their struggles as an older gay couple, we also get that at this point in their lives they have other worries due to other responsibilities they have – not to mention their “war” against Brian and Prentiss Walker and the University. For Gabriel, he is dealing with a divorce, his law career, and raising his young and impressionable children. John is dealing with being a parent to a young man and his new teaching career/retirement from the army. In the meantime they are both also trying to get a handle on coming out as a gay man and a gay couple late in their lives…as well as with the threats looming over them from Gabriel’s angry soon-to-be ex-wife, Kim’s abusive teacher, etc. etc…Kim’s character is awesome! - such a unique and quirky young man. I found him fascinating! His talent as a chef and photographer, his strength, and his insistence to being a pacifist is tremendously interesting to read. At least I thought so. The way he is navigating his life is so off the beaten path and I loved it! I like the influence he has on John and Gabriel too. Their home – a shelter for lost souls so to speak – was an interesting turn in the plot. Funny and fun to read!The way the story circled back to the opening scene was unexpected but nice to see. I just wish other things were addressed in the end too – like how Gabriel’s wife and kids settled into their new family dynamics and living situation for everyone. As much as there was a HEA feeling to the end, I didn’t feel a resounding closure for some reason. No matter, because when it comes down to it, I really enjoyed it! less

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