Rate this book

Ice Cream On The Side (2009)

by Wren Boudreau(Favorite Author)

3.61 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Loose Id

review 1: A 3.5 star read rounded up to 4. I really enjoyed the mix of mystery and romance in the story. The author made enough people possible suspects that I had no idea until the mystery was solved. I really enjoyed the story and it was well written, and that is why I rounded it up. I think though that the building of the relationship and the stress that the murders and chaos going on around the two main characters ought to have stressed them out more and put more pressure on their relationship. I don´t mean that it needed to be more angsty, but I believe that most people´s reaction to severe trauma isn´t being horny. The story ended with a HFN, which is fine, but I would have loved to see more of Dylan and Michael´s relationship grow.
review 2: Dylan Forest is an... more architect from a small Pennsylvania town called Raven Pass. He is successful and fairly content with his life, but he’s looking for something a little more. He compares his longing to a desire for his favorite dessert, ice cream. When Dylan meets the town’s new art teacher Michael, who is six years his junior, the two are almost instantly attracted to one another. Michael is very cautious, though, having been badly burned in a previous relationship. It becomes clear to Dylan just how strong this attraction really is when he visits Michael’s house and discovers that his friend has painted a magnificent picture of him. In the portrait, Dylan is portrayed as a beautiful angel. From this point forward, the two are inseparable.Conflict arises when an old flame of Dylan’s rolls into town, trying to rekindle what they’d once shared. When Dylan rejects the offer of his former lover, things get pretty ugly. Two murders and a series of death threats keep things exciting, as well as a startling attack on Michael which nearly kills him. In truth this story was a mystery. Although the plot contained a very beautiful romantic element, the storyline was driven by the protagonist’s quest to discover who was responsible for these unexplained murders and death threats. Although I’m generally not a huge fan of mystery novels, this one was very enjoyable for me. When I first discovered the direction in which the plot was headed, I sort of rolled my eyes, thinking it was all too predictable. In the end, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Particularly, I was impressed by the strong writing as well as by the impeccable editing of this rather short story. I felt the dialogue was believable, and the characters were both realistic and likeable. Some of the secondary characters were confusing to me at times, though, for the narrator seemed to drop names as if the reader was supposed to automatically know who they were. In the end, however, everything became clear.The romantic and erotic scenes in the story were extremely well written. The author obviously has thoroughly researched gay sex and the male anatomy, something we sadly cannot always say about writers in the m/m fiction genre.The story itself was quite powerful. I was actually disappointed that it was not longer. I do not want to include any spoilers, but I really appreciated the way the author used the conflict to strengthen the relationship of the central characters rather than to create a forced separation plot device. Overall I loved the writing style of the author, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It was exciting, interesting, and very romantic. I do not hesitate to recommend both the author and the book. less

Download links for: Ice Cream on the Side

Advertising