Review: Everything I thought it should be
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 16, 2010
I really enjoyed reading the first book in this duet: Gaven, but I only rated it fours stars. The reason was simple; I didn't know there would be a follow-up! There was so much more story to tell when Gaven ended and now I know why; I'll have to go back and fix my review.Moving on. I LOVED Gaven:The Bonding. It picks up seamlessly where its predecessor leaves off and offers more insight into Gaven and what motivates him as a person. When I first read GAVEN I worried about Gaven's reluctance to accept the societal norms of the society he was forced to be a part of. In the first book he is almost adamant about his disgust not only for m/m romance, but Vlar in particular. It ended with him accepting there was no way to go but forward, not with any type of resolution within himself that he could find any real happiness. He came off as more broken than hopeful at the end of part one and it left me a little sad for him.In part two, Gaven is different. We learn that he isn't so much opposed to men loving men or even to the idea of caring for Vlar, as much as he has been taught to have a low opinion of such congress. And as far as Vlar goes, it's more that Gaven is prideful and dislikes that Vlar often gets the better of him emotionally. It really made all the difference. I really didn't want to read about a 'straight' man being forced to be gay anymore than I want to read about a 'gay' man being forced to be straight.I also really enjoyed all the dark, grittiness of this book. There were times when my nose actually crinkled in distaste and others when I had to put the book down for a second and look around to see if anyone was staring at me with those 'I know what you're reading' eyes (god I love my Kindle). It was still a little 'formulaic' at times (the men could be a little mushy sometimes), but for the most part I thought it was very original and worked outside the lines enough to keep me interested.Keep em coming J.C. Owens and I'll keep reading.