Review: Cameron Dane comes out with another winner!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 23, 2012
Cameron Dane is one of my favorite writers. She pulls you into her stories and characters' heads with a seemingly effortless ease. Here, she does it again with the romance of Noah and Zane.Noah is in his early 40's, is the town's general contractor, and was first introduced in "Grey's Awakening". He denied his homosexuality and married his wife, the two raising two wonderful sons. His wife, Janice, was always his best friend, and the intimacy and love they shared was real. It was only when Noah developed feelings for Sirus (one of the main characters in "Grey's Awakening") that he decided he wanted to embrace the fact he is gay and have a male partner. The only problem is that he has almost zero experience being gay and doesn't know how to go about dating, so he keeps putting it off until finally even his own children chide him ("You split up with mom to be gay, so go be gay!").Zane spent most of his teenage years caring for the stepfather that raised him as his own son. Having a younger brother and sister, he's in his early 20's and is trying very hard to give them love, safety, and security. But a good chunk of the little money he earns goes to paying off a loan shark that he foolishly resorted to when he was desperate and he fears he'll lose custody of his siblings when his stepfather's sister (Aunt Pattie, who hates him) discovers that they were evicted because he couldn't pay the rent. When he's physically tossed out onto the street in front of Noah, the two meet and the romance unfolds.As is usual with all Cameron Dane novels, the characters are all fully developed and highly nuanced, and you easily understand their motivations, desires, and fears. The situations and dialog feels natural, and the pacing is smooth and engaging. Ms. Dane doesn't resort to typical stereotypes in her novels, which is immensely refreshing. Janice (Noah's ex-wife) is a caring and compassionate person. The love she and Noah shared, and their intimacy too, was very real, and Janice is still a supporter of Noah and encourages him to find someone to love as she's found someone herself. Aunt Pattie appears hateful, but does have genuine love for Zane's siblings. Even the man throwing Zane onto the street is not a villain as he's only doing his job and still attempts to help Zane out in small ways. The children of both Noah and Zane are likewise interesting and compelling characters, displaying childish immaturity with flashes of honest insight via the worldliness that comes from having a gay father.Like all of Cameron's novels, I started reading and was enchanted by these rich wonderful characters. The romance felt real, the sex was passionate and charged, and the plot was engaging. The entire novel was a joy to read.