Review: Another piece of wonderful writing!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 24, 2011
There are a few M/M writers who are in my humble opinion (lol) above the rest of the pack in giving us unique stories and characters with depth.  Josh Lanyon, Astrid Amara, Sarah Black, AM Riley are four of them. Astrid has given us really original stories in the past from epic fantasy to clever sci-fi to funny contemporary romance.In Half Pass we have a contemporary romance in a unique setting with attempted murder and mystery thrown in. I love her writing in Paul King's absorbing narration as he struggles to keep his stable, recovers from a "jerk of a lover", courts a closeted hot Latino hunk, deals with both female employees and boarders and overcome a past haunted by the death of his best friend. A lot to deal with when attempt is made on his life, his stable is being sabotaged by one obnoxious cousin and to top it all the disappearance of a prized horse which could cost him a million in law suit. The mystery part is well done and I never guessed the culprit. And when the mystery was solved, I find myself touched and angry at the greed involved, a hideous crime happening right now.I enjoy the romance between Paul and Estevan and find myself rooting for them. I do get impatient when one of the guys is deeply in the closet, like Estevan but this character is just as appealing, more so towards the end. Plot and characters certainly take precedence in Astrid Amara's tight and well paced writing. She knows what she is writing as I find myself reading late into the night to finish this romance drama mixed with mystery in one sitting. Great stuff.