Title: A Road Not Taken
Series: N/A
Author: Jennifer Thorne
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: Novella
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (September 4th, 2012)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3Hearts
Blurb: Taking the road less travelled may lead you home.
Eco-house builder Jascha doesn’t think twice about taking in stray animals. Stray people? This would be a first. But there’s something about the stranded young man—who’s carrying nothing in his car but a hidden gun—that warns Jascha not to leave him alone.
Stuck in a soul-sucking bank job, Peter has given up on finding meaning in his life. Long ago he cut himself off from his creative side, unable to get over the feeling that everything about himself is wrong. He thinks there’s only one thing left to do—until the pushy, charismatic Jascha happens along what was supposed to be a deserted road, and Peter lets himself be bullied into following him home.
In the days that follow, Peter gets more of a crash course in the hippie lifestyle—natural food, meditation, yoga—than he can handle. But every time he begins to relax around his new friend, their spark of attraction twists him back into a ball of nerves.
Jascha tells himself it’s a mistake to get involved with a man whose gaydar is seriously broken. In spite of everything, love happens. The only question is if love is enough to save both their lonely souls.
Product Link: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/road-taken-p-6978.html
Reviewer: Thommie
Review: Jascha is an eco-house constructor, a happy-hippy guy who always will see life with a joyful eye. He’s on his way home when a car stopped in the middle of nowhere gets his attention. The guy in that car, besides being way cute, gives him the chills. His sadness and suicidal vibes are nearly palpable and Jascha makes a split-second decision to save him no matter what.
Peter has spent all his life being pushed around and denied his true desires by nearly everyone. His father always seemed to find his doings “nonsense” pushing him to be more “man”, his high-school and college years are tainted by memories of bullies pushing him around, and his one and only sexual experience left him with pain and an STI. In his worse mental state, having taken the decision to end his life, he meets Jascha who literally changes his life. But his low self-esteem and insecurities will always be there and shadow his every step.
This is a pretty intriguing story. The take on eco-friendly environment and lifestyle was something I liked a lot. Jascha is such a happy guy he got my attention immediately and Peter, well, he got me a little bit confused at the beginning, and I disliked him quite a lot later on. All his insecurities and mental issues had me reeling. It wasn’t until I reached the near end of the story that I got a likening for Peter. The way he finally took his life in his own hands and made some solid decisions about the reality of his situation was unexpected and left me with a good feeling. Their relationship was a bit unrealistic for me to enjoy. More often than not I’m totally against “flash-speed-falling-in-love-relationships”. They just don’t work for me, and the way Jascha’s and Peter’s relationship went from “we barely know each other” to “I love you and want to live with you” was more than annoying for me. In my opinion this story needed more space and development. It would give a good deal of emotions at its dramatic twists that were lost in the short narration, but as I said it was pretty intriguing and I ended up liking it. I recommend this if you want to read something new and fresh, with a nice writing style and some earth-loving meaning. Personally, that is what I loved the most.