Title: The King’s Mate
Series: Daily Dose 2013: Make a Play
Author: Ashavan Doyon
Genre: M/M contemporary romance
Length: Novella (64 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (June 1st, 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥2Hearts
Blurb: Russell Pine goes to the café every morning to enjoy his time chatting with Sam Tesh, the café owner, a friend made over the past twenty years. So when Sam asks a favor, Russ reluctantly agrees to play in a chess tournament. But the contest isn’t the real challenge: Russ finds himself the focus of a secret courtship in words and pictures left for him to discover each morning, leading him to the question: In a café full of young and beautiful minds, who is looking at the graying chessmaster?
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3947
Reviewer: Tams
Review: A sweet story about two obviously different men that have to overcome trouble in their past, as well as the present, to move forward together.
This is a hard one to review. I don’t want to give away the identity of Russ’s secret admirer and ruin the read for you guys. I will say it was quite a journey for both men as they fought to overcome the issues in their pasts, and an age difference that would make some people question the validity of their relationship.
The story was off to a good start with the mystery of the notes, a bit of intrigue. Then in the end the dialogue become almost cheesy, like reading the diary entries of a teenager. I love yous came entirely too quickly and didn’t gel within the story for me, either. This one was just good for me, not great.