1) A deceptively quiet book that does more than tell a love story. Historical detail is succinct and well placed, and there is an overall tone of sweetness, despite the setting. In particular, I enjoyed Merrow's handling of George and Matthew's sexuality, and the equitable friendship that developed between them before they gave into mutual attraction.
2) Although a re-writing of an existing story, well done, wonderful characters, excellent writing.
3) Loved the historical details - very grounded and very well done.
4) I like historical novels, and the description of post Great War Britain is pitch-perfect, absolutely convincing to this Yankee. It is a bit (too) reminiscent of contemporaneous "love-that- dare-not-speak-its-name" novels of the period, up to and including a suicide, so it doesn't feel as sharply original as other Merrow stories. Still, a fine read.
Gay Historical Romance
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Samhain Publishing (September 15, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1619231506
ISBN-13: 978-1619231504
Amazon: To Love a Traitor
Amazon Kindle: To Love a Traitor
Wounds of the heart take the longest to heal. When solicitor's clerk George Johnson moves into a rented London room in the winter of 1920, it's with a secret goal: to find out if his fellow lodger, Matthew Connaught, is the wartime traitor who cost George's adored older brother his life. Yet as he gets to know Matthew-an irrepressibly cheerful ad man whose missing arm hasn't dimmed his smile-George begins to lose sight of his mission. As Matthew's advances become ever harder to resist, George tries to convince himself his brother's death was just the luck of the draw, and to forget he's hiding a secret of his own. His true identity-and an act of conscience that shamed his family. But as their mutual attraction grows, so does George's desperation to know the truth about what happened that day in Ypres. If only to prove Matthew innocent-even if it means losing the man he's come to love. Warning: Contains larks in the snow, stiff upper lips, shadows of the Great War, and one man working undercover while another tries to lure him under the covers.
Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/r
This journal is friends only. This entry was originally posted at http://reviews-and-ramblings.dreamwidth.org/4856919.html. If you are not friends on this journal, Please comment there using OpenID.