Sharon Maria Bidwell

As incongruous as it is to compare this book with my “Snow Angel”, as they are in totally different genres, completely different stories and different characters, I couldn’t help thinking one thing — of how both Anne and I created a story based around a character’s very human flaws and how that makes for a very captivating read. My “Dean” is in many ways his own worse enemy, who has apparently had everything in life handed to him, but like many of us, sometimes that not always leads to as satisfying a life as one might imagine. Anne’s “Mikey” comes from the opposite track — he’s had a difficult life and, alas, this colours his future for all time.

Although I love the romance industry, which allows me such freedom of cross-genre writing, I write many different things in various genres, and remain equally interested in all forms of storytelling and here, Anne Brooke excels. There’s an underlying tension that permeates the book reminiscent of a thriller, even though the story, initially at least, largely seems to involve one man’s hopes, dreams and desires as the antagonistic force constantly pushing the story forwards. Even in the happiest moments, you have the sense it will all, shortly, be snatched from Mikey’s grasp and you want to shake sense into him. I felt equally irritated with Michael as I was in pain for him.

This book uses London as a character as much as the people, and acts as a lesson in class and class-divide. It’s disturbing, mysterious, and plays havoc with your emotions. In addition, Anne has written a perfect rendition of a romance that often is as delightful as it is harrowing, proving that you don’t always need overly graphic language and images to have an audience cheering. Just because this book involves a gay relationship, don’t let that confuse you. You’re not getting overly explicit sex scenes, and yet many of the intimate moments between Michael and Jack are so touching that they make the bad moments of the story hurt more.

As a reader, I know what I like when I see it. As a writer/reader a good reading scale to judge by is whether I wish I’d written a book and this falls into that category. Saying that, often, as a writer, I can spot an ending and, in many ways, I knew what was coming. Ultimately, I would have written this with a softer ending but maybe because Anne chooses the harsher route this makes for a more unforgettable book. I have to confess I felt essentially uneasy while reading this, but that’s no fault of the writer — it’s even what she intends, and the work deserves more recognition than many of the books that end up on some celebrity’s recommended list.

Visit Anne’s myspace page and website.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 22nd, 2008 at 10:57 am and is filed under Recommended Read. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.