Friday 23 January 2015

Just a Little Unwell by Iyana Jenna






Author Bio:

Iyana writes M/M short stories and novellas. Her works have been published by Evernight Publishing, JMS Books, Books to Go Now, Torquere Press, Bitten Press, Leap of Faith Publishing, Breathless Press, and Alfie Dog Fiction.

Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff on the roads. 
You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams, though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather than sleeping.

Another thing Iyana loves is kitties. Right now she has three of them. Their names are Cil, Horus, and Betsy, and one kitten. When she doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she writes.

Where can you find Iyana?

Twitter: @IyanaJenna





Excerpt:

Patrick floats through the following day. When Damien shows up, Patrick takes him immediately to near the TV, sets the video cassette into place, and clutches Damien's hands as they dance. He offers coffee and cookies this time and finally brings his guitar out to the sitting room. Patrick feels a bit uneasy when Damien keeps looking at him instead of his guitar.

"Do you like it?"

"Huh?"

"My guitar."

Confusion flashes across Damien's good-looking face for a second.

"Oh, absolutely." His smile cracks. He shifts on the couch to make space for Patrick. Patrick plops down next to him and begins to sing. It's "More Than Words," one of his favorite songs. Damien listens carefully.

Damien is silent, even after Patrick has stopped singing. His eyes turn soft.

"So, what do you say? What do you think of my voice?" Patrick asks impatiently.

Damien's still quiet. Then he closes his eyes and reaches out a hand. He touches the side of Patrick's face.
Patrick holds his breath and closes his eyes too. He doesn't dare to move. Damien's hand feels so warm and good on his skin.

He lets out a heavy sigh when the hand is gone and opens his eyes.

"That's the most beautiful voice I've ever heard," Damien says.

Patrick doesn't know what to do. He puts aside his guitar -- grabs it back -- lays it down on the table -- takes it back again and holds it close to him. He rocks slowly on the couch.

"Thank you," he murmurs -- not sure whether he is expressing gratitude for the compliment or the touch.

Damien stands up.

"You're leaving?" Patrick asks, disappointed.

"I have other things I need to do, Patrick."

Patrick swallows deep. He turns away. "Okay. It's almost dark anyway and I haven't been to the garden."

"Yeah."

"Will you come again?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I'd love you to."

"So I'll come."

Damien waves and walks away.

As if to remind Patrick he's there, Chad crawls up Patrick's shirt front. Patrick palms him up and puts him on the table.
"Do you like him, too?" Patrick asks.

Chad only chirps.


Review
This is an absolutely delightful little book. I can’t say I’ve read much first person, present tense. It was a little strange to get used to at first, but it grew on me.

Patrick lives alone and spends his life tending his garden and chatting to his best friend, Chad. He’s not sure about Damien at first, when Damian appears in his garden, but his new friend grows on him, over coffee and dancing.

It’s hard to say too much without giving away the plot, although it’s clear from quite near the start that things are not as they seem – for us or Patrick.

The story flowed easily and the rapport between Damian and Patrick came through. It was easy to smile and to be sad when the need arose.
There were one or two parts that got me slightly confused, but Patrick is a real sweetie, and Damien’s a charmer. Both characters are well rounded and quirky, as is the entire story. If you want hot steamy sex or something deep and intense, I’d stay away, but if you want something sweet and easy to read then I’d heartily recommend this darling little book. 

Pages or Words: 5,600 words



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2 comments:

  1. Ooh, thank you so much for the lovely review. "Darling little book' *sighs*

    Thank you. :)

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    1. Thank you. It was a pleasure. I was a bit worried the 'darling little book' might come over a bit patronizing but that's what came to mind. It's the kind of book that's difficult to talk about without giving things away and I just had to convey how sweet and lovely it is. I've been reading quite a lot of dark heavy stuff lately and this was like a glass of lemonade in among all the coffee :D

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