Genre: Contemporary
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
RILEY — Shane has been my favorite person for my entire life. I’ve always loved him, and now I’m in love with him. I know he cares about me, too, but I’m sure he just thinks of me as his best friend’s kid. Now that he’s finished with active duty, he’ll probably start dating, and I’ll have to pretend to be happy for him. At least I’ll have this Christmas vacation with him and my family to look back on. I wasn’t planning to ever tell him how I felt, but now we’re snowed in together and I’m not sure I can hide my feelings. Especially when he holds me and tells me everything will be okay.
SHANE — I devoted my life to the military. The closest thing I have to a family is my best friend and his wife and kids. I would never risk damaging that relationship by making a move on Riley, even though I realized last year that I’m in love with him. He should have someone better, anyway; someone smart and young and happy, like him. I don’t deserve him, especially now that my secrets have put his life in danger. I’ll do anything to keep Riley from being hurt, especially by me. But when he asks me for something I so badly want to give him, can I find the strength to say no?
The Review
It’s Christmas time and Shane has gone to the college to pick up his best friend Russ’s son, Riley. Shane joined the military at the age of seventeen and met Russ, his squad leader. He celebrated with the family often, as they had become his family. Shane recalls Russ and Terry celebrating their twentieth wedding anniversary.
Riley will be graduating in a couple of weeks, and Shane also remembers Riley being embarrassed about a poem he wrote. Shane had liked the poem, about loneliness and the distance between the stars. Riley talked about when his Dad was gone, and he really missed Shane too.
For Riley, home life is good but hectic. Dad, Mom and siblings. His Dad, being a military man, is the Commander and Chief at home. He wanted Riley to be a man, and be more like him. But Riley isn’t like him and he keeps that secret to himself. He knows his Dad would try to fix him. Sometime he thinks he’s better off staying on campus.
For Shane this is supposed to be an easy assignment – get the target to his parent’s house. It would all be on schedule but for an upcoming blizzard which might interfere with that schedule.
When Shane arrives, Riley offers, with a bright smile, to show Shane around the robotics lab. Riley will be in the lab the next year, working with the science and magic of it all. Shane has been interested in Riley for some time, but now he sees that the nineteen-year-old has gone from being a boy to a man, and the temptation is greater.
Now Shane will be spending three hours alone in the car with Riley. But the blizzard isn’t the biggest issue, as Shane and Riley find themselves on the run from danger.
Both Riley and Shane have their secrets. Will they finally share what they’ve been hiding, and what will it mean for them both?
This age gap story has two great characters: Riley and Shane. Both are likable and show their emotions as the story progresses. Riley has to become the adult at one point, and Shane deals with the loneliness he has always faced and a job that can endanger both Riley and his family.
Blizzards and Bullets is an easy read of a short story, packed with fast paced action, suspense, emotions, a little violence, secrets to be revealed, and a romance that will touch your heart. An entertaining short story with all the elements I like. Rain always seems to pop back up with the best stories at just the right time.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.
