by
1973 – At 53 years old, Bill, hadn’t expected to run into Bobby when he signed up for that medical convention in Houston. Fair to say they didn’t exactly part on good terms last time.
Twenty years later, is Bill ready to finally admit his feelings, his sexuality, and to gather his courage to conquer his old lover and friend once more?
A second chance romance with flashbacks to young love, addressing the struggles of coming out in an unwelcoming environment and building the life you really want.
- 1 To Be Read list
Publisher: Independently Published
Cover Artists:
Genres:
Pairings: M-M
Heat Level: 5
Romantic Content: 5
Ending: Click here to reveal
Character Identities: Bisexual, Gay
Protagonist 1 Age: 46-65
Protagonist 2 Age: 46-65
Tropes: Bad Breakup, Coming of Age, Coming Out / Closeted, Coming Out Later in Life, Death of Parent, First Time, Hurt / Comfort, Love Can Heal / Redemption, Opposites Attract, Reunited and it Feels So Good, Second Chances, Slow Burning Love, Uncommunicative Masculinity
Word Count: 95000
Setting: USA - Memphis & St Louis
Languages Available: English
“I am. And you love me just like that.”
Oh, he did, Bobby mused, bringing his grin to touch Bill’s own amused lips. But hearing it in Bill’s voice, his friend acknowledging their feelings, understanding that he was loved after all… Bobby would possibly never get used to the soaring joy this brought him.
READ MOREHe didn’t even realize he’d fallen asleep until he opened his eyes again and found himself plunged in darkness. A few blinks later, he remembered where he was, and cuddled further into the solid warmth of Bill’s still snoring body.
One palm on his chest and the other on his plump waist, Bobby marveled at his luck.
He’d gotten him back.
COLLAPSEHelios on Goodreads wrote:I never thought I liked romance until I finally started encountering queer love stories. Now I realize that I actually do love romance; it's just that I never found myself in it before. Now romance is one of my favorite genres (as long as it's queer), and "Dandelion" is one of the most real love stories that I know of. I love how the book follows parallel story lines between the present and the past that come together like a zipper to tell the complete story. I also love how the historical contexts of the 1930s-1970s, with WWII and also the gay rights movement, are used to build the story and the characters' experiences. The characters are so well-realized, flawed and beautiful, and they were so easy to quickly care about and get invested in. Bill and Bobby have so much chemistry on the page, which is a really hard thing to demonstrate in words. I feel like I want homophobic people to read this book because I don't know how you could not be moved by all of the love, hurt, happiness, and humanity in Bobby and Bill and their love story.
I had the honor of beta reading for this book and I must say if one day Merlina Garance’s books stop replacing themselves in my favorite reads ranking, that will be the day I’ve lost all sense and taste and you might as well just put me out of my misery.
Dandelion has the beautifully crafted characters and relationships we’re used to by now, but the writing style and tone have significantly shifted if you take the Leicester trilogy as comparison. This book is sweet, angsty and thoughtful like them, but somehow more intense, more real, more cruel in a way and more reassuring in others.
This book shows the amount of dedicated research and careful drafting that Merlina Garance puts in all their works, and I would recommend it to every fan of historical romance, queer history nerds and readers who live for a good dose of “anxiously pining x pining with fake composure” in their books.
