Bombora

by Mal Peters

After a disastrous relationship with a married man leads to losing his family and his job, Phelan Price ends up in the small surfing town of Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California. It’s the perfect place to recover from a nervous breakdown—he even becomes good friends with a fellow surfer, Hugh, a mystery writer who has plenty of demons of his own. Life isn’t perfect, but Phel is starting to get back on his feet. Then Phel's estranged lover arrives under the banner of a messy divorce, the circumstances of which he refuses to disclose, and throws their peaceful world into chaos. Phel's shock is complete when the man he's been trying to forget introduces himself as Hugh’s brother, Nate. As far as Hugh is concerned, this is as good as it Nate completes their band of misfits perfectly, and the bond they develop through surfing seems strong. But he is unaware that, beneath the surface, Nate and Phel share a darker history than he could ever guess at—a riptide past that threatens to drag them under and consume them from within.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT, M M Contemporary

296 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2012

About the author

Mal Peters’ first complete story was a retelling of The Tortoise and the Hare, co-written at age six with her father; it involved the conspicuous use of vintage muscle cars. Although she’s since gone solo due to creative differences, she hasn’t forsaken her love of sweet rides or writing fiction, having completed degrees in Creative Writing, English, and Information Studies, and published her work in a small (very small) selection of Canadian university journals. Simultaneously a librarian, freelance editor, and fencing coach in Toronto, where she has lived more than half her life, she also enjoys cooking, music snobbery, soldering things, loudly pontificating the superiority of Piedmont region wines, and talking bollocks.

Reviews

[Cole Riann]

DNF @ somewhere around halfway

Thanks for all the wellwishing and "you can do it"s :) Sadly, this book just isn't for me and it's taught me that I should really make sure I know what I'm getting into when I'm committed for review. So far, it might still be reviewed at TAR, but I'm not sure. I would say that there's a day I might be in the mood for it and pick it back up, but I doubt it, so it's going to the DNF shelf. There's a lot that I didn't like about it, and a lot I did, actually. But more than that, there's a lot that was predisposed to go against everything I enjoy reading, so I'm not really qualified to review this either way.

[Rodney Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the reviews for this novel have been, I feel, a bit-short-sighted...I don't consider this a typical romance whatsoever, and for that, I am glad...I welcomed the flawed characters, the deception and I am becoming impatient with the pushback against angst and demands for HEA...the LGBTQ community is becoming awfully reductive about their literature. I thought our community had
evolved above common expectations of character...people are flawed and, when placed in uncomfortable, unreliable or despicable or unreliable situations, will do what they must to prevail...Mal's writing style, IMHO, is unique...with a way of upending expectations and doing 'gotcha!' reversals. I LOVED the voice, the observations, the gift for description and evoking time. The intensity of sexual passages have a sure touch, yet never descend into unimaginative "...and then we did this...then he flipped me over and we did this" predictability...
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this novel as not just a M/M work, but as literature.

[Feliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a veritable angst-fest... Lies,guilt,apologies, more lies, hurt,apologies,love friendship,nervous breakdowns... All delivered in a great, dryly humorous yet at times lyrical, at times compelllingly intense writing style. Great sense and use of place.slightly OTT characters who are neverthelss psychologically solidly based.
Well, and a great *siiiigh* tear- jerker of a reunion scene. Yes, I'm a sap this way.

Longer and more detailed review at www.reviewsbyjessewave.com

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

It could have been a great book, but I can only give three stars. I didn't like how Nate didn't trust his brother by telling him he was gay sooner, how Nate and Phel lied to Hugh about being in love. Even confronted, they lied and get mad at Hugh for wanting answers, they even made it all about Hugh. Hugh had to see them in bed together the next morning to know the truth. By that, he almost reach the deep end. Such brother and best friend.

[Elizabetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

bombora (Australian)— a wave that forms over a hidden reef, producing a dangerous stretch of broken water

Well, this didn’t seem hopeful at first. I mean, first person perspective divided between three protags. And it’s all about cheating, and cheating liars who lie, and cheat. You’d have your work cut out for you, making these guys likable.

But. This book got its hooks in me. I really liked, nope, pretty much loved it. First of all. the writing is wonderful: straightforward, clear, with empathy for the characters, but makes no excuses for them and their many faults. Hugh, Phelan, and Nate. Their story is based on their (complicated) love for each other (no menage here) and for surfing, a common shared passion. But each of them holds some secret, some hidden fear that threatens to destroy their bond. I found it all mesmerizing, like watching a train wreck— you want to look away but just can’t. Salacious and squirmy, about selfishness, betrayal, and retribution.

Part of the way through, I got really pissed off at these guys. I mean, really. Lies, lies, and more lies. And obsession. And hiding. Like a bombora, it’s what’s beneath the surface, the secrets kept, that can lead to ruin. Again, couldn’t stop reading.

In the end it’s also about forgiveness. The real fascination is the path to get to it. Second chances and forgiveness. And a lot of cool talk about surfing.

[Snowtulip]

I've been pondering for days on how I feel about this book and how I would rate it. Admitedly, it is still a bit beyond my grasp. This book exhausted me more than any other book I've read in recent history. The drama, the lies, the writing style, the disharmony, the revenge sex...completely exhausted. Yet, I had to keep reading...so does that mean I liked? Not so sure. Still debating on a 2 or 3 star rating.

[Idamus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Stopped at about 40%, I really, really didn't like either MC and honestly couldn't care less if they end up together or not, I like Hugh though

[Fi Brit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written with a nice pace and easy style but the writer really let the characters go too far with the lies. Sure, I got why Phelan didn't want to tell Hugh that Nate was the guy, but for them to turn on him because of his too accurate guess, well that was just low. After that, I couldn't help rather disliking the pair of them and that rather spoiled the book for me. Such a shame.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a clusterfuck. Loved it.

[Lada · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not the best of story, especially with Hugh being very dense about the situation while Nate and Phelan was hurting each other and lying to Hugh over and over again, but it's a riveting one. And more importantly, it successfully wreaked havoc on my rational mind and my emotions.

My friend once accused me of only liking a black and white kind of story, but, well, this one was certainly a fifty shades of grey kind of story (and not in BDSM way!) and I must concede that I liked it.

[Nivalis]

Fanfic turned "Original".

This book was originally written as a Supernatural (Dean/Castiel) fanfic titled "Carry On Up This Broken Tide".

Summary: "The small, California town of Cardiff-by-the-Sea attracts millions of surfers a year, ranging from amateurs to world-class professionals. Although tourists constantly populate the area, Sam Campbell—née Winchester—renowned author of supernatural suspense novels and surf enthusiast, has called Cardiff home ever since the violent death of his girlfriend, Jessica. When he meets Castiel Novak, an enigmatic newcomer with a mysterious past, the two strike up an easy friendship that revolves around surfing and their mutual need for privacy from the outside world. The arrival of Sam’s brother, Dean, following a messy divorce under hazy circumstances, promises to complete their little circle of misfits and social pariahs. Sam thinks that life for once can’t get any better, surrounded by the people he trusts most in the world. Much to his dismay, it quickly becomes obvious that there is no love lost between Dean and Cas, though Sam can’t begin to guess why. As time progresses, he begins to get the feeling that the two of them know each other from somewhere else, and that their past might have everything to do with why they chose to escape to Cardiff in the first place."

[Buda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was damaged by its length. Even the reunion scene was too verbose to be impactful. I liked all three guys well enough and could definitely feel the love between Phel and Nate, but by the time they got it figured out, I just wanted it to be over.

[Isis Molina · Rating 1 out of 5]

The characters were cold. All of them. There wasn't much depth to the characters or the story. I finished this book simply because it was Supernatural fanfiction. But I deeply regret having paid for this.

[Dewey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It was super angsty but in a really good way. In the beginning I thought there was no way I could like one of the MCs. I actually stopped early on to re-read the book summary because I thought there was no way this could be the couple but it ended up working.

[Stephanie]

Why: Unlikeable characters acting moronic or in an unrealistic way and cheating. Too angsty.

[Mistral · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars