What do you think?
Rate this book
Seeing the Same Blue
Dustin “Dusty” Rhoades isn’t looking for a relationship. He’s tried them before, with disastrous results, and decided he’s better off on his own. So he focuses on his professional life as a landscape architect.Cliff Benson is convinced he can’t have the relationship he wants. His father is as homophobic as he is wealthy, and has made it perfectly clear he expects Cliff to get married. Dutifully, Cliff proposes to society girl Alyson, works in his father’s law firm, and accepts that he has nowhere to turn.When Dusty meets Cliff at his engagement party, the attraction is strong and instantaneous, but when Dusty admits his feelings, Cliff backs off. Dusty suggests they proceed as friends, but they are too drawn to each other. Just as they both finally agree they want more, Alyson’s suspicious brother outs them, risking everything Dusty has worked for.
- GenresM M RomanceContemporary
166 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 28, 2013
2 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
About the author
Ken Bachtold
10 books6 followersKEN BACHTOLD graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA and an MA in acting and directing and a minor in art. Passing up a great teaching job and surrendering to the “lure of the big-time,” he came to New York. After pounding the pavement and finding it wanting, he decided to shape his own destiny and founded A Company of Players Repertory Theatre, producing and directing five plays, including J.M. Barrie’s Dear Brutus. For The Drama Committee, he directed several plays including Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband and A Woman of No Importance. He wrote and directed the musical Saloon, based loosely on The Drunkard, which opened a brand-new dinner theater in New Jersey and received rave reviews. Being accepted at the BMI Musical Comedy Class, he wrote The Facts of Life. Two other original musicals include Boo! and Dilemma!
He acted in and directed many shows for Frank Calo’s ongoing Spotlight On Festivals, Inc., including Jean Anouilh’s Antigone. More recently he wrote and directed the gay-themed original play Starting Over, accepted for the Ninth Annual Fresh Fruit Festival.
Always an avid reader, his two-year-old Kindle currently stores 400 books, mostly MM romance. Often frustrated at finding exactly the type of story he favored, he thought, What the hell, I should write one. And so he did! He dipped his foot in the literary pond by self-publishing. Growing more hopeful, he was profoundly delighted when Seeing the Same Blue was accepted for publication by Dreamspinner Press. Then came Blue Valentine Blues, part of the Valentine Anthology, and now, All By Myself. He hopes you like them all!
He acted in and directed many shows for Frank Calo’s ongoing Spotlight On Festivals, Inc., including Jean Anouilh’s Antigone. More recently he wrote and directed the gay-themed original play Starting Over, accepted for the Ninth Annual Fresh Fruit Festival.
Always an avid reader, his two-year-old Kindle currently stores 400 books, mostly MM romance. Often frustrated at finding exactly the type of story he favored, he thought, What the hell, I should write one. And so he did! He dipped his foot in the literary pond by self-publishing. Growing more hopeful, he was profoundly delighted when Seeing the Same Blue was accepted for publication by Dreamspinner Press. Then came Blue Valentine Blues, part of the Valentine Anthology, and now, All By Myself. He hopes you like them all!
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 31, 2013
This book went from a 1 to a 2 star because I absolutely adored Maggie.
I found some sections of the book quite enjoyable, but overall I felt the author was channeling a mix of Barbara Cartland, with the theatrics of Oscar Wilde thrown in for good measure.
Half the time I felt as though I was sitting through long winded lectures on local history, landmarks, architecture, little known musicals, long departed actresses, and flora suitable for the climate. (as much as I enjoy these topics, most definitely not when they take over the story they are discussed in).
It is obvious the author is an educated man, but there was no need to prove to us how knowledgeable he is of his local area by smothering the books with said knowledge.
The speech patterns of the 30+- age group in this story would have fit nicely in the late 19th, early 20th century social scene. A little out of place in a modern day setting.
Oh and the 'Insta-love'!
As much as I believe in love at first sight (I've been married to my 'love at first' sight for 31 years).. For one of the main characters to VERBALISE 'I think I'm falling in love with you' after a total of 15+- minutes of conversation with the other main character (who has spent his life in denial and is engaged to a woman). Puhleeassee!!! Even Mills and Boone authors were not that fast off the mark!
On reading the Authors Bio at the end, the transition from writing for the stage to writing novels is probably where the main issues stems from.
I found some sections of the book quite enjoyable, but overall I felt the author was channeling a mix of Barbara Cartland, with the theatrics of Oscar Wilde thrown in for good measure.
Half the time I felt as though I was sitting through long winded lectures on local history, landmarks, architecture, little known musicals, long departed actresses, and flora suitable for the climate. (as much as I enjoy these topics, most definitely not when they take over the story they are discussed in).
It is obvious the author is an educated man, but there was no need to prove to us how knowledgeable he is of his local area by smothering the books with said knowledge.
The speech patterns of the 30+- age group in this story would have fit nicely in the late 19th, early 20th century social scene. A little out of place in a modern day setting.
Oh and the 'Insta-love'!
As much as I believe in love at first sight (I've been married to my 'love at first' sight for 31 years).. For one of the main characters to VERBALISE 'I think I'm falling in love with you' after a total of 15+- minutes of conversation with the other main character (who has spent his life in denial and is engaged to a woman). Puhleeassee!!! Even Mills and Boone authors were not that fast off the mark!
On reading the Authors Bio at the end, the transition from writing for the stage to writing novels is probably where the main issues stems from.
May 31, 2013
Here's the story in a nutshell. Cliff (a deeply closeted man) is going to get married to Alyson, a truly annoying person. At their engagement party, he sees Dusty, and there is love at first sight.
Now, look at it from Dusty's perspective. Dusty goes to the engagement party as the "plus 1" of his sister in order to use his gaydar to see if her present beau is gay. Dusty determines that his sister's beau is straight as an arrow, but Cliff is setting off the gaydar big time. When Dusty sees Cliff for the first time, it is instant love.
OK . . . Now we have two characters who are madly in love with each other, and the rest of the book is about how friends and family come to terms with their relationship. There are some terrific secondary characters in the book -- in fact, in many scenes, the secondary characters held this reader's interest more than the main characters.
The story is a bit predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless. It is telegraphed that there will be an obligatory happily ever after ending when the story starts out with an insta-love plot. I wish there was a little more plot development with the evil fiancé, Alyson, and her equally evil brother, Preston, so the break-up would have been a little more satisfying.
The author is good with descriptive writing: There are places in the story where his dialogue is very good, but, there are other places where the dialogue is a little stilted and unrealistic. This is, however, a first novel for the author and nit-picking just goes to show you how good the rest of the book is. Hopefully, we will see more from this author.
Four stars from me.
Now, look at it from Dusty's perspective. Dusty goes to the engagement party as the "plus 1" of his sister in order to use his gaydar to see if her present beau is gay. Dusty determines that his sister's beau is straight as an arrow, but Cliff is setting off the gaydar big time. When Dusty sees Cliff for the first time, it is instant love.
OK . . . Now we have two characters who are madly in love with each other, and the rest of the book is about how friends and family come to terms with their relationship. There are some terrific secondary characters in the book -- in fact, in many scenes, the secondary characters held this reader's interest more than the main characters.
The story is a bit predictable, but enjoyable nonetheless. It is telegraphed that there will be an obligatory happily ever after ending when the story starts out with an insta-love plot. I wish there was a little more plot development with the evil fiancé, Alyson, and her equally evil brother, Preston, so the break-up would have been a little more satisfying.
The author is good with descriptive writing: There are places in the story where his dialogue is very good, but, there are other places where the dialogue is a little stilted and unrealistic. This is, however, a first novel for the author and nit-picking just goes to show you how good the rest of the book is. Hopefully, we will see more from this author.
Four stars from me.
May 31, 2013
The first word to describe this story is POETIC. Here we have a nice, warm romance between Dustin "Dusty" and Cliff. The main plotted romance in this story isn't specially fresh, but has a wonderful poetic feeling of grace. Of course we have an HEA, too.
August 17, 2013
3.5 stars. This story and me, we didn’t click. At all, unfortunately. There’s a lot of depictions and talk about architecture, interior design, musicals, and flowers. When the first lasted over four pages, I skipped. I find this annoying and embarrassing since I wanted to like this story. It started out well. Dusty’s a non-conformist, out and proud. At a party he meets Preston, a snobbish homophobe—who happens to be the future brother-in-law of Cliff, the closeted gay guy who has felt the pressure from his overbearing father and society all his life. The moment Dusty and Cliff see each other, it’s lust and love at first sight, hot and burning and sizzling… Well, you get the idea.
Dusty and Cliff speak twice, very briefly, like a sentence or two. At the end of the second talk, Dusty tells Cliff he’s falling in love with him. Whoa, put on the breaks! That was way too fast. It’s like the two men do everything backwards: They meet in heat (pardon the pun), declare love—and then abstain from sex and any kind of physical closeness to get to know each other for months. Just struck me as odd.
Like I said, there was rambling on completely irrelevant discussions, like city’s architectural history, and then there are the declarations of love. But what annoyed me the most was the way they talked. I can’t put my finger on it, but I spent the whole time frowning in confusion, completely taken out of the story. Strange wordings and antiquated speech patterns threw me for a loop at virtually every page. You’ll have to read this for yourselves to see if you get any of it better than me.
And then there’s Dusty and Cliff themselves. Though in third person, we only get Dusty’s POV. Cliff is not easy to like. Well, I suppose he grows on you. But he’s like a frightened animal, and no matter what commitment is promised him, he shies away from it. Good thing Dusty’s patient. Both men do come through as distinct individuals, Dusty more than Cliff, and that was good. When the spoke about their likes and dislikes like regular people, these were the highlights of the story.
Then we get to the side characters. Preston, the jerk of an enemy; Alyson, the vindictive, greedy bride-to-be; Janice, Dusty’s sister; Mark, Janice’s fiancé; and Maggie, an older, wealthy queen of the social upper rungs. This is where things went well in the story. I was all ready to give this 2.5 stars, but notched it up because of Janice, Mark, and Maggie. Janice is sweet and kind, but also a firecracker. I loved her. Mark is a wonderful warm character of a straight man who isn’t afraid or nervous to be close, or even hug, a gay man. He’s secure in his sexuality, honest and honorable, and this was wonderful to see. Maggie may be old but she’s full of fire and brimstone. It’s because of these people that I added another star. But only one because Dusty and Cliff don’t really sort anything out by themselves; Maggie sorts things out for them with Preston, Alyson, and Cliff’s father. Yes, Dusty and Cliff do confront these enemies, but they’re not the ones to solve things. That was a shame.
All in all, I expect Mr. Bachtold will write more MM, and hopefully with less weird conversations and ramblings, and more from both men’s point of view equally. Cliff remained such an unknown that I couldn’t form any kind of attachment to him, unfortunately. And whenever Dusty said things to Cliff about ignoring his bride and being with him instead, without anything being resolved, my hackles rose. Ouch.
I can only advice you to read this for yourselves. Perhaps your conclusions will vary greatly from mine. Maybe I should have been more patient about everything. Alas, I couldn’t form a different opinion. Mr. Bachtold can write, so I hope his next work will be better. I’ll be sure to check it out.
Dusty and Cliff speak twice, very briefly, like a sentence or two. At the end of the second talk, Dusty tells Cliff he’s falling in love with him. Whoa, put on the breaks! That was way too fast. It’s like the two men do everything backwards: They meet in heat (pardon the pun), declare love—and then abstain from sex and any kind of physical closeness to get to know each other for months. Just struck me as odd.
Like I said, there was rambling on completely irrelevant discussions, like city’s architectural history, and then there are the declarations of love. But what annoyed me the most was the way they talked. I can’t put my finger on it, but I spent the whole time frowning in confusion, completely taken out of the story. Strange wordings and antiquated speech patterns threw me for a loop at virtually every page. You’ll have to read this for yourselves to see if you get any of it better than me.
And then there’s Dusty and Cliff themselves. Though in third person, we only get Dusty’s POV. Cliff is not easy to like. Well, I suppose he grows on you. But he’s like a frightened animal, and no matter what commitment is promised him, he shies away from it. Good thing Dusty’s patient. Both men do come through as distinct individuals, Dusty more than Cliff, and that was good. When the spoke about their likes and dislikes like regular people, these were the highlights of the story.
Then we get to the side characters. Preston, the jerk of an enemy; Alyson, the vindictive, greedy bride-to-be; Janice, Dusty’s sister; Mark, Janice’s fiancé; and Maggie, an older, wealthy queen of the social upper rungs. This is where things went well in the story. I was all ready to give this 2.5 stars, but notched it up because of Janice, Mark, and Maggie. Janice is sweet and kind, but also a firecracker. I loved her. Mark is a wonderful warm character of a straight man who isn’t afraid or nervous to be close, or even hug, a gay man. He’s secure in his sexuality, honest and honorable, and this was wonderful to see. Maggie may be old but she’s full of fire and brimstone. It’s because of these people that I added another star. But only one because Dusty and Cliff don’t really sort anything out by themselves; Maggie sorts things out for them with Preston, Alyson, and Cliff’s father. Yes, Dusty and Cliff do confront these enemies, but they’re not the ones to solve things. That was a shame.
All in all, I expect Mr. Bachtold will write more MM, and hopefully with less weird conversations and ramblings, and more from both men’s point of view equally. Cliff remained such an unknown that I couldn’t form any kind of attachment to him, unfortunately. And whenever Dusty said things to Cliff about ignoring his bride and being with him instead, without anything being resolved, my hackles rose. Ouch.
I can only advice you to read this for yourselves. Perhaps your conclusions will vary greatly from mine. Maybe I should have been more patient about everything. Alas, I couldn’t form a different opinion. Mr. Bachtold can write, so I hope his next work will be better. I’ll be sure to check it out.
July 1, 2013
Reviewed for Hearts On Fire Reviews
I am very sad to report that this book didn’t work for me at all.
It is very hard to write a review about a book you couldn’t relate to, but I will try and explain what went wrong and why this book wasn’t for me.
It was going well for the first quarter of the book, then it all went downhill.
We have Dustin, a normal guy who has a very spot-on gaydar. When his sister asks him to “scan” her new boyfriend for her Dustin finds himself in a very posh engagement party.
One look at the man coming down the stairs, sparks flying, tunnel vision and BOOM! we are in love.
First thing that doesn´t work, insta love. And I am talking “I want to be with you forever, I love you” on page… well it was on the 33% mark of the book.
And guess what? The object of Dustin´s affection is Cliff, the soon to be groom.
So we have the book plot exposed during the first third of the book, and nothing moved forward.
We went back and forth with this issue all through the book.
One redeeming quality was Maggie, Cliff´s aunt, who had the only bit of interesting background story to share, and I actually thought that that was going to play a more crucial part in this book, but the author didn’t see the same potential to develop that particular sub-plot.
They find a way to get to know each other, with a little help from Maggie, but it´s high school silly. These are not teenage boys, they are supposed to be adults, but the flirting, the relationship development felt like 14yo girls.
Soon we have Cliff breaking off the engagement with Allyson, and I get it she is upset but all the name calling put me off the story again. Was out of place, it felt like it was cut & paste from something else. And when she had reason to be upset and throw a tantrum, she just vanishes… we don’t know what happens to her, one moment she is there screaming the next she is gone, like a ghost, and nobody asks where she went.
Eventually after six weeks of courtship they get to spend the night together, yes, six weeks of nothing but kisses and hand holding.
I don’t mind a book without sex, sex is not why I read romance but if you are not going to give me sex, then give me plot, character development… give me something!
So, all in all, Seeing the Same Blue was not the book for me.
The two hearts are for Maggie, and for the effort in the NYC landmarks descriptions and the bits and pieces of information on gardening, gardens and the rest. Shows that there was some research on the author´s part.
December 27, 2016
Synopsis: Dusty hasn't had the best luck with relationships, and so he decides to not enter in to any. Then he meets Cliff, who is not out, and is in fact engaged to a woman. The attraction is instantaneous, but both men agree to just be friends...except the feelings prove to be too much for both of them.
What I liked: the premise. It could have been so good.
What I didn't like: both men were wishy-washy and insta-love and just...grrr. None of the characters were really likeable.
What I liked: the premise. It could have been so good.
What I didn't like: both men were wishy-washy and insta-love and just...grrr. None of the characters were really likeable.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews