Locomotives in Winter

by Luke Hartwell

Hunter, a high school senior, finds himself with no place to go and ends up sharing a bed with the friend and classmate he once had abandoned. Brandon, who has been in love with Hunter since ninth grade, finds having Hunter in his bed every night leads to some surprises. After graduating, the two boys part. Years later Brandon receives an unexpected call from Hunter, who has been married twice and has a son. Now, he's come to realize Brandon was always the love of his life. Hartwell charts the lives of not only Brandon and Hunter but their friends Case, Jorge, and Scott, as well. Readers also come to know Hunter's son, Ben, and Case's son, Taylor, who are best friends. Locomotives in Winter is an intimate, sexy novel as well as an oddly-literate novel --with its title taken from a Whitman poem--for readers looking to read something a bit out of the ordinary.

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Friends To Lovers, Romance, Gay

292 pages, Paperback

First published August 8, 2013

About the author

Readers can track Luke Hartwell's book releases on the Watersgreen House website. Luke's books are available from Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Gardners, Baker & Taylor, Smashwords, Scribd, Odilo, and OverDrive.

Reviews

[LenaRibka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Foreword:

WTF have I just read?!

One part of me try to understand and find an explanation and the other part is speechless...

I am torn between my obsession for the writing style of Luke Hartwell and his ingenious skills to piss me off turn the story in a totally WRONG direction. This book deserves every possibly existing rating: from 1 to 5 stars. And it is not something totally unexpected about the books of this author.

THE WRITING.

It is unique in style and voice.
It is intimate and erotic.
It is of a very high literary quality.
It is different - provocative, powerful, without any rules and schemas, straightforward and delightfully good.

Locomotives in Winter is also different comparing to the other books of Luke Hartwell I have already read. Having been written in a dialogue form, it appears very vivid and realistic. We learn about the MCs, about their past, their present and their plans for the mutual future mostly out of their conversations with each other. There is a kind of a theatre play in this form of telling.


The Plot:

The book consists of 3 parts. I ADORE the first part. I am conflicted over the second part. I HATE the third part. The last part is a 1 star rating for me.
And I'm still thinking WTF happened there?!

The author needed the 2/3 of the book to convince us how great were the two MCs TOGETHER, how wonderful that they found each other after so many years apart, how strong and unbreakable was their love...in order to ruin everything in the last part. Suddenly everything that was essential and important in the first two parts became meaningless and not relevant. Inclusive the most important people. They were deleted from the last pages like annoying and disturbing factors. And it happened with a very weak explanation that was not convincing at all.



I really tried to understand the motives of the author for this sudden change in the story. I really really tried. But I couldn't buy it. Sorry.




Was it just about that?



P.S. I have to mention, that I've swallowed this book in one sitting. I stayed awake through the night. Yeah, because I was not able to put it aside. Actually...it is a sign for a great book for me.

[Louis Stevens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must say after reading Atom Heart John Beloved I was a bit disappointed by this book from the inimitable Luke Hartwell. OK so look away, a few spoilers ahead. The story started off pretty much like you'd expect a Hartwell novel to, with the gay guy straight guy crush.

Both Brandon and Hunter are heartbreakingly beautiful and vulnerable and you feel an instant connection with both. Fast forward like ten or eleven years???? I felt robbed!

MAJOR plot twist over the phone?! WTH?

One of Hartwell's major talents is to write the story as thought it actually happened, and really get you invested in the characters and their stories being "really relatable". Well call my cynical but a straight crush phoning you up after a decade and offering to marry you over the phone, out of the blue? Not so much.

After wrapping my head around this (the two seemingly romantic leads getting together within the first 100 pages) there were still a few good hundred more to enjoy. Only...it ends up not being the two main leads. Which kind of left me miffed. I felt the main prize went to a character that entered the game waaaaaay too late in the book and suddenly swoops in to save it all and give him the life you WANTED Hunter to give him.

Suddenly Hunter is the bad guy, the control freak sexaholic slash closet homophobe who suddenly dislikes his gay son after having his love for him through the early part of the novel become one of his best traits???? Serious WTF moment.

I still rooted for Hunter and felt he got dealt a terrible blow, just bring written out and written off like that. Don't like Scott, never did. Hunter and Brandon is where the story started, it's where it should have ended.

Three stars, I'm afraid, is already being generous, Mr. Hartwell.

Your undying fan.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm thinking :D
Luke Hartwell is an exceptional writer. But you don't always get what you expect , or what you want.
This is a story about the transience ( is that a word??) Of love. In a way, I understand this. Love can seem like madness, completely taking over your mind. Then when it's over, you wonder what on Earth it was all about. But I must admit I craved a HEA for the childhood friends turned lovers. I got confused by the endless sexual partners , and discarding of characters. They all irritated me . Even made me laugh. Right from the start, I had a creepy feeling about , well, the ending.
It is provoking, insightful, sometimes shocking. I like all that. But for me, I'm left with a sense of ' did I miss something?' Which may well be the case :)

[Shelby P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy Luke Hartwell's books because they are usually different, insightful, and thought provoking. So I was a bit disappointed with this story in that regard. There was a ton of sex in this book and it reminded me a bit of The Back Passage where everyone's ass was up for grabs. The sex was hot, I can't lie, but it was also disturbing.

I wish the author had used contractions more. It was very difficult and stilted reading the dialogue when contractions weren't used consistently.

I don't know if I ever liked Hunter. I felt like he was a bad influence on Brandon at times. The threesome between Hunter, Brandon, and Jorge was weirdly hot and reminded me of Hiring Pedro, which I love!

When Scott was first introduced I thought what they did to him bordered on rape. I was so shocked that Hunter would do that. It was interesting to see Hunter's reaction to his son's flamboyant ways. Not sure what to make of Taylor. Was he just conceited or was there more? I wished part three gave us an update on Hunter.

The story here wasn't as unique and insightful as I was expecting from a Luke Hartwell novel but the sex was hot so I gotta give it 3 stars LOL.

[Megan L Harnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of Brandon who has known he was gay since he was thirteen. He grew up not knowing many friends until one day he gets paired with Hunter, who he thinks is really cute. As time goes by Hunter and Brandon become friends and they start hanging out all the time. They get along famously until Hunter finds out that Brandon is gay and is in love with Hunter. It isn't until senior year when Hunter gets kicked out of his house and has nowhere else to go he comes back to Brandon and ends up living with him. So much so that they even share a bed together and start doing things with each other. Brandon loves Hunter but doesn't know if Hunter loves him back so he ends up going his own way and leaving Austin to go to college. Years later after college Brandon is a teacher and is living life but still has always loved Hunter. When one day Hunter calls him offering that love and a whole different life entirely.

I really liked this story and it was fascinating. I won't spill what happens between Hunter and Brandon but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. I will only tell you this that Hunter shows Brandon what life could really be like with having people you love around you and that is exactly what Brandon gets in the end. It just might not be with the people you think it will be. I love how Brandon tells this story and how he grows and evolves as a person throughout this story. It was very heartwarming and great. I was pleasantly surprised with this story and I am hoping to read more from Luke Hartwell in the future.

I give this story a solid 4 stars.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love each of Hartwell's books for different reasons, but the writing style is always a reason I like them, and this book is no exception. The story is told mostly through dialogue, like some of Hemingway's books. Among the cast of characters, I really enjoyed the chapters on Taylor, the kid who grows up to be a famous athlete. Hartwell really does some brave things with that character, and I loved every sweet but controversial line. One thing I've noticed about Hartwell is he almost never portrays any character as totally good, which mirrors my own experience of people. Instead, he shows us their interior in such a way that anyone with a generous spirit and loving heart can see the good in them and see what makes them tick, the same way we have to be forgiving of our friends if we want to have any friends. Hartwell always impresses me with the way he uses sex to reveal insights into the human soul. As always, very graphic and very thought-provoking. There's also something literary going on with that Whitman poem from which the book gets its title. I really love this author and can't wait for the next book!

[Brin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was...odd. I really cannot make my mind up about it. Some parts I enjoyed (especially the beginning when the characters were in high school) but the plot seemed to veer about a lot and I wasn't particularly taken with the characters.

Overall it was an interesting read but I was unmoved throughout most of the story and the characters never really came alive on the page for me.

Full review to follow...

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was such an odd book. I didn't get it. The dialogue between the characters was stiff and I kept thinking that real people just don't talk this way. The endless discussions about sex and constant sexual trysts didn't seem to serve any purpose. I kept reading wondering what the end game was and realized there wasn't one! I did like Hartwell's book Atom Heart John Beloved, but this one was a disappointment.

[Shane Pennell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although all of Hartwell's stories and novels are very different from each other, they each have Hartwell's style. This one is probably Hartwell's most contemplative book and at the same time his most sex-themed book. Not sure how he pulled that off. Maybe because it's longer than the others he had more pages to explore both body and soul. I love it.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75
I really liked some of the characters and hated others. I really liked the writing style and found it very interesting. But a few of my favorite characters were just dumped from the story line 3/4th's through the book.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very unusual read. It was a good book but definitely had a character make-up that was not the typical high school romance that spans over 15 or so years.

[Asmaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars 🙊🙈🙉

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm not sure about this.. It's unlike any book I've read & I'm still trying to decide if I enjoyed it or not?

Hunter made me mad A LOT! I liked him but then I wanted to slap him soooooo hard too.. Brandon, I felt the same, one moment loving him & the next wanting to shake him?

Ben & Taylor were good characters, I was holding out hope for them both but then that also went another route.. To sum up you thought you were going to read one thing but ending up with something completely different..?

Basically I feel as though I didn't understand the point of the book.. Is this how people conduct their daily lives?

So, yeah.. Not much more to say....

[Jessy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Luke Hartwell's writing. Atom Heart John Beloved and Nathan's Story were amazing, and I was convinced I would love this book just as much. But the storyline was not at all what I expected. Hunter was a highly unlikable character, and I couldn't understand why Brandon would agree to his "arrangements".

I will definitely revisit John and Nathan's stories, but I don't think I will ever reach for this book again.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend Louis Stevens recommended this book to me. this is a coming of age book story for the main character Brandon. He hears from his high school sweetheart Hunter after many years. Hunter takes Brandon on a sexual journey one that Brandon enjoyed until he came to his senses. A good coming to age story. I enjoyed it very much.

[Jiri Zaydlar · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was discusting. I hatet those slut-characters. It make me want to visit bathroom and...