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Taking Flight
When Hunter decides he wants more from his relationship with Jake, the couple finds themselves at a crossroads. Never home for more than a few weeks at a time, Jake has been running from the pain of a rocky childhood ever since high school, when he first enlisted in the army. The thing is, he always comes back to Hunter’s bed. It's not the kind of commitment Hunter wants, but it's the kind he's settled for—that and a dead-end job at the local bookstore in the small Southern town where he grew up. When Jake reveals his plans to make a full-time career in the army, Hunter wonders if he's putting his life on hold for a relationship that will never happen. He needs to say something now before he loses Jake. However, if Jake can’t conquer his demons, Hunter’s asking for more is sure to drive him away.
70 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 25, 2014
62 people want to read
About the author
Maggie Kavanagh
7 books49 followersMaggie Kavanagh writes gay romances that explore flawed, human characters finding love. A recent Yankee transplant to Los Angeles, she's still a New Englander at heart. She went to graduate school for English literature and reads and writes voraciously, whenever she can get a moment alone. You can find her in the wee morning hours typing away with coffee at hand and cat in lap, happily embodying the romance writer cliché.
While she focuses mainly on contemporary romance, don’t be surprised if a historical or supernatural tale slips into the mix, as she’s always eager to discover different genres. More fiction is forthcoming soon, so stay tuned!
While she focuses mainly on contemporary romance, don’t be surprised if a historical or supernatural tale slips into the mix, as she’s always eager to discover different genres. More fiction is forthcoming soon, so stay tuned!
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 26, 2014
Angst galore and a whole mess of misunderstandings, but this short story totally worked for me! I started rooting for these boys from the minute I finished reading the blurb.
Recommended!
Recommended!
January 1, 2015
3.25 stars
I decided to read this short novella because Maggie Kavanagh had an upcoming novel released at the end of January. I wanted to 'sample' her writing before deciding to pre-order it since she was a new-to-me author.
For a novella, I thought Taking Flight had a good conflict. Here are two men who have been in a relationship for awhile but one is not yet ready to settle down and keep 'running back' to the battlefield. The story is written from Hunter's perspective, the one who stays behind, the one who wants to have more from the relationship. I thought Ms. Kavanaugh wrote his pain very well. The break-up sex in particular was heartbreaking
Unfortunately, this was also the story that relied on the "men-don't-talk" trope. Jake seems to step back to his shell and refuses to discuss things with Hunter when it comes to his 'issues'. I didn't really understand his reasoning that much ... I mean, "Life’s not too great for people who love me" was pretty lame of an excuse.
Since this was only a novella length, I thought it was lacking a deeper insight on to why Jake refused to settle down as well as the conflict resolution. To me, the resolution was as lame as the excuse because I didn't understand the sudden change of heart (especially since the story doesn't have Jake's perspective!). For a complicated conflict, the resolution was not really believable.
Having said that, I think I like Ms. Kavanaugh's writing (except for her choice of endearment. Baby! URGH! BLEH!). I pre-ordered her upcoming novel afterwards. Hopefully it will be a good gamble :)
I decided to read this short novella because Maggie Kavanagh had an upcoming novel released at the end of January. I wanted to 'sample' her writing before deciding to pre-order it since she was a new-to-me author.
For a novella, I thought Taking Flight had a good conflict. Here are two men who have been in a relationship for awhile but one is not yet ready to settle down and keep 'running back' to the battlefield. The story is written from Hunter's perspective, the one who stays behind, the one who wants to have more from the relationship. I thought Ms. Kavanaugh wrote his pain very well. The break-up sex in particular was heartbreaking
Unfortunately, this was also the story that relied on the "men-don't-talk" trope. Jake seems to step back to his shell and refuses to discuss things with Hunter when it comes to his 'issues'. I didn't really understand his reasoning that much ... I mean, "Life’s not too great for people who love me" was pretty lame of an excuse.
Since this was only a novella length, I thought it was lacking a deeper insight on to why Jake refused to settle down as well as the conflict resolution. To me, the resolution was as lame as the excuse because I didn't understand the sudden change of heart (especially since the story doesn't have Jake's perspective!). For a complicated conflict, the resolution was not really believable.
Having said that, I think I like Ms. Kavanaugh's writing (except for her choice of endearment. Baby! URGH! BLEH!). I pre-ordered her upcoming novel afterwards. Hopefully it will be a good gamble :)
February 27, 2014
disclaimer - I'm a long time fan of this author's wonderful writing in other places, and she's also a twitter friend :)
Sweet, heart-hurty and gentle, this is a lovely slice-of-life story that pulls you in and carries you along to the eventual happy ending. Established relationship can be hard to pull off in romance story, but it works well here. The supporting characters are nicely developed for a novella length story and add depth to a relatively simple storyline.
I love Maggie's writing style and find her stuff compelling and easy to read. I'm looking forward to more of her published work.
Sweet, heart-hurty and gentle, this is a lovely slice-of-life story that pulls you in and carries you along to the eventual happy ending. Established relationship can be hard to pull off in romance story, but it works well here. The supporting characters are nicely developed for a novella length story and add depth to a relatively simple storyline.
I love Maggie's writing style and find her stuff compelling and easy to read. I'm looking forward to more of her published work.
February 27, 2014
Gorgeous writing and so much delicious angst. I only wish it'd been longer! Loved it.
June 16, 2019
Good writing, but too short. I definitely wanted more.
April 20, 2014
3.5/5 stars...
Hunter and Jake have been together for several years, but Hunter is finding himself wanting more out of it as of late. He dreams of Jake finishing his military tour and them buying a house and living happily ever after. But the reality of it is, he and Jake may be having entirely different dreams.
When Jake tells Hunter he is considering re-enlisting, Hunter starts to doubt the strength of their future together. He comes to realize he can’t continue to put his life on hold for a maybe, and he gives Jake an ultimatum of sorts, and wakes up the next morning alone. Just as his broken heart is starting to heal, Hunter runs into Jake’s best friend and finds out Jake didn’t re-enlist after all. When Hunter goes to see Jake, will it be that one last time, or will they reconnect after so much time apart.
What I liked about this short story was that it flowed well and gave a decent amount of back and current story for both characters. What I didn’t like was the miscommunication and the angst. I could respect that Jake was sort of messed up because of his past, but he had the love of a good man and he almost threw it all away. And let me just say, if you like make up sex, well then I think you’ll love these two and their break up sex!
Fast read that kept my attention throughout, definitely worth considering for fans of the genre.
** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through MM Good Book Reviews **
http://www.mmgoodbookreviews.wordpres...
Hunter and Jake have been together for several years, but Hunter is finding himself wanting more out of it as of late. He dreams of Jake finishing his military tour and them buying a house and living happily ever after. But the reality of it is, he and Jake may be having entirely different dreams.
When Jake tells Hunter he is considering re-enlisting, Hunter starts to doubt the strength of their future together. He comes to realize he can’t continue to put his life on hold for a maybe, and he gives Jake an ultimatum of sorts, and wakes up the next morning alone. Just as his broken heart is starting to heal, Hunter runs into Jake’s best friend and finds out Jake didn’t re-enlist after all. When Hunter goes to see Jake, will it be that one last time, or will they reconnect after so much time apart.
What I liked about this short story was that it flowed well and gave a decent amount of back and current story for both characters. What I didn’t like was the miscommunication and the angst. I could respect that Jake was sort of messed up because of his past, but he had the love of a good man and he almost threw it all away. And let me just say, if you like make up sex, well then I think you’ll love these two and their break up sex!
Fast read that kept my attention throughout, definitely worth considering for fans of the genre.
** I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through MM Good Book Reviews **
http://www.mmgoodbookreviews.wordpres...
March 31, 2014
Hunter and Jake have been in a relationship for several years. Jake is in the army and because they’re apart for months at a time they’ve agreed that they’re both allowed to sleep with other people. But Hunter has become unhappy with their agreement. He has a dream of Jake quitting the army and the two of them buying a house together and living happily ever after.
Unfortunately, Jake obviously doesn’t feel the same because he’s talking about reenlisting when his contract is up in a few months. Hunter is terrified at the thought of losing Jake but he’s made the decision that he can’t keep living his life on hold, waiting around for whatever time Jake has to spare.
My review of Taking Flight can be found on The Blog of Sid Love
http://sidlove.com/2014/03/02/current...
Unfortunately, Jake obviously doesn’t feel the same because he’s talking about reenlisting when his contract is up in a few months. Hunter is terrified at the thought of losing Jake but he’s made the decision that he can’t keep living his life on hold, waiting around for whatever time Jake has to spare.
My review of Taking Flight can be found on The Blog of Sid Love
http://sidlove.com/2014/03/02/current...
March 14, 2014
For my honest and true view of this book, please read …MORE
Goodreads TOS-compliant review (I think, let me know when they tell us what the rules are):
"The book I just read is about two (or three) lovely people, written in beautiful language, by a very good and prolific author. I liked it very, very much.
It is for sale on Amazon.”
DISCLAIMER: My reviews now all have this pretty face, so that all and everyone on Goodreads can stay happy and beatific. I’ll let you know if I change my mind. See the real review above for my thoughts on this book.
Goodreads TOS-compliant review (I think, let me know when they tell us what the rules are):
"The book I just read is about two (or three) lovely people, written in beautiful language, by a very good and prolific author. I liked it very, very much.
It is for sale on Amazon.”
DISCLAIMER: My reviews now all have this pretty face, so that all and everyone on Goodreads can stay happy and beatific. I’ll let you know if I change my mind. See the real review above for my thoughts on this book.
March 5, 2014
3.5 stars
Established couple romance is one of my favorites so this was a no-brainer to read. I liked both leads, the tension and the leads' personal growth. My issue was the emotional denouement was too abrupt and too close to novella's conclusion for my taste. For me the relationship was too complex for a simple conversation to fix. Still, this is a good read.
Established couple romance is one of my favorites so this was a no-brainer to read. I liked both leads, the tension and the leads' personal growth. My issue was the emotional denouement was too abrupt and too close to novella's conclusion for my taste. For me the relationship was too complex for a simple conversation to fix. Still, this is a good read.
September 25, 2015
I have lucky enough to win this short story from Maggie's giveaway :) I liked this short story a lot even though that I have to say that I usually prefer longer books. And while I definitely would love to read more of this couple even the short story worked remarkable well and I have left feeling all happy and smiling after finishing this one!
March 8, 2014
3.5 stars
March 7, 2014
Excellent read, loved the relationship between the two main guys, if there was one downside... it was too short!
March 7, 2014
3,5 stars. this was an angsty one.
September 8, 2016
3.75. It was sweet and the conflict was done rather quickly but was believable.
December 14, 2014
3.5. Great characters. I was filled will angsty stuff. I just wish the ending had been less rushed. I wanted to know more about these men, especially jake.
October 28, 2014
3.75 stars.
Deliciously angsty.
Deliciously angsty.
February 1, 2015
For a short story the characters were well-developed and very likeable. I enjoyed reading this.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews