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Two Marlboros
>>> Outdated version, please refer to the new one! <<<
Let yourself be swept away by an intense and captivating gay romance...
Alan Scottfield, a young policeman, is barely twenty-five when life plays a nasty trick on him; the pain of loss drags him into a flat and monotonous existence, making him a slave to the loneliness that now keeps him company. The same could be said of Nathan Hayworth, a third-year architecture student, used to playing the role of the beautiful and damned but torn between being himself and pleasing the one he loves - who, in turn, does not love him. A robbery in the heart of Manhattan brings their lives together, but the ensuing investigation (and the push of an improvised Cupid) will reunite their paths. With two personalities so far apart, it's inevitable that a mutual impatience will develop. However, between unexpected feelings, research, surprising revelations, and guilt, who knows if they can change their minds? Buy "Two Marlboros" now and travel with Alan and Nathan through the streets of a crackling New York City in a romance/spy that is anything but predictable.
- GenresM M RomanceContemporary
611 pages, Paperback
Published February 8, 2024
23 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 13, 2024
✰ 3.25 stars ✰
“Inside, there were only two Marlboros. Those two cigarettes, after all, looked like him and me. Two people so different, but at heart so much alike, meeting by chance and beginning to share a piece of their lives.
Just like those two Marlboros, who ended up in the same pack by mere chance and were destined to stay together until someone or something separated them.”
I don't think there could have been a better cover for Two Marlboros that so poignantly captures Nathan and Alan's relationship. The majority of the book it is literally the closest they allow themselves to get to one another - that aching want to act upon their desire, but too unsure if it is something they both want or are even ready for. Alan, a twenty-five year old cop, who is still grieving his lover's loss and has lost all will to pursue living without him, till twenty-one year old Nathan stumbles into his life. 😟 Nathan, 'a crystal doll, fragile and ready to break at the slightest touch', whose own self-esteem is so low that he doesn't think he's worthy of having the gentle, tender love that Alan is able to provide him, forever carrying his own walk of shame, of his own personal demons that think he's only deserving of meaningless relationships fueled by fulfilling only other's pleasure. It is this beautiful and heart-felt portrayal of two souls who didn't think they would ever find a love like this - that it's okay to break down the walls they've set around themselves - that it's okay to feel - it's okay to live - a light that shows both of them that there is someone worth living for. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
“We could have stayed that way for eternity as far as I was concerned. A warm, sincere - in fact, honest - hug. There were no filters and no secrets, just him and me, lost in that moment of time that I had no intention of ending as much as it made me feel good.”
I liked the gentle way in which Nathan enters Alan's life, be it under the guise of aiding him in his case, it is enough to light a fire in Alan - without the aid of the Marlboros that becomes a symbol of their friendship. It's enough for him to see Nathan's brightness and love and think that maybe he can have a chance at love again - to dim the darkness he's encased himself with - to allow the smile that spreads across his face when he sees him. 😊 'Nathan had become the protagonist of my dreams for a few nights now, and I shuddered at the idea that it had occurred to me to make a reality even a fraction of the things I had imagined doing with him.' The respectable way in which Nathan doesn't intrude, doesn't push Alan to cross that distance was so honest and sincere; even more so, because of his own challenges he was facing in his personal life. 👍🏻
Nathan - who just wants his family to accept him for who he is and not be kicked out or shunned any more - who just wants someone to love him for who he is and he won't mind getting it from even the most toxic and abusive of people, till Alan shows him that he's worth more than that. How being with him feels like a comforting protection, one that he's forgotten the feeling of and will treasure it for as long as he can - in whatever way it's provided. 😥 ' What I wanted was that tender love that he had always conveyed to me with gestures like that, that caring for me, that making me feel important. ' Their lives are a parallel existence till their worlds collide and they don't fight it - they embrace it. Slow burns require patience, and if the pay-off is worth it, then what more could you ask for? 🥰🥰
It is very much a slow burn if there ever was one; but I cannot fault it, for how much of a heavy weight rests on either of their shoulders that is not yet ready for the next step. There is plenty to overcome, especially on Alan's part, who is still haunted by the memory of Oliver's death - guilty that if he would move on again - would it not erase all the good times shared with someone who brought him so much happiness? 'You are experiencing emotions, and that means you are alive. You are alive, Alan.' 😢 While Nathan has been cast out of his family, seeking love and comfort with people who only seek their own pleasure, surrounded by the hazy lust of drugs that lures him down a dark path. And yet, it is the one case that brings their worlds together that eventually has them spending time together and lets them see that there is still a brightness to this world. It is a steady growth on both their parts that is heightened by their growing mutual attraction for each other, but the lingering fear of severing their hard-earned friendship is what keeps them from taking that next step - until it becomes impossible to ignore, when the time arises. 💟💟
“Can I come to you?” was the subtext. “Can I come into this life of yours that is so neat, made up of decent people, smiles, kindness and love?”
The writing was both emotional and at times so very sensual, laced with words rich with intimacy, even when simply describing the way that they hugged with such repressed want - this aching acceptance that even if this is all they're willing to offer each other - it's enough. It's more than enough for the comfort and warmth it gives. The way they would hold each other - be so open and vulnerable and honest -it was like being enveloped in their embrace along with them. 🥺🥺 'It was the first time I had touched him with such a high sense of intimacy. If we had been lovers, that would certainly have been a prelude to something more.' It's like a gentle caress, which evokes this longing in it - and at times can be agonizingly frustrated to the point that you will be dying for them to just kiss already - but it has to come at their own time.
When they're both at a point in their lives that is ready to let someone into their hearts again, I loved the build-up to the point when they're finally ready to let themselves into each other's hearts - 'it’s only because of you. And if you owe me something, I owe you just as much.' And when it happens - phew - sparks fly and birds sing, because it is the two chapters that were so very sensual, not overly descriptive, but the heat of their love can only be best described as the two songs of choice the author used to capture it - Shape of My Heart and I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing. 🤌🏻🥹🤍
The chapter was so palpable with their love and overflowing, and almost all-consuming with such a --- flowery feeling of being content in what they were given and making the most of it. 'So, he had given me a chance. I was no longer just the nice guy to spend an evening with.... Had he fallen in love with me? I was his. He was mine.' ❤️🩹❤️🩹 Even if it is for a short time, because yes, there are opposing forces that they have to accept will keep them apart, they treasured and savored and relished the feeling of finally being together - that they owed this much to each other to be happy together - of gratitude - of hopefulness - that despite the eventual heart-break - the wait had been worth it.
“I kissed him again because I wanted him to feel how many pieces of my heart he had stolen, that I wanted to be his more than I wanted him to be mine.”
Despite its alarming length, I eventually found myself immersed in the story. As I did read the translated version from its original Italian vernacular, I did notice a few significant word choices that didn't quite substitute well for their intended usage. Giggled, bellowed, to name a few that I think, if not used in the context that they were, could have made the reading experience a much smoother one. 🤷🏻♀️ I appreciate the author for attempting to keep the mystery portion of the story alive for as long as they could till it eventually fizzled out in a rather unflattering way.
It's not that I know that the story's main focus is about two different souls finding each other, but having something persist throughout and just fade into oblivion - unresolved and without feeling - felt a bit lackluster. 'I thought that each new person was like a parallel universe, there all along, but visible only when it collides with our own.' Almost as if it got lost in translation, so to speak - pun intended, of course. ☺️ There were also a few plot lines that I thought could have been omitted, but in the grand scheme of things, I can see how they helped give growth to their characters.
I'm also not quite sure why the author felt the need to explain why they felt it necessary for it to be set during a time frame that exists where 9/11 never happened. To me, it could have easily been depicted even in 2002, and it would have easily captured the Manhattan vibes. 🤔 It did seem odd, but recently, I have come to realize and accept that I have to be a bit more forgiving for the creative liberties that an author can take. Maybe not so much as liberties, but a bit more conscientious of the writing and try to see it from their perspective. Perhaps it'll work at times, perhaps sometimes it won't; but I am willing to give it a chance. Much like the chance I took on this book, drawn especially towards it because of its stunning cover. 🩷🩵
“I turned to look at him, and he stared back at me.
“In your opinion, does calm always come after the storm?”
His gaze planted itself on me, amazed. He shifted his eyes to the street and the building in front of us, after which he returned to look at me with a smile.
“Yes. In my opinion it always comes,” he whispered, with a caressing look that seemed to brush my face. “Sometimes, when you least expect it. It comes, though.”
For what Simona Francini did succeed in capturing is the tender story of two young men who were lost in the path of their lives - without any hope of finding a way back to it, if their paths had not crossed. 🥺 And when it did, it is that hard-earned struggle of acceptance and forgiveness and taking a chance to trust your heart with someone else that reminds me that even with an unknown book, therein lies the possibility of of a beautiful story, that despite its few misses, still has plenty of soul to it that'll warm my heart. 🫶🏻🫶🏻
“Inside, there were only two Marlboros. Those two cigarettes, after all, looked like him and me. Two people so different, but at heart so much alike, meeting by chance and beginning to share a piece of their lives.
Just like those two Marlboros, who ended up in the same pack by mere chance and were destined to stay together until someone or something separated them.”
I don't think there could have been a better cover for Two Marlboros that so poignantly captures Nathan and Alan's relationship. The majority of the book it is literally the closest they allow themselves to get to one another - that aching want to act upon their desire, but too unsure if it is something they both want or are even ready for. Alan, a twenty-five year old cop, who is still grieving his lover's loss and has lost all will to pursue living without him, till twenty-one year old Nathan stumbles into his life. 😟 Nathan, 'a crystal doll, fragile and ready to break at the slightest touch', whose own self-esteem is so low that he doesn't think he's worthy of having the gentle, tender love that Alan is able to provide him, forever carrying his own walk of shame, of his own personal demons that think he's only deserving of meaningless relationships fueled by fulfilling only other's pleasure. It is this beautiful and heart-felt portrayal of two souls who didn't think they would ever find a love like this - that it's okay to break down the walls they've set around themselves - that it's okay to feel - it's okay to live - a light that shows both of them that there is someone worth living for. 🙏🏻🙏🏻
“We could have stayed that way for eternity as far as I was concerned. A warm, sincere - in fact, honest - hug. There were no filters and no secrets, just him and me, lost in that moment of time that I had no intention of ending as much as it made me feel good.”
I liked the gentle way in which Nathan enters Alan's life, be it under the guise of aiding him in his case, it is enough to light a fire in Alan - without the aid of the Marlboros that becomes a symbol of their friendship. It's enough for him to see Nathan's brightness and love and think that maybe he can have a chance at love again - to dim the darkness he's encased himself with - to allow the smile that spreads across his face when he sees him. 😊 'Nathan had become the protagonist of my dreams for a few nights now, and I shuddered at the idea that it had occurred to me to make a reality even a fraction of the things I had imagined doing with him.' The respectable way in which Nathan doesn't intrude, doesn't push Alan to cross that distance was so honest and sincere; even more so, because of his own challenges he was facing in his personal life. 👍🏻
Nathan - who just wants his family to accept him for who he is and not be kicked out or shunned any more - who just wants someone to love him for who he is and he won't mind getting it from even the most toxic and abusive of people, till Alan shows him that he's worth more than that. How being with him feels like a comforting protection, one that he's forgotten the feeling of and will treasure it for as long as he can - in whatever way it's provided. 😥 ' What I wanted was that tender love that he had always conveyed to me with gestures like that, that caring for me, that making me feel important. ' Their lives are a parallel existence till their worlds collide and they don't fight it - they embrace it. Slow burns require patience, and if the pay-off is worth it, then what more could you ask for? 🥰🥰
It is very much a slow burn if there ever was one; but I cannot fault it, for how much of a heavy weight rests on either of their shoulders that is not yet ready for the next step. There is plenty to overcome, especially on Alan's part, who is still haunted by the memory of Oliver's death - guilty that if he would move on again - would it not erase all the good times shared with someone who brought him so much happiness? 'You are experiencing emotions, and that means you are alive. You are alive, Alan.' 😢 While Nathan has been cast out of his family, seeking love and comfort with people who only seek their own pleasure, surrounded by the hazy lust of drugs that lures him down a dark path. And yet, it is the one case that brings their worlds together that eventually has them spending time together and lets them see that there is still a brightness to this world. It is a steady growth on both their parts that is heightened by their growing mutual attraction for each other, but the lingering fear of severing their hard-earned friendship is what keeps them from taking that next step - until it becomes impossible to ignore, when the time arises. 💟💟
“Can I come to you?” was the subtext. “Can I come into this life of yours that is so neat, made up of decent people, smiles, kindness and love?”
The writing was both emotional and at times so very sensual, laced with words rich with intimacy, even when simply describing the way that they hugged with such repressed want - this aching acceptance that even if this is all they're willing to offer each other - it's enough. It's more than enough for the comfort and warmth it gives. The way they would hold each other - be so open and vulnerable and honest -it was like being enveloped in their embrace along with them. 🥺🥺 'It was the first time I had touched him with such a high sense of intimacy. If we had been lovers, that would certainly have been a prelude to something more.' It's like a gentle caress, which evokes this longing in it - and at times can be agonizingly frustrated to the point that you will be dying for them to just kiss already - but it has to come at their own time.
When they're both at a point in their lives that is ready to let someone into their hearts again, I loved the build-up to the point when they're finally ready to let themselves into each other's hearts - 'it’s only because of you. And if you owe me something, I owe you just as much.' And when it happens - phew - sparks fly and birds sing, because it is the two chapters that were so very sensual, not overly descriptive, but the heat of their love can only be best described as the two songs of choice the author used to capture it - Shape of My Heart and I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing. 🤌🏻🥹🤍
The chapter was so palpable with their love and overflowing, and almost all-consuming with such a --- flowery feeling of being content in what they were given and making the most of it. 'So, he had given me a chance. I was no longer just the nice guy to spend an evening with.... Had he fallen in love with me? I was his. He was mine.' ❤️🩹❤️🩹 Even if it is for a short time, because yes, there are opposing forces that they have to accept will keep them apart, they treasured and savored and relished the feeling of finally being together - that they owed this much to each other to be happy together - of gratitude - of hopefulness - that despite the eventual heart-break - the wait had been worth it.
“I kissed him again because I wanted him to feel how many pieces of my heart he had stolen, that I wanted to be his more than I wanted him to be mine.”
Despite its alarming length, I eventually found myself immersed in the story. As I did read the translated version from its original Italian vernacular, I did notice a few significant word choices that didn't quite substitute well for their intended usage. Giggled, bellowed, to name a few that I think, if not used in the context that they were, could have made the reading experience a much smoother one. 🤷🏻♀️ I appreciate the author for attempting to keep the mystery portion of the story alive for as long as they could till it eventually fizzled out in a rather unflattering way.
It's not that I know that the story's main focus is about two different souls finding each other, but having something persist throughout and just fade into oblivion - unresolved and without feeling - felt a bit lackluster. 'I thought that each new person was like a parallel universe, there all along, but visible only when it collides with our own.' Almost as if it got lost in translation, so to speak - pun intended, of course. ☺️ There were also a few plot lines that I thought could have been omitted, but in the grand scheme of things, I can see how they helped give growth to their characters.
I'm also not quite sure why the author felt the need to explain why they felt it necessary for it to be set during a time frame that exists where 9/11 never happened. To me, it could have easily been depicted even in 2002, and it would have easily captured the Manhattan vibes. 🤔 It did seem odd, but recently, I have come to realize and accept that I have to be a bit more forgiving for the creative liberties that an author can take. Maybe not so much as liberties, but a bit more conscientious of the writing and try to see it from their perspective. Perhaps it'll work at times, perhaps sometimes it won't; but I am willing to give it a chance. Much like the chance I took on this book, drawn especially towards it because of its stunning cover. 🩷🩵
“I turned to look at him, and he stared back at me.
“In your opinion, does calm always come after the storm?”
His gaze planted itself on me, amazed. He shifted his eyes to the street and the building in front of us, after which he returned to look at me with a smile.
“Yes. In my opinion it always comes,” he whispered, with a caressing look that seemed to brush my face. “Sometimes, when you least expect it. It comes, though.”
For what Simona Francini did succeed in capturing is the tender story of two young men who were lost in the path of their lives - without any hope of finding a way back to it, if their paths had not crossed. 🥺 And when it did, it is that hard-earned struggle of acceptance and forgiveness and taking a chance to trust your heart with someone else that reminds me that even with an unknown book, therein lies the possibility of of a beautiful story, that despite its few misses, still has plenty of soul to it that'll warm my heart. 🫶🏻🫶🏻
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February 26, 2024Made it 62% dnf
What even is this book? I can tell it was translated from another language, and the author is supposedly only a few years younger than me but writes like they are 16. If you're going to go back and forth between points of view, then announce it per chapter. Don't make me read half a page to figure out if it is the other person or not. I have no idea how this is a #1 new release. My head hurts. It was such a slow burn that I needed to pull out the paper plates to fan some kind of flame to life.
What even is this book? I can tell it was translated from another language, and the author is supposedly only a few years younger than me but writes like they are 16. If you're going to go back and forth between points of view, then announce it per chapter. Don't make me read half a page to figure out if it is the other person or not. I have no idea how this is a #1 new release. My head hurts. It was such a slow burn that I needed to pull out the paper plates to fan some kind of flame to life.
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