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Time Present and Time Past
When Matthew Morgan, handsome gay architect, rescues Lucas Denholme from a gang of thugs late one night, his orderly life is turned upside down. He becomes the young man's unwilling champion, getting drawn into Lucas' struggles at home and at school. Haunted by memories of the past, having sworn off love and intimacy, Matthew resists becoming involved. Lucas, however, is determined not only to pursue his dream of a career in the theatre, but he is equally determined to forge a place for himself in Matthew's heart. The present and the past intersect in this compelling drama and bittersweet coming-of-age story.
382 pages, Paperback
First published September 24, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 17, 2010
If you've ever watched the TV series "Queer as Folk," this book has a real familiar vibe/basic premise: Older professional guy (Matthew) saves high school kid (Lucas) from street thugs, then takes him home and proceeds to introduce the youngster to all the joys of gay sex. Matthew is emotionally closed-off and totally uninterested in having any kind of relationship with another man, let alone the kid he picked up. Luckily, Lucas is pretty persistent in his affections and, over time, manages to worm his way into Matthew's reluctant affections. (Only, will Matthew ever admit it?) But that's just the basics.
What made this book so great for me, was that unlike many MM Romance selections, this novel really focused on plot and character development. (All sex was implied/off-screen, FYI.) The POV switched back and forth between Matthew and Lucas, which I don't always like, but in this case, I thought worked pretty well. I like hearing both sides of the story - it allows the reader to really connect with the characters and to understand both their strengths and weaknesses. I found myself laughing with them, hurting for them, and even crying over them at times. The point is, I really felt for them.
Another device used in this novel were flashbacks from Matthew's past (thus explaining the "Time Past" portion of the title). Present-day Matthew is professionally successful, true. But on a personal level, he is closed-off, angry, and generally emotionally screwed-up. (A la "Brian" from "Queer as Folk" - sorry I can't help comparing.) Anyway, Matthew's flashbacks serve to show you how he got that way. Often times with flashbacks, I find myself skipping through, more interested in the present-day story line. However in this case, I found the "Time Past" to be just as fascinating and enlightening as the "Time Present." The flashbacks add a huge depth of character for Matthew that you don't often see in romantic fiction.
**SPOILER AHEAD RE: ENDING OF THE NOVEL**
My only big complaint about this book is how it ended. Not that it ended badly or anything. It ended "happily" I suppose, with the two main characters (Lucas and Matthew) being reunited, and with a sort of implied promise of reconciliation. But it was all so abrupt!! Matthew and Lucas's final scene is only a page long...and then you're like, wait, is that it?? At least I wish there had been an epilogue or something!! But no!! I ended up looking around online for some sort of sequel to the story, but I couldn't find anything at all about the author except this one single book being sold. No author website or info or anything that I could find. What a shame!
**SPOILER SECTION DONE**
So in sum, I loved the book. I thought it was great, well-developed, and emotionally engaging. Read it!
What made this book so great for me, was that unlike many MM Romance selections, this novel really focused on plot and character development. (All sex was implied/off-screen, FYI.) The POV switched back and forth between Matthew and Lucas, which I don't always like, but in this case, I thought worked pretty well. I like hearing both sides of the story - it allows the reader to really connect with the characters and to understand both their strengths and weaknesses. I found myself laughing with them, hurting for them, and even crying over them at times. The point is, I really felt for them.
Another device used in this novel were flashbacks from Matthew's past (thus explaining the "Time Past" portion of the title). Present-day Matthew is professionally successful, true. But on a personal level, he is closed-off, angry, and generally emotionally screwed-up. (A la "Brian" from "Queer as Folk" - sorry I can't help comparing.) Anyway, Matthew's flashbacks serve to show you how he got that way. Often times with flashbacks, I find myself skipping through, more interested in the present-day story line. However in this case, I found the "Time Past" to be just as fascinating and enlightening as the "Time Present." The flashbacks add a huge depth of character for Matthew that you don't often see in romantic fiction.
**SPOILER AHEAD RE: ENDING OF THE NOVEL**
My only big complaint about this book is how it ended. Not that it ended badly or anything. It ended "happily" I suppose, with the two main characters (Lucas and Matthew) being reunited, and with a sort of implied promise of reconciliation. But it was all so abrupt!! Matthew and Lucas's final scene is only a page long...and then you're like, wait, is that it?? At least I wish there had been an epilogue or something!! But no!! I ended up looking around online for some sort of sequel to the story, but I couldn't find anything at all about the author except this one single book being sold. No author website or info or anything that I could find. What a shame!
**SPOILER SECTION DONE**
So in sum, I loved the book. I thought it was great, well-developed, and emotionally engaging. Read it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2010
If i could go back in time and stop reading the book around the 300th page, i would do it in a sec. The book was so promising in the beginning and around the middle it got so intense without anything explicit. I thought it slightly dragged, but the good writing skill of author compensated for that kept me far too interested than normal. Then towards the ending, it all shifted. i wont be surprised to find out that someone else wrote the last quarter. the few chapters adds too many details, too many plots and far too many characters the rest of the book lacked. and the main characters exchange their character or something, they act so weird.
LOVED this for the first half, hated the ending, but definitely worth a read. And author seem so promising :)
LOVED this for the first half, hated the ending, but definitely worth a read. And author seem so promising :)
August 4, 2010
The story is belivable and interesting to fallow. I liked Matthew
more then Lucas but then that's because he was mature even if being
emotionally messed up. Lucas is for my thoughts to childish
and unresonable but you can understand his way of behaving, too.
And again all misunderstandings where made because both caracters
didn't communicate enought, and being scared of feelings. The story is emotional bomb and good written.
Over all the book is fantastic story with good happy ending :).
more then Lucas but then that's because he was mature even if being
emotionally messed up. Lucas is for my thoughts to childish
and unresonable but you can understand his way of behaving, too.
And again all misunderstandings where made because both caracters
didn't communicate enought, and being scared of feelings. The story is emotional bomb and good written.
Over all the book is fantastic story with good happy ending :).
October 5, 2010
What on earth happened at the third part of the story? Main characters acting completely irrationally and weird plot twists all around. I really liked the first two parts (meaning first 300 hundred pages) so for the most part it was a cute and enjoyable romance between a bit prick-ish architect who involuntarily falls for a sweet young (17) want-to-be actor who is going through a hard patch in his life.
December 22, 2009
Combination coming-of age and psychological mystery with gay protagonists. Super well written. The back story for Matthew was extremely interesting.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews