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Adam #2
Blue Sky Adam
Sequel to the best-selling classic of gay Adam. At 22 Adam Wheeler learns that he has come into property, a mill house and vineyard in southern France. Leaving old friends behind Adam moves across the Channel. His new life is a lonely one, until new neighbour Stéphane turns out to be offering more than just a helping hand with his vines. But when the love of Adam’s teen years, Sylvain, appears on the scene, Adam must decide exactly what, and who, he really wants. Gay fiction at its best. …explores contemporary sexuality through characters who live on after the last page is turned – Chroma Journal …Swallows and Amazons but with boy-on-by sex. …a world simultaneously wholesome and sexy, and ultimately a charming combination – Melbourne Community Voice
337 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 4, 2009
23 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Anthony McDonald
71 books108 followersAnthony McDonald studied history at Durham University. He worked very briefly as a musical instrument maker and as a farm labourer before moving into the theatre, where he has worked in almost every capacity except those of Director and Electrician.
His first novel, Orange Bitter, Orange Sweet, was published in 2001 and his second, Adam, in 2003.
Orange Bitter, Orange Sweet became the first book in a Seville trilogy that also comprises Along The Stars and Woodcock Flight.
Other books include the sequel to Adam, - Blue Sky Adam - and the stand-alone adventure story, Getting Orlando.
Ivor's Ghosts, a psychological thriller, was published in April 2014.
The Dog In The Chapel, and Ralph: Diary of a Gay Teen, both appeared in 2014. Anthony is the also the author of the Gay Romance series, which comprises ten short novels.
Anthony McDonald's short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic
He has also written the scripts for several Words and Music events, based around the lives and works of composers including Schubert and Brahms, which have been performed in Britain and in Portugal.
His travel writing has appeared in the Independent newspaper.
After several years of living and teaching English in France McDonald is now based based in rural East Sussex.
His first novel, Orange Bitter, Orange Sweet, was published in 2001 and his second, Adam, in 2003.
Orange Bitter, Orange Sweet became the first book in a Seville trilogy that also comprises Along The Stars and Woodcock Flight.
Other books include the sequel to Adam, - Blue Sky Adam - and the stand-alone adventure story, Getting Orlando.
Ivor's Ghosts, a psychological thriller, was published in April 2014.
The Dog In The Chapel, and Ralph: Diary of a Gay Teen, both appeared in 2014. Anthony is the also the author of the Gay Romance series, which comprises ten short novels.
Anthony McDonald's short stories have appeared in numerous anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic
He has also written the scripts for several Words and Music events, based around the lives and works of composers including Schubert and Brahms, which have been performed in Britain and in Portugal.
His travel writing has appeared in the Independent newspaper.
After several years of living and teaching English in France McDonald is now based based in rural East Sussex.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 27, 2021
SEARCHING FOR MONOGAMY
This book two of a three book trilogy logically picks up the life of our protagonist from book one when Adam, at sixteen, falls madly in love with a man of twenty-two. Sylvain is from a poor family in rural France, uneducated and with the mental maturity of someone Adam's age. The story is renewed here six years later when Adam has now grown to adulthood. There's no central plot in this continuation of Adam's journey, just a meandering through Adam's life circumstances and experiences at the age of twenty-two which include his reunion with Sylvain. As we move through various story lines, if there is one theme McDonald does pursue, it's his exploration of monogamy between gay men which began in book one.
In my review of book one - Adam: A Sensuous Coming of Age Tale, I referenced McDonald placing gay love and sex square in the middle of the natural world. He message is intentional: gay love and sex are a part of the natural order of life like as anything else. As with book one (and book three - Adam's Star, for that matter), McDonald's prose contains copious lyrical descriptions of nature: geography, landscapes, flora and fauna - birds especially. Square in the middle of all this nature, Adam continues (as he did in book one) to explore love in all its many complicated forms while having sex with Sylvain and a core group of gay friends we also met in book one. Of course, these physical desires are not uncoupled with what Adam is feeling about all of this. Adam can't seem to keep his pants buttoned (nor his friends to be fair), even as he struggles with his fidelity to Sylvain, his "true love," who has professed his abject love and devotion only for Adam.
McDonald seems to want to leave the question of monogamy up to his readers. He simply appears to want to pose it. Is it the natural order of things that gay men, or all of humanity for that matter, want to "have their cake and eat it too?" There's love, there's physical desire, and there's love with physical desire, three separate things that all exist in the "natural" order. Or is it that sex is a healthy and natural expression of many different types of love not just romantic? Has Judeo-Christian mores simply obstructed what is natural? Succinctly stated I suppose, are open relationships sustainable and acceptable? In the end, McDonald does weigh in with his own opinion, at least as far as Adam is concerned.
In book one, I found the sexual escapades of Adam and his teenage friends a bit unbelievable, even in the 21st century. In book three, the continued sexual adventures of all of Adam's friends as he continues to struggle with fidelity to Sylvain, I thought read a bit like a soap opera. I probably liked this book best for the questions McDonald raises about sex and monogamy through this narrative. Or maybe, by happenstance, it's simply because I read this book last. Regardless, the entire Adam trilogy is well worth the investment.
This book two of a three book trilogy logically picks up the life of our protagonist from book one when Adam, at sixteen, falls madly in love with a man of twenty-two. Sylvain is from a poor family in rural France, uneducated and with the mental maturity of someone Adam's age. The story is renewed here six years later when Adam has now grown to adulthood. There's no central plot in this continuation of Adam's journey, just a meandering through Adam's life circumstances and experiences at the age of twenty-two which include his reunion with Sylvain. As we move through various story lines, if there is one theme McDonald does pursue, it's his exploration of monogamy between gay men which began in book one.
In my review of book one - Adam: A Sensuous Coming of Age Tale, I referenced McDonald placing gay love and sex square in the middle of the natural world. He message is intentional: gay love and sex are a part of the natural order of life like as anything else. As with book one (and book three - Adam's Star, for that matter), McDonald's prose contains copious lyrical descriptions of nature: geography, landscapes, flora and fauna - birds especially. Square in the middle of all this nature, Adam continues (as he did in book one) to explore love in all its many complicated forms while having sex with Sylvain and a core group of gay friends we also met in book one. Of course, these physical desires are not uncoupled with what Adam is feeling about all of this. Adam can't seem to keep his pants buttoned (nor his friends to be fair), even as he struggles with his fidelity to Sylvain, his "true love," who has professed his abject love and devotion only for Adam.
McDonald seems to want to leave the question of monogamy up to his readers. He simply appears to want to pose it. Is it the natural order of things that gay men, or all of humanity for that matter, want to "have their cake and eat it too?" There's love, there's physical desire, and there's love with physical desire, three separate things that all exist in the "natural" order. Or is it that sex is a healthy and natural expression of many different types of love not just romantic? Has Judeo-Christian mores simply obstructed what is natural? Succinctly stated I suppose, are open relationships sustainable and acceptable? In the end, McDonald does weigh in with his own opinion, at least as far as Adam is concerned.
In book one, I found the sexual escapades of Adam and his teenage friends a bit unbelievable, even in the 21st century. In book three, the continued sexual adventures of all of Adam's friends as he continues to struggle with fidelity to Sylvain, I thought read a bit like a soap opera. I probably liked this book best for the questions McDonald raises about sex and monogamy through this narrative. Or maybe, by happenstance, it's simply because I read this book last. Regardless, the entire Adam trilogy is well worth the investment.
July 3, 2013
I loved the first book so much that I had great expectations for the continuing story and am pleased to say that I wasn't disappointed. The story moves on by 6 years and Adam is back living and working in France. There's new people to meet and also people from the past come along to play a part in Adam's new life.
The story got me hooked from the start. I don't usually get involved in a book at this depth but the style of writing, the scene and the characters have me there with them, like a fly on the wall.
Plenty of cute men with numerous physical encounters but all told in the most delightful way. Adult reading but without the sleaze which is what I like to see. Not that sleaze is a bad thing in its own way but I think these stories wouldn't come across at all well if they were wrote with such included, so you'll read about sex and sexuality here but all tastefully done!
Gay or straight, it's definitely worth reading!
I can't wait for the next book. I've got a number of theories where the story could go next.
The story got me hooked from the start. I don't usually get involved in a book at this depth but the style of writing, the scene and the characters have me there with them, like a fly on the wall.
Plenty of cute men with numerous physical encounters but all told in the most delightful way. Adult reading but without the sleaze which is what I like to see. Not that sleaze is a bad thing in its own way but I think these stories wouldn't come across at all well if they were wrote with such included, so you'll read about sex and sexuality here but all tastefully done!
Gay or straight, it's definitely worth reading!
I can't wait for the next book. I've got a number of theories where the story could go next.
February 22, 2012
Blue Sky Adam picks up where Adam left off. Adam is now back in England and has just finished his degree in Music. He has maintained sporadic secret contact by letter with his first love Sylvain but has not seen him since they were separated by the law. Adam still has his group of friends from England from the first novel and now as a young gay man is taking full advantage of his youth to enjoy life with them. Now he must make decisions about his career and his life. To complicate things further France is calling again with an unexpected surprise.
I really enjoyed this sequel which has a great story, plenty of erotic content without being graphic, and fantastic characters.
I really enjoyed this sequel which has a great story, plenty of erotic content without being graphic, and fantastic characters.
August 30, 2025
It took me a while to get into this, and I can't say I ever felt totally engaged. It seemed such a contrast to the first book in the series and lacked everything I had come to enjoy so much. As it progressed, or as I began to give more attention to it (having taken six weeks to read the first sixty pages, I read the final three-quarters in two days) it did seem to recapture something of the spirit of the first book - but that wasn't a good thing - it was a sign that Adam hadn't matured at all in six years. For me, as a constitutionally monogamous man who can't share my affections around willy-nilly, and as someone with a bit of a reputation for speaking too honestly, I don't see anything much of myself in Adam. But then I've never been one to attract friends, either physically or spiritually, sexually or platonically, so I've never had to face the trials and temptations Adam did with everyone vying for his attention and his body.
I didn't have a problem with Adam's polygamous behaviour in itself if that was part of who he was, but I did have a problem with him trying to be all things to all men, of lies and deceit being an integral part of all that. He seemed to want one thing but would then say and do the complete opposite so as not to hurt someone, and he was forever making and breaking promises, and giving false assurances. He seemed to be forever digging himself into holes by his lack of integrity. While I did want him and Sylvain to make it up in the end, I didn't feel comfortable with the way it came about. I never felt like he got his come-uppance, that he ever learned any lessons. He never really matured or had any self-discipline. He played on his emotions to manipulate his friends, always demanding pity or forgiveness or love from one quarter or another. At the end of the day it seemed like the only reason he was able to give Sylvain any assurance of his faithfulness was not because he had learned his lesson or overcome his lust for other men, but because all his other sexual partners had temporarily been withdrawn from the picture - leaving the reader feeling only tentatively optimistic of Adam's continued faithfulness for as long as those other relationships last, and as long as Adam meets no other attractive young men.
I didn't have a problem with Adam's polygamous behaviour in itself if that was part of who he was, but I did have a problem with him trying to be all things to all men, of lies and deceit being an integral part of all that. He seemed to want one thing but would then say and do the complete opposite so as not to hurt someone, and he was forever making and breaking promises, and giving false assurances. He seemed to be forever digging himself into holes by his lack of integrity. While I did want him and Sylvain to make it up in the end, I didn't feel comfortable with the way it came about. I never felt like he got his come-uppance, that he ever learned any lessons. He never really matured or had any self-discipline. He played on his emotions to manipulate his friends, always demanding pity or forgiveness or love from one quarter or another. At the end of the day it seemed like the only reason he was able to give Sylvain any assurance of his faithfulness was not because he had learned his lesson or overcome his lust for other men, but because all his other sexual partners had temporarily been withdrawn from the picture - leaving the reader feeling only tentatively optimistic of Adam's continued faithfulness for as long as those other relationships last, and as long as Adam meets no other attractive young men.
September 1, 2017
Loved it ........ drama, sex, love, lust, wine, beautiful characters, music, French countryside. Sad its over.
December 31, 2020
See review for Adam:A Sensuous Coming Of Age Tale
May 18, 2013
This book was a great sequel to Adam. Adam (the main character) frustrated me with his behavior but his story was such a compelling one. I found this book hard to put down. In the first book, he was sixteen, so his recklessness could be attributed to his youth. But in Blue Sky, he's twenty-two and, clearly, he hasn't learned much because his actions are just as reckless as they were when he was a teenager. He just keeps getting involved with people without considering the ramifications of his actions. When he attempts to rekindle his relationship with Sylvain, he sabotages it by getting involved with Stephane. Adam's problem is that he believes his own hype. So many people keep boosting his ego and he simply becomes detached from reality. I liked that Gary showed up again in the sequel and I enjoyed reading about the romantic story line he was given near the end of the novel (that I won't get into because it would be a bit of a spoiler). McDonald knows how to write a page turner and I enjoy his work.
September 29, 2014
I would have given it 5 stars, but I think the ending was weak. The book takes place in the present of the story; we the reader have no more knowledge of events than the characters in the book. The charm for me for this book and its prequel "Adam" is that Adam (and his friends) is allowed to make good and bad choices without comment or judgement from some outside narrator. Adam is far from perfect, and in part because of that, he feels very real to me. So I felt the book should simply have ended - fade to black like "The Sopranos". I was disappointed the author chose instead to tell us how all but one of the story lines gets neatly resolved in the future, especially since nothing in Adam's life so far has been resolved neatly.
July 19, 2014
A really lovely sequel to the gay romance novel "Adam". This novel is set a few years after the events in Adam. Adam inherits a chateau and vineyard in France from an elderly benefactor, Georges Pincemain. He begins a new adventure in his life but brings back his old friends, Michael and Sean and reintroduces his old love, Sylvain back into his life.
I loved it. It made me smile and laugh and feel a little sad too. Wonderful.
I loved it. It made me smile and laugh and feel a little sad too. Wonderful.
October 1, 2020
Read August 2009
May 20, 2013
This is a wonderful story that I didn't want to end; highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews