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The ties that bind…
Two years after the events of Starling, Cinderella story and star of The Fourth Estate J. Alex Cook is living happily ever after with his boyfriend, television writer Paul Marion Keane. But when Paul’s pilot, Winsome, AZ, gets picked up, the competing demands of their high-profile careers make them question their future together.
…can sometimes tear you apart
As Paul becomes increasingly absent from their relationship, Alex tries to regain control of his private life and establish a career path independent of Fourth’s enigmatic, and at times malevolent, showrunner Victor. But the delicate web of relationships that connects Alex, Paul, and their friends — including Alex's excitable ex-lover Liam and his no-nonsense fiancée Carly — threatens to unravel.
With the business of Hollywood making it hard to remember who he is when the whole world isn’t watching, Alex is forced to confront major changes in the fairytale life he never wanted as he discovers that love in Los Angeles often looks nothing like the movies.
Doves is Book Two in the Love in Los Angeles series.
Two years after the events of Starling, Cinderella story and star of The Fourth Estate J. Alex Cook is living happily ever after with his boyfriend, television writer Paul Marion Keane. But when Paul’s pilot, Winsome, AZ, gets picked up, the competing demands of their high-profile careers make them question their future together.
…can sometimes tear you apart
As Paul becomes increasingly absent from their relationship, Alex tries to regain control of his private life and establish a career path independent of Fourth’s enigmatic, and at times malevolent, showrunner Victor. But the delicate web of relationships that connects Alex, Paul, and their friends — including Alex's excitable ex-lover Liam and his no-nonsense fiancée Carly — threatens to unravel.
With the business of Hollywood making it hard to remember who he is when the whole world isn’t watching, Alex is forced to confront major changes in the fairytale life he never wanted as he discovers that love in Los Angeles often looks nothing like the movies.
Doves is Book Two in the Love in Los Angeles series.
334 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 21, 2015
1 person is currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Erin McRae
39 books169 followersErin McRae is a queer writer and blogger based in Washington, D.C. She owns several pieces of paper from distinguished universities, including a Master’s degree in International Affairs from American University, which qualify her to have lengthy and passionate discussions about the microeconomics of Tunisia. She also engages in lengthy and passionate discussions about military history. She likes trenches.
Erin is a cofounder of Avian 30, a literary collective dedicated to narratives with magical and sexual realism. She delights in applying her knowledge of international relations theory to her fiction and screen-based projects, because conflict drives narrative.
She lives in Washington, D.C. with her partner and their two cats.
Erin is a cofounder of Avian 30, a literary collective dedicated to narratives with magical and sexual realism. She delights in applying her knowledge of international relations theory to her fiction and screen-based projects, because conflict drives narrative.
She lives in Washington, D.C. with her partner and their two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 5, 2018
I loved Starling, which was book one of this series, but combined with Doves, that love goes up to another level entirely and becomes full-on, fandom-creating obsession.
Is this a romance novel? I’m still not sure. It is, first and foremost, a novel about relationships. Many of those relationships include sex, or include something that is more or less similar to sex, or used to include sex but don’t any more. Some are only (“only”) friendships, though, and others are professional working relationships. Some of the relationships are fictional (even within the fictional world of the novel), existing only in the heads of the actors, or at a step removed, only in the heads of the fans of those actors.
Sometimes it’s about a relationship between a person and his job — and that relationship can involve something that looks like sex too, including sleeping over at the office, sometimes even out of town, or neglecting your human relationships while you tend to that one.
But this isn’t a love story, start to finish, about one person finding their one beloved (except when it is), and attempts to shoehorn it into that model are … well, just awkward. It’s so much more than that.
The truly fantastic thing about this series is that the relationships portrayed in the books are complex in ways that ring very, very true. Fictional relationships are often oversimplified, with the details and complications wiped out in service of a clear trajectory for the plot. But in Starling and Doves, the complexities are right there, unavoidably in the faces of the people who cannot escape them (whether they want to or not). Ex-lovers are friends and colleagues, people you cannot stand work closely with your partner, life decisions sometimes require the consent or at least benevolent understanding of a dozen different people.
In the hands of less gifted writers, this tangled web of relationships might become confusing and unbelievable. Certainly one of the hardest parts of reading these books, for me, is keeping track of all the characters and their connections. But the way Racheline and Erin have constructed the entire thing, with compelling characters who have strikingly different goals and attitudes, it multiplies my interest exponentially. I want to reread and reread until I can completely understand what everyone is thinking, exactly the way I want to do with my favorite TV shows and the characters I love from those. I don’t want to just read about them. I want to know them in my own mind.
This is not an easy book, first in the way I have already described, and second because there are some scenes that are quite disturbing (but not in the sexual way that you might expect from the cover image and from the marketing of this as a romance novel). One of the underlying themes of this book is the concept of consent and the inability to say no, and I think it’s dramatically enhanced by portraying that message almost completely outside of any kind of sexual context — all while contrasting it to the ability to consent or not on sexual matters. But be warned, there are two or three places in this book where I had to put it down just to clear my head, because it’s disturbing in ways that are unexpected and hard to describe.
I’m being somewhat mysterious because I don’t want to give away plot, and that’s for good reasons. These books are absolutely incredible, and I highly recommend them both. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
Is this a romance novel? I’m still not sure. It is, first and foremost, a novel about relationships. Many of those relationships include sex, or include something that is more or less similar to sex, or used to include sex but don’t any more. Some are only (“only”) friendships, though, and others are professional working relationships. Some of the relationships are fictional (even within the fictional world of the novel), existing only in the heads of the actors, or at a step removed, only in the heads of the fans of those actors.
Sometimes it’s about a relationship between a person and his job — and that relationship can involve something that looks like sex too, including sleeping over at the office, sometimes even out of town, or neglecting your human relationships while you tend to that one.
But this isn’t a love story, start to finish, about one person finding their one beloved (except when it is), and attempts to shoehorn it into that model are … well, just awkward. It’s so much more than that.
The truly fantastic thing about this series is that the relationships portrayed in the books are complex in ways that ring very, very true. Fictional relationships are often oversimplified, with the details and complications wiped out in service of a clear trajectory for the plot. But in Starling and Doves, the complexities are right there, unavoidably in the faces of the people who cannot escape them (whether they want to or not). Ex-lovers are friends and colleagues, people you cannot stand work closely with your partner, life decisions sometimes require the consent or at least benevolent understanding of a dozen different people.
In the hands of less gifted writers, this tangled web of relationships might become confusing and unbelievable. Certainly one of the hardest parts of reading these books, for me, is keeping track of all the characters and their connections. But the way Racheline and Erin have constructed the entire thing, with compelling characters who have strikingly different goals and attitudes, it multiplies my interest exponentially. I want to reread and reread until I can completely understand what everyone is thinking, exactly the way I want to do with my favorite TV shows and the characters I love from those. I don’t want to just read about them. I want to know them in my own mind.
This is not an easy book, first in the way I have already described, and second because there are some scenes that are quite disturbing (but not in the sexual way that you might expect from the cover image and from the marketing of this as a romance novel). One of the underlying themes of this book is the concept of consent and the inability to say no, and I think it’s dramatically enhanced by portraying that message almost completely outside of any kind of sexual context — all while contrasting it to the ability to consent or not on sexual matters. But be warned, there are two or three places in this book where I had to put it down just to clear my head, because it’s disturbing in ways that are unexpected and hard to describe.
I’m being somewhat mysterious because I don’t want to give away plot, and that’s for good reasons. These books are absolutely incredible, and I highly recommend them both. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series.
January 29, 2015
Note: It is absolutely imperative that you read this series in order. This book will not make any sense if you don't, because the story-line and characters carry over without reviewing the back-story.
I absolutely adored Starling (Read my 5 star review) and eagerly awaited the release of DOVES. To say that I was shocked by the differences between the two stories would be an understatement.
Picking up two years after where STARLING left off, the first third is told in a primarily narrative writing style that I found extremely difficult to identify with. I stopped and started reading several times because I couldn't reconcile the characters I was so in love with the emotional distance that was portrayed.
Paul and Alex are an on the verge of achieving everything they hoped and dreamed for professionally, and rather than bringing them closer together, their grueling work schedules are driving them apart. This was heartbreaking for me to read, especially since there was little to no insight given into the two years of happiness that preceded this slow deterioration. Add in the fact that Victor, Liam and Carly's relationship has grown even more bizarre over time, and I felt lost and let down by my own expectations.
However, once I got past the first third of the story everything changed. Suddenly I was back on track and completely engaged as Paul, Alex, Victor, Liam and Carly began to open up. The writing changed to the complex storytelling and multiple character views that I experienced in Starling. This is where the brilliance of the beginning hit me... the distance found in the writing style mirrored the emotional state of the characters. What seemed to be a mistake suddenly made complete sense. Reader: please do not set this book aside due to the unexpected introduction!
As the characters work through their relationships, insecurities, strengths, weakness, successes, failures and flaws DOVES tells a story of human nature in its rawest form. The unique presentation and complex story-line is the hook that drew me into the drama that is Love in Los Angeles. Once again, I was captivated by the tangled web that makes this crazy family of characters work in spite of the overwhelming odds against them. I laughed, I cried, I wanted to reach into my eReader and strangle Victor, and I can't wait until Phoenix comes out in June.
My OFFICIAL REVIEW written for Carly’s Book Reviews
I absolutely adored Starling (Read my 5 star review) and eagerly awaited the release of DOVES. To say that I was shocked by the differences between the two stories would be an understatement.
Picking up two years after where STARLING left off, the first third is told in a primarily narrative writing style that I found extremely difficult to identify with. I stopped and started reading several times because I couldn't reconcile the characters I was so in love with the emotional distance that was portrayed.
Paul and Alex are an on the verge of achieving everything they hoped and dreamed for professionally, and rather than bringing them closer together, their grueling work schedules are driving them apart. This was heartbreaking for me to read, especially since there was little to no insight given into the two years of happiness that preceded this slow deterioration. Add in the fact that Victor, Liam and Carly's relationship has grown even more bizarre over time, and I felt lost and let down by my own expectations.
However, once I got past the first third of the story everything changed. Suddenly I was back on track and completely engaged as Paul, Alex, Victor, Liam and Carly began to open up. The writing changed to the complex storytelling and multiple character views that I experienced in Starling. This is where the brilliance of the beginning hit me... the distance found in the writing style mirrored the emotional state of the characters. What seemed to be a mistake suddenly made complete sense. Reader: please do not set this book aside due to the unexpected introduction!
As the characters work through their relationships, insecurities, strengths, weakness, successes, failures and flaws DOVES tells a story of human nature in its rawest form. The unique presentation and complex story-line is the hook that drew me into the drama that is Love in Los Angeles. Once again, I was captivated by the tangled web that makes this crazy family of characters work in spite of the overwhelming odds against them. I laughed, I cried, I wanted to reach into my eReader and strangle Victor, and I can't wait until Phoenix comes out in June.
My OFFICIAL REVIEW written for Carly’s Book Reviews
January 23, 2015
I thought I reviewed this here already...oops!
I loved this book. It's gritty and complex and extremely well written. The story arcs for the characters, in context of a longer series, make a lot of sense; a lot of the issues we saw the characters struggle with in Starling didn't magically go away -- these characters need to grow and learn. Relationships are hard, and I love that we got to see them struggle to make it work, with their own issues.
The *only* reason this didn't get five stars is because it was a darker story, and there are elements that are still hard for me to process. I cannot really understand Victor, and I'm not sure I want to get into his head space.
I read quickly, so I finished this in one day. That said, I do need to go back and re-read to really peel layers back and appreciate the lovely brights spots that are in there. The ending is really a *lovely* happy ending, so the journey and it's ups and downs are so well worth it.
As with Starling, the authors do a fantastic jobs of showing and not telling -- so much so that as a reader, I was sometimes really wondering what was going on under the words or actions of a character. But I love that, because it really engaged me, it makes me think, it deepens my investment in the characters and the stories. That's not easy to do -- excellent writing.
If you haven't read Starling, go go go! I am so in love with these characters, and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book in the series, Phoenix!
Merged review:
I loved this book. It's gritty and complex and extremely well written. The story arcs for the characters, in context of a longer series, make a lot of sense; a lot of the issues we saw the characters struggle with in Starling didn't magically go away -- these characters need to grow and learn. Relationships are hard, and I love that we got to see them struggle to make it work, with their own issues.
The *only* reason this didn't get five stars is because it was a darker story, and there are elements that are still hard for me to process. I cannot really understand Victor, and I'm not sure I want to get into his head space.
I read quickly, so I finished this in one day. That said, I do need to go back and re-read to really peel layers back and appreciate the lovely brights spots that are in there. The ending is really a *lovely* happy ending, so the journey and it's ups and downs are so well worth it.
As with Starling, the authors do a fantastic jobs of showing and not telling -- so much so that as a reader, I was sometimes really wondering what was going on under the words or actions of a character. But I love that, because it really engaged me, it makes me think, it deepens my investment in the characters and the stories. That's not easy to do -- excellent writing.
If you haven't read Starling, go go go! I am so in love with these characters, and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book in the series, Phoenix!
I loved this book. It's gritty and complex and extremely well written. The story arcs for the characters, in context of a longer series, make a lot of sense; a lot of the issues we saw the characters struggle with in Starling didn't magically go away -- these characters need to grow and learn. Relationships are hard, and I love that we got to see them struggle to make it work, with their own issues.
The *only* reason this didn't get five stars is because it was a darker story, and there are elements that are still hard for me to process. I cannot really understand Victor, and I'm not sure I want to get into his head space.
I read quickly, so I finished this in one day. That said, I do need to go back and re-read to really peel layers back and appreciate the lovely brights spots that are in there. The ending is really a *lovely* happy ending, so the journey and it's ups and downs are so well worth it.
As with Starling, the authors do a fantastic jobs of showing and not telling -- so much so that as a reader, I was sometimes really wondering what was going on under the words or actions of a character. But I love that, because it really engaged me, it makes me think, it deepens my investment in the characters and the stories. That's not easy to do -- excellent writing.
If you haven't read Starling, go go go! I am so in love with these characters, and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book in the series, Phoenix!
Merged review:
I loved this book. It's gritty and complex and extremely well written. The story arcs for the characters, in context of a longer series, make a lot of sense; a lot of the issues we saw the characters struggle with in Starling didn't magically go away -- these characters need to grow and learn. Relationships are hard, and I love that we got to see them struggle to make it work, with their own issues.
The *only* reason this didn't get five stars is because it was a darker story, and there are elements that are still hard for me to process. I cannot really understand Victor, and I'm not sure I want to get into his head space.
I read quickly, so I finished this in one day. That said, I do need to go back and re-read to really peel layers back and appreciate the lovely brights spots that are in there. The ending is really a *lovely* happy ending, so the journey and it's ups and downs are so well worth it.
As with Starling, the authors do a fantastic jobs of showing and not telling -- so much so that as a reader, I was sometimes really wondering what was going on under the words or actions of a character. But I love that, because it really engaged me, it makes me think, it deepens my investment in the characters and the stories. That's not easy to do -- excellent writing.
If you haven't read Starling, go go go! I am so in love with these characters, and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book in the series, Phoenix!
May 5, 2015
This is the sequel to Starling, which I adored, and is set to be part of a much longer series of novels. It's dark and gritty in a way that was a bit jarring, given how much of a fairytale Starling was, but once again the relationships, in their many iterations, really rang true to me.
Once again, I really appreciate the authors' commitment to showing a variety of relationships -- not only straight and gay and bisexual, but committed twosomes and open marriages and asexuals who long for connections and everything in between. It feels like real life, even in these very specific, fantastic circumstances. Although there is love and romance and (very hot) sex, this series is like no other romances I've read because it's really the emotional stakes that are front and center.
I understand the time jump, too, but I wish there had been a bit more explanation of how everyone had gotten to where they were. Sometimes I felt like I'd missed a scene or a line of dialogue to explain what was happening, but it turned out it just wasn't there. But I really love these characters, and was willing to ride it out and see what developed, and was rewarded in almost every case. The opening scenes in Paul's childhood home, the stuff around Zach and James and all the fallout from their TV plot, the powerful scene with Alex and Paul after Alex's thwarted climb, the dinner party from hell -- these were definitely worth wading through the confusion, and more.
This very much felt like the middle book, in that it is setting up stories and opening up worlds and probably would not hold up on its own, but I like that it deepened the fascinating lives of its main characters and hinted at more to come. I'm really excited to read the next book, and I think I might like this one more in context, too. It's definitely worth a read, though. Just bring tissues and be prepared to put the book in the freezer at several of the emotional climaxes.
Once again, I really appreciate the authors' commitment to showing a variety of relationships -- not only straight and gay and bisexual, but committed twosomes and open marriages and asexuals who long for connections and everything in between. It feels like real life, even in these very specific, fantastic circumstances. Although there is love and romance and (very hot) sex, this series is like no other romances I've read because it's really the emotional stakes that are front and center.
I understand the time jump, too, but I wish there had been a bit more explanation of how everyone had gotten to where they were. Sometimes I felt like I'd missed a scene or a line of dialogue to explain what was happening, but it turned out it just wasn't there. But I really love these characters, and was willing to ride it out and see what developed, and was rewarded in almost every case. The opening scenes in Paul's childhood home, the stuff around Zach and James and all the fallout from their TV plot, the powerful scene with Alex and Paul after Alex's thwarted climb, the dinner party from hell -- these were definitely worth wading through the confusion, and more.
This very much felt like the middle book, in that it is setting up stories and opening up worlds and probably would not hold up on its own, but I like that it deepened the fascinating lives of its main characters and hinted at more to come. I'm really excited to read the next book, and I think I might like this one more in context, too. It's definitely worth a read, though. Just bring tissues and be prepared to put the book in the freezer at several of the emotional climaxes.
October 7, 2015
I liked Starling. I loved Doves.
The characters and relationships that I felt I only got a taste of in Starling were finally fleshed out and realized in the second book in this series. Also, I want to watch all of the fictional TV shows in this series so badly that it kind of kills me they aren't real.
I loved the ugly complexity of the relationships in this book. I was utterly seduced by Victor, and the scenes between Victor and Alex were gut-twistingly visceral in a way that blurred all the lines between pain and pleasure. Everything between Paul and Alex was horrible and real, and each character was so well written that I felt I understood each so well that though seeing all their flaws I could find fault in none of them. Liam and Carly are a delight, and I want to find out more about how they work both separately and together! It's so exciting to read a story like this that features poly characters and to have them feel so real, and their relationship be actually functional.
The characters and relationships that I felt I only got a taste of in Starling were finally fleshed out and realized in the second book in this series. Also, I want to watch all of the fictional TV shows in this series so badly that it kind of kills me they aren't real.
I loved the ugly complexity of the relationships in this book. I was utterly seduced by Victor, and the scenes between Victor and Alex were gut-twistingly visceral in a way that blurred all the lines between pain and pleasure. Everything between Paul and Alex was horrible and real, and each character was so well written that I felt I understood each so well that though seeing all their flaws I could find fault in none of them. Liam and Carly are a delight, and I want to find out more about how they work both separately and together! It's so exciting to read a story like this that features poly characters and to have them feel so real, and their relationship be actually functional.
March 12, 2015
Doves, the second book in the Love in Los Angeles series, delves further into the lives and loves of the characters we met in Starling and is fabulous. Its characters are complex and complicated, and the authors use of language and language structure shows us a story in a way that is both subtle and wonderfully effective. Maltese and McRae give us the story of Paul and Alex, Liam and Carly, and Victor by delving into the intricacies of relationships--both romantic and not--as well as through the language structure, cadence of dialogue, and tone. It enables Maltese and McRae to tell a much deeper story because they allow the narrative structure to do some of the work. Like Starling, there is a happily ever after at the end of Doves, and like Starling, Maltese and McRae continue to tell stories with more realism, grit, and complexities than most. It's brilliant.
May 13, 2015
I'm amazed at how well this book deals with real people issues. The fact that characters do not act like real people is one of the biggest reasons I normally do not enjoy romance. The fact that these characters feel like real people is one of the many reasons I adored this story.
Sometimes Victor makes me feel like I'm reading a horror story not a romance, but then he doesn't actually murder anyone so it goes back to sweet.
Final notes....
If Fourth was a real show I would be a Zach/James shipper.
Biggest disappointment is that Winsome is not a real show.
I love Liam!!!!
Sometimes Victor makes me feel like I'm reading a horror story not a romance, but then he doesn't actually murder anyone so it goes back to sweet.
Final notes....
If Fourth was a real show I would be a Zach/James shipper.
Biggest disappointment is that Winsome is not a real show.
I love Liam!!!!
January 21, 2015
I really tried to like this series but i just can't, everyone is sleeping with each other with no rhyme or reason. Plus I just don't see the appeal of Liam. I don't see how I'm supposed to connect to a character when they can't even connect to themselves.
April 23, 2015
So damn good
January 9, 2016
I still can't get used to the writing style but I enjoyed the story. There was angst and way less fairy tale than the 1st book.
I can't wait to see where the next book takes us.
I can't wait to see where the next book takes us.
May 3, 2016
Paul's constant whinging detracted from the story and the likeability of the characters. I enjoyed the first book better than the second. I haven't decided whether to read the third.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews