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Love and War
A War Hero.
A Broken Man.
A Secret Love.
It’s been a long few years for Charlie Harris. After being drafted into the Navy in October 1940 after the outbreak of World War Two, a horrific bomb explosion has left him alone, confused and injured in a London he barely recognizes anymore. Charlie has always been a stubborn man, who refuses to accept help from anyone. But will he be able to change his ways when he’s faced with the ultimate choice – accept help or accept life confined to a hospital bed? In 1944, Charlie doesn’t have many options left. A revolutionary wheelchair has changed his life, but Charlie is totally lost with no family or friends to comfort him. The days tick by, melding into one another and the decorated war hero has lost all sense of hope and purpose. That is, until a stranger by the name of Blaine Avery decides to shake things up. Blaine is a physiotherapist, and a good one at that, even if his methodology is a little on the unusual side.
In a time when homosexuality is still punishable by life imprisonment, will Charlie ever be able to accept his newfound feelings, and, more importantly, forgive himself? Has the God that he has revered and cherished for so many years finally abandoned him for good to no-one, like Charlie has always feared? Or will Blaine be able to satisfy his fears without Charlie having to leave behind his life and his religion?
Please Note: M/M (Gay) Romance. This book contains some sexually explicit scenes & may contain course language, it is intended for 18+ Adults Only. This is a short story, approx. 10,000 words in length, average reading time approx. 30 mins. It has a HEA (happy ever after ending) & does not end with a "cliffhanger".
A Broken Man.
A Secret Love.
It’s been a long few years for Charlie Harris. After being drafted into the Navy in October 1940 after the outbreak of World War Two, a horrific bomb explosion has left him alone, confused and injured in a London he barely recognizes anymore. Charlie has always been a stubborn man, who refuses to accept help from anyone. But will he be able to change his ways when he’s faced with the ultimate choice – accept help or accept life confined to a hospital bed? In 1944, Charlie doesn’t have many options left. A revolutionary wheelchair has changed his life, but Charlie is totally lost with no family or friends to comfort him. The days tick by, melding into one another and the decorated war hero has lost all sense of hope and purpose. That is, until a stranger by the name of Blaine Avery decides to shake things up. Blaine is a physiotherapist, and a good one at that, even if his methodology is a little on the unusual side.
In a time when homosexuality is still punishable by life imprisonment, will Charlie ever be able to accept his newfound feelings, and, more importantly, forgive himself? Has the God that he has revered and cherished for so many years finally abandoned him for good to no-one, like Charlie has always feared? Or will Blaine be able to satisfy his fears without Charlie having to leave behind his life and his religion?
Please Note: M/M (Gay) Romance. This book contains some sexually explicit scenes & may contain course language, it is intended for 18+ Adults Only. This is a short story, approx. 10,000 words in length, average reading time approx. 30 mins. It has a HEA (happy ever after ending) & does not end with a "cliffhanger".
41 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 18, 2017
59 people are currently reading
81 people want to read
About the author
Max Hudson
112 books88 followersMax Hudson is a young man who enjoys writing steamy m/m romance novels. Join his insiders club here to get updates about his new releases:
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
March 8, 2017
*** The journey from forbidden love, to acceptance. ***
This is a historical novella that tells us Charlie's story of new found M/M love, and we get to see where these sweet men find eventual satisfaction.
It's all about timing. WWII. Charlie lost both legs below the knees, and therapy isn't going well. He's sent to a Psychotherapist for help with his mental attitude that is keeping him from recovery. Blaine and Charlie see each other, and it's a definite shock to them both at how deeply the attraction goes. Charlie has had the feelings, but never acted on them, and Blaine knows he's gay, but is discrete. They agree to have their sessions privately, because neither can erase the facial expressions they have in their looks at each other. We can feel their emotions, and we root for them to succeed.
We also get to see the jump from first forbidden love, to current day acceptance. Yes, they are in their 90s now, but their hearts still feel the joy of the huge jumps that gay rights have fought for.
Very interesting tale that gives us insight as to society's views and how wonderfully they have changed. It's an hour read, that tells so much more.
ENJOY !
==========
This is a historical novella that tells us Charlie's story of new found M/M love, and we get to see where these sweet men find eventual satisfaction.
It's all about timing. WWII. Charlie lost both legs below the knees, and therapy isn't going well. He's sent to a Psychotherapist for help with his mental attitude that is keeping him from recovery. Blaine and Charlie see each other, and it's a definite shock to them both at how deeply the attraction goes. Charlie has had the feelings, but never acted on them, and Blaine knows he's gay, but is discrete. They agree to have their sessions privately, because neither can erase the facial expressions they have in their looks at each other. We can feel their emotions, and we root for them to succeed.
We also get to see the jump from first forbidden love, to current day acceptance. Yes, they are in their 90s now, but their hearts still feel the joy of the huge jumps that gay rights have fought for.
Very interesting tale that gives us insight as to society's views and how wonderfully they have changed. It's an hour read, that tells so much more.
ENJOY !
==========
January 21, 2025
It was good at first and I liked that Charlie stopped seeming himself as weak and broken but as soon as he and Blaine got together it was like there was a massive shift - the writing style just deteriorated? Basically, the story kicked itself to the end and I was just along to finish what I started.
Kindle freebie: 8.7.24
Kindle freebie: 8.7.24
February 27, 2017
Short, sad and so sweet
October 30, 2024
Charlie’s story is heartbreaking, since I was able to see myself in him His first prayer really made me cry because of how and for what he prayed for …
His journey really touched me and seeing him slowly overcome the difficulties in his life and get new hopes made me so happy.
I don’t think the story is actually really good or that it’s written really well, for that it would have needed a lot more pages in my opinion. But for me it didn’t really mattered, because I was here for Charlie’s journey and I am glad he found his Happy End.
His journey really touched me and seeing him slowly overcome the difficulties in his life and get new hopes made me so happy.
I don’t think the story is actually really good or that it’s written really well, for that it would have needed a lot more pages in my opinion. But for me it didn’t really mattered, because I was here for Charlie’s journey and I am glad he found his Happy End.
November 18, 2017
It's already impressive that this author wrote a sweeping love story that spanned over 70 years, gifting his MCs with rich character development and detailed backstories. Also impressive was that he successfully managed to take a reader through the wealth of emotion that lovers would experience over a lifetime together. The fact that he managed this in 33 pages is mind-boggling. It's like a magic trick or optical illusion. It was reminiscent of going to the circus and watching 50 clowns pour out of a car the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. Truly anazing.
I got tasked with reading a historical M/M book with a minimum of 30 pages in length. I tend to find historical fiction tedious and unrelatable. There are exceptions of course, this book being of them. I highly recommend this historical read to people who don't like historical reads. You'll get the reading equivalent of watching a full length IMAX movie in a feature that lasts as long as a commercial.
This book is 33 pages amd It's free. If you don't enjoy historicals and you are ever tasked with a reading challenge with similar parameters, you should choose this book. If you don't, I'll assume that you've either forgotten or that there is smething wrong with you on a fundamental level.
I got tasked with reading a historical M/M book with a minimum of 30 pages in length. I tend to find historical fiction tedious and unrelatable. There are exceptions of course, this book being of them. I highly recommend this historical read to people who don't like historical reads. You'll get the reading equivalent of watching a full length IMAX movie in a feature that lasts as long as a commercial.
This book is 33 pages amd It's free. If you don't enjoy historicals and you are ever tasked with a reading challenge with similar parameters, you should choose this book. If you don't, I'll assume that you've either forgotten or that there is smething wrong with you on a fundamental level.
February 14, 2020
Es la historia de un amor que de acuerdo a la época estaba prohibido, pero que con el amor que se tenían el uno por el otro lograron conservarlo hasta el día en que finalmente se convirtieron en esposos ante la ley.
March 3, 2017
Seventy Years...
This is such a wonderful story about love and devotion. These men were so lucky to find each other. I just wish the story was longer so both of the men had more of their story told.
This is the first book I have read by Max Hudson. He gave it to me to read for a review. I'll be reading many more of his in the future.
This is such a wonderful story about love and devotion. These men were so lucky to find each other. I just wish the story was longer so both of the men had more of their story told.
This is the first book I have read by Max Hudson. He gave it to me to read for a review. I'll be reading many more of his in the future.
March 3, 2017
SO HEART-WRENCHING, BUT YET, OH…SO…BEAUTIFUL…!!!
The emotional level of this book is OFF THE SCALE. Oh, how I cried my way through this entire book from the very first page all the way through to the very last word. It was so hard for me to even see what I was reading. My eyeglasses were as teared-up as my eyes were. It was so heart-wrenching, but yet, OH…SO…BEAUTIFUL…!!!
Only a really good author could wrench those feelings from a reader, in the way Max Hudson has done, with this book. Especially with so little time!
Don't stop reading now! It's not a sad book! Not in the way of heartbreak, lost or unrequited love, physical death or anything along those lines. It was just feeling all the emotions it took to even get through a "normal" day for them. It truly tugged at my heartstrings...
It's 1944 and Charlie was a very broken man. He had lost both his legs in the Second World War. I guess they really didn't do much at all for rehabilitation back then, because when Blaine shows up as a new, and very young, physiotherapist at the Veteran's Hospital with new and very unusual rehab ideas, which he wants to start implementing in the rehabilitation of physically disabled War Veterans, he gives Charlie the first hope he's ever, ever had in the entirety of his three years since he had begun wandering through what was left of not only his body but, also his life.
Unfortunately for Charlie, Blaine also makes him have "other" ideas. Ideas Charlie can't begin to imagine of where they ever even came from! He's been praying for a sign for anything that might tell him what he's supposed to do now, now that he has a body that is of no use to anyone-not even himself-and when he finally gets an answer, it's in the form of the new physiotherapist that is Blaine. But then he runs into another roadblock, in the form of horrifically "illegal," man/man love.
Charlie had always reacted like most of the rest of society when he thought of that type of "sexuality". And yet there Charlie was, from the very moment he met Blaine for their first physiotherapy appointment, he found himself thinking of Real Everlasting Love for Blaine, not just sexual love, but the real connection-with-another-person kind of love. When he also for the first time in a very, very long time, could finally bring himself to overcome his anger, embarrassment and humiliation of his situation enough, to pick his head up from always staring at the floor. Pick it up high enough to actually look someone in their face. High enough to look Blaine in his face...Then, high enough to look Blaine eye to eye…Oh...No...!!!
"No. Please, don’t do this to me." He can't understand why he would finally find hope only to be tempted by such things…"What have I done to deserve these feelings?" "Who have I wronged?" "Are you making me choose, between {my faith} and a working body?"
Over time Charlie makes peace with himself and, over the years he and Blaine had become inseparable. They see and live through many changes in their 70+ years of loving each other which began in 1944, when homosexuality was truly a criminal offense punishable by time in prison, to over twenty years later in 1967, when they see homosexuality become "de-criminalized." They live through the 1980's HIV/AIDS scare, although this was not actually mentioned in this book. Together, they even make it to 2014, when at 93 & 96 years of age, Charlie and Blaine finally see same-sex-marriage legalized in Great Britain!
For such an extremely short read-UNDER 30 minutes for me-MAX HUDSON packed an entire lifetime into his book. An entire lifetime of sorrow, angst, feelings, and a "life-love" so intense! I do realize that for a short 30 minute read this is no Dostoevsky "CRIME AND PUNISHMENT" novel but, it truly speaks to so many different things for me. It may seem I am focusing on a lot of sadness and forgetting to mention the beauty of this book and for that I apologize...there is beauty everywhere in this book, everywhere-in their love, in their emotions, in their own world. You might be laughing at me for getting so much out of a 30 minute read and ya, you'd be right...I did. But, in order for me to get so much out of "LOVE AND WAR," Max Hudson would have had to put a lot into it …and that is just exactly what he did.
This read was so smooth and flowing that literally with the two opening lines of…“Okay, Charlie?” and "I don’t even raise my head anymore to greet the nurse at the front desk."…I went straight in to absorbing the rest of the entire book, without pause. That second line alone, spoke volumes to me about what this poor man must be going through mentally, before I even had a clue as to where this book was going to go with him. I only knew, this poor man, was dearly suffering.
I did receive this book, without any charge, in an email. That email also included the line…"If you enjoy the story, please consider leaving a review (link below)."...Well, I did ssooo ennnjoy this story, that I completely devoured every last morsel the author dished out for us. There was positively no "IF," as to whether or not I would be volunteering to leave a written review, for him.
So...please, do not deny yourself...take a 30 minute break and flow right into this beautiful book "LOVE AND WAR" which MAX HUDSON has created for us! Even now, as I post this review, this book is still being offered FREE-OF-CHARGE. Even if it is not free, by the time you do come across it, I have absolutely no doubt that it would be worth every penny or dollar it is posted for.
I'm sure I will be a, Max Hudson, devoted follower - MTULIPK
The emotional level of this book is OFF THE SCALE. Oh, how I cried my way through this entire book from the very first page all the way through to the very last word. It was so hard for me to even see what I was reading. My eyeglasses were as teared-up as my eyes were. It was so heart-wrenching, but yet, OH…SO…BEAUTIFUL…!!!
Only a really good author could wrench those feelings from a reader, in the way Max Hudson has done, with this book. Especially with so little time!
Don't stop reading now! It's not a sad book! Not in the way of heartbreak, lost or unrequited love, physical death or anything along those lines. It was just feeling all the emotions it took to even get through a "normal" day for them. It truly tugged at my heartstrings...
It's 1944 and Charlie was a very broken man. He had lost both his legs in the Second World War. I guess they really didn't do much at all for rehabilitation back then, because when Blaine shows up as a new, and very young, physiotherapist at the Veteran's Hospital with new and very unusual rehab ideas, which he wants to start implementing in the rehabilitation of physically disabled War Veterans, he gives Charlie the first hope he's ever, ever had in the entirety of his three years since he had begun wandering through what was left of not only his body but, also his life.
Unfortunately for Charlie, Blaine also makes him have "other" ideas. Ideas Charlie can't begin to imagine of where they ever even came from! He's been praying for a sign for anything that might tell him what he's supposed to do now, now that he has a body that is of no use to anyone-not even himself-and when he finally gets an answer, it's in the form of the new physiotherapist that is Blaine. But then he runs into another roadblock, in the form of horrifically "illegal," man/man love.
Charlie had always reacted like most of the rest of society when he thought of that type of "sexuality". And yet there Charlie was, from the very moment he met Blaine for their first physiotherapy appointment, he found himself thinking of Real Everlasting Love for Blaine, not just sexual love, but the real connection-with-another-person kind of love. When he also for the first time in a very, very long time, could finally bring himself to overcome his anger, embarrassment and humiliation of his situation enough, to pick his head up from always staring at the floor. Pick it up high enough to actually look someone in their face. High enough to look Blaine in his face...Then, high enough to look Blaine eye to eye…Oh...No...!!!
"No. Please, don’t do this to me." He can't understand why he would finally find hope only to be tempted by such things…"What have I done to deserve these feelings?" "Who have I wronged?" "Are you making me choose, between {my faith} and a working body?"
Over time Charlie makes peace with himself and, over the years he and Blaine had become inseparable. They see and live through many changes in their 70+ years of loving each other which began in 1944, when homosexuality was truly a criminal offense punishable by time in prison, to over twenty years later in 1967, when they see homosexuality become "de-criminalized." They live through the 1980's HIV/AIDS scare, although this was not actually mentioned in this book. Together, they even make it to 2014, when at 93 & 96 years of age, Charlie and Blaine finally see same-sex-marriage legalized in Great Britain!
For such an extremely short read-UNDER 30 minutes for me-MAX HUDSON packed an entire lifetime into his book. An entire lifetime of sorrow, angst, feelings, and a "life-love" so intense! I do realize that for a short 30 minute read this is no Dostoevsky "CRIME AND PUNISHMENT" novel but, it truly speaks to so many different things for me. It may seem I am focusing on a lot of sadness and forgetting to mention the beauty of this book and for that I apologize...there is beauty everywhere in this book, everywhere-in their love, in their emotions, in their own world. You might be laughing at me for getting so much out of a 30 minute read and ya, you'd be right...I did. But, in order for me to get so much out of "LOVE AND WAR," Max Hudson would have had to put a lot into it …and that is just exactly what he did.
This read was so smooth and flowing that literally with the two opening lines of…“Okay, Charlie?” and "I don’t even raise my head anymore to greet the nurse at the front desk."…I went straight in to absorbing the rest of the entire book, without pause. That second line alone, spoke volumes to me about what this poor man must be going through mentally, before I even had a clue as to where this book was going to go with him. I only knew, this poor man, was dearly suffering.
I did receive this book, without any charge, in an email. That email also included the line…"If you enjoy the story, please consider leaving a review (link below)."...Well, I did ssooo ennnjoy this story, that I completely devoured every last morsel the author dished out for us. There was positively no "IF," as to whether or not I would be volunteering to leave a written review, for him.
So...please, do not deny yourself...take a 30 minute break and flow right into this beautiful book "LOVE AND WAR" which MAX HUDSON has created for us! Even now, as I post this review, this book is still being offered FREE-OF-CHARGE. Even if it is not free, by the time you do come across it, I have absolutely no doubt that it would be worth every penny or dollar it is posted for.
I'm sure I will be a, Max Hudson, devoted follower - MTULIPK
February 9, 2020
3.75 Stars
Max Hudson’s ‘Love and War’ traces the lives of Charlie Harris and Blaine Avery over seven decades in 33 short pages from becoming forbidden lovers in World War II almost up to present day England.
Charlie and Blaine are wonderfully written characters who truly deserve more page space. They have the potential to become an important couple in a gay m/m historical romance series.
I could quibble about what I perceive as grammatical errors such as “He pulls them off along with my underwear in one foul swoop…” rather than “one fell swoop”, but the potential for these characters is so great that quibbling simply isn’t worth it.
I sincerely hope Mr. Hudson will consider writing more about this intriguing couple.
Max Hudson’s ‘Love and War’ traces the lives of Charlie Harris and Blaine Avery over seven decades in 33 short pages from becoming forbidden lovers in World War II almost up to present day England.
Charlie and Blaine are wonderfully written characters who truly deserve more page space. They have the potential to become an important couple in a gay m/m historical romance series.
I could quibble about what I perceive as grammatical errors such as “He pulls them off along with my underwear in one foul swoop…” rather than “one fell swoop”, but the potential for these characters is so great that quibbling simply isn’t worth it.
I sincerely hope Mr. Hudson will consider writing more about this intriguing couple.
December 10, 2017
What? No, I'm not crying, it's dusty in here
Simply beautiful love story, with a sensitivity to history, this is a celebration of the progress of gay rights in the UK. My one and only complaint is that it is far too short. I want to hear about the child that never arrived, about how Charlie and Avery watching the AIDs epidemic unfolding around them. There's so much more to be told for this beautiful couple.
If you don't cry at the last chapter, you might be made of ice.
Simply beautiful love story, with a sensitivity to history, this is a celebration of the progress of gay rights in the UK. My one and only complaint is that it is far too short. I want to hear about the child that never arrived, about how Charlie and Avery watching the AIDs epidemic unfolding around them. There's so much more to be told for this beautiful couple.
If you don't cry at the last chapter, you might be made of ice.
August 28, 2020
Bits and pieces of a story with main parts omitted.
A lot of religion talk and I found it very hard to relate to being set in 1944 and I also thought it was very insulting to many different groups of people and don't even get me started by that Cafe scene that just boggled the mind. 2 men can't sit together. I was generous with 2 stars because the end was cute. Keeping in mind the whole things was like under 40 pages so then was 1 or 2 of those.
A lot of religion talk and I found it very hard to relate to being set in 1944 and I also thought it was very insulting to many different groups of people and don't even get me started by that Cafe scene that just boggled the mind. 2 men can't sit together. I was generous with 2 stars because the end was cute. Keeping in mind the whole things was like under 40 pages so then was 1 or 2 of those.
June 11, 2017
I do not know what exactly happened here, but reading this short story feels like reading excerpts from a much longer work. An especially relevant part is missing, that that should take place after the two leads meet and before they land in bed together.
Writing is not bad at all, but as it is this story goes nowhere.
Writing is not bad at all, but as it is this story goes nowhere.
January 5, 2018
Sweet short story
A wonderful short story about the discovery of love and the abilities it gives a person. This story hits on several key events throughout history. It keeps it short and to the point with out much development in truth conflict beyond society pressures, which can be rather difficult to overcome. It's a feel good story. One I would've to see expanded on.
A wonderful short story about the discovery of love and the abilities it gives a person. This story hits on several key events throughout history. It keeps it short and to the point with out much development in truth conflict beyond society pressures, which can be rather difficult to overcome. It's a feel good story. One I would've to see expanded on.
February 19, 2018
a quick read with a story that I would have liked to be a little more developed. I liked the characters but would have liked more of a story of what happened to them in the middle years. I will check out some more of this author's writings.
September 5, 2017
Sweet story
What a sweet story. 2 of the very sweetest characters I've ever read. Not one of my favorite s fro. Max hudsun
What a sweet story. 2 of the very sweetest characters I've ever read. Not one of my favorite s fro. Max hudsun
November 3, 2017
3.5/5
Interesting read. I feel like the message is larger than the length of the story has to offer, but it was still an enjoyable read nonetheless.
Interesting read. I feel like the message is larger than the length of the story has to offer, but it was still an enjoyable read nonetheless.
Read
February 12, 2021DNF, so no rating. After reading Coming Home For Christmas, I could not struggle through another book by this author. Returned to Kindle Unlimited w/o finishing. Just ... no.
April 4, 2022
El final ha sido bonito pero wtf
July 7, 2023
Having seen many turns of the sun it has always been funny to me (well, after my first few experiences anyway), to the point where it has become rather cliché, the stages that straight men go through when they realise that they're not really straight, regardless of age.
This short story highlights this to perfection; however, this story also omits a significant part - the part after having been intimate for the first time, the part tween guilt and the road to acceptance. while the story is good and I am happy that Charlie got his happy ending, the ending does feel rushed...
Overall, it is a very sweet little romance.
This short story highlights this to perfection; however, this story also omits a significant part - the part after having been intimate for the first time, the part tween guilt and the road to acceptance. while the story is good and I am happy that Charlie got his happy ending, the ending does feel rushed...
Overall, it is a very sweet little romance.
April 13, 2017
I want to like it because the story idea was sweet - but the author didn't do a good job of developing the relationship of the characters and to go from so much religion (lots of praying) to none without some sort of crisis (people usually go through a crisis when a core belief is shaken) - that wasn't realistic.
May 9, 2017
MM. Explicit. A short read but underdeveloped. The story feels like it is missing joining parts and jumps suddenly. I liked Charlie and Blaine.
April 30, 2017
A beautiful story. It was well written, and had a great storyline.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews