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Crazy Love
Billy spends his evenings dreaming of love and excitement. His roommate Francis wonders why Billy would waste his time fantasizing about a straight mechanic he works with who won't even look his way.
But Xavier isn't straight, he's bisexual. And he's been stealing looks at Billy without getting caught. Billy's blue eyes make him feel proud, something he hasn't felt ever since his father left him to fend for himself. Part Mohawk, Xavier deals with racism both at work and at home, and is planning to hit the road and never return.
From their first kiss, the attraction between Billy and Xavier is undeniable, setting off a chain of events. Soon they're running off together, determined to start a new life in Mexico. But the open road, like their crazy love, is new, exciting, and at times ... dangerous.
But Xavier isn't straight, he's bisexual. And he's been stealing looks at Billy without getting caught. Billy's blue eyes make him feel proud, something he hasn't felt ever since his father left him to fend for himself. Part Mohawk, Xavier deals with racism both at work and at home, and is planning to hit the road and never return.
From their first kiss, the attraction between Billy and Xavier is undeniable, setting off a chain of events. Soon they're running off together, determined to start a new life in Mexico. But the open road, like their crazy love, is new, exciting, and at times ... dangerous.
298 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2017
1 person is currently reading
139 people want to read
About the author
Mel Bossa
31 books219 followersI think I've written and changed my bio on here a hundred times in the last decade. See, that's why I don't have tattoos!
I've been a GR for over ten years and I still use it daily to keep up with my reading and to learn about books, old and new ones, but more importantly, because as I grow older and hopefully wiser, I realize that readers are my favorite type of people. They seem to be a little more empathetic and open-minded, and generally more cultivated.
If you look at my shelves, you'll see that I used to read about 70 books a year but in the last years, I've grown more selective and take my time with my lovers, ahem, books.
Yes, I am also a LGBTQ writer and Francophone Montrealer.
I cherish my readers, and want to take this space here to thank you all personally for reading and reviewing my books. You make reality tolerable like a good class of wine.
May your life be blessed.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 14, 2017
The reason I like reading Mel Bossa's books is that every one of them is different and has a unique quality.
In this one we get to learn a piece of America's history along with Billy. Xavier is a well of knowledge for everything concerning Native history. He knows the big and important stuff that everyone has heard of or was taught at school, but he also knows the little details and the fine print that most people have never heard of.
Xavier is enthusiastic about history, a quality that he inherited from his father. He is also confused about his place in the Native community. He doesn't really know where he belongs or even if he belongs anywhere. He is trying to find himself and come to terms with his heritage.
At the beginning of the story, Billy is too trusting with people, he is kind of naive about how mean people can be, but he is also brave enough to be sure about his choices and be comfortable in his own skin. Xavier, on the other hand, is just figuring out his bisexuality, he is unsure about who he is and he is trying to figure out what the future has in store for him.
The whole story takes place in the mid 90s and I think the atmosphere and the way of thought most people had then where pretty accurate. I liked how we where shown how life and communication worked before cell phones became such a big part of everyday life. We saw the challenges and and the difficulties the absence of a cell produced.
Also, the fact that there was no constant communication with their friends and family made their road trip and their decision to leave their lives behind and start somewhere new all the more final. They practically cut all ties with everyone and, aside from a phone call or two whenever they could find a phone, neither side knew what was happening in either's life.
The fact that Billy dropped everything to follow Xavier in his crazy plan didn't sit with me well at the beginning. They didn't know each other all that well and they weren't together for a long time. They were practically strangers that had just started to wonder if they could build something together. Through their trip, though, and the people they met along the way, through the challenges they had to overcome in order to keep going, they got to know each other and form a connection.
The people they met in their journey where pretty messed up in their majority. But that's one of the reasons that someone decides to go after the unknown. To gain experiences and learn new things. To meet different people and learn to protect himself. To become less naive about the world and how good or how bad people are capable of being.
Our MCs achieved all that and managed to come out of this experience better prepared for life. They were both pretty young (only 19 and 20) so their sponteneity and disregard for the dangers that awaited them were understandable up to a degree. Billy's age and enthusiasm were the things that, for me, explained his decision to abandon eveythings he had achieved up until then in order to follow someone he knew for less than a month.
At the end, they both changed and found something. Billy learned not to trust everyone he meets and that not everything is as it seems at first and Xavier was finally able to come to peace with who he is.
I won't tell you how they made it to Mexico or even if they made it till there. You'll have to read their story to find out. I will tell you though that it was an eventful and exciting trip.
A recommended read for those who like learning something new from books, for those who like the 90s and, of course, for those who like road trips!
*An ARC of this book was kindly provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.*
In this one we get to learn a piece of America's history along with Billy. Xavier is a well of knowledge for everything concerning Native history. He knows the big and important stuff that everyone has heard of or was taught at school, but he also knows the little details and the fine print that most people have never heard of.
Xavier is enthusiastic about history, a quality that he inherited from his father. He is also confused about his place in the Native community. He doesn't really know where he belongs or even if he belongs anywhere. He is trying to find himself and come to terms with his heritage.
At the beginning of the story, Billy is too trusting with people, he is kind of naive about how mean people can be, but he is also brave enough to be sure about his choices and be comfortable in his own skin. Xavier, on the other hand, is just figuring out his bisexuality, he is unsure about who he is and he is trying to figure out what the future has in store for him.
The whole story takes place in the mid 90s and I think the atmosphere and the way of thought most people had then where pretty accurate. I liked how we where shown how life and communication worked before cell phones became such a big part of everyday life. We saw the challenges and and the difficulties the absence of a cell produced.
Also, the fact that there was no constant communication with their friends and family made their road trip and their decision to leave their lives behind and start somewhere new all the more final. They practically cut all ties with everyone and, aside from a phone call or two whenever they could find a phone, neither side knew what was happening in either's life.
The fact that Billy dropped everything to follow Xavier in his crazy plan didn't sit with me well at the beginning. They didn't know each other all that well and they weren't together for a long time. They were practically strangers that had just started to wonder if they could build something together. Through their trip, though, and the people they met along the way, through the challenges they had to overcome in order to keep going, they got to know each other and form a connection.
The people they met in their journey where pretty messed up in their majority. But that's one of the reasons that someone decides to go after the unknown. To gain experiences and learn new things. To meet different people and learn to protect himself. To become less naive about the world and how good or how bad people are capable of being.
Our MCs achieved all that and managed to come out of this experience better prepared for life. They were both pretty young (only 19 and 20) so their sponteneity and disregard for the dangers that awaited them were understandable up to a degree. Billy's age and enthusiasm were the things that, for me, explained his decision to abandon eveythings he had achieved up until then in order to follow someone he knew for less than a month.
At the end, they both changed and found something. Billy learned not to trust everyone he meets and that not everything is as it seems at first and Xavier was finally able to come to peace with who he is.
I won't tell you how they made it to Mexico or even if they made it till there. You'll have to read their story to find out. I will tell you though that it was an eventful and exciting trip.
A recommended read for those who like learning something new from books, for those who like the 90s and, of course, for those who like road trips!
*An ARC of this book was kindly provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review.*
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May 24, 2017Oh I hope you all enjoy this one! I loved writing it! Set in the 1990s a love story/ road trip...And the madness of first loves.
June 19, 2017
Great story!
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June 14, 20174.5 Hearts
*knocks on screen* Um...Am I the first to review this??? Wow.
This book! Gah. It was so sweet and I just hugged it out with my Nook because it was that kind of book.
Billy Hart and Xavier Delisle meet when Billy is assigned to take Howie’s Garage into the new century by going paperless. Billy does what he needs to do, getting the job done and though he’s behind the computer, he loves coming into work for this particular job because he gets to stare at the dark haired gorgeous mechanic. On Billy’s last day at the garage, he gets the nerve to not only speak to the gorgeous dark haired man but after getting his name, he asks Xavier to hang out and play pool. Billy isn’t sure of Xavier’s sexual orientation, he just knows he needs to be around this boy in any way he can.
Told in the dual POV’s of both young men, we meet them as they meet one another in the summer of 1996. Billy has left the farm life he lived with his single mother after his father passed in an accident when he was young and came to Montreal to find a better life. He picks up on computer programming easy and works his way toward a promising career. His job led him to Xavier and Billy has one hell of a strong crush on the mysterious mechanic.
Xavier, oh my poor boy you broke my heart so many times. Xavier is living with his Aunt, his mother’s sister who took him in after his father who is part Mohawk Indian left Xavier at 13 to go live on the reservation. Xavier’s Aunt is a pretty volatile and racist human being who lets all her prejudices run wild and has zero filter when it comes to her hate. I forget sometimes that while current situations let people voice their hate, 21 years ago it was so much worse. 1996 is only a few years after I graduated high school and I can still remember hearing the racial jokes around school, the words that were used to describe someone who got a good deal on a sale or what people were called you gave something to you and took it back or the name of a burn given to someone’s forearm by quickly twisting their skin. It wasn’t a good time to be different and Xavier is lost with not only his heritage as a quarter Mohawk Indian he is confused about his sexuality. At 19 years old, Xavier appreciates girls but when he meets Billy he begins to recognize that he appreciates boys as well.
As Billy and Xavier begin a friendship that blossoms into more, Billy knows what he wants and while Xavier has outside forces pushing him toward dating a girl, he is torn with doing what his soul tells him is right and what he truly wants. Though when he makes up his mind to leave it all behind and head to Mexico, the one thing he can’t leave is Billy.
Let me pause for station identification and say: OMFG and Dammit, Mel Bossa! You almost broke with me with that one scene but thank goodness it was all turned around. I think I held my breath for a few pages. Good lord.
Sorry, I had to get that out.
So, the young men decide to take a chance on what they feel and hop in Xavier’s Chevy Nova and head through the night to begin their journey to Mexico. Through the miles they make a plan that when they make it to New Orleans, they can find part time jobs and stay awhile but trusting strangers throws a wrench in their plans and when they make it to New Orleans, things get a bit dark.
The title of this is Crazy Love and trust me, things get crazy with Xavier and Billy. When you fall so hard, fast and deep for someone it’s easy to get lost in them to the point of codependency and boy howdy, do these boys have it in spades. I’m not doubting their love for one another but both Xavier and Billy have issues, daddy issues for starters, and both young men are searching for where they belong. Billy is innocent, flamboyant and out and Xavier is reserved, questioning his bisexuality and struggling with is racial identity. Xavier also has a bit of a temper and Billy is quite the enabler. And yet, they both recognize all of these things but this love they have, this fierce and crazy love they have for one another that is all consuming, it’s what’s barely holding them together.
I adored Billy. He reminds me a lot of myself at that age with his love for music and being a hopeless romantic. I remember what it felt like to find that first love, to feel those first emotions as you acknowledge that someone wants you in the same way you want them and the total fear of being lost without them but being consumed when you are with them. Love is scary and it’s not always rational but when you find a love that is worth fighting for, you fight. Billy has the fight in him and the patience it takes to be with someone as complicated as Xavier.
This was one hell of a road trip and just one hell of a trip in itself. There is such turmoil that goes inside each young man as they fight for the new love they found and simultaneously fight for their independence. They learn harsh lessons along the way but the most important one is about love and acceptance even when it seems to be nothing but crazy.
Okay, I’m going to go listen to some Van Morrison now and process my feelings.
***Review copy provided by the author***
*knocks on screen* Um...Am I the first to review this??? Wow.
This book! Gah. It was so sweet and I just hugged it out with my Nook because it was that kind of book.
Oh, Xavier,” Billy said, “I know what I’m doing. I’m not
scared at all. I just wanna be in this car, with you. Is that crazy?”
“No…I feel the same way.”
“Then let’s go. Let’s just drive.”
Billy Hart and Xavier Delisle meet when Billy is assigned to take Howie’s Garage into the new century by going paperless. Billy does what he needs to do, getting the job done and though he’s behind the computer, he loves coming into work for this particular job because he gets to stare at the dark haired gorgeous mechanic. On Billy’s last day at the garage, he gets the nerve to not only speak to the gorgeous dark haired man but after getting his name, he asks Xavier to hang out and play pool. Billy isn’t sure of Xavier’s sexual orientation, he just knows he needs to be around this boy in any way he can.
Told in the dual POV’s of both young men, we meet them as they meet one another in the summer of 1996. Billy has left the farm life he lived with his single mother after his father passed in an accident when he was young and came to Montreal to find a better life. He picks up on computer programming easy and works his way toward a promising career. His job led him to Xavier and Billy has one hell of a strong crush on the mysterious mechanic.
Xavier, oh my poor boy you broke my heart so many times. Xavier is living with his Aunt, his mother’s sister who took him in after his father who is part Mohawk Indian left Xavier at 13 to go live on the reservation. Xavier’s Aunt is a pretty volatile and racist human being who lets all her prejudices run wild and has zero filter when it comes to her hate. I forget sometimes that while current situations let people voice their hate, 21 years ago it was so much worse. 1996 is only a few years after I graduated high school and I can still remember hearing the racial jokes around school, the words that were used to describe someone who got a good deal on a sale or what people were called you gave something to you and took it back or the name of a burn given to someone’s forearm by quickly twisting their skin. It wasn’t a good time to be different and Xavier is lost with not only his heritage as a quarter Mohawk Indian he is confused about his sexuality. At 19 years old, Xavier appreciates girls but when he meets Billy he begins to recognize that he appreciates boys as well.
He liked girls. Could be with girls. Could get married maybe. Have kids. All of it.
He could do it all.
But he didn’t want to. He didn’t want any of it.
The realization hit him like a head-on collision. It wasn’t about him being gay. Straight. Bisexual. It was about Billy.
How he felt about him. That was his truth. All he needed to know.
As Billy and Xavier begin a friendship that blossoms into more, Billy knows what he wants and while Xavier has outside forces pushing him toward dating a girl, he is torn with doing what his soul tells him is right and what he truly wants. Though when he makes up his mind to leave it all behind and head to Mexico, the one thing he can’t leave is Billy.
Let me pause for station identification and say: OMFG and Dammit, Mel Bossa! You almost broke with me with that one scene but thank goodness it was all turned around. I think I held my breath for a few pages. Good lord.
Sorry, I had to get that out.
So, the young men decide to take a chance on what they feel and hop in Xavier’s Chevy Nova and head through the night to begin their journey to Mexico. Through the miles they make a plan that when they make it to New Orleans, they can find part time jobs and stay awhile but trusting strangers throws a wrench in their plans and when they make it to New Orleans, things get a bit dark.
The title of this is Crazy Love and trust me, things get crazy with Xavier and Billy. When you fall so hard, fast and deep for someone it’s easy to get lost in them to the point of codependency and boy howdy, do these boys have it in spades. I’m not doubting their love for one another but both Xavier and Billy have issues, daddy issues for starters, and both young men are searching for where they belong. Billy is innocent, flamboyant and out and Xavier is reserved, questioning his bisexuality and struggling with is racial identity. Xavier also has a bit of a temper and Billy is quite the enabler. And yet, they both recognize all of these things but this love they have, this fierce and crazy love they have for one another that is all consuming, it’s what’s barely holding them together.
Billy, whatever happens from now on, whatever roads we take, we’ll always have this. This. The trip. New Orleans. You and me. That’s our history. Where we started.
I adored Billy. He reminds me a lot of myself at that age with his love for music and being a hopeless romantic. I remember what it felt like to find that first love, to feel those first emotions as you acknowledge that someone wants you in the same way you want them and the total fear of being lost without them but being consumed when you are with them. Love is scary and it’s not always rational but when you find a love that is worth fighting for, you fight. Billy has the fight in him and the patience it takes to be with someone as complicated as Xavier.
This was one hell of a road trip and just one hell of a trip in itself. There is such turmoil that goes inside each young man as they fight for the new love they found and simultaneously fight for their independence. They learn harsh lessons along the way but the most important one is about love and acceptance even when it seems to be nothing but crazy.
Okay, I’m going to go listen to some Van Morrison now and process my feelings.
***Review copy provided by the author***
March 21, 2018
Billy is pursuing his future. He lives with his roommate, Francis; is working in a job that actually has a future; and is crushing on hot mechanic, Xavier. Billy is putting in the computer system at the garage where Xavier works and doesn’t believe that Xavier would give him the time of day. But, Xavier has been crushing on Billy too, and when they go out, things get interesting.
Xavier’s home life is a mess. He lives with his cousin and his very religious and overbearing aunt. He gets no support and is denigrated at every turn because of his Native American heritage—his father left the family to move back to the reservation and learn about his ancestors, leaving Xavier to fend for himself.
When Billy and Xavier decide to road trip to Mexico and start over, things start out ok, but before long, things go horribly wrong and they are left pretty much stranded. Without the means to get things back under control, Billy and Xavier have to reach out for help getting home. And then things go from bad to worse with their relationship: Xavier is struggling with so many other issues, and Billy needs more.
I really did like this story but there was a lot going on here. Besides the romance there is so much happening with Xavier’s fraught relationships with his family, and especially his feeling of abandonment by his father. His disconnect from his cultural identity as well as the harsh words from his aunt serve to put a lot of pressure on him that push him into some pretty unwise decisions. Billy is a supportive character, but he also ignores the obvious at times, which was frustrating. While the story was compelling, I think another round of edits might have helped the pacing and overall flow. Still, I’d recommend it for those who are especially interested in the effects of cultural denial.
Reviewed by Sadonna for The Novel Approach
Xavier’s home life is a mess. He lives with his cousin and his very religious and overbearing aunt. He gets no support and is denigrated at every turn because of his Native American heritage—his father left the family to move back to the reservation and learn about his ancestors, leaving Xavier to fend for himself.
When Billy and Xavier decide to road trip to Mexico and start over, things start out ok, but before long, things go horribly wrong and they are left pretty much stranded. Without the means to get things back under control, Billy and Xavier have to reach out for help getting home. And then things go from bad to worse with their relationship: Xavier is struggling with so many other issues, and Billy needs more.
I really did like this story but there was a lot going on here. Besides the romance there is so much happening with Xavier’s fraught relationships with his family, and especially his feeling of abandonment by his father. His disconnect from his cultural identity as well as the harsh words from his aunt serve to put a lot of pressure on him that push him into some pretty unwise decisions. Billy is a supportive character, but he also ignores the obvious at times, which was frustrating. While the story was compelling, I think another round of edits might have helped the pacing and overall flow. Still, I’d recommend it for those who are especially interested in the effects of cultural denial.
Reviewed by Sadonna for The Novel Approach
March 26, 2018
This review and more can be found at The Novel Approach
Billy is pursuing his future. He lives with his roommate, Francis; is working in a job that actually has a future; and is crushing on hot mechanic, Xavier. Billy is putting in the computer system at the garage where Xavier works and doesn’t believe that Xavier would give him the time of day. But, Xavier has been crushing on Billy too, and when they go out, things get interesting.
Xavier’s home life is a mess. He lives with his cousin and his very religious and overbearing aunt. He gets no support and is denigrated at every turn because of his Native American heritage—his father left the family to move back to the reservation and learn about his ancestors, leaving Xavier to fend for himself.
When Billy and Xavier decide to road trip to Mexico and start over, things start out ok, but before long, things go horribly wrong and they are left pretty much stranded. Without the means to get things back under control, Billy and Xavier have to reach out for help getting home. And then things go from bad to worse with their relationship: Xavier is struggling with so many other issues, and Billy needs more.
I really did like this story but there was a lot going on here. Besides the romance there is so much happening with Xavier’s fraught relationships with his family, and especially his feeling of abandonment by his father. His disconnect from his cultural identity as well as the harsh words from his aunt serve to put a lot of pressure on him that push him into some pretty unwise decisions. Billy is a supportive character, but he also ignores the obvious at times, which was frustrating. While the story was compelling, I think another round of edits might have helped the pacing and overall flow. Still, I’d recommend it for those who are especially interested in the effects of cultural denial.
Billy is pursuing his future. He lives with his roommate, Francis; is working in a job that actually has a future; and is crushing on hot mechanic, Xavier. Billy is putting in the computer system at the garage where Xavier works and doesn’t believe that Xavier would give him the time of day. But, Xavier has been crushing on Billy too, and when they go out, things get interesting.
Xavier’s home life is a mess. He lives with his cousin and his very religious and overbearing aunt. He gets no support and is denigrated at every turn because of his Native American heritage—his father left the family to move back to the reservation and learn about his ancestors, leaving Xavier to fend for himself.
When Billy and Xavier decide to road trip to Mexico and start over, things start out ok, but before long, things go horribly wrong and they are left pretty much stranded. Without the means to get things back under control, Billy and Xavier have to reach out for help getting home. And then things go from bad to worse with their relationship: Xavier is struggling with so many other issues, and Billy needs more.
I really did like this story but there was a lot going on here. Besides the romance there is so much happening with Xavier’s fraught relationships with his family, and especially his feeling of abandonment by his father. His disconnect from his cultural identity as well as the harsh words from his aunt serve to put a lot of pressure on him that push him into some pretty unwise decisions. Billy is a supportive character, but he also ignores the obvious at times, which was frustrating. While the story was compelling, I think another round of edits might have helped the pacing and overall flow. Still, I’d recommend it for those who are especially interested in the effects of cultural denial.
July 1, 2017
2.5 stars I found both MCs irritating and the writing seemed too dramatic and immature. It was also way too political regarding the plight of the Indians - when I read a M/M romance I want fun fluff... not a history lesson. I'm surprised I actually finished it.
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February 5, 20221.5 Stars
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