Life Saving Dal

by Ada Maria Soto

Nathan has been divorced for a year and is hoping for a grand romantic gesture to change his life. Kris isn’t what he’s waiting for but might be something better.

~ Short Story, 4000 words

Genres: M M Romance, LGBT, Romance, Contemporary, Short Stories, Contemporary Romance, Queer

ebook

First published June 28, 2017

About the author

A psychologist once told Ada Maria Soto that she has a fantasy prone personality. Fortunately, Ada grew up to become an author, so a life lived deep in her imagination fits her perfectly. As a Mexican-American expat living in the South Pacific with her partner and kid, her life is chaotically divided between being a writer, a publisher, and a parent.

Dysgraphia, phonological dyslexia, and ADHD makes for some exciting editing, but Ada continues to push through with a writing career. She’s a veteran of the theatre and television business, as well as all the lousy jobs that come with two liberal arts degrees.

Ada’s ability to capture the complex inner life of her characters in moving, yet relatable, ways endears readers to her unforgettable characters. Whether writing hot, spicy erotica or “tame” romances about asexual characters, she creates stories that readers return to again and again.

When not buried under manuscripts, Ada is a sports fan dedicated to the Oakland A’s, Auckland Blues, USA Eagles, and New Zealand Black Caps.

Reviews

[Meep · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is sweet, a very short story it could be an extended one-night stand or the start of a HEA but there's an otherworldy feel about it of comfort. It's brief and feels like the start of a story, yet perhaps it's better not knowing all the details, what's here is a dose of warmth.

[namericanwordcat · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love what is here but after the main set of scenes everything is rushed and that makes it more of a vignette. Those can work but this one leaves me unsatisfied. The writing is good but needs completeness.

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hopeful meet-cute / meet-sexy short story about Nathan, who needs to start getting closure on his previous relationship, and Shrikrishna, nickname Kris, who's more than happy to help with that process. They meet in the bar where Nathan proposed to his husband, a year after their divorce, where Nathan is hoping for a grand romantic gesture that will reverse the end of his marriage. Instead Kris invites him to start accepting something positive from someone else. It's a moment in time when Nathan's life changes course for the better, and it left me with a warm little feeling in my heart.

[iam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely short story about Nathan, who one year after his divorce still visits the bar where he proposed to his ex-husband. There he meets Shrikrishna, called Kris, who might be just able to give him exactly what he needs.
I loved the melancholy and emotion the story conveyed, the easy but deep dynamic between Kris and Nathan and how warm it made me feel from the inside out.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is how you write super short really effectively!

This is mega-short, but the author still manage to draw me in with sizzling chemistry and just enough backstory to give me context without dragging down the narrative. Hopeful ending, because you don't actually need to tie up everything in a happily ever after epilogue bow for readers to enjoy your story.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, tender, fun, funny. So far I've enjoyed everything by this author.

[Leigh Kramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely short story with an HFN ending. It's the one year anniversary of Nathan's divorce and he hasn't quite moved on yet. But when Kris sits down next to him, he decides to take a chance and go home with him. This easily could have been expanded into something longer but it was still an enjoyable vignette, especially the scene at the end when Kris makes Nate his mother's Life Saving Dal.

Character notes: Nathan is a 37 year old white man. Kris is a 27 year old Indian American patent lawyer. This is set in San Francisco.

Content notes: divorced MC, on page sex

[Calathea · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I liked this read and the characters (as far as we got to know them) and it's very well written, it just feels to me like something is missing. The whole thing gives me a sense of one scene taken from a bigger story and the ending was a bit too sudden. It's like we got the first half of a promising start to a new relationship but due to the sudden end I can't trust that they have a fair chance at actually making it work.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a while back, but never said anything about it. I remember it being a nice story and nicely written. I loved that it has a lovely Indian-American guy as a main character. This is quite short and it's pretty much just the beginning of a story, but it's nice and I enjoyed it. Also, it's free.

[DC · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up. This is a really sweet well-written SHORT story. And that’s the problem. You get drawn into the story and then it suddenly ends. It leaves you feeling like you didn’t get the entire book. The table of contents lists the entire story as Chapter 1, and that is what it seems like. Is this the first chapter of something more to come?

[KawaiiOni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely

I love this story. This author has become an auto buy for me with her ability to create characters and atmosphere. Only one but - this was way too short.

[Maria Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely little story.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet story!

[Zeoanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish it would've been longer.

[Tailtiu · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5* upgrade because I would love to read more...

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So short, so simple, so sweet, so satisfying.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

TLDR: Not my thing, but very sweet and gentle and kind.

[Laks · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet story where a divorcee is rescued during a dark night. Both Nathan and Kris are cute together. I wish this wasn't so short though.

[Shawna (endemictoearth) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounding up - Very short, but good vibes.

[Bibliophile]

This work is only 4000 words so it's difficult to evaluate. It's the start of a story--but the middle and end are not there yet.