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Sylvan #1
Sylvan
Back home in Sylvan, the small Western lake town where he grew up, Mal Harrison is grieving over the loss of his grandmother and his former life as an Olympic swimmer. He's building a new life but just doesn't know where to begin; then he meets Leif Gunnar and finds the instant crackling chemistry between them might just be a place to start. But Leif is carrying a heavy burden in caring for his father, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease. It consumes his life, and despite Mal's efforts to woo him and his own frustrated desire for Mal, Leif just can't let him get close. To find happiness and a future, they'll have to agree that searching together is better than being found alone.
93 pages, ebook
First published April 21, 2010
1 person is currently reading
160 people want to read
About the author
Jan Irving
51 books199 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
romance author
Jan Irving has worked in all kinds of creative fields, from painting silk to making porcelain ceramics, to interior design, but writing was always her passion.
She feels you can’t fully understand characters until you follow their journey through a story world. Many kinds of worlds interest her, fantasy, historical, science fiction and suspense—but all have one thing in common, people finding a way to live together—in the most emotional and erotic fashion possible, of course!
Visit Jan's blog at http://jan-revealed.livejournal.com.
romance author
Jan Irving has worked in all kinds of creative fields, from painting silk to making porcelain ceramics, to interior design, but writing was always her passion.
She feels you can’t fully understand characters until you follow their journey through a story world. Many kinds of worlds interest her, fantasy, historical, science fiction and suspense—but all have one thing in common, people finding a way to live together—in the most emotional and erotic fashion possible, of course!
Visit Jan's blog at http://jan-revealed.livejournal.com.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 14, 2012
This was really weird. I like the sequels much better. I'm happy I didn't read this one first or I might have missed out on the other 2 which are awesome. I didn't feel any chemistry between the main characters and the end was just abrupt. It just stopped with no warning. This was not an HEA but it didn't feel like an HFN either. Another thing, what is up with the cover? It didn't go with the story at all! Its sad to say I will not read this one again.
dnf-not-4-me
October 11, 2014No HEA or HFN. Not for me.
February 20, 2016
The characters were fun and engaging, but they were not quite as fully developed as I would have liked. The eroticism was mild, about one-half chili pepper's worth. If it were rewritten into a larger, more fully developed story, I would certainly read it again.
November 21, 2018
In a word: Maybe read the thing. I had a bit of a hard time getting into this one, even though I did like Mal and Leif. I’m not sure what it was, but I just couldn’t make myself connect to the story or the romance. Mal is a former Olympic swimmer who has just returned to his tiny hometown (the titular Sylvan); Leif is construction worker who moved to Sylvan a few years earlier. They meet by chance and things get off to a bit of a rocky start. They’re both instantly attracted to each other, but they seem to keep accidentally getting on each other’s nerves. Also Mal has a bit of a party-boy history, and Leif is holding out for a true romance, so they’re a bit mismatched at first. It really seems to take a while for any romance to get off the ground, which is weird because this is a novella, and a lot of that time is taken up by some annoying back-and-forth. It is great when Mal and Leif finally get their act together and start going out, but the lead up to that fell a bit flat for me. There’s some other stuff in the story about Mal trying to figure out where his life is going now that he’s no longer an Olympic swimmer, and dealing with the grief from losing his grandmother; and Leif is trying to figure out how to have his own life while also caring for his elderly father who has Alzheimer’s. This wasn’t a bad story, and I thought the ending was really nice, but most of it felt mostly ‘meh’ for me.
[read the full post at In A Word]
[read the full post at In A Word]
October 6, 2016
***4.5 Stars***
Mal Harrison is a one time gold medal Olympian swimmer. After placing third during the last Olympics he is cut from the team. He decides to go back home to his grandmother, only to find she has passed away leaving him her house and some money.
Mal gets dropped off at one end of town and has to walk the rest of the way to the out dated old cabin. On his walk he runs into Leif, the son of an elderly man who almost got ran over, and Mal was trying to help. The two meet again a few days later when Mal decides to go for a swim. Leif loves to row. Its the only time he gets some alone time from his father who has Alzheimer.
Leif has a company that builds and restores old buildings. Mal asks him to look over his roof that has a hole, and give estimates on what it would cost to update the old cabin.
Over time the two grow closer and start caring for each other. Mal is a “party” boy who was living all over the world for the last few years. Leif is an old fashion country boy. The two are so different, yet they really need what each has to offer.
I love how the story unfolds. I cant wait to read about the other men in this story.
Plot: 4.5
Chemistry: 4.5
Pacing: 4.5
Ending: 4.5
Character Development: 4.5
Heat: 4.5
*ARC provided by Author in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Arlyna from Alpha Book Club
Mal Harrison is a one time gold medal Olympian swimmer. After placing third during the last Olympics he is cut from the team. He decides to go back home to his grandmother, only to find she has passed away leaving him her house and some money.
Mal gets dropped off at one end of town and has to walk the rest of the way to the out dated old cabin. On his walk he runs into Leif, the son of an elderly man who almost got ran over, and Mal was trying to help. The two meet again a few days later when Mal decides to go for a swim. Leif loves to row. Its the only time he gets some alone time from his father who has Alzheimer.
Leif has a company that builds and restores old buildings. Mal asks him to look over his roof that has a hole, and give estimates on what it would cost to update the old cabin.
Over time the two grow closer and start caring for each other. Mal is a “party” boy who was living all over the world for the last few years. Leif is an old fashion country boy. The two are so different, yet they really need what each has to offer.
I love how the story unfolds. I cant wait to read about the other men in this story.
Plot: 4.5
Chemistry: 4.5
Pacing: 4.5
Ending: 4.5
Character Development: 4.5
Heat: 4.5
*ARC provided by Author in exchange for an honest review.
Reviewed by Arlyna from Alpha Book Club
November 12, 2013
From the publisher:
Back home in Sylvan, the small Western lake town where he grew up, Mal Harrison is grieving over the loss of his grandmother and his former life as an Olympic swimmer. He���s building a new life but just doesn���t know where to begin; then he meets Leif Gunnar and finds the instant crackling chemistry between them might just be a place to start.
But Leif is carrying a heavy burden in caring for his father, who suffers from Alzheimer���s disease. It consumes his life, and despite Mal���s efforts to woo him and his own frustrated desire for Mal, Leif just can���t let him get close. To find happiness and a future, they���ll have to agree that searching together is better than being found alone.
The description of this book led me to believe this book would have many of the qualities that I enjoy in romance--sweetness, angst, and hot sex. I did like the book, but I didn't love it. I never could grasp what it was about Mal and Leif that made them have feelings for each other. Yes, they were both nice guys, but other than their proximity, I couldn't see what made them want to be with each other. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this book had a great premise. Mal is rebuilding his life; Leif is struggling to take care of his father. There is ample fodder there for an emotional, sweet story, but I did not connect with the characters at all. Perhaps some of that was due to the length of the book. I think that if it had been longer and the author had time to really flesh out certain areas of the plot, it wouldn't have felt so rushed to me.
Back home in Sylvan, the small Western lake town where he grew up, Mal Harrison is grieving over the loss of his grandmother and his former life as an Olympic swimmer. He���s building a new life but just doesn���t know where to begin; then he meets Leif Gunnar and finds the instant crackling chemistry between them might just be a place to start.
But Leif is carrying a heavy burden in caring for his father, who suffers from Alzheimer���s disease. It consumes his life, and despite Mal���s efforts to woo him and his own frustrated desire for Mal, Leif just can���t let him get close. To find happiness and a future, they���ll have to agree that searching together is better than being found alone.
The description of this book led me to believe this book would have many of the qualities that I enjoy in romance--sweetness, angst, and hot sex. I did like the book, but I didn't love it. I never could grasp what it was about Mal and Leif that made them have feelings for each other. Yes, they were both nice guys, but other than their proximity, I couldn't see what made them want to be with each other. I guess what I'm trying to say is that this book had a great premise. Mal is rebuilding his life; Leif is struggling to take care of his father. There is ample fodder there for an emotional, sweet story, but I did not connect with the characters at all. Perhaps some of that was due to the length of the book. I think that if it had been longer and the author had time to really flesh out certain areas of the plot, it wouldn't have felt so rushed to me.
June 6, 2012
Excuse me while I vomit... 
UGH. The main character (was it Mal? Whatever) was a slut of the worst kind! I disliked him from the beginning- couldn't stand him at all!
I've took this book because I was interested in the sequel, "Luke", and now I wish I had never read this book. So, no. Not even 1 star.
Total waste of my time.
UGH. The main character (was it Mal? Whatever) was a slut of the worst kind! I disliked him from the beginning- couldn't stand him at all!
I've took this book because I was interested in the sequel, "Luke", and now I wish I had never read this book. So, no. Not even 1 star.
Total waste of my time.
February 11, 2012
Meh. That describes this book...nothing to absolutely hate about it but also nothing to get really excited about either. The premise had real potential revolving around Sylvan, who is trying to find himself after losing his spot on an Olympic swim team and Leif, who is dealing with his father's worsening Alzheimers. Unfortunately the length of this book (51 pages on my e-reader) was just too short to tackle both of these plot lines.
November 27, 2014
So I was expecting some sort of Fae-ness, I mean the book is called Sylvan and one of the MC's called Leif... all very Fae-ish. But it's not!
I wasn't a fan of Mal he seemed kinda spoiled and self centered at first. And Leif was incredibly innocent for a mid-thirties guy.
Meh, it was so-so for me.
I wasn't a fan of Mal he seemed kinda spoiled and self centered at first. And Leif was incredibly innocent for a mid-thirties guy.
Meh, it was so-so for me.
August 19, 2011
a sweet story from a master of the genre !
February 2, 2012
The story feels like cut in the middle, there's no HEA and only an maybe HFN.
May 26, 2012
Although I liked this book, I found Mal a little self-centered and wondered what a wonderful guy like Lief would see in him.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews