Vanilla Clouds by Roe Horvat

Fluffy m/m contemporary set in Sweden. I love Roe's writing and the strong European feels of his stories. This one was sweeter, less intense and agnsty than his previous books and while I liked it OK, I missed the depth of feeling and intensity that I have come to associate with his books. Online relationship turning into an offline romance was at the heart of this book and I liked the premise a lot, a variation of friends to lovers. I found the ways the guys finally met in real life really disturbing. It felt stalkerish and I had a hard time forgiving one of them for misleading and outright lying to the other. I did believe they had genuine feelings for one another but felt that way he approach the situation was wrong. Things worked out for them in the end and their HEA feels true but I couldn't quite overcome the discomfort these couple of scenes caused me. 3 stars

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Surprise Baby, Second Chance by Therese Beharrie

This is a marriage in trouble romance, closed door sex scenes, my first by this author. I love seeing established couples overcoming issues and making things between them work in the long run. This was a very emotionally intense read, very character focused. I had to take a break before finishing it and it was all worth it. It's own voices anxiety rep, there is panic attack happening on page as well two grown up people dealing with the problems in their relationship, facing past trauma head-on. There is a lot of honest and difficult talk in this romance and could very much relate to the idea that you can love someone with all your heart and still find it difficult to share your deepest fears. Well worth a read! Reminds me a lot of Snow-kissed by Laura Florand which is the most heart-breaking romance I've ever read. 3.5 stars

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Last week I also finished Dr. Strange Beard by Penny Reid (out on July 30) and I loved it so, so much. It's one of my favorite in the series. I will be reviewing in depth next week. 

Currently reading A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole (Out on July 31) and it's so much fun. I haven't read the previous book (yet) but this works pretty well as standalone and I will probably start A Princess in Theory right after I finish this one. 

Title: A Love Song for the Sad Man in the White Coat 

Author: Roe Horvat

Genre: MM romance

Author links: Website / Facebook / Goodreads

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My rating: 4 Stars

Blurb

Dr Simon Mráz is a respected specialist and lecturer at the Charles University in Prague. He is a serious man, responsible. His students call him The Cruel Doctor Frost not because he's unkind, but because of his unwavering, ice-cold composure. As a psychiatrist, he values sanity. And sanity can be found in work, restraint, and self-control.

Not many know of that one time in the past when The Cruel Doctor Frost lost his cool. His ill-advised, secret affair with a student left Simon deeply wounded. Since that day, every minute of Simon's life has been a struggle to remain sane, functioning. He's managed so far - as long as he is needed, as long as his work makes a difference, Simon can scrape together enough strength to get up in the morning and run off the nightmares. But when his friends begin drifting away, his beloved protégé becomes independent, and the man who bereaved Simon of his precious sanity might return... Simon's mind and body stop responding to his impressive willpower.

I loved Roe Horvat debut mm novella, The Layover which I read earlier this year after a friend recommended it on Twitter. When the author offered ARCs of  their latest release, I jumped at the chance and wow, what a story that turned out to be - achingly beautiful!

The story is told in 3 parts - present, past and back to the present. It's a very angsty romance, heart-breaking, the first two parts in particular brought tears to my eyes more times than I care to admit. While I liked the ending, I felt it was a bit rushed and would have loved to see more of the way Simon and Matej worked the issues between them. 

Simon is a brilliant portrayal of a complicated man going through difficult times. He appeared cold and disillusioned, a cynic masking his pain behind sarcasm and lashing out on his friends in an attempt to hide how lonely and miserable he is. He is a psychiatrist and tries to self-diagnose (he has dysthimia) and self-medicate himself... that doesn't go very well.

He is a truly unforgettable character. We see him with his friends and colleagues and family and glimpses of his time with Matej and i every interaction we see a different facet of his personality. He appears cold and unapproachable and yet I wanted to hold him close, promise him that everything will be OK, give him hope to go on.

And then we have Matej, a complete opposite to Simon in so many ways, attractive, lilvely, the center of any party but very much like Simon, acting out in order to escape his issues. We don't get his POV until late in the story and this kept me as a reader in the same position as Simon, totally enamoured with Matej, yet angry and confused about his actions. And then, boom he is back and the everything tilts off its axis. 

We do get his perspective on things before and now, yet I felt it wasn't enough. I wanted to see how he got to be the person he was when he got back, how he dealt with the past and became who he was in the present.

Part 3, the resolution felt a bit rushed. We see Simon and Matej angry and hurt and so far apart from each other and then the forgiveness and getting together happened without them really working through their issues. I read this as HFN ending with the promise for them to work together on overcoming past hurts and both acknowledging the efforts it would take to be together and showing a commitment to go all the way.

One of the best things in this story for me was the strong sense of place the author created. As an Eastern European myself it spoke to me so much and made me feel at home. Prague reminded me a lot of Sofia - with its old small steers, the summer heat, the tramways, the old majestic buildings, the pressures of the old patriarchal society.

Overall, I really enjoy this author's writing style and find their stories speak to me on deeply personal level. This mm romance is a recommended reading if you are looking for a emotionally intense story that will give you all the feels.

PS: There are some deleted scenes on the author's website that are not to be missed.

Purchase links: Publisher / Amazon

Today I have a special Friday Favourites post. My guest is Roe Horvat whose third book, A Love Song for the Sad Man in the White Coat, is released today. I discovered their writing earlier when a friend on Twitter recommended Roe's debut, The Layover, which ended up being one of my #bestbooks2017. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of their newest release and after reading it I can say is "Wow. What a ride." What speaks to me the most in Roe's books is how deeply European they feel, all the details are there and it makes me feel right at home in their writing world. Anyway, I will be reviewing A Love Song for the Sad Man in the White Coat soon and in the meantime read on to get to know Roe Hrovat a bit better and don't forget to grab your copy of it. 

My backyard—a wooden patio, strawberries, a steep cliff, and a view over Gothenburg.

2. Favourite food and drink

Favorite: A proper hamburger with bacon and cheese, and strawberry daiquiri. However, I can’t imagine my life without bread, butter, and beer – those are necessary.

3. Favourite music/genre/artist/song

Morphine (Cure for Pain)

4. Favourite movie/TV series

A Room with a View (1985), Kontroll (Hungary, 2003) 

Iron Man, Avengers

Black Books, Red Dwarf

5. Favourite hobby besides writing, if you consider writing a hobby

Reading :D

I walk, too. Preferably alone.

6. Favourite books 

All time:

Douglas Adams

Jane Austen

Bohumil Hrabal

Charlotte Brontë

…I’m sure I forgot someone important.

LGBTQA+ fiction and romance:

They know :D

7. Please introduce your latest/upcoming release (what inspired you to write, what can the readers expect from it, etc.)

A Love Song for the Sad Man in the White Coat comes out today – Dec 15th. It’s a sad book about finding happiness and a peace of mind. Simon is my closest imaginary friend (I have to say “imaginary”—otherwise they might lock me up), and I needed him to stop suffering—so I wrote him a chance for a better life.

A Love Song for the Sad Man in the White Coat

by Roe Horvat

Beaten Track Publishing

m/m contemporary romantic fiction novel, 63000 words

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Purchase links: Publisher / Amazon

Simon had always expected love to feel different than this. Whether it was his Catholic upbringing or the poetry he’d read—Simon had thought that true love would be uplifting, fulfilling, that it would give a meaning to his loitering, and add joy to his leisure. But not this kind of love. This love was a flesh-eating monster, sharp-clawed and evil-eyed, ravishing his mind with medieval cruelty.

Dr Simon Mráz is a respected specialist and lecturer at the Charles University in Prague. He is a serious man, responsible. His students call him The Cruel Doctor Frost not because he’s unkind, but because of his unwavering, ice-cold composure. As a psychiatrist, he values sanity. And sanity can be found in work, restraint, and self-control.

Not many know of that one time in the past when The Cruel Doctor Frost lost his cool. His ill-advised, secret affair with a student left Simon deeply wounded. Since that day, every minute of Simon’s life has been a struggle to remain sane, functioning. He’s managed so far—as long as he is needed, as long as his work makes a difference, Simon can scrape together enough strength to get up in the morning and run off the nightmares. But when his friends begin drifting away, his beloved protégé becomes independent, and the man who bereaved Simon of his precious sanity might return… Simon’s mind and body stop responding to his impressive willpower. 

Author Bio and Links

Roe was born in former Czechoslovakia and endured a miserable adolescence in the post-communist wasteland. Equipped with a dark sense of sarcasm, they left for Germany and later, Spain.

Finally, they settled in Sweden, where the weather is nasty but the freedom great. Roe works as a motion graphics artist, loves Jane Austen, Douglas Adams and everything in between, preferably by the fireplace with a strawberry daiquiri in hand. Roe writes contemporary romantic fiction – it conveniently balances out their real-life pragmatism.

When not hiding in the studio doing graphics, Roe can be found trolling cafés in Gothenburg, writing, and people-watching.

Website / Facebook / Twitter

I'm starting a new feature on the blog - Mini reviews. I'll try to make make a monthly post with short reviews of a couple books I have read in the past month (or even before) but for which I haven't written more elaborate reviews.

This time I will review four novellas I read in September: The Layover by Roe Horvat, A Taster of Honey by Rose Lerner, Peter Darling by Austin Chant and Jigs and Reels by Leigh M. Lorien.

Title: The Layover

Author: Roe Horvat

Genre: MM romance

Author links: Website / Facebook / Goodreads

Purchase links: Amazon / Kobo / Dreamspinner Press

My rating: 4.5 Stars

Blurb

Eight years ago, Ondro Smrek fled Slovakia and the bigotry that drove his first lover to take his own life. The demons proved impossible to outrun, though, and now, desperate for somewhere to belong, Ondro is returning to start over. During a layover in Basel, Switzerland, he meets Jamie, an American living in Scotland who is as brilliant as he is beautiful.

Jaded Ondro never would have guessed he could fall in love during a brief layover—until now. When he is put in a position to offer Jamie comfort without hope of recompense, Ondro doesn’t hesitate. Soon, he catches a glimpse of the home he longs for. But with their separation looming, confessing his feelings would only lead to pain and humiliation. Life has taught Ondro not to hope, but then, he never believed in love at first sight either.

Buy links: Amazon / Dreamspinner Press / Kobo / 

Author Bio and Links