The Tin Box in Read with Pride Northwest

Oct 20, 2013 Shelby rated it it was amazing

Shelves: free-read, first-time, deserve-additional-reads, vanilla-little-or-no-sex, angst, college-high-school, m-m, contemporary, kobo, friends-to-lovers

I’m kinda glad I had no expectations about this story going in. I had no clue what it was about or anything. Because of that I got to enjoy one sweet story about overcoming the limits and expectations of others to the fullest. This is a really beautiful story that wraps you in the warm fuzzies while still highlighting a sad time in our psychiatric history.

William Lyon is about to officially be divorced. He’s ok with it. She deserves better, someone who could actually be what she needs. William h I’m kinda glad I had no expectations about this story going in. I had no clue what it was about or anything. Because of that I got to enjoy one sweet story about overcoming the limits and expectations of others to the fullest. This is a really beautiful story that wraps you in the warm fuzzies while still highlighting a sad time in our psychiatric history.

William Lyon is about to officially be divorced. He’s ok with it. She deserves better, someone who could actually be what she needs. William has denied his own homosexuality his entire life, but when asked point blank what was wrong in their marriage William couldn’t lie anymore. So since he is pretty much giving her everything in the divorce, after all she deserves the house and what not for putting up with him all those years, William needs a place to stay while finishing up his dissertation. His psych advisor recommends him for a job that comes with an apartment as part of the deal, he is about to take over as the caretaker for an abandoned mental institution. The building has been declared a historical landmark and while there isn’t enough money to renovate the building and groups completely yet some modifications have been made. It’s the perfect isolated place for William to get away from it all and finish his final steps towards becoming a PhD. He never expected to have his own sexual drives come back and challenge his way of living.

Colby Anderson is a whirlwind of gay effervescence that doesn’t know how to take no for an answer. He’s done his stint in San Francisco and the big city, but when his family needed him he was more than happy to come back home and help his grandparents run the local grocery store/post office. Yes, it is just that small of a town. Of course this does limit his dating options. Still Colby isn’t one to adjust his own personality for anyone. Seeing the new guy in town Colby is determined to take the man under his wing and shake him up a bit. William is absolutely too straight-laced and proper. Finding out he’s gay on top of that, but never even experienced anything more than a childish kiss with another guy, well full on friendship intervention is the name of the game.

I just adored these two together. Will has a stick so far up his ass it’s a wonder he can move and Colby is exactly the breath of fresh air he needs to remove it a little bit. And while Colby does help William loosen up and really acknowledge the person that he truly is inside I never felt like he pressured William too far. William never lost that innate shy core that made him who he was even if he finally started to accept all those things he tried to deny about himself. For Will, having grown up in an ultra-religious household and going through the things he did trying to deny the gay inside himself, it would have taken a very special set of circumstances to crack his shell. I loved watching him explore new things and the awkwardness of his initial interactions with the ball of energy that is one Colby Anderson.

Colby is just adorable. ‘Nough said. He’s such a sweetheart and yet despite his worldliness (especially compared to William) he’s still so naïve at times. There’s a youthful innocence about him that belies his true age and often leads to William making assumptions about Colby that aren’t always perfectly true. Granted Colby is such a sweetie he’s going to try to sacrifice his own happiness before ever intruding on or hurting someone else. Bless him.

So the tin box…wow! Talk about heart wrenching. It’s no wonder the contents of that box were exactly what Will needed to shake up his mental view of things and take him down a different path. As devastating to think about as the issues those letters addressed are it is a reality of our history. Homosexuality for many many years (even today in some circles I’m sure) has been dealt with as a mental illness and the actions our psychiatric doctors have travelled down haven’t always been the most respectable. A number of the so-called “cures” for a variety of mental issues would be considered absolutely barbaric by today’s standards. I really enjoyed how those issues were brought to light in this novel and handled in a way that was used to better the situation of today.

The writing here was wonderfully engaging and emotional. I was fully entrenched in this story and loved watching William open up and Colby learn to accept that just maybe he really can have it all too. Ms. Fielding manages to touch the reader with her honesty and the realness of her characters. I truly felt like William and Colby were experiencing the newness of the situation they found themselves in and I thought the ending they came to was just perfect.

I grew up in just such a small town and the child inside me giggled at every indication of small town politics at work. As long as you’re with us you’re family…betray that in any way, even unintentionally and you’re on the outside looking in for a good long while, possibly forever if something doesn’t change. I’ll admit to a little nostalgia when reading moments of town life in this story. So much fun. ☺

I will definitely be looking for more books by Ms. Fielding. I very much enjoyed this one. Solid 4.5 stars! ...more

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Apr 15, 2014 Mare SLiTsReaD Reviews rated it it was amazing

Shelves: maleonmale, standalone

Dear Kim Fielding,

Thank you for writing such a good book that can have 1 person convey many many emotions.

Sincerely, Mare

As a reader I love books that make me feel. And I really love angst. I love to cry at the hands of my e-reader. I love to feel numb. I love to look up and see that the sun is shining and everyone else is going about their day. I get shocked to realize that they don’t feel how I feel. And truth be told it upsets me. Because I look at these people, the ones going about their bu ...more

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Apr 14, 2014 Charley Descoteaux rated it it was amazing

Shelves: on-nook, mm-romance, gay, own-it

I LOVED this book. Everyone should read it immediately, if not sooner. I'm afraid to say anything more for fear of spoilers. Others have said it better than I could anyway. Just read the book. You're welcome! ...more

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