Saugatuck Summer (Saugatuck, #1) in Riptide Publishing

Feb 10, 2014 Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: part-of-series-or-serial, m-m, pre-ordered

On sale for .99 cents on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Saugatuck-Summe... and Kobo through 12/15/2014.

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May 22, 2014 Jody rated it it was amazing

In the world of m/m books Ms. Gormley, with just this one book, has set herself apart from the pack with her deeply emotional and intimate characterizations that compel you to keep turning the pages. She digs deeply into each character's psyche and ends up with a cleverly crafted story full of emotional intensity, decisions with realistic ramifications, and a cast of characters with fully fleshed-out personalities that have you rooting for some and wishing evil on others. It's an emotionally dra In the world of m/m books Ms. Gormley, with just this one book, has set herself apart from the pack with her deeply emotional and intimate characterizations that compel you to keep turning the pages. She digs deeply into each character's psyche and ends up with a cleverly crafted story full of emotional intensity, decisions with realistic ramifications, and a cast of characters with fully fleshed-out personalities that have you rooting for some and wishing evil on others. It's an emotionally draining book that makes its characters work for their HEA. Ultimately it's an uplifting story about one young man's rising above adversity to become the best he can be, warts and all.

To say that Topher's childhood was bad would be an understatement. From his mother's emotional and physical neglect, to sexual abuse from a family member, to his entire family's constant put-downs and their destruction of his dreams and self-confidence we're left with a young man who's a bit touchy when having to deal with emotions and who often trades sex for affection and to boost his ego. After years of therapy he's still a man with lots of issues and no real plan for his future. He's an isolated soul with only one close friend, Mo, who lets him stay at her family's beach house while he gets back on his feet after yet another family drama dragged him under yet again. His indecisions lead to a very poor choice involving Mo's closeted father which ends with big emotional fallout and becomes the impetus to truly changing himself. His introduction to, and the deeply sensual and eye-opening encounter with the sexy Jace, also encourages his change in how he sees himself and what he wants out of life. Where the first half of the story finds a still damaged and lost soul, the second half has him taking control of his life and battling the demons from his past head-on. I was cheering him on every step of the way and happy he had someone as understanding and supportive as Jace standing beside him as he finally addressed the hurts and sins of his family and found a new family in Jace and the close-knit group of friends he found in this beachside town. Topher is a larger than life character who could be overly dramatic one minute and charming the next. He could admit his faults and knew when he did wrong but it was hard to stop the cycle of self-destruction that became ingrained in him courtesy of his family. I applauded his finally taking control though and found it a heroic moment which left me misty-eyed and proud of his truly becoming an adult.

Jace is super sexy and supportive. He's got some baggage of his own but was always there for Topher, pushing him to follow his dreams and giving him the confidence he craved and had been searching for. Their scenes are scorching and earth-shattering and I become sweaty just thinking about them. More than just sex, they made a deep connection where Topher was able to see himself as something more, a man worthy of love and happiness. Jace had an old soul and was wise beyond his years and his softly spoken support was just what the doctor ordered. The other denizens of this beachside town that Topher slowly came to count on and call friend were just as supportive and didn't take any of his melodramatic crap. Each forced him to stop hiding and to stop spinning in circles, they gave him the tools to face his future head-on. I enjoyed each and every one of them and hope to see more of them in the future.

This was an emotionally draining and realistic book that pulled no punches. It didn't gloss over the hardships of life but showed a way to rise above them. It's a super sexy, and at times inspiring, read that had me from the first page to the last and I definitely recommend it to fans of both the NA and m/m genre. Here's to another successful story from Ms. Gormley and I'm breathlessly left waiting for what she has planned next. ...more

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