The Backlot Gay Book Forum discussion

(This is my review as it originally appeared on my timeline just prior to the book's release. I have since become online buddies with Travis in case that's something that needs a disclaimer.)

Thank you to Gay Romance Reviews and Travis Beaudoin for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. Here is my unbiased (and extremely enthusiastic!) review.

When Too Like the Lightning opens, Andrew Madigan's life has just fallen apart, and he's retreating to a friend's rental property in the small town of Bulbs, Florida to lick his wounds and regroup. While he's doing that, he gradually gets to know Coley Brandt, the groundskeeper's son, who brings up feelings he's almost forgotten how to have.

Beaudoin's prose is a continual pleasure to read, eloquent and well-crafted without being showy, every word and every sentence playing a vital role. The descriptions are particularly evocative, calling forth all the senses to capture the heat and fug and wild vegetation of northern Florida, the violence of thunderstorms, the quirkiness of the odd little house. The sex scenes are very well written, eloquently and concisely capturing many dimensions of the experience: what's they're doing, how it feels physically and emotionally, and what it means to the characters.

This is an intimate book and happens on a very human scale. Nearly every scene takes place in the little rental house or on its few acres of grounds. None of the events are cataclysmic, and much of the action is just these two reflective men gradually opening up to each other. I got super engaged in that emotional unfolding. I positively ached for Andrew, for the ways he wouldn't allow himself to have hope or joy, the ways he closed off possibilities for himself. I found Coley just as delightful as Andrew did, and loved Andrew's bond with his smart, caring, sometimes fiery best friend Jessica.

This book made me feel things: happy, wistful, worried for the characters. I really believed in them, liked them, cared about them, and I'm going to be rereading the book soon, and more than once. I recommend it highly to anyone who likes to read about sex, love, self-discovery, and finding yourself again.