Wrestling with Desire by DH Starr

Story: 9
Presentation: 9
Total: 18

Publisher: Featherweight Publishing

GBLT Young Adult

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Blurb:  Derek Thompson is a senior, a wrestler, and has a secret. He's gay. Scott Thayer is a new student who has just moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts from Iowa. On the first day of school Derek and Scott meet and their lives change in an instant. As Derek and Scott discover the things they have in common, they enter into one of the closest and most loving relationships either of them has ever experienced. When unexpected circumstances threaten their relationship, they both have to make a decision. Do they protect their secret and separate? Or fight for what they want...each other?

Review: I admit, I’m not a reader of young adult books. I prefer to read about adults with lots of sex to titillate. I’m a changed reader. Wrestling With Desire has angst, grit, tenderness, and emotion. And it has sexual tension between two young men that melts smoothly into your mind as you read. Derek and Scott deal with typical high school situations. Fear of failure, fear of disappointing their parents, fear of the unknown. But together they have found more than a deep friendship. Together they have the strength to face any challenges from wrestling to their sexuality.

I think some of my favorite parts of the story were when Derek and Scott went running. The easiness of being together was clear long before any declarations were made of the attraction they had for each other. The story is told through Derek, but DH Starr does such an excellent job of revealing Scott and the secondary characters, that nothing was lacking by not knowing their inner thoughts. The vividly described actions and poignant dialog revealed everything I needed as a reader to get the full development of all the characters. The story was brilliantly told. I’m a fan and look forward to reading more from DH Starr.

Meant For Each Other by DH Starr

Story: 8.5
Presentation: 9
Total: 17.5
Publisher: Ai Press
M/M Contemporary Erotic Romance
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Blurb: Sometimes your first love is the one that was meant to be.

Craig Harper and Jeremy Finn were best friends growing up. They attended the same school, spent all of their time together, and hung out with the same group of people. It wasn’t until the day before Jeremy and his family moved across the country that they discovered their attraction to one another.

Fifteen years later, they reunite by chance in New York City. Both are in relationships and have established a routine in their lives. But routines and relationships are shaken as they begin to spend time together once again. Old feelings and connections are still strong and the passion that pulls them together is a powerful, soul-searing call neither man can deny.

As each deals with the issues in their own relationships, they begin to question whether the comfort of what they know is more powerful than the pull of what they could have been…and what they might become. Struggling to find the answer, only their hearts can reveal if they are meant for each other.

Review: I finished reading Meant For Each Other this afternoon, and I’m still thinking about the story. It’s just one of those books that will seep into your psyche slowly. You read it and as the characters are making choices, you’re experiencing the emotions right along with them. So many times I wanted to smack Craig up side the head. Both he and Jeremy needed to be hit by a Mack truck to realize what I, the reader, already knew. (The brilliance of getting the POV of the four main characters) But had the ending come easy, the journey to be together wouldn’t have been nearly as satisfying. And at the end of this story, you’ll have lived and breathed each character because DH Starr does a wonderful job of taking you into each of their lives. Four characters, four sets of dreams and aspirations, four characters you’ll love or hate, but in the end, this is Jeremy and Craig’s story.

Meant For Each Other is a complex story and the layers are peeled away slowly. No one is jumping in and out of bed, (Oh, except Craig’s boyfriend who I really did hate by the end of the story). That isn’t to say there isn’t smoking hot sex in this book, because there is. But the sex has purpose, taking me deeper into their thoughts and motivations. I’ve never been to New York, but I felt like I walked the streets with them. I could hear their voices, and see them so clearly. A lot of story happens before Jeremy and Craig are reunited, but that didn’t detract from the romance. I needed to know where they came from and how they were each missing something intangible in their lives. It was after seeing each other again, that they realize they were meant for each other. But both already have complicated lives. Could happiness be as easy as loving each other? No, because then we wouldn’t have this wonderful story of risk and reward, trust and forgiveness and knowing when to move on when what you have isn’t working. Even if it means moving on alone. Oh, just writing this review is making me ache all over again.