Elin Gregory

As usual I’ve lost the plot a bit this week as far as signing up for stuff but here’s a Saturday Rec post anyway.

I’m a big fan of historical action stories, and of action stories in general. Until I found the growing M/M genre knocking on for 10 years ago now, I had never read romances – preferring Fred Forsythe or Patrick O’Brien to Loretta Chase or E L James – and I still have problems getting my head around the tropes. Some of the best stories I’ve read play all kinds of games with these ‘set in stone’ rules.

Because I know that I have problems with romances I scan the ebook sites very quickly ignoring all the naked torsos and cuddling contemporary couples, instead pouncing on anything with a gun on the cover, a suggestion of noir or a whiff of historical costume. The Boys of Summer went on my To Read List the moment I saw the gorgeous cover.

Boy, did I feel daft when I read the blurb and realised that it was a contemporary romance but actually it was that glorious thing – a twofer! As in two for the price of one.

The contemporary romance concerns David, a location prospector for the film industry checking out sites in the Hawaiian archipelago, assisted by Rick, a pilot, whose skill at the controls is the only thing between them and death when a tropical storm blows up. There’s action right from the first page and the pace continues, with quieter moments that allow the reader to catch up and realise just how much trouble the protagonists are in. Neatly inserted into the contemporary narrative is a slightly slower paced story set during the Second World War where another David and Rick carry out an exquisitely agonised courtship against a backdrop of code breaking and far too many sorties as a fighter pilot. This part of the book was beautifully done and impressed me very much – a clear 5 star read. Then we return again to the present with a greater sense of purpose and urgency.

How one story fits with the other would be a spoiler, as would how the past impacts on the present so I’ll say no more about it other than that it was a damned good read and kept me entertained throughout.