Title & Link: Another Enchanted April
Author: Eric Arvin
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: Contemporary M/M
Length: Novella (188 PDF pages)
Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars
A guest review by Buda
Summary Review: This lovely novella is more of a wonderful addition to the best of gay literature than it is a traditional romance. Readers who love character growth will get it in spades here.
The Blurb:
Can the idyllic simplicity of a garden change a life forever? It’s a question three men on a vacation to the small seaside town of Beechwood will find the answer to when they stay at a B&B with an expansive and breathtakingly beautiful garden. A garden with an air of the supernatural. Jerry’s there for love, Doug’s there for sex, and Tony? Well, Tony is practically dragged along against his will. A comedy of errors ensues as the three men cling stubbornly to their self-destructive ways; can a cook named Anna Magnani, a roller-skating drag queen, and the magic of the garden tame the tempest and prevent love’s labors from being lost?
The Review:
(Full disclosure: My first, almost-finished review disappeared into the ether of WordPress Hell, so if this one doesn’t flow as well as usual, please forgive me. I can be only eloquent once!)
Tony, Doug and Jerry have been close friends since college. Now 29, and five years removed from the accident that changed his world forever, Tony is emotionally unsettled but physically trapped–his income derives from his disability pay. Because of the precarious equilibrium that requires the use of a cane, he doesn’t get out much. That is, until Doug literally carries him, fireman-style, out of his apartment and into a grand adventure.
Doug is a sex machine. His entire life–and his workout routine–revolves around the hunt for the next warm male body to rub up against. He is a muscle boy constantly in search of his next conquest, all the while trying not to think too much or look too deeply at himself.
Jerry is the invisible one. He is Doug’s shadow and total opposite. Where Doug is muscle and brawn, Jerry is thin enough to have been mistaken for anorexic. He is a reader; Doug is the action hero (horizontally speaking, of course). Doug and Jerry hooked up several times in college and Jerry still hasn’t gotten over his infatuation with the glorious muscle boy.
The three men are painted so vividly, so independently, that they quickly seem like old friends. As I (re)write this, the skies above my home are the color of steel, sucking the joy from the day with the unholy mix of stinging sleet and swollen snowflakes. Here is a first-page description of Tony:
Tony longed for something poetic, something beautiful. It was an everyday longing, but there seemed to be no way out of the life he had been given. He wanted out of the gray but felt weighed down. “How am I supposed to start my day,” he wondered aloud, “when even the sky looks lazy?”
The three arrive at the bed and breakfast, called the Manor House, after dark, having endured a long, slow drive through the rain. The next morning, Jerry awakens and is overcome by the beauty of the multi-level gardens in the back of the house. The lush descriptions made me want to experience the place.
Jerry was only a few feet onto the stone path, which was interspersed with tufts of green grass, when he started feeling light-headed. Everything around him seemed too much and too beautiful. He was vanished by it all. Quite invisible. He had not gone five feet from the steps, yet he was lost. Lost in the thriving, wild, still-wet beauty of the gardens around him. The green was the greenest he had ever seen, and the trees reached for the sky as proud and significant as if they were soon to take to marching. They were not threatening; quite the opposite. The trees hardly noticed Jerry at all. He was insignificant to them. His awe of them was not important.
The nature of the plot, three grown gay men on vacation in a heavily gay populated beach destination, easily lends itself to hilarious hijinks and/or over-the-top melodrama. It is a credit to the author’s skill that, while we are treated to a bit of both, neither is too much. Indeed, the rollerskating possibly-transgendered (I was never quite sure) drag queen waitress seemed perfect in her place. Each of the three men experiences tremendous, dramatic (in the good sense) character growth. Tony learns that he is more than his disability. Doug discovers there is more to him than his whatzit. And Jerry figures out that he has the ability to control his invisibility switch. None of this is easily or painlessly learned, nor is it necessarily easy to read (Doug’s chocolate waffle breakdown was painful but more than a little amusing). Never fear: there is romance within these pages, but it is not the main focus.
If I had a niggle about Another Enchanted April, it is that some of the description was wasted on me. The gardens and the Manor House are vividly described, sometimes in more detail than I can wrap my mind around. I wanted to skip over the parts that seemed overly descriptive, but I was mostly successful in taming that impatient streak in me. Those of you who love descriptive prose will be in ecstasy in these gardens.
This book brings to mind the classics of Gay Literature, resonating as much as Andrew Holleran’s Dancer from the Dance or In September, the Light Changes, as much as Michael Cunningham’s A Home at the End of the World. No, this is not the traditional boy-meets-boy romance. It is so much more than that, all while being wonderfully accessible (Arvin loves to drop pop culture references) and, at times, wickedly funny. Recommended.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! What a beautiful review! It made me blush. And Cunningham’s “A Home at the End of the World” is a favorite novel of mine.
Thank you, Eric. I’m glad you liked the review. I have a feeling I’ll be re-reading this book often. Thank you for that. 🙂
How interesting – after “Simple Men,” I had decided to avoid this author’s work (it felt a bit flat to me), but this sounds like something I might enjoy. Thanks!
Hi, GR. Thanks for the comment. In the interest of full disclosure, I liked Simple Men a lot (the tree critters cracked me up!), but this is a wholly different type of book. Another Enchanted April I savored rather than sped through like I did SM. If you read it, I hope you come back and let me know what you think of it.
So tempting…
Thank you for your review 🙂
Just tempting, Helena? I’m hurt. 😉 Thanks for reading and commenting. I look forward to your thoughts on the book.
lol you know what it comes after temptation 🙂
This sounds like a good read. I need to add it to my ever growing list. Thanks for the review, Buda.
You’re welcome, Marilyn. Thanks for the comment. 🙂 Please let me know what you think of it after you’ve read it.
Hey Buda! I’ve been waiting for someone to review this book, it sounded like something that I’d like. I love descriptive prose and A Home at the End of the World is one of my favorite books as well. So thanks for reviewing it, I’m excited to read it now.
I just started reading Eric’s new book released at Dreamspinner yesterday Woke Up in a Strange Place. So far it’s really, really great 🙂
Ooh, Cole, please review that one next! 😉 I’m dying to read it! No pressure of course. LOL
Thanks, Cole. I think you’ll like this book a lot. In fact, I’m really interested in your thoughts about it. Woke Up is very tempting but I’ll wait for your review before I commit. I have a hard time with fantasies, but the cover boy alone is almost enough to get me to read it! lol
This sounds good, thanks for the review!
Hi, brian! Thanks for the comment. Please let me know what you think of the book.
Hi Buda,
Will do; I downloaded a sample based upon your review and my like of his previous book “Simple Men.”
OH! I just noticed my avatar changed to a mean looking pent-up-pentagon! I need to change that, I swear, I’m a very nice, easy going person. Ignore the avatar behind the curtain! LOL
Buda
Excellent review as always. This sounds like a truly delightful book (for me) because I love descriptive prose and your mention of Dancer from the Dance made me want to read this even more.
Sorry about WordPress Hell. I have experienced it more than 500 times and I sympathize. A boy toy is on his way to your place from the Friday Guys to make it up to you. 🙂
Wave, Dancer from the Dance is one of my all-time favorite books. I couldn’t get DftD out of the back of my mind while reading this book. To me, that made it a special read. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it when you get the time to read it.
This is my first experience with WPH. I screamed and almost cried. But apparently I was able to make the re-write work. That’s all I can ask for!
A boy toy of my very own? I might have to lose reviews more often! Hehe!
Buda
I forgot to tell you, he’s mechanical AND animated. lol
I sent you a gift from P.A. Brown – you’ve got mail. 🙂 TTYL
Ooh, you’re a mean, mean woman! Unless, of course, he’s one of those really expensive “mechanical” guys. That would be okay. I wouldn’t have to listen to him bitch about anything! 🙂
*rushes to mailbox*
Thanks for the review. This sounds totally interesting. Sample has been downloaded and the way things are going this book shall have a new home in Kindle. Yay
Wow, Luci! Thanks for the vote of confidence. I hope you’ll let me know what you thought of it when you’ve finished reading. 🙂
Oh, how great! As I loved MC’s A Home At The End Of The World and I’ve enjoyed EA’s other books, this one sounds like a slam dunk for me. Thanks for the review – I’m off to buy it!
Hi, kel! I really hope you like the book as much as I do. Thanks for the comment and confidence! Please come back and let me know. Happy reading!
Thanks for the great rec.! Loosing your review is a writers nightmare. I’m obsessive at saving my reports as I write them. You definitely need that visit from Wave’s guys to help you recover from the trauma! lol
I’ve added this to my TBR list and put the novels you mentioned on my library list. I have to catch up on my back list reading!
Thanks again, have a great weekend!
Oh my goodness, Reggie. If you haven’t read Holleran or Cunningham, you’re really missing out. The movie version of A Home at the End of the World is weak sauce compared to the novel. Dancer from the Dance is one of my very favorite novels. In September, the Light Changes is actually a collection of short stories. If you’re like Wave and appreciate what I call pamphlets, then you’re in for a great experience.
When you read AEA, please come back and share your thoughts. My new boy toy and I will eagerly await your comments! lol
Wonderful review Buda! This is by far my favorite novel by Eric.
Aly, that’s awesome to hear. Thank you so much! I’m always afraid I’m going to recommend or really like something no one else does! To see that you liked it so much eases my mind!
Lovely review, Buda! This is a new author to me, so I really appreciate this. ^^
Thank you, LadyM! This is only my second Eric Arvin experience (not counting the hilarious Christ-statue-comes-alive short story) and I’ve enjoyed both of them. As I said above, Simple Men is a romantic comedy but AEA is just a treat on a different level. If you read it, I really hope you like it!
Hmm, Buda, maybe you need to claim lost reviews more often if it gets you a boy toy from Wave! 😉
Very good review; if you hadn’t mentioned having problems writing the first one, I never would have known.
Thank you, Patty. It’s definitely a tempting thought, isn’t it? Think she’ll send me the Blue-Eyed God that is Jordan?
As much as I think I know your tastes, I’m wondering how much you’ll like the book. I think you will. You’ll have to let me know if/when you get around to it.
B – Really great review. This sounds like just my cup o’ tea with all that descriptive prose. Sorry about WP eating your review.
Thanks, Teej. I can see you really liking this book. I can also see you cursing at the guys (well, mostly Doug) as you’re reading. I’d love to hear your thoughts about it. Hugs, buddy.
Thank you for the excellent review. I personally would’ve given it 5 stars but then I love well-written books with long descriptions which create a unique atmosphere. While I was reading it , I was wondering the whole time whether this was fantasy or not and in the end I realized I didn’t care cause it was such a great and unusual read and it was very funny too which was an added bonus.
I’m so sick of the formulaic boy-meets-boy stories and this book definitely was anything but.
Thanks, Enny. I’m thrilled you loved the book. You’re right, it’s definitely not formulaic. And those descriptions of the gardens were amazing, weren’t they? Thank you for the comment!