At the Lake
YA M/M Romance
Harmony Ink Press
February 26, 2015
190
Reviewed by: Linda Tonis
Member of the Paranormal Romance Review Team
Sixteen year old Shane Martelli has landed a great summer job at a camp for well to do kids. Camp Huntington in the Adirondack Mountains is definitely not a place Shane could ever afford to attend. Even though only sixteen, Shane proved himself very capable of being a lifeguard, a job he took very, very seriously.
Shane has felt for some time that he was different. He feels an attraction towards boys rather than girls, but it is something he has no intention of revealing to anyone, he is hoping his feelings will change. He relates it to the times he changed his mind over what he wanted to study in college. Maybe this is the same and he will change his mind. Now, away from his everyday life, he has time to soul search and figure out being gay is not something you just change your mind about. It is who and what you are.
At camp, Shane meets and befriends one of the campers, William Houghton. Will is a very standoffish boy who seems to have a huge chip on his shoulder. Shane doesn’t give up and learns Will can’t swim and doesn’t want to be laughed at. Shane takes time and teaches Will and they become very good friends. Will is fifteen and Shane begins to look at him in a way he shouldn’t, but nothing happens. Nothing happens, romantically, but Shane’s life is changed forever that year when lightning strikes close to him and damages his hearing. Shane went out in the storm that night to rescue Will. Now he has to wear hearing aids.
The next year at camp William and Shane begin to realize they have feelings for each other. Each one is afraid of what would happen if anyone found out. Shane and Will must also come to grips with what happened the year before, along with the guilt Will feels and the anger Shane must deal with. Whatever plans he had for his future have drastically changed. Now turning seventeen, Shane knows he has strong feelings for Will who will turn sixteen. There isn’t that much of an age difference, but they are still two young men with a whole life ahead of them. Will is from a rich home and Shane has to work to put himself through college. Can their feelings for each other survive time?
This was a beautiful story about two young men who have to face being gay. What will happen when they tell their parents? Will they be disowned? Will their parents hate them? When is the right time to reveal themselves to their loved ones? This is a story that any young male facing his sexual preference should read. Actually, it should be a must read so many young boys facing being gay can learn how to deal with their fear. Being gay does not change who you are. It only changes what some in society think of you, and times are a-changing. This is not a book about sex; it is a book about accepting who you are.
