Book Reviews

Book Blurb

At eighteen, Ashley seems to have everything: looks, talent, and even a girlfriend. What more could a young man want? Yet something is missing, and he has to come to terms with his sexuality and the possible implications for his career in the public eye. He begins dating Chris but isn’t sure he’s head over heels in love. It’s not the knight-in-shining-armor feeling he always imagined.

When Ashley is offered a big modeling job, he leaves his university in small-town Canada for a very different life in sunny Los Angeles, California. There he meets a slightly older man who makes him feel like he’s in a storybook romance. But is Ashley ready for real love, or is it just infatuation? The world is spread out before him, at once limitless and daunting, full of endless possibilities one moment and opportunities cut short the next.

Ashley floats between certainty and confusion as he tries to unravel new feelings, deal with past pain, and decide what he wants from life—and who he wants beside him during the journey.

1st Edition published by Palari Publishing LLP, 2009.

 

Book Review

This story truly caught me by surprise. It’s quite lovely! Smart, witty, and absorbing, the breathless “joy of possibilities” voice of its eighteen-year-old protagonist, Ashley, grabbed my inner teen and took me on a delicious roller-coaster journey of first love. Sparks, goose bumps, giggles, and a dizzying emotional déjà vu kept me reading through the night. This story holds all the beauty and wonder of an unexpected rainbow sighting. Expect to be charmed, dazzled, and dazed. Marvelous!

 Youth on the brink Ashley has acknowledged he is gay. He leaves his girlfriend and begins his quest to find his One. But finding love, a lover, a man friend, which is it? And why is it so complicated? Attending art college, Ashley meets a hot possibility, Chris. The two had “noticed” each other when Ashley had a girlfriend, but now Ashley is free. Will Chris leave his boyfriend to be with Ashley? So begins the adventure of Ashley finding love. Subsequently his college stay is cut short when a modeling contract comes his way and he is swept into the adult world.

I really don’t want to spoil the story, so will only say that Ashley is a fantastic character and this book is a delight largely because of his youthful inner voice. The story is fairly routine boy-meets-boy-meets-man, but the book’s terrific styling transform Ashley’s tale into a true gem.  There is plenty of passion, romance, and heat to go around, but it is the pure joy that rings throughout the story that makes this book stand out. The writing is electric, balancing broad atmospheric strokes of emotion with playful snippets of nostalgic prose that stun and captivate. Author Charlie David has captured the excitement-awkward mentality of a gay youth on the brink of transformation and spins it into an exuberant, wonder-filled work. It should definitely be on the shelves of every high school library… hell, every library! Lovely and highly recommended.

Thank you, Charlie David, for sharing this amazing story and transforming me into an eighteen–year-old for a few hours… lovely trick that!

“Snap, Crackle, Pop…Love!”

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 200 pages/55309 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	04-July-2016
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/boy-midflight-by-charlie-david-7229-b