IN ANOTHER LIFE
At age eighteen, Shiloh Raben is tired. He no longer has the energy to deal with mean classmates, inner doubt, and fear of familial rejection, so he takes a razor to his wrist. When he wakes up in the hospital, Shiloh meets Travis Kahn, the EMT who saved him and didn’t leave his side.
Travis is handsome, smart, and funny—the type of guy Shiloh would never be brave enough to approach. But his near-death experience has an unusual side effect: the life that flashed before his eyes wasn’t the one he had already lived, but rather the one he could live. With visions of a future by Travis’s side, Shiloh will find the strength to confront his fears and build a life worth fighting for.
EIGHT DAYS
Childhood family friends, Maccabe Fried and Josh Segal have always gotten along despite having nothing in common. Maccabe is an athlete with dreams of playing professional baseball. Josh is an aspiring architect with dreams of being with Maccabe. Despite all odds, both dreams come true.
Maccabe and Josh fall into a long-distance romance, which is everything Josh thought he wanted. But after years of hiding from the world, Josh wants to bring their relationship into the open. When Maccabe refuses, Josh is faced with a tough decision: stay with the man he loves or live the life he deserves. No matter the choice, somebody’s bound to get hurt. Thankfully, in the season of miracles, there’s always hope for a happy ending.
At age eighteen, Shiloh Raben is tired. He no longer has the energy to deal with mean classmates, inner doubt, and fear of familial rejection, so he takes a razor to his wrist. When he wakes up in the hospital, Shiloh meets Travis Kahn, the EMT who saved him and didn’t leave his side.
Travis is handsome, smart, and funny—the type of guy Shiloh would never be brave enough to approach. But his near-death experience has an unusual side effect: the life that flashed before his eyes wasn’t the one he had already lived, but rather the one he could live. With visions of a future by Travis’s side, Shiloh will find the strength to confront his fears and build a life worth fighting for.
EIGHT DAYS
Childhood family friends, Maccabe Fried and Josh Segal have always gotten along despite having nothing in common. Maccabe is an athlete with dreams of playing professional baseball. Josh is an aspiring architect with dreams of being with Maccabe. Despite all odds, both dreams come true.
Maccabe and Josh fall into a long-distance romance, which is everything Josh thought he wanted. But after years of hiding from the world, Josh wants to bring their relationship into the open. When Maccabe refuses, Josh is faced with a tough decision: stay with the man he loves or live the life he deserves. No matter the choice, somebody’s bound to get hurt. Thankfully, in the season of miracles, there’s always hope for a happy ending.
These two novellas are unlike any of
CC’s work that I have read before. I spent a good amount of time laughing while
reading both of these stories. So not only did I get treated to the expected combination
of sweet romance, sexy men, and smoldering sex scenes, but I also got to laugh.
In
Another Life was
an extremely touching tale about the extremes to which bigotry and bullying can
drive a teen. When Shiloh decides he can no longer deal with life stretching before
him as a gay man, he attempts to commit suicide. In what I found to be a rather
original way to approach the act, the author gives Shiloh a glimpse into the
life he would be missing out on – particularly the love of a good man.
Fortunately for all involved, Shiloh’s parents find him in time to save his
life. The twist to Shiloh’s story is that he meets the man his future showed
him long before he was supposed to in his deathbed visions. Because Shiloh
feels as though he’s been gifted with a bit of inside information, he sheds his
normal shyness and sets out to make Travis his in the here and now and takes
the steps needed to insure that their future is a long one. Despite the gravity
of the subject of suicide, CC writes the romance in such a way that I fell in
love with both men and was left feeling hopeful for their future.
Eight
Days
is kind of a tale of unrequited love between childhood friends. Told over the
span of a couple of decades, we accompany Maccabe as he comes to terms with how
he feels about his childhood friend Josh – from the first time he becomes aware
of Josh in a sexual manner, to losing Josh, to learning the exact extent by
which he lost Josh, and to reclaiming Josh. What I found truly endearing about
this particular story is that although Maccabe hurts Josh emotionally, he does
so without malice or awareness and I found myself unable to dislike him for his
careless treatment of Josh. Maccabe was so focused on his career that he was
unaware of the damage he was inflicting with his choices. Could he have done
more after his falling out with Josh? Almost certainly. Did he do what he
needed to when all the facts came to light? Without hesitation. And THAT was
why I fell in love with Maccabe – Josh was a given, but Maccabe had to earn it and
he did.
I don’t read many holiday-themed
books, but In Another Life and Eight Days have made that very short
list as rereads. Again CC has left me with an aching face from smiling so much
while reading, but the added laughter was a definite balm to the heart. And I
leave you with my favorite laugh inducing lines from each novella.
“You
have a voice for print.” I gasped
– Shiloh to Travis, regarding Travis’s singing
“You’re
the only person that’s ever meant more to me than a screw, not that screwing you
isn’t great too. So I guess I’m Josh-sexual, but if you want me to say I’m gay,
I’ll say it.” –
Maccabe
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