5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Romance and Magic, May 26, 2009
This review is from: The Rest of Our Lives (Paperback)
This is a totally fun, magical, and heart warming story of two young men who find each other lifetime after lifetime. The characters are well written and the secondary characters are so enchanting that you want to know more; especially about Aidan's aunt. I dearly hope that there's a sequel because Colm and Aidan's story is so much fun. And soooo romantic. The book does have sex in it, but unlike most gay love stories I have read, here it isn't gratuitous or just to sell the book. It really does have a connection to the story. A must-have read for any gay guy who believes that there really is magic out there and that love can bring it alive.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A perfect book for the summer!, June 15, 2009
If you are looking an entertaining, light read to toss into your tote bag for a trip to the beach or weekend at a lakeside cottage, look no further. The Rest of Our Lives is the perfect summer novel. Like a bowl of lime sherbet on a hot summer day, the story is sweet, but with a bit of a tang, refreshing in your mouth and it melts on your tongue. What more could anyone ask for?
I've always loved stories where a character has magical powers and doesn't know or understand his/her capabilities, but over the course of the story comes to understand what it means. This is the case for Colm McKenna, an elemental witch who has the ability to slow things down and cool things off when the need arises. Colm has known about his abilities for quite awhile--he would, in high school, freeze the quarterback in the locker room so he could spend time studying his finer attributes--but he always thought he was the only one in the world like this: a freak.
Enter Aidan Gallagher who proceeds to open the hidden world of witches to Colm, teaching him, mentoring him, and yes, loving him, too. It would seem to be the perfect happy ever after for both of them except that Colm discovers he and Aidan have been crossing paths for millennia--and it didn't always work out so well for Colm. This gives him pause--he's had his heart broken dozens of times by Aidan in various lives--does he want to risk it again?
The writing is fresh and funny--I chuckled out loud many times while reading the book. Aidan and Colm are a beguiling couple and I was rooting for them to work it out, even in the midst of Colm's existential crisis. If there's a weakness it is that some of the supporting characters are sort of cartoonish--I didn't particularly care for Dr. Nike--but it's easy enough to breeze past them to stay with the heart of the story.
I read this on my Kindle and while individual pages were properly formatted, there were many blank pages (five or six, usually) before every chapter. Odd. There was also, unfortunately, no way to navigate easily throughout the book, ie, no clickable links to each of the chapters. While not a deal breaker, these are nice features that I hope the publisher will consider adding in a revised edition.
On the other hand, one thing the publisher did perfectly: the cover. I love it! It totally captures the essence of the story and it's pretty, too.
This is author Dan Stone's debut novel and it certainly is a magnificient start. I look forward to reading more of his writing and I sincerely hope that Aidan and Colm will magically reappear in the pages of another book, sooner, rather than later, since I don't feel like waiting for another lifetime to read more of their ethereal escapades.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hoping for a sequel, February 26, 2010
This review is from: The Rest of Our Lives (Paperback)
"The Rest of Our Lives" is a marvelous love story. The two lead characters, male witches who have connected passionately if sometimes tragically throughout time, are both distinctive and distinct. Aidan and Colm represent fire and ice, the experienced and the neophyte, the pursuer and the pursued, and I thoroughly enjoyed their relationship. The author should also be commended for managing to create several out-of-this world sex scenes that nimbly avoid crudeness and cliches. I have only two quibbles: Colm's reluctance is drawn out too long, and there are a handful of older women characters who, sometimes quite improbably, speak in the exact same ribald voice. Aidan and Colm deserve a bigger, broader canvas, and I hope we see them again soon.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
