The Only Gold [Kindle Edition]

Tamara Allen (Author), Cory Clubb (Illustrator)

Book Description

Jonah Woolner's life is as prudently regulated as the bank where he works. It's a satisfying life until he's passed over for promotion in favor of newcomer Reid Hylliard. Brash and enterprising, Reid beguiles everyone except Jonah, who's convinced Reid's progressive ideas will be the bank's ruin. When Jonah begins to discover there's more to Reid than meets the eye, he risks succumbing to Reid's charms-but unlocking the vault to all of Reid's secrets could lead him down a dangerous path.

Losing his promotion-and perhaps his heart-is the least of Jonah's difficulties. When the vengeful son of a Union army vet descends upon the bank to steal a government deposit of half a million dollars during the deadliest blizzard to ever sweep New York, Jonah and Reid are trapped, at odds and fighting for their lives.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of the aspects of your novels and short stories that I enjoy so much is your ability to create not just a sense of place, but the fullness of the historical moment in which you are writing. As you did in Whistling in the Dark and If It Ain't Love, you paint a compelling, rich picture of life in New York City, this time in the late 19th Century. Jonah commutes to the bank by a combination of walking and streetcar, and we make that journey with him. The bank comes to life through your words, as do the people who work there. Jonah's boarding house is full of the kinds of characters that populated Americana novels of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and they are utterly believable. For me this novel recalls the writers of the urban landscape of the United States in that era, like Dreiser writing about Chicago in Sister Carrie. [...] Anyone who reads my reviews knows how high a premium I place on context and historical authenticity. For me, you're the gold standard, and this book is an exemplar."
- Sunita, Dear Author

"You gave us two wonderful lead characters in Jonah and Reid. They leapt off the page at me, they were so wonderfully drawn. It was so easy to picture the buttoned-up Jonah, living his life through the day-to-day workings of the bank, and the charismatic Reid, infuriating poor Jonah with his easy-going ways and self-confident smile. I liked the fact too that Reid had a vulnerable aspect to his personality however and that Jonah was sensitive enough to be aware of it. Their burgeoning relationship was positively heartwarming to read, in fact the whole novel had a tremendous feelgood factor to it and I found the whole thing really uplifting."
- Chris Dixon

About the Author

Tamara lives in the piney woods north of Houston, Texas, where she spends her time on administrative work, taking care of her family, and writing when she gets the chance.

Product Details

• File Size: 453 KB
• Print Length: 300 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Tamara Allen; Second edition (April 1, 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B007QWJOFM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,855 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)
  • #36 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Romance > Gay Romance

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful romance March 23, 2011

By Sirius VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

REVIEW MAY BE SEEN AS HAVING SOME SPOILERS NOTHING MAJOR THOUGH

When I was a child I used to imagine that one day I will get to travel in the time travel machine to some of my favorite eras in the past to see for myself how people lived in those days. Of course I know now that this is not possible, but in a sense
this book for me had been a perfect substitute of the time travel machine. It transported me to another era. I felt that I was in the year 1888 in the city that gave me a second home, just as it gave second home to Jonah and Reid. I really loved this writer's another historical romance "Whistling in the Dark" and I would have been quite okay with this novel if her writing stayed at the level of "Whistling in the Dark", but in my opinion it improved so much. The settings seemed meticulously researched. It was so much fun reading about Jonah walking on the Wall street, or him and Reid taking a walk on Broadway and thinking about how much these streets changed from year 1888 to our time. Language is clear and easy to understand overall, but it definitely has historical flavor. You can see, feel and smell everything that is taking place around you.

Jonah Woolner had been an assistant cashier in the New York Bank for the last fourteen years since he was nineteen years old.

His life and his work are basically the same thing, he lives and breathes according to the rules he thinks banker should follow. He is hoping to be promoted to the cashier since he had been doing this work for months, but when our story begins

Jonah learns that Board of Directors hired the newcomer Reid Hylliard as the cashier instead. Jonah is upset and jealous, he of course keeps his jealousy to himself (mostly anyway) and out of loyalty to the bank he decides to stay instead of quitting. However his style of work seems to clash every day more and more with with Reid's innovative changes he is bringing to the bank. Reid seems to be happy go lucky individual who charmes bank's staff very fast and Jonah is one person who takes Reid the longest time to win over.

I thought that tension between Jonah and Reid was masterfully maintained throughout the book, even when they seemingly started to understand and like each other better it was like watching one step forward and two steps back dance. Of course
Jonah is the one whose insecurities, jealousy and mistrust feed into the tension, since Jonah does not have the complete information of what had been happening around him. Here is just one example of their delightful banter:

"Reid stood, meeting him eye to eye, seemingly in all seriousness. "You may be as forward as you like"
"Taken aback, Jonah regarded him warily "I may?"
"I'd prefer it."
"Well, then" " A morning coat is not a frock coat."
A morning coat is a compromise."
"Compromise?"
"Between dressing respectably for the bank and looking as though he spends his saturday evenings with a book and glass of port."
"No, better to convey, I suppose that he spends his evenings at the dancive hall, consorting with the women of uncertain virtue."
"You might benefit from an evening like that"
"I daresay you would think so"

Having just called their banter delightful, I should clarify that Reid is the one who is trying to lighten up their conversations and I have not always liked that. Oh as we get to know him, we see that the man is really genuinely charming and kind and just as zealously devoted to his job as Jonah is devoted to his, but I felt in the beginning that he was dismissive of Jonah's very real hurt.

I loved how both guys are portrayed as genuinely and very realistically good people, but also having some real flaws. Jonah is really a sweetheart, who treats other people as decently as he can manage, but he did forget for a while that pedantical and proper way to live and work is not the only way to live and work and he is *very* jealous of Reid initially. As proper gentleman he keeps it mostly bottled up inside, although as I mentioned above it definitely shows in the restrained way in some of their conversations and daily work :)

Reid is also a good person, but I got a vibe from him that he thinks he knows better than anybody else how to handle unforeseen "complications" and thus when Jonah resists, he does not always proceed in a way which is the most considerate of
Jonah's feelings.

I also liked how the story did not revolve around protagonists' angsting about them preferring to be with men. Oh it caused them some heartbreaks and painful breakups with family members, of course it did and they are aware of the need to be cautious, but they are first and foremost professional men, who just happened to prefer to sleep and fall on love with other men. While Jonah at some point refers to their sexuality as their limitations, overall they seem to accept who they are. I really liked it.

I liked how when even they are together Jonah still admits to himself and Reid that hurt is still lingering there for some time, that the fact that bank promoted an outsider still bothers him, even though he grew to trust and like Reid. In other words I liked how the change in his feelings and disposition proceeded at such slow pace. It felt extremely believable. And I liked how supposedly so self confident Reid does need assurance of how Jonah feels about him too.

I found it extremely amusing and a testament to the writer's skill that despote several hints througout the book I could not foresee that last 20% of the book or so turn from quiet romance to action/adventure of the sorts. I found it extremely fitting and properly foreshadowed when I was looking back, but I did not see it coming at all.

Highly recommended.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting and delightful, as usual. March 26, 2011

By El Capitán

Format:Kindle Edition

I loved both Tamara Allen's previous novels (Downtime and Whistling in the Dark) so I knew I had to get this. (And now that I've read all three I can't choose a favorite. They're all quite brilliant.) Jonah is such a fussy character, but oddly charming, and I immediately found myself feeling very protective of him. Reid is everything that Jonah is not - outgoing, charismatic, and spontaneous - yet he clearly cares for Jonah. I cheered for them as a couple with what I can only imagine was a very sappy grin on my face. Then their sweet romance is interrupted and, as the previous reviewer stated, the last quarter or so is quite thrilling. I found myself turning the pages much too quickly, my heart in my throat. What a fantastic read - completely satisfying, romantic, and delightful. I absolutely adored this.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Tamara Allen is one of the best... August 27, 2011

By Ulysses Dietz

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Both of Allen's previous novels "Whistling in the Dark" and "Downtime" are superbly written and richly plotted. This third book lives up to those, and offers the lucky reader a new experience to savor, emotionally as well as literarily.

In the world of m/m romance, Tamara Allen is one of the rare few (along with Alex Beecroft) who can pull off a historic setting and do it with near perfection. Her use of language, her research into historical detail, and her ability to create a romantic atmosphere that works for a modern reader without imposing anachronistic details or attitudes - all of this is impressive, and clearly has earned her a devoted readership.

I'm not sure how many of her readers are men - so I'll make it clear that I am. I'm also a museum curator, and my specialty is the Gilded Age. I'm the annoying person who critiques movies like "Gone with the Wind" because they don't get the Civil War period right. The point being that Allen can write an historical novel and make it sing AND ring true. Jack Finney's famous "Time and Again," did it really well, and Caleb Carr's "The Alienist" also did...but neither of these best-selling authors exceeds Allen's skill. And, of course, neither of them was a gay romance.

Allen draws out emotional tension as well as Jane Austen did, if for different reasons. Reid Hyllier and Jonah Woolner are characters that are authentic in every way, and I fell for them just the way I was supposed to. In some ways Allen's writing is really speculative fiction, in that she writes about something (i.e. men in love with men) that was never written about at the time...but nonetheless existed...it's powerful to be able to give that a voice that doesn't sound like "today," and allows the reader to fall into the fantasy of "what if...?"

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