Review: Daybreak

Title: Daybreak
Series: Eight Nights
Author: Keira Andrews
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: 16 December 2008
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 135 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5

Blurb:
Lucas and Nate enjoyed eight steamy nights of forbidden romance last year at Hanukkah. Now after months of long-distance dating, they're living in their own apartment in Greenwich Village and beginning a new life together. Lucas hates lying to Nate's family about the true nature of their relationship, but being with Nate is worth it.

They revel in having a private place to explore their relationship -- and every inch of each other -- but Nate and Lucas soon discover that living together isn't always perfect. When an unexpected betrayal shatters their tentative happiness, they struggle to find their way back together as the holidays approach once more. As their first magical nights together become a distant memory, can Lucas and Nate's relationship survive the break of day?

Review:

Main Characters:
Lucas has grown up a bit since Eight Nights, transferring to NYU and finding a studio apartment to share with Nate. He does, however, still have a lot of growing up left to do, and a series of his bad decisions drive much of the story. It's interesting to see him growing into his possibilities.

Nate, on the other hand, still seems stuck where Eight Nights left him; despite spending the summer in Europe with his parents, he's no closer to telling them of either his orientation or his change in major. He's developed a jealous streak that is actually rather charming (most of the time), but he's also gotten prickly to the point that I sometimes found myself wondering what Lucas saw in him.

Chemistry:
Although the story begins with their living together, the sense that they didn't know each other was pervasive. They had sex--plenty of sex--and got on quite well in that aspect, but found themselves butting heads in other aspects of their lives. As events played out and they were separated, I wondered if it would even be for the best for them to get back together. That being said, they're still an attractive couple, just a very immature one, both with plenty of room left to find themselves.

Secondary Characters:
There is a large supporting cast, though they rotate through fairly quickly so that the numbers are never overwhelming. Some drove me nuts--I wish Casey hadn't played out the way he did--but others were surprisingly enjoyable; I particularly enjoyed the scenes with Nate's father or Sam. The secondary characters were breathed with just enough life to make them interesting without dragging the focus away from where it belonged, with Lucas and Nate.

Story:
As I'd mentioned, a large force in the story is Lucas's bad decisions, though they're not the only key points. Although some of the critical events, whether through Lucas's actions or an outside influence, came as a surprise, none of them struck me as gratuitous. My biggest complaint is the pat ending, when a particular player completely reverses a stance they'd taken regarding Lucas and Nate just in time for family sap; it seemed a little forced, and I'd rather have seen a more natural progression to resolution, rather than a switch being flipped.

Writing:
I enjoyed the writing in this book rather more than that of Eight Nights, though that may be simply because the author had rather more time to hit their stride. The balance of showing and telling was still excellent, and the dialogue was strong.

Overall:
Interesting (if sometimes frustrating) characters and a well-crafted story make this an easy book to like. Although the ending was a bit of a letdown, the rest of the story was charming enough to bear up through the stumble. I'm only sorry that we don't get to find out more about how Lucas and Nate grow into themselves.

Review: Eight Nights

Title: Eight Nights
Series: Eight Nights
Author: Keira Andrews
Publisher: Loose Id
Publication Date: December 2007
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 63 pages

Rating: 3 out of 5

Blurb:
Lucas McKenzie figures spending the holidays with his annoying roommate's family is better than being alone on campus. The last thing he expects is to lust over Sam's brother -- or for Nate to actually want him back.

They hide their attraction during Hanukkah celebrations, but behind closed doors, Lucas and Nate can't keep their hands (or mouths) off each other. Nate's only looking for a bit of holiday fun, and amazing sex with a hot virgin definitely fits the bill.

Yet as the candles burn, Nate and Lucas begin to realize eight nights will never be enough.

Review:

Main Characters:
Lucas is... cute is the first word that comes to mind. An older college freshman due to his father's illness and eventual death, he's on a pre-med track and not quite certain that it's what he wants to do with his life. He's certain he's gay but never actually had any gay experiences--never even gotten over his nerves to look into his college's gay alliance. He's shy and uncertain and, well, cute.

Nate is far more confident--at least when it comes to anything but his family. He's out to his friends and pursuing an interest in photography, but he's afraid of his family finding out both his sexuality and that for him photography is more than a hobby.

Chemistry:
The relationship between Lucas and Nate is tinged with desperation, between Lucas's inexperience, the timeframe instituted by Lucas's visitation to Nate's family's home, and Nate's insistence that he doesn't want anything look longterm. The fumbling discovery of each other is charming--a bit silly at times, but it works within the context. They spend time together outside of having sex, so it's easy to believe that they might have a future as they slowly grow to know each other.

Secondary Characters:
For the length, this book has a fairly broad cast of secondary characters. Most aren't very consistent in their appearances, thankfully, but the central unit of Nate's family is present throughout. Sam and Nate's mother are the strongest, the latter moreso than the former. Lucas in particular interacts with them the most (not surprising, given that he's the story's narrator, but also because Nate tends to disappear to his bedroom when not required) and it's just enough to build another layer to the characters and story.

Story:
There's not a lot that actually happens here; it's driven by the characters, rather than events. There are a few instances of Lucas and Nate exploring the City, but the bulk of the story is spent in Nate's family's home or, more specifically, Nate's bedroom.

Writing:
The writing is competent, enjoyable if not stellar. The balance of showing and telling is excellent, and there are very few errors.

Overall:
Pleasant characters make this an enjoyable story set against the backdrop of Hanukkah. It's a nice bite of story and serves well as a set-up to the sequel, which I will definitely be picking up.