A New Normal

By Carol Lynne

You never forget your first love, but what if your first love never forgot you…and orchestrated an unconventional reunion?

Less than a year after the death of his wife, musician Charlie Foster agreed to perform at a convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He thought getting away from New York for a few days would be good for him, but he didn't expect to see the first person he'd ever fallen in love with.

Jake Pierson gave his heart to Charlie when he was barely fifteen years old. As best friends, Jake believed he and Charlie would be together forever, but when Charlie took the easier path in life, Jake was left to deal with a future without the man he loved.

Jake knew tricking Charlie into performing at a conference he'd helped organise was low-handed, but he had a promise to keep and a future to build.

Reader Advisory: This story has been previously released as part of the Unconventional At Best anthology by Total-E-Bound

• Language: English
• Publisher: Totally Bound Publishing
• Release date: Dec 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781781841730

Carol Lynne

An avid reader for years, one day Carol Lynne decided to write her own brand of erotic romance. While writing her first novel, Branded by Gold, Carol fell in love with the M/M genre. Carol juggles between being a full-time mother and a full-time writer. With well over one hundred releases, one thing is certain, Carol loves to keep busy writing sexy cowboys, shifters, bodyguards, vampires and everything in between. Although series books are her passion, Carol enjoys penning the occasional stand-alone title. As founder and President of GRL Retreat, Inc., Carol helps organize the annual GayRomLit Retreat. Now in its sixth year, GayRomLit is an annual retreat that brings together the people who create and celebrate LGBT romance for a one-of-a-kind, must-attend gathering of dynamic, informal, and diverse fun.

Reviews for A New Normal

[serenayates · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A New Normal is an interesting concept that carries a lot of appeal to anyone who has ever been frowned upon as not "fitting the mold", "being different", or plain not fitting in. In this story, "normal" is being straight, and one of the main characters needs to learn how to redefine his "normal" so that it fits the fact that he is gay.

Charlie has been running from the fact he is gay and in love with his best friend, Jake, ever since he fell in love with Jen in college, Yes, it wasn't as easy or quick as that, but you'll have to read the story to find out the details. The twist is connected to what and how that happened, but the result is that Charlie turns away from Jake. He is a musician, and playing music is his emotional outlet.

Jake has never forgotten Charlie, or stopped loving him. He has tried to contact him many times after Jen's death, but Charlie thinks he isn't ready. Jake pours his love into writing romance novels, but the moment he sees an opportunity to get Charlie to perform his music at a romance novel convention, he grabs it with both hands.

Charlie is angry. Jake reveals the truth, risking everything. But at least the two are talking again... If you like stories with a twist, if you enjoy characters who feel deeply for each other, yet lost touch, and if you're looking for a short read about a reunion, you may like this book.



NOTE: This book was provided by Total-E-Bound for the purpose of a review.