Good as Gold

By Susan Laine

Sequel to Code Yellow
Heroes at Heart: Book Four

It’s been two and a half years since aspiring writer Yancy Bell met troubled jock Curt Donovan. Yancy works at the NY Public Library, and Curt is studying dance at Juilliard. It’s summer in New York City, and the devoted couple couldn’t be happier together.

Yancy’s book is the story of Curt’s survival of depression and attempted suicide. When his former English professor, Hume, encourages him, Yancy is surprised and pleased—only to be devastated when Hume commits an unethical act. This adversity leads Yancy to a new understanding of depression as he spirals down to his lowest point ever.

It’s Curt’s turn to step up to the plate and become Yancy’s hero.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
• Release date: Jul 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781634771443

Susan Laine

Susan Laine, an award-winning, multipublished author of LGBTQ erotic romance and a Finnish native, was raised by the best mother in the world, who told her daughter time and again that she could be whatever she wanted to be. The spark for serious writing and publishing kindled when Susan discovered the gay erotic romance genre. Her book, Monsters Under the Bed, won the 2014 Rainbow Award for Best Gay Paranormal Romance. Anthropology is Susan’s formal education, and she could have been happy as an eternal student. But she’s written stories since she was a kid, and her long-term goal is still to become a full-time writer. Susan enjoys hanging out with her sister, two nieces, and friends in movie theaters, libraries, bookstores, and parks. Her favorite pastimes include singing along (badly) to the latest pop songs, watching action flicks, doing the dishes, and sleeping till noon, while a few of her dislikes are sweating, hot and too-bright summer days, tobacco smoke, purposeful prejudice and hate speech. Website: www.susan-laine-author.fi Email: [e-mail] Blog: www.goodreads.com/author/show/5221828.Susan_Laine/blog Facebook: www.facebook.com/Susan-Laine-128697277229180 Twitter: @Laine_Susan

Book preview

Good as Gold

By Susan Laine

Heroes at Heart: Book 4

Sequel to Code Yellow

It’s been two and a half years since aspiring writer Yancy Bell met troubled jock Curt Donovan. Yancy works at the NY Public Library, and Curt is studying dance at Juilliard. It’s summer in New York City, and the devoted couple couldn’t be happier together.

Yancy’s book is the story of Curt’s survival of depression and attempted suicide. When his former English professor, Hume, encourages him, Yancy is surprised and pleased—only to be devastated when Hume commits an unethical act. This adversity leads Yancy to a new understanding of depression as he spirals down to his lowest point ever.

It’s Curt’s turn to step up to the plate and become Yancy’s hero.

Chapter 1

YANCY? OH, I didn’t expect to see you here.

Despite our whereabouts, I could have said the same thing. I hadn’t expected to come across my ex–English literature professor after I’d graduated college last month either. Not that it was awful to meet the man after my school days were done because he was, in a word, hot.

Morning, Professor Hume. I kind of liked how his surname suggested David Hume, an eighteenth-century philosopher. It seemed fitting for a literature teacher since both fields of the humanities involved the study of writings both ancient and modern.

Appearance-wise, though, Professor Hume was all wrong compared to what I might have imagined. I’d expected a stuffy gray-haired gentleman with a posh foreign accent; instead I’d gotten a refined but ruggedly handsome man in his late thirties who spoke normally and oozed sex appeal. He had a mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes, and his dark, wavy hair was always perfectly groomed. Nothing old-fashioned about him.

Do you work here? Hume asked me, waving about with a general sweep of his arm.

I nodded, glancing around proudly. No more long, hard days working as a stock boy. Yes. I have a full-time job here at the New York Public Library, for the summer at least. I’ll find out in a month or so if they’re gonna offer me permanent employment.

Ah. Hume winked at me, leaning closer over the counter. Of course, I had help with my deductions. Your T-shirt with the lion logo kind of tipped me off. He laughed, the charming sound attracting the gazes of everyone close by. In any case, that’s awesome for you, Yancy. When you graduated this spring, I knew it wouldn’t take you long to find your place.

I blushed a little at the unexpected praise. Oh, well, thank you kindly.

Hume was right that this situation was awesome for me. Many people would practically kill to get this job. I’d been hired two weeks after my interview because I was an English literature major with a minor in computer studies and work experience with computer game design. I suppose they’d seen my many uses from the start. I worked in the stacks, ensuring the right books were in the right places, but I also maintained the website’s blog and occasionally updated the whole site.

You’re writing a book, aren’t you? Hume asked.

I nodded slowly. I was writing a book based on my experiences with youth suicide and gay-related depression. I had personal history with the painful, tough subject due to my boyfriend, Curt Donovan, who was studying dance at Juilliard. But I had no idea how Hume knew about my project. He hadn’t been my teacher in creative writing classes.

Hume smiled sweetly. How’s that going for you? I foresee success in your future.

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, cheeks flaming. His praise seemed rather excessive for someone who had never seen my written words apart from a few mandatory tests and the occasional essay.

Oh, um, okay, I guess, I hedged. The topic was too personal and intimate for me to simply speak about it with someone I didn’t really know well. In fact, I wasn’t sure I even knew his first name. Surely I must have heard it once or twice. But… nope, nothing came to mind.

Of course, I understand. He inclined his head as though he were bowing before me. The gesture made me nervous; I didn’t get his motivation. Anyway, if you ever need any help with your manuscript, don’t hesitate to contact me, Yancy. I’m good at peer reviews as well as offering constructive criticism. And best of all, I don’t charge so much as a nickel.

I blinked, mostly confused. Um, that’s awfully kind of you, sir.

Please, call me Neville. He flashed me a disarming smile, his white teeth gleaming like pearls in the dimly lit library. Did you know you were one of my brightest students? I might have murmured some disclaimer since I hadn’t in fact been aware of such a thing, but he beat me to the punch. I don’t usually advertise my favorites during a semester, but I can typically spot a true talent among the rabble.

I bristled inwardly. Rabble? Was that any way for a professor to speak of his students? Any of them? What demeaning epithet would he come up with next? Commoners? I wasn’t fond of this mean-spirited side of his character. But he was so busy monologuing, I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

Yancy, you’re a diamond in the rough. He placed his warm, dry palm over mine on the counter, again leaning in

Reviews for Good as Gold

[ellelainey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Book – Good as Gold (Heroes at Heart #4)
Author – Susan Laine
Star rating - ★★★★☆
No. of Pages – 57

Cover – Nice
POV – 1st person, one character
Would I read it again – Maybe.

Genre – LGBT, Writing, Contemporary, Romance, Serial


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK, BY THE AUTHOR, IN RETURN FOR AN HONEST REVIEW **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine


For me, this was a story of two halves. The actual emotional aspects of the story – the plot, the relationship etc – took me way back to book 1 and how authentic and evocative these two characters could be. However, the other aspect – the sex – felt so foreign and almost as though someone else wrote it. That part of the story wasn't true to the characters at all.

Maybe it's been too long since I read the rest of the series, but some parts felt almost as though another author picked up the story to fill in the gaps with things that these characters wouldn't say or do. The dirty sex talk especially didn't fit them at all. All the sex scenes felt disconnected from the rest of the story. There were even some over the top descriptions – like pointing out that a nudge is done with a hand and that the heart lies behind the ribcage – that felt forced and not at all like the genius I know Susan Laine's writing to be.

On the plus side, the story really did take me back to book one. The issue of plagiarism is a real threat to all authors out there, but to have it done so callously, in Yancy's face, by someone he knew, is worse than an anonymous computer screen, because it could have been prevented and it's much more personal. At the same time, exploration of how to prove intellectual property theft is a sticky road and one that not many people can successfully navigate. It was nice to see some vindication for all the faceless talent that Hume stole from, as well, which is something that doesn't always happen in the real world. Just because someone is accused of plagiarism and one author can prove it, doesn't mean that the others in the past can or will get their just credit for their work.

Though I do think it's an exaggeration to state that Yancy felt suicidal, at the thought of someone stealing his book – considering the amount of times he's never really understood the darkness inside of Curt and how positive he's always been – I do know how heartbreaking it can be. Especially about a story so close to his heart. But, comparing what he felt after having his work stolen to what Curt went through in book one was a little too much for me. Yancy's pain was so fleeting and could have been avoided had he only properly questioned how Hume knew where he lived and what his motives for such extravagant behaviour were. Curt, on the other hand, had no real control over his thoughts – shown frequently throughout the series, because of his depressive nature.

The way Yancy constantly compared his situation to Curt's made it feel wrong – as though he was lessening the constant, crippling pain Curt had been in that day. I'm not saying that Yancy wasn't depressed, but he showed no real suicidal thoughts or inclinations, besides one fleeting thought of how he didn't know he'd continue, if he couldn't get his story back. The two, for me, can never compare.

I still feel a little cheated that it ended at 88%, though.

~

Overall, it was great to go back to the roots of these characters, who finally felt more authentic to book one than some of the other books in the series (if you ignore the sex scenes entirely). Sure, there are spelling and grammar issues (it is an ARC after all) and one instance where a laptop on a cushion, sitting on Yancy's knee, mysteriously disappears. Those things happen and will no doubt be addressed before publishing.

But, the bones are great. The plot is believeable and well formed. The addition, at the end, of how Curt's career is continuing and taking off, along with a follow-up of how Yancy's career has taken off, makes me think this could be the last novel for these guys. And, I'd hope so.

After everything they've been through, it would be nice to end on a positive note.

[L'eau · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The story concludes. This is the least believable of all of them. The premise of the story is bizarre in itself in that it makes no sense how the antagonist even knew about the protagonist's book in the first place, then somehow makes him a stalker of sorts. Just strange in how everything strings together; the final threads string together fine, but the foundation feels completely nebulous. The immediate despair the protagonist feels is a little odd too considering we've been in his head for four novellas at this point, and though he does have some self-esteem issues, it seems out of character for him to spontaneously fall down a cliff at a single event after he's been able to grow through his struggles so far in life.