This month saw the publication of gay erotic artist Sam Morris' tender, intimate and emotional debut book Don't Fall In Love, Sam. Morris' unguarded personal essays take us behind his hugely popular online image as constructed by his visually sumptuous and carefully composed photography and video work, as he contemplates anxiety, sex, and sexuality as... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Never Turn Your Back On The Tide by Kergan Edwards-Stout ★★★1/2
Full disclosure: I’ve known Kergan Edwards-Stout for the better part of thirty years. I was there for many of the events depicted in his book and am even mentioned in it. Despite this, I am going to be as objective as I can with this review. Truth be told, I would have read this book... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Set the Stage by Daniel de Lorne ★★★
I don’t know about you, but one of the things I’ve really missed during the lockdowns has been theatre. The communal experience of seeing a story told live was and will always be a big part of my cultural diet, so I approached Daniel de Lorne’s new gay romance warmly. A gay love affair set... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Just Like That by Cole McCade ★★★
Fancy a hit of sub/dom-light romance blending an emotionally withholding Daddy-figure and some borderline cultural clichés thrown in? Grab hold of your speedos and dive into Cole McCade’s new book Just Like That. Summer Hemlock returns home (to Omen, Massachusetts) to take up the position of Teacher’s Assistant at his old boarding school, Albin Academy,... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jędrowski ★★★★1/2
Tomasz Jędrowski’s Swimming in the Dark has the critics swooning and it’s easy to see why. It’s a beautiful, lyrical romance set in 1980s Poland that blends history with the tale of sexual discovery. Ludwik Głowacki is young and idealistic, living under a repressive system and dreaming of escaping to the West. At a summer... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Bloom by Kevin Panetta and Savanna Ganucheau ★★★★
Is your Instagram feed full of your friends baking cakes, muffins, banana bread… endless variations of banana bread? No? Just me? Well okay, but there’s a weird connection between the LGBTQ+ community and the calming, homely, carb-inflused art of “Sugar - Butter - Flour” (to quote the musical Waitress). And there’s something equally warm and... Continue Reading →
Book Review: The Love Left Behind by Daniel de Lorne ★★★
Sometimes you just need to read something totally light and fluffy to lift your mood, and The Love Left Behind by Australian author Daniel de Lorne is exactly that - a sugary tonic of romance and emotional drama. It may be full of empty calories but that’s the fun of it. Airline pilot Nick returns... Continue Reading →
Book Review: One of Them From Albert Square to Parliament Square by Michael Cashman ★★★★★
Michael Cashman’s One of Them is not only a rich, often hilarious, occasionally heartbreaking and surprisingly candid memoir, but also a fascinating and important document of social history and the fight for LGBTQ+ equality. It’s gripping from the very first page where Cashman describes the day of his civil partnership (legal recognition for same-sex couples... Continue Reading →