Sono un po' perplessa riguardo a quale giudizio esprimere in merito a questo romanzo (pubblicato in italiano da Triskell Edizioni con il titolo Sbucato dal nulla). È il primo lavoro che leggo di Josh Lanyon, popolare e pluripremiato autore di m/m romance, ma non posso dire di esserne rimasta particolarmente colpita.

Non so, sarà forse che ho avvertito l'esigenza della storia di essere narrata in un numero di pagine maggiore, ma Out of the blue non mi ha lasciato assolutamente nulla. Non sono riuscita a provare alcun tipo di empatia per i due protagonisti, due piloti d'aereo impegnati con il loro squadrone in Francia durante la Prima Guerra Mondiale.

Bat, soprannome di Aubrey, mi ha lasciato piuttosto freddina, tranne nei momenti in cui ricorda il suo amante Gene, pilota come lui e morto prima dell'inizio delle vicende narrate. L'altro è Cowboy, soprannome di Aloysius (sì, stiamo facendo a gara tra i nomi più brutti), e non so se definirlo stronzo o scemo. Forse è un po' e un po'.

Anche il modo in cui finiscono insieme non mi ha convinto per nulla: mi è parso inverosimile da parte di Bat, ancora in lutto per la morte di Gene, e frivolo da parte di Cowboy. Una frivolezza che non mi è andata giù nemmeno una volta inquadrata nell'ottica del carpe diem in tempi di guerra.

Spero che sia stata solo una caduta di stile per Lanyon, visto che avevo in programma di leggere quella che probabilmente è la sua opera più famosa, la serie dedicata a Adrien English. Magari non dà il meglio di sé nelle storie brevi... ( )

I have never read any m/m books before (other than Anne Rice's Vampires series), so as a first experience, this book was actually more than I was expecting. I was expecting random pointless sex scenes, so I was kinda surprised that, wow, there is actually a story in the background... and a very good one! The story itself is cute in spite of the scenario in which it occurs (in the middle of the war? Wow, who would have thought about it) and the only reason I don't give it five stars is because the ending is a bit of a downer and I felt like it could've been either more dramatic or better elaborated. But that is just me. ( )

Out of the Blue by Josh Lanyon is a 70-page historical romance set in France in 1916 among the British pilots who fought the Germans during the First World War - and whose life expectancy amounted to eleven days. The story opens on an intense scene in a stable where an enlisted man, Orton, has drawn aside Captain Bat Bryant in an attempt to blackmail him over his secret affair with Gene, a recently killed pilot.

Bat knocks Orton down, but accidentally kills him. Another pilot steps out of the shadows and offers to dispose of the body. It’s Cowboy, an American who has long lusted after Bat.

In exchange for his help, Cowboy demands that Bat submit to him sexually whenever he asks. Bat feels rage, excitement, lust, and even relief at having the conscious choice taken out of his hands. He and Cowboy, who grow increasingly attached to each other emotionally, are playing a dangerous game as they slip away for their secret trysts. Meanwhile, a crafty French constable finds Orton’s body and starts piecing together his blackmail scheme, which could lead to a murder conviction and execution by firing squad for Bat.

This is a flawlessly written story that offers a vivid glimpse of the harrowing existence of a First World War flying ace. The fast pace never lags even as the story recreates its time and place with cinematic clarity through expressions, songs, dialogue, and descriptive touches that engage our five senses. Highly recommended even if you don’t normally enjoy historical fiction!

Val for AReCafe ( )

wwii raf and american pilots ( )

I want to give this more stars but I HATE noncon-kink and I loathe the "boy blackmails boy into sex, only to later confess there was no blackmail, whereby the blackmail-ee sees NOTHING WRONG with being lied to and used for sex for because he LIKED getting laid" trope.

*smites*

Integrity is sexy. Give me a m/m romance with an integrity-kink, and I'll be a stunned and happy reader.

Anyway, set all THAT aside, and it's a sort of sweet little WW1 aviator novella. The setting is vivid enough and nicely drawn, the action sequences were good, and the characters held my interest. However, the sex was surprisingly bland and there wasn't near enough believable yearning.

I'd like to see the same story done without the noncon and lies, actually, with the plot pushed by charm and persuasion instead of fake blackmail, because Bat may have been a blushing violet, but he seemed a *persuadable* blushing violet. The noncon was gratuitous and unnecessary.

( )