Happy Gay Friday & Quick review of Conquest by S.J. Frost

This is not a very Happy Friday for me, but this Wet Moment makes it a little bit better ;) And I want to thank you all for the warmth and compassion you sent my way after Wednesday's events. It really means a lot to me! Thanks so much!

And here's a quick M/M review that I had already written but unscheduled because of Wednesday's post...

S.J. Frost
Conquest
MLR Press, October 2009

Genre & Keywords: Contemporary, M/M Romance, Music, Rock Stars, Coming Out
Rating: êêêê
Heat level: ¹¹½

Conquest is a hot M/M romance about rock stars that I really enjoyed. Especially the first half of the novel was great. S.J. Frost tells the love story of the young, upcoming singer Jesse and the very successful musical genius Evan. They meet, fall easily in love and start living together. This all happens in the first third of the book or so. We follow their relationship which is described in detail, with freakin’ hot love scenes, and we see how Jesse and Evan influence each other’s music careers. Evan, once vanished from the spotlight, is starting to perform again. Jesse, discovered because of Evan, is finally given the opportunity to record his music and take his band ‘Conquest’ to the top. The inside details about the music business were one of the things I liked, because it added to the realistic feel of the story. That’s really wonderful about this book; Ms Frost’s fluent and realistic writing makes it all very tangible and believable.

Jesse’s and Evan’s love is endearing, sweet and sexy. But from the beginning of their relationship it’s been clear that a breakup will be inevitable. The famous Evan is not out of the closet and the music company doesn’t want him to be, while Jesse is a tattle tale. And we’re waiting for an outing or some other sort of trouble. And Ms Frost is taking us there gradually and with ease. And when the inevitable hits the couple the story continues in the same pace and with the same detail, telling us about their personal pain. This is all done very well and with great empathy.

So far I thought this was going to be close to a 5 star read for me! But I must say that the last part of the story left me with a few questions and had me frowning a couple of times, which made me decide for 4 stars. For one, the role of Brandon, Jesse’s overprotective brother, didn’t seem consistent to me. In the end he reacted not how I expected him to, regarding Evan’s behavior. Another thing that niggled at me was that neither Jesse nor Evan questioned why the breakup had to happen. I thought the reason for the breakup was a bit weak and questionable and definitely worth discussing for Jesse and Evan, but it seemed as if they thought it was inevitable as well, not something they had to fight. So, in the end there’s make up sex but hardly a make up conversation.

Still, this part is well written and enjoyable too. Which made Conquest a great, although not perfect, read for me and I definitely look forward to the sequel No Fear that’s being released one of these days.

Backblurb:
Vocally gifted singer, Jesse Alexander, has dreams of taking his band, Conquest, to the top. Evan Arden was thought of as a musical genius when at the height of his career he vanished from the spotlight. Together, their relationship is just as intense as their music careers. With success pushing down on them, Jesse must decide between his life of music, or his life with Evan.