Title: Giving Thanks
Author: Maura Anderson
Publisher: http://www.aspenmountainpress.com
Genre: Contemporary GLBT (M/M)
Length: short story (46 pages)
Rating: 4.50 stars out of 5
THE BLURB
It’s another Thanksgiving for lovers Derek and Troy. Another holiday to pretend they are merely platonic roommates in the chaos of Derek’s family celebration. When Derek snaps after one too many confrontations and admits he’s gay, his father disowns him on the spot. It’s going to be a quiet Thanksgiving…or is it?
THE REVIEW
Derek and Troy have been lovers for 2 years and are very happy except for one thing, Derek is still in the closet and he feels that this may signal to Troy that he is not as committed to their relationship and is putting his family before their love for each other. Derek works as the Head Chef in the family’s restaurant of which he’s part owner, and he’s afraid that if his sexual orientation were to become public knowledge he might be out of work. Troy who really loves Derek, is concerned that he might be irreparably hurt should he be rejected by his family. Eventually, Derek snaps because of all the stress and tells his father that he’s gay and he reacts predictably by firing Derek, after slapping him. This does not augur well for a happy Thanksgiving!
Because he’s a Chef, the one thing Derek does well is cook and does he ever cook …. even though it will only be him and Troy this Thanksgiving. But in between feeding one hunger they manage to feed a more pressing one most effectively and deliciously. The sex in the book is definitely steamy and a lot of fun!
Poor Derek wonders what to do with all the food that they can’t eat and they decide to give most of it to the guys at the fire station where Derek works as an EMT. But then something wonderful happens which restores their faith in giving thanks.
This is Maura Anderson’s first M/M story and I think it was a very good debut for her in a different genre. The characters were well developed and three dimensional and the author didn’t shy away from the intimate sex scenes which were warm and loving in addition to being very hot. The author obviously has a lot of experience, due to her many het romance books, in making sure that her protagonists are real. This is the first book that I have read from Ms Anderson and I was impressed. Giving Thanks is a “feel good” story – it’s about Thanksgiving after all, but the author didn’t just phone in the story – she took the time to introduce some complexities into it and gave us a picture of a loving family headed up by a very strong mother who dealt quite effectively with her bigoted husband that was still living in an era where being gay was reprehensible.
The story was funny and heartwarming and filled with lots of delicious food. I could smell the aromas wafting into the book – either this author really loves food or she’s trying to make gluttons of her readers. I hope that this is not Ms Anderson’s only venture into the M/M genre because she seems to have an instinctive touch for creating realistic gay male characters that are not caricatures. I recommend that you buy this book as a great start to the Thanksgiving holiday. My only regret was that I could not live in Troy’s and Derek’s world a little longer.
Thank you so much for the great review, Wave!
I definitely fell in love with Derek and Troy and with how much they love each other, despite the struggles of daily life.
umm… you’d never guess that Thanksgiving food is my favorite, would you? Dang – now I want some turkey…
I’m so glad you liked their story and it’s definitely not my only m/m. I have a bunch of them in the pipeline.
Remember – it’s all Jet’s fault.
Hi Maura
I’m glad you like the review but I do this for the readers who come by the blog regularly. I try to tell them what it is about a book that appealed to me (or not) *g*.
Now I’m going on a diet to get over all the food in Giving Thanks 🙂
Oh, yaaaaaayyy!! I’ve been looking for some Thanksgiving manlove.
I’m on this like a duck on a junebug. Mine mine mine.
Hi Jen
I think you will love this book because it has most of the elements that you like – a HEA, (and for me, most important, not a manufactured one), terrific characters and FOOD. I probably waffled a bit on the rating but I’m not unhappy with how it turned out because the book made me happy!
Ah, Maura’s story! Several people on the group also read it, didn’t they? Thanksgiving doesn’t has a meaning for me, but it sounds like a very nice feel-good story :).
Hi Mary
I wasn’t aware that other members of the group read it. I should read more of the posts I guess *g*
The Thanksgiving holiday is probably as big as Christmas in the US – I’ve experienced it!
Er… you’re starting to make me doubt myself! Maybe it was somewhere else. 🙂
I’ve heard about how big Thanksgiving was in the US – it had to be something to experience! The scale of that holiday is a bit hard to imagine for me since in QC it’s merely a day off I can’t even remember what it’s for. *blushing* Do you celebrate Thanksgiving in Ontario? I know in Canada Thanksgiving doesn’t take place on the same day as in the US.
Yes I do celebrate Thanksgiving but nothing on the scale of the US food fest. Our Thanksgiving is usually 5 – 6 weeks before the one in the US.
Food fest…hmmm. Maybe I should time my next trip to the US with Thanksgiving :-DDD