Title: Lynx Woods
Author: P.A. Brown
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (59k words/162 paperback pages)
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
A Guest Review by Aunt Lynn
THE BLURB
Charlie Reid is a world-class wildlife artist who captures the heart of his subjects, revealing them to the world. But he is also desperate to keep his deeply hidden sexual desires secret from everyone, including himself. He never counts on meeting a man like Tyler McKay, however, an environmental engineer who transforms wastelands into viable bio communities that are not only beautiful but functional. Tyler is also the only man who might be able to penetrate Charlie’s solid wall of denial and make him admit to yearnings to which he has never surrendered.
Can the men build a bond strong enough to withstand everything the world throws at them? But how far, and to what lengths, will Tyler push Charlie to make him admit who he truly is? When two stubborn alpha males put their desires and needs to the test, will they discover that “surrender” isn’t necessarily a bad thing and that, in the game of love, there are sometimes no losers, but only winners?
THE REVIEW
Lynx Woods is the first book by this author that I’ve read, and while I generally did like the character-driven, somewhat angsty tale, there were a few niggles, which I’ll relate in just a bit.
Tyler, our first-person narrator, is an ecological engineer hired to overhaul and heal a fifty acre piece of land outside of his home of Toronto destroyed by industrial waste and human neglect and abuse. A big job, to be sure. Charlie is an up-and-coming, talented wildlife artist hired to commemorate the project with multi-panel paintings, and is on the job at the same time as Tyler. Immediately attracted to Charlie, Tyler thinks he might have a chance, but is met by violent reaction on Charlie’s part as Charlie is deeply in the closet to the point of denial. In the meantime, Tyler is just coming out of an unsatisfying relationship with twink Michael, so the rejection from Charlie just confirms that he is destined to be alone for a while. He is surprised, however, when Charlie resurfaces, indicating that he is trying to work through being gay, and that he would like to spend time with Tyler. It is not easy, however, as both men are alphas, Charlie lives in Tennessee and his unwillingness to leave the closet threatens to keep the two men apart.
What worked for me:
The protags Tyler and Charlie, who turned out to be both likable, smart, talented men who seem to be star-crossed and challenged at every turn by Charlie’s internal struggles. On the surface, and at the beginning, I interestingly had difficulty liking any of the characters; Tyler can barely stand his lover, who is a shallow twink, and has no issue essentially cheating on him with Charlie, who is so in the closet that he must use alocohol, his fists and his feet to get through an encounter. But the author allows them grow and change as the story progresses, which was good, and I was able to get past these issues. I think I liked Tyler more than Charlie, though that is perhaps because of the combination of the narration, which didn’t let me get as close to Charlie as I would have liked, and that Charlie is isn’t as present in the story as Tyler is.
I liked watching the two in their various “pissing contests,” trying to control who is top dog, or lynx, in this case. Luckily, Brown didn’t de-man either hero to have them be who they are at the end, allowing them to maintain their essential characters with compromise on both sides.
Michael, who turned out to be so much more than he the twinky queen he appears to be in the beginning of the story, and how Tyler changes his whole treatment of and thoughts about the man with whom he spent two years.
I found the topic of environmental engineering and healing damaged land very fascinating, but that is of particular interest to me. It may or may not attract other readers.
There is quite a bit of smexxin in the story, though it rarely felt gratuitous and often moved the plot along.
What didn’t:
The characters had obvious chemistry, but I felt that their emotional involvement seemed hasty, especially on Charlie’s part. They spend very little time together because of Charlie’s significant issues and the fact that they live so far apart, I couldn’t help but feel that these two really didn’t know each other very well because of this. Also, Charlie’s declaration of the acceptance of his orientation and wanting to be with Tyler happens almost completely off-screen, and as a result, I felt bereft of seeing it happen.
I felt that the trip Tyler took to the UK made the book drag a bit toward the end and could easily been eliminated to the benefit of the story, making it tighter, or could have been used for relationship development. For me, it added no benefit.
I, at times, felt the prose to be a bit choppy and rushed, especially the end. Perhaps this is a trait of the author, who I know has leagues of fans, so perhaps I need to consume the LA series, which I understand is a standard for her.
OVERALL
Lynx Woods is recommended to readers of the genre and fans of the author.
Lynx Woods is a book that I won here. Thank you Wave.
*
Aunt Lynn, I mostly agree with your review, but I would have given it a lower rating, 2.5 to 3. But what do I know? grin
*
I was really turned off by the twinky Michael. We meet him right off the bat when he accompanies Tyler to the field that Tyler is hired to restore and Michael throws a hissy fit because he wants to go shopping. So why did he come along? But later the author has Michael’s character be a lot deeper. But why include that first scene?
*
Tyler’s character is definitely more filled out in the story than Charlie’s is. But the story is told from Tyler’s perspective. I guess that is the reason.
Coincidentally, I *just* finished this book. I actually enjoyed it more than most of what I read, and I agree with much of this review.
*
John, I think a reason for including that scene with Michael at the beginning is to set a baseline – so that when we learn more about Michael’s true character (and Michael is one of my favorite aspects of the book), the contrast with what he was giving/showing Tyler, with the relationship he and Tyler had, is starker. If we didn’t see him acting bitchy and twinky, it would be a lot less meaningful to see how he acts later on.
*
I think the author was also using that relationship to illustrate Tyler’s growth – he realizes how he saw and treated Michael; this is supposed to be in contrast with his interaction with Charlie (I don’t want to be too explicit for fear of spoilers). But I found Charlie the weakest link in the book. As Aunt Lynn says, important aspects of his growth and change were off screen – but even more, we see so little of him that I never felt like I “knew” him or got a sense of his character in any depth, and there was little basis for understanding his appeal to Tyler, or Tyler’s falling in love with him, beyond his appearance and the hot sex chemistry.
*
This was a disappointment, because the evolution of Tyler’s and Michael’s characters illustrates that the author can do this quite capably – again, a lot more so than the vast majority of books I read in this genre, which I find tend to lack any sort of meaningful character development.
*
I too would rather have had more relationship development at the end, and less of the travelogue, which seemed quite extraneous to the real story the author’s telling. Overall, though, I enjoyed the book quite a bit and would, like Aunt Lynn, recommend it.
*
(And like Aunt Lynn, I found the descriptions of Tyler’s occupation truly fascinating, even though it’s not a field or an area I’ve ever thought much about, and never overbearing, always well integrated.)
I actually enjoyed the book. It was not the best P.A. Brown wrote nor among the best books I’ve read this year, but it was entertaining. I also enjoyed the parts about Tyler’s work and Michael. I didn’t mind the trip to UK so much, although it seemed like the part of another book. I wished to see more about Charlie as well – the way he talked to his family, how he was dealing with homophobic town, etc. I think people unfamiliar with P.A. Brown’s works should start with LA series.
Thanks for the review and the comments. Much appreciated.