Borders

Title: Borders
Author: Kathryn Scannell
Publisher: Torquere Books
Genre: M/M contemporary romance
Length: Sip (32 pages)
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

A guest review by Jenre

Summary Review
An interesting setting and tone lifts this romance between a doctor and an Israeli soldier.

This Sip is part of Torquere Books’ Charity Sip Blitz and all proceeds from the sale of this Sip goes to the charity Doctors Without Borders.

THE BLURB

Hooking up with a stranger in a bar is hard for a shy young doctor, but it’s the only option when not staying in the closet might get you killed. So Kevin has taken his first long weekend off from his job in Gaza City, and headed for Tel Aviv to find some action. Things are looking promising when he meets a handsome Israeli who seems just as interested as he is.

But it’s not so simple. David is an Israeli soldier, and Kevin may have noticed too much about a sensitive operation David was part of in Gaza City a few weeks ago. Is David’s interest genuine, or just a trick to get Kevin alone to find out what he knows?

THE REVIEW

This short story follows western Doctor, Kevin, who is working for Doctors Without Borders at a hospital in Gaza City. As a gay man, he’s well aware of the dangers of revealing his sexuality and so occasionally travels to Tel Aviv to blow off some steam. At a nightclub he meets David, an Israeli soldier, and they hit it off. However, Kevin is still nervous about David and his reasons for choosing him at the nightclub.

The part of the story which worked best for me was in the setting and all the emotions that living in that part of the world brings for Kevin. The tone of the story is uneasy as Kevin makes sure that no-one is aware that he is gay, and that even when he feels safe enough to find a willing partner, there’s still an edgy tension to Kevin and to the story. This is partly because of Kevin’s lack of self-esteem and his disbelief that anyone as hot as David would be interested in him, and partly because he lives his life in a country constantly on the edge of war.

As a result of this, the relationship between Kevin and David is awkward, something which is not helped by the actions of David’s friends or by David’s unwillingness to open up to Kevin. The story mainly covers one evening, as the men meet and agree to spend the night together, but I felt there was a lot more at stake than just a one night stand. The story ends fairly abruptly, and I would have liked it to continue a little further before I could be entirely happy that Kevin and David have a future.

Having said that, I liked this story, liked the setting and the character of Kevin who was nuanced enough that he transcended from just being the stereotypical honourable doctor. David remains a bit of an enigma, mostly, I think, because the story is from Kevin’s third person point of view and he hardly knows the man. If you want to read a story with an unusual setting and sympathetic narrator, then this would be a good book to buy, especially when the proceeds are going to such a good cause.