Reviewed by Sheena
TITLE: Aloha? Oy!
SERIES: Summer Bigger Than Others Anthology
AUTHOR: Jonathan Penn
PUBLISHER: Beaten Track Publishing
LENGTH: 50 Pages
BLURB:
Paul and Asher have been together for fifteen years. They’re still in love, but each is beginning to have doubts about what their future holds. Paul comes up with the brilliant idea that a week in Hawaii is the sure-fire way to reignite their dwindling spark. He’s mapped out every last detail of their romantic tropical getaway. Now, if only the universe would stop screwing with his plans…
Part of “Summer Bigger Than Others – A Summer Anthology” from Beaten Track Publishing.
REVIEW:
For a tale that took me 15 minutes to read (I read very fast, it is actually one of the longer stories in the anthology), this short m/m love story was sweet. Mr. Penn did a lovely job of bringing Hawai’i to life on the vacation of errors that our two leads take in an effort to reconnect.
After 15 years together, lovers Paul and Asher are in a rut. It happens to every long-term couple, no matter the orientation, and Paul, through whom the story is told, is desperately trying to reignite the spark and the heart of his relationship with his live-in boyfriend, Asher. Paul is always away on business, home on weekends, and Asher is always home alone, every day. Feeling more like strangers, Paul plans the perfect vacation to the island state.
From day one, little things start to go wrong. Every stop, every sight and side-trip was designed to make Asher happy, and while Ash had fun, small things would happen that drove Paul nuts and took a tiny bit of joy from the moment. Ash hits his head, gets attacked by mosquitos, gets exhausted by a climb, etc.
Even though things go wrong as often as they go right, there’s little moments in this story that made me smile. The way Paul looks at Asher, you can feel how he’s falling in love all over again. The way the sun lights his lover’s hair, the way Ash smiles at some huge trees, the way a cliff-side vista captivates—Paul sees what he loved in Ash way back in the beginning of their lives together, and its charming. Paul plans the perfect moment to ask Asher something important—wink wink!—and while the moment gets crashed and Paul feels like he’s lost his chance, the story winds up in a beautiful place, and Paul gets his chance, and it’s a lot better than his first plan. The ending is much like the rest of the story—less than perfect, but charming and sweet.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Beaten Track Publishing – Single Story
The blurb is nice, thanks for the review 🙂
Thank you for the review.