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Charming2020

Charmingly Euphemistic

I am currently reading mostly gay romance, mysteries, science fiction, etc.

Currently reading

The Soldier's Scoundrel
Cat Sebastian
Brobots
Trevor Barton
Dark Space
Lisa Henry

Illumination by Rowan Speedwell

Illumination - Rowan Speedwell

I am not generally a fan of rock star books.  I chose this one because the other character, Miles, has suffered a brain injury and is living with personality changes and amnesia.  I have a thing for characters like that - my tag Brain Kismet indicates why.  The exploration of what a character's brain function does to his fate fascinates me.  It is right up there with time travel.  :-)

 

Brain Kismet stories can be warm and cheerful (like Muscling Through by J.L. Morrow) or they can be intense and suspenseful (like Criss Cross by Jordan Castillo Price) or they can be true to life and almost literary (like Come Unto These Yellow Sands by Josh Lanyon). But they all have some edge to them - something is gained and something is lost by having a brain that isn't working right, or normally, or linearly, or whatever.

 

This book started out well.  Miles obviously has some brain damage which causes amnesia, agoraphobia, and other issues.  He is a loner, spending time only with his sister and two friends from before the accident.  He doesn't remember any of these three people from before the accident - it is their loyalty and determination that keeps the relationships going, not his.  At one point he says that he has 

forgotten his best friend Doug twice, raising the possibility that he could forget his whole life again

(show spoiler)

The rock star, Adam, wasn't as compelling for me.  He was kind of drifting through life, going along with his manager's insistence that he stay in the closet, bored with his job as a rock star, not all that fond of his bandmates.  He is quickly attracted to Miles and quickly becomes quite enamored, which is likable, but I don't feel like I quite know why.  

 

The story loses its way for me in the middle. Miles decides, for now reason that makes sense to me to

not see Adam for a year while he undergoes therapy

(show spoiler)

and Adam goes on a rather tedious

round of partying and drugging

(show spoiler)

 

It felt to me like a response to the demands of story telling, rather than behavior that grew organically from the characters and the situation.  However, it wasn't egregious and didn't involve any truly idiotic misunderstandings, so it was ahead of a lot of romances.

 

I rather liked the ending.  Perhaps it was a bit pat and quickly wrapped up, but if I didn't like my happy endings I wouldn't be reading romance. Miles worked hard and became more functional without being magically cured, and Adam became more engaged with his own life and choices.

 

All in all a good story.