Natural Disaster by Chris Owen
bIn comparison to the previous novel, Bareback, Natural Disaster is way more “comfort zone” read. Bareback was one of the first M/M romance I read, and maybe I was “naïve”, maybe I particularly don’t like when there is a cheating, but I remember that it was a reading that left me quite upset, not really in a bad way, but more like I was too much involved in the trouble of the main characters and even if in the end boy gets boy, in any case it was a long and troubled journey.
Aside for the simple fact that Natural Disaster is shorter (in length and also in time span) than Bareback, it’s also more sweet and romantic; true, it starts with Jake losing his sister Lissa, and suddenly being responsible for his teenager nephew Jacob, but from the relationship point of view, his bond with Tor is strong and above all exclusive. Hands up, one of the thing I didn’t like so much of Bareback was the easiness how Jake and Tor fell in bed with other men, true, it was a shared “falling”, but I think that in a way it influenced the following trouble they had in the relationship. In Natural Disaster there is not this issue, and the only friction is when Jake almost OCD syndrome surfaces, and Tor has to take him back into the safety of his arms and their relationship.
There is of course a lot of sex, but it’s not the lion share of the story: not only Jake and Tor have a lot of “sweet” moments together, like cuddling and kissing, but they have also to face some personal commitment alone from their couple, like when Jake has to take care of Jacob, or when Tor is alone on his business travels.
If you like the “Marlboro man” idea, the country western atmosphere and the small town attitude, in its positive and negative shade, Natural Disaster is for sure a good picking. As often in this case, it felt like homemade pie and it was warm as just out of the oven feeling.
http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=97&products_id=478
Amazon: Natural Disaster
Amazon Kindle: Natural Disaster
Paperback: 268 pages
Publisher: Torquere Press (August 7, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1934166634
ISBN-13: 978-1934166635
Series:
1) Bareback
2) Natural Disaster
Reading List: http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle
Cover Art by Pluto