Gathering Storm Novel

Novel: Gathering Storm

Author: Lyn Gala

Genres: Thriller, BDSM, Mystery

Released: 2010

Part of Book Series: Standalone

Summary: Vinnie Bernardi wants to leave his past as a repressed rich boy behind and find himself as a proud, gay submissive. Unfortunately, there’s only one man who has ever successfully dominated him, and that man is unattainable. But Vinnie is slowly falling apart and needs a top to help him hold it together, so he decides to go ahead and make his move on Charleston, the military academy instructor at the center of his very favorite fantasies. Instead of finding his dream come true, Vinnie discovers the reality of Charleston’s world is darker, more brutal, and more dangerous than he ever suspected. When Vinnie bumbles his way into Charleston’s attentions, he stirs up ghosts from the other man’s mysterious past—phantoms deadly enough that Vinnie begins to fear he might not survive long enough to get what he truly needs: love and a firm hand to shelter it.

Post’s Author Opinion:
Note: This is a personal opinion, it does not reflect YaoiOtaku’s official position towards the novel.

I first picked up this book a few months ago, but it put me off so hard I had to drop it. However, for some reason I didn’t cast it away in the wind and I now decided to give it another try. On my first attempt I didn’t enjoy the first three chapters and I have no reason to offer other than I was not in the mood for this kind of book. This time, I liked the first chapters a lot, I had a lot of fun reading about Vinnie’s misbehaving. Unfortunately for me, I was also ready for a steamy hot book and that was not what I got. I got more thriller than anything else, and while I like thrillers and Lyn Gala has a way of writing that makes me get lost in her books, I couldn’t get over my expectations.

So I was enjoying myself, reading about Vinnie’s antics, expecting things to go bad, but when they actually went bad I didn’t see it. I was just as clueless as Vinnie had been. The danger literally stared us in the face and we were none the wiser. The whole kidnapping and Kalb’s (I prefer Kalb more than Charleston) dark past made perfect sense, as well as all the followed.

Now, where I have some (~~other~~) issue with this book is the dialogue. When I’m reading something I like to be shown what’s going on, what drives a character, what motivates them, and not be told. The dialogue did that a lot, telling me what was happening and what to think about this guy or that one, and as a result I didn’t really connect with anyone and I don’t feel like I actually know them.

While I still say that Lyn Gala is a great author and I love how versatile she can get, this book just didn’t hit the spot and I was slightly disappointed. I really appreciate the research that went behind this book, it was entertaining and I would love to rate it higher, but I did not get what I signed up for.

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