Author: Lisa Clarke
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages/Word Count: 45 pages
Rating: 3 stars
Blurb: When a chance encounter after a night of celebration brings Davis Anderson unexpectedly crashing into Jamie Greene’s life, Davis knows the universe has delivered the man of his dreams. Unfortunately, love is the last thing Jamie is looking for. The attraction between the two men is nothing short of magical, but for Jamie, the timing couldn’t be worse. Consumed by grief over the death of his mother, Jamie pushes Davis away, for Davis’s own good—or so Jamie insists. For Davis, walking away from Jamie isn’t an option. He must find a way to soothe Jamie’s pain and earn his trust. Even as misunderstandings threaten their tentative connection, they’re determined to hold on to each other—and hope the magic between them will be enough.
Review: Davis’s Magic follows Jamie and Davis, two men who meet under unusual circumstances and, through an immediate attraction, learn they have a deep connection that can heal both of them. The characters were sweet and the pace of the story flowed well. As a short story of only 45 pages, the plot wasn’t fleshed out enough for me to truly get the flavor and taste of the development of heat, passion, and romanticism that I wanted.
Writing short stories is difficult precisely because of the amount of words compared to the amount of story. Two people meet, fall in lust/love/heat, connect, and then romance blooms. Without the background and time to see the relationship evolve beyond a one-night-stand, it is difficult to generate the depth of connection that longer novels are able to accomplish.
The story is written from alternating points of view, which worked well. We got snippets of each character’s thoughts and experiences so that we could gain insight into what drove them together, apart, and then back together again.
The connection was fast and, after one night, Davis found himself confounded by the depth of his feelings for Jamie. Jamie, on the other hand, felt what I’d expect from a first meeting: attraction, but not all encompassing. However, when he makes a misstep and pushed Davis away, I would have expected him to write it off as, “Oh well, better luck next time.” The fact both men pined over each other, wanting to reconnect and not doing so for an extended period of time, and then starting right back up where they left off after the awkward separation didn’t ring true for me.
For people who like sweet romances, quick to read and filled with emotion, this is definitely the book for you. Suspending disbelief is a matter of personal choice, we all know we have to do some degree of it, and some are more comfortable going with the flow while others desire a bit more realism and believability in the story.
You can buy Davis’s Magic here:
True what you say about short stories of this nature. I had similar comments on one of mine that just didn’t satisfy readers for this very reason.