Love and Lust recs: 'Swordfall' and an autobiography by Kate Pavelle
Sometimes a reader can get more than just a glimpse into the backstory of an author, and such is the case this time. Kate Pavelle writes male/male romance, combined with suspense and mystery. Kate's own story has elements of Cold War spying, escaping from Eastern Bloc police and learning to give up family and traditions while settling in a foreign country (to her), all before she turned 15. She grew up taking risks and learning more skills than most American youth, and this education fills her stories with what the reader might feel is more truth than fiction. She isn't saying what is an invention from her imagination and what is based on fact but be assured her subjects are well researched.
Swordfall by Kate Pavelle
What it's about (courtesy of Dreamspinner Press):
Book two in The Fall Trilogy
On Christmas break in Denmark to meet Asbjorn's family, Sean almost dares to relax again—until the news of Frank Pettel's sensational jailbreak hits the web. Sean played bait to put the serial sex offender behind bars, and now Sean feels the target reappear between his shoulder blades. He could keep hiding away in Europe, but college won't wait, and Sean was never the one to take the coward's way out.
Using his military and martial arts experience, Asbjorn assesses the major failure of the justice system that led to Pettel's escape. Yet removing one problem introduces another: Asbjorn has never dealt with his own post-traumatic stress. As he goes hunting for the man who is a direct threat to his loved one, his grasp on reality slips. Watching Asbjorn's change, Sean's confidence erodes. To further complicate things, Asbjorn's deadly silence creates secrets that test the bond of trust that binds them. An older, wiser voice helps them understand that behind the bloodstained veil of secrecy, there is space enough for love.
Why you should read it: In the first book of the Fall series, Breakfall, Sean is brutally attacked and spends most of the book on the run from a dangerous stalker/assassin. At the end of that book, Sean and his lover, Asbjorn, have found a measure of peace and security until something terrible and unexpected happens.
Swordfall begins exactly where Breakfall left off, with the stalker/assassin once again threatening the safety and life of Sean. This tears away Sean's confidence in himself as a martial arts sensei and begins to grind into the foundation of his love for Asbjorn. A trip to see Asbjorn's family in Denmark adds more stress, and the loss of all of their possessions to a vicious attack just about destroys their burgeoning relationship.
Asbjorn decides it is his responsibility to eliminate the threat to Sean and that is not without risk to Asbjorn's own liberty and freedom. This is a thrilling adventure, full of excitement, hot sex, menace and ultimately a love between two men that won't be stopped short of death. I loved both of these books and look forward with great anticipation to the third book in the series, which will let us know how Sean and Asbjorn are doing a couple of years down the road. Ms. Pavelle has truly hooked me on this series! To learn more about the extraordinary background of this talented author please continue with her partial autobiography, as reviewed next.
On the Run: Cancelled Czech Files by Kate Pavelle
What it's about (courtesy of Mugen Press):
"A life-affirming tale of optimism and family togetherness, even as the ground shifts under their feet."
From a vacation to a one-way trip, we escaped Czechoslovakia and the Iron Curtain. Fourteen, naive, stranded in West Germany — I saw only high adventures as my father kept the mission together, my kid brother yearned to buy another Matchbox car and my mother kept slowly unraveling under the stress of uncertain change.
Yet America awaited, perfect and invincible, right beyond the ocean.
Why you should read it: Kate Pavelle writes great romance stories, but her story of escape to America is a case of life that is more exciting than fiction. On the Run: Cancelled Czech Files isn't a romance in the traditional sense, but it is the story of Ms. Pavelle's love of life itself.
From the time her family packed the car in Czechoslovakia with what belongings would fit without bringing undesired attention to the family, they began a journey on the run from the secret police as they bravely immigrated to America. Teenage Kate became an unwitting political refugee, along with her scientist father, her mother who was always unsure they were doing the right thing, and her little brother. The family, with the help of friends and family, made it to America with little more than the clothes on their backs and what they could pack in a few suitcases.
These are stories of her family's beloved Czech traditions merging with, and sometimes being overtaken by, American traditions. Christmas became a whole other holiday for the Pavelle family. No more carp swimming in the bathtub, no more candles burning in the Christmas tree. This family relied on their intelligence to get them through the hard times, and in the 1980s relied on books to learn new things, much as we might use YouTube or Google today.
The story of her father trying to prepare a wild duck to be eaten by a reluctant family is priceless, and it's a wonder they all survived the experience. Kate went from fishing coins out of a fountain in Czechoslovakia for spending money to tossing coins in a fountain in America. It is a journey worth sharing with her, and I recommend it as a book to read with your entire family. Sometimes we take what is around us for granted. It's good to see ordinary life through the eyes of someone to whom it means so much.
Becky Condit is a widow, mother of three and grandmother of 10 who reads all kinds of books, but her go-to comfort books are erotic romances. A romance novel coupled with just-out-of-the-oven chocolate-chip cookies and a glass of cold milk is her idea of heaven. She reads and reviews more than 250 books a year, so you won't often find her without her Kindle in hand, but when you do, she'll probably be gardening, doing needle crafts, working in her upholstery workshop and spending time with her family.