Terry O'Reilly (1) (1959–)

Revieed on Hearts On Fire... http://heartsonfirereviews.com/

This story gave a good look at gay love under the strict puritanical laws. Jonathan is a young school teacher who falls in love with Nathaniel, a master cooper. Unfortunately the punishment for their sexual behavior under Puritan law is death by hanging. Nathaniel sneaks to the school house where Jonathan lives in the loft for evening trysts but soon Jonathon's older brother, Samuel, begins to notice their behavior and tries to warn Nathaniel off. To make matters worse, Jonathan is betrothed which is a shock to him. The two men make plans to flee the area and find a life together out west away from the Puritanical strictures. Jonathan's wife announces that she is pregnant which kills the whole plan for happiness. I found the story interesting and very straightforward. There were no plot twists and turns that were surprising. It was easy to see the depth of the love between Nathaniel and Jonathan and while Jonathan came to love his wife I could feel that his love for Nathaniel never diminished. The story flowed well and though I disagree with the Puritan way of thinking it was depicted well. It was refreshing to see some of the younger people questioning what they wee being taught on the Sabbath. I found both Jonathan and Nathaniel to be likeable characters but not terribly developed. There was no HEA ending here but the book was worth the read just for some insight into history.… (more)

This was another engaging book that should not have had to be written. Unfortunately, homophobia still runs strong in the U.S. Adam Davis and Brendan Fletcher are both NFL football stars at the top of their careers. They play for different football teams but manage to find a spark of interest in each other at a post game party. Both men are closeted and Adam is so much in denial that he thinks he's straight. The constant fear of being outed plagues Adam more than the more laid back Brendan but it's always in the back of their minds. The post season break spent at Brendan's Texas ranch allows the guys to live a normal life as a couple and gives the men the chance to chance to step up and help gay youth. The dynamics between Adam and Brendan are great and very well written. I felt like I knew both men. The quick getting together at the beginning of the story is tempered by the months spent at the ranch. O'Reilly did a good job of bringing out the real person behind the football star in the ranch scenes. While several people had problems with the end, I enjoyed it. It was like the two men finally found their lives and it left plenty of room for a sequel. This was a thoroughly enjoyable and sexy read.… (more)