GAVEN by J.C. Owens

Publisher: LooseId
Date published: August 2009
ISBN: 978-1-59632-955-3
Paranormal Fantasy/Gay Erotica
e-book
Reviewed by Tammy


CLICK TO PURCHASE! J.C. Owens’ GAVEN is an emotional journey of capture, rescue, denial, and acceptance.

Gaven’s entire life is changed when his village is attacked and defeated and he finds himself taken captive by a man claiming to be his father. Gaven finds that what he knew to be his life has been a lie and now, his father is gifting him to one of his warriors to train in the ways of war and love. Gaven is shocked to find that he is expected to have sex with the warrior, as this is the way of his new people.

J.C. Owens is one of those rare authors that really know how to write a short story and write it well. GAVEN is gay erotic fantasy that shocks and sizzles equally. The lead character is a young man who finds out his life was a lie after being captured by a marauding army. He is confused and shocked to learn he is the son of a warlord. But even more shocking are the things expected of him in this new life. He is forced to question his entire sexual orientation and find a way to accept and embrace that his life is about to take a turn he had thought impossible before his capture. The emotional drama and tension of the journey Gaven goes through both understanding and accepting his new life is poignant and well written. He quite understandably struggles with fear, rage, anger and helplessness. These feelings cause him to make some bad decisions but show a real courage and strength of character befitting the warrior he is to become. When the very public mating ceremony finally arrives, the scene is sensual and extremely erotic.

On the negative side, perhaps because this was a short story, there was no time to flesh out the new society Gaven is forced into and the minor characters were staid and flat. The other major character, Vlad, in whose training Gaven is placed, doesn’t appear to have any real emotional attachment to Gaven and that detracts from the happy ending we hope to see. It also would have been nice to see how Vlad’s vampire nature impacted the story.

The only other real problem this reader had with this story was the whole idea that being gay is a decision to be made and not a genetic determination. The people that Gaven is forced to accept as his family are a warrior society that is structured such that being gay is a given and consummating a relationship with another warrior is a step toward manhood. However, as that is the basis of the story, the characters’ actions and feelings are in line with that thinking.

GAVEN is a well written and emotional erotic fantasy that readers of any sexual orientation can enjoy equally.