To do this book justice I decided to write my review outside, sitting in the sun. Why? Because this book is not only a very genuine love story between two adoring characters, but also a detailed and fascinating description of the beauties of Australia. Chris Owen has a way with words that lets you visualize the deserts, the tropical areas, the beaches, the cities, the people and the animals directly in your head. You almost expect that if you look up from the pages of the book, you’ll see all of this in front of you. And as I’m living 14400 km (8950 mi) away from Uluru I thought by enjoying the sun and the nature outside I would be a little bit better enabled to describe the feelings this book provoked in me.

So here goes. Jason and Ryan, the two main characters of the book, are both at a turning point in their lives when they meet in the Outback of Australia along the Stuart Highway. For Jason heading out to the Outback was a plan and a dream postponed for five long years, years which have been filled with dark experiences for him. But he finally decided to go on this trip to see the desert, because he knew that otherwise he would never make his dream real and because he needed to leave the past behind him.

Ryan on the other hand is a 18 year-old boy who has lived a sheltered life in a loving family and who went on this trip through Australia to get a break before starting the final stages of his PhD. When Ryan and Jason meet on their trip and decide to become travel companions, this triggers the process of Ryan’s coming-out. And Ryan couldn’t have found a better man to help him along this process.

They both become lovers, even though they know that their affair can only be a summer love as Ryan has to finish his PhD in Canada and Jason has a life in Sydney. But their affection for each other deepens and as they continue their trip through Australia they come to the point where they can’t deny the depth of their love for each other any more.

But then a terrible tragedy befalls Ryan and threatens their love for each other as much as Ryan’s looming return to Canada.

Loved this book, loved the way Chris Owen literally made me able to watch the love affair between Jason and Ryan blossom, loved her lush descriptions of Australia’s natural wonders. I highly recommend this book as a reading experience that simply leaves you feeling good.

But be careful, this book is really able to cause an aching for the faraway, too. ;-) ( )

Okay, my reviewing skills have been on the shelf for awhile so I'm rusty. This review will probably suck, although the book did not.

I almost didn't even buy this book because I'd already read 911 by Chris Owen. Now, I liked 911 a lot, but I didn't really need every minute detail of every single time the main characters had sex. Sex is good, but c'mon, in a long term relationship with 3 people, do we HAVE to write about EVERY SINGLE TIME. The story was good, just too much sex (and I can't believe I said that.) So I really dug the story, not so much the details of a happy relationship.

But I liked the thought of a travelogue type of romantic adventure, so I bought Adagio. SO GLAD I DID! I now feel like I've taken this road trip through Australia! And I loved the main characters and how they interacted when they first met, and then met again, etc. Obviously, the build up to the whole "I like you, I like you too" thing was what was so cool! The whole angst when you don't know if that person likes you back. Very well done. And I like Chris' choice of a young collegiate genius with long hair. See? That would have been MY choice if I'd been writing it, but most people writing this would have made the teenage genius kind of a nerdy, business type! Give me longhairs or give me death!

See? Sucky review. But NOT a sucky book! ( )

It was as while he was still at school that Jason Stuart realised he was gay, but when he announced this to his best friend, and later his mother, it did not go down well with either. At the first opportunity he planed to leave home in Winnipeg, and so it was at the age of twenty one he set off for Australia. He had had a rough time initially in Sidney included a period as a whore, but thanks to Alex, who made a habit of straightening out wayward youngsters, he was now back on track. So it was that at the age of twenty six he set of to go walkabout in the Australian Outback, taking with him his paints and canvases.
As he set of driving he soon picked up a hitch-hiker, Ryan, a very young Canadian student. Although they part company, they soon to meet up again, and eventually Stuart suggests Ryan join him on his travels. When Ryan confesses to Stuart that he thinks he might be gay, Stuart reveals that he is gay and promises to help him, and before long Ryan invites Stuart to seduce him. They spend the next few weeks together, and fall in love, but following a disaster in Brisbane, they are soon on their way back to Sydney and Alex. Can Alex help them overcome their problem?
This is a genuine love story and a sheer pleasure to read. Stuart is an admirable guy, having experienced the ups and downs of life and come through it all, he behaves very responsibly towards Ryan. Ryan is an absolute delight, he is a very intelligent and full of boyish energy, he “bounces” with enthusiasm, and he is cute with it. They become devoted to one another, but of course they must face the fact that Ryan will return to Toronto to complete his PhD. The pleasures they bring to each other are beautifully related, and while the descriptions of their indulgences between the sheets or wherever else to choose to enjoy themselves are not detailed or graphic, they are nonetheless at times quite erotic.
What makes this so enjoyable is that the story avoids the almost clichéd failures and disasters that beset so many lovers in gay literature; here is a truly positive tale with a heart-warming outcome. Highly recommended. ( )