Nic Starr
Author of Rustic Melody (Rustic, #1)
Series
Works by Nic Starr
Silver Linings 5 copies
Fleeting Moments 4 copies
Sun-Kissed 4 copies
Always Been You 3 copies
A Christmas Reunion Prologue 1 copy
Heroes Box Set 1 copy
Rustic Miracle 1 copy
Facing The Heat 1 copy
Riding The Waves 1 copy
Associated Works
Contemporary Romance Collection, Volume 3 — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- female
- Short biography
- Nic Starr lives in Sydney, Australia, where she tries to squeeze as much into her busy life as possible. Balancing the demands of a corporate career with raising a family and writing can be challenging but she wouldn’t give it up for the world.
Always a reader, the lure of m/m romance was strong and she devoured hundreds of wonderful m/m romance books before eventually realising she had some stories of her own that needed to be told!
When not writing or reading, she loves to spend time with her family—an understanding husband and two beautiful daughters—and is often found indulging in her love of cooking and planning her dream home in the country. (Publishers site) - Nationality
- Australia
- Associated Place (for map)
- Australia
Members
Reviews
Running away from your problems – and I am not talking about a life-threatening situation here- is never really a solution. And yet it can seem like the only way at first, especially if you’re not ready to face the issues that caused the problem in the first place. In this novella, Nathan has to confront the consequences of his past actions when he runs into the love of his life again – and it’s still tough. The question of whether he has grown and matured enough to face the truth show more twenty years after he ran away and be honest about who he is, is the central theme of this novel.
Nathan left the small Australian town he grew up in years ago to become a doctor in Sydney and now he has returned to settle down and find the man of his dreams. He may not have been ready to come out twenty years ago and he is still fearful of people’s reactions to an openly gay. Even though Nathan’s fear is based on a single incident (getting caught kissing Damien when they were teenagers), I can see how this has influenced his behavior. And returning to the same environment that prompted him jumping into the closet, so to speak, is anything but easy.
Damien is out and proud and refuses to be anyone’s “dirty secret”. He is slightly less complicated than Nathan and pretty Zen about most things, but it has taken some tough experiences like a breakup with a lover for him to get there. I loved how Damien stood his ground about the need to be open about their relationship if they did get back together - he is no longer prepared to hide in the closet.
A fresh start when you’re forty is not always easy – but it can be very liberating. Both Nathan and Damien had unresolved feelings for each other and I loved watching them get their second chance. They very much needed to finally deal with what happened in their past. Meeting again years later and still getting along really well, both men begin to reconsider their relationship. They are clearly still very attracted to each other, possibly still in love. It's torture for Nathan, and the incident that makes him realize it is time to come out and grow beyond where he was surprised me – in a good way. Not a boring moment in sight!
As a side note, the setting was really well described and played a major role in my enjoyment of this novella. I knew I was in Australia throughout. Nice details from the weather to the environment, the food, and details like what the characters were wearing made me remember my time living in Sydney and helped the story come alive. Another factor was the author's language - Australian words, slang, and spelling throughout. I loved that.
If you like stories with lots of depth despite their shortness, if you enjoy second chances for mature lovers, and if you’re looking for a read that is entertaining, interesting, and just mysterious enough to make it slightly suspenseful, then you will probably like this novella as much as I do.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review. show less
Nathan left the small Australian town he grew up in years ago to become a doctor in Sydney and now he has returned to settle down and find the man of his dreams. He may not have been ready to come out twenty years ago and he is still fearful of people’s reactions to an openly gay. Even though Nathan’s fear is based on a single incident (getting caught kissing Damien when they were teenagers), I can see how this has influenced his behavior. And returning to the same environment that prompted him jumping into the closet, so to speak, is anything but easy.
Damien is out and proud and refuses to be anyone’s “dirty secret”. He is slightly less complicated than Nathan and pretty Zen about most things, but it has taken some tough experiences like a breakup with a lover for him to get there. I loved how Damien stood his ground about the need to be open about their relationship if they did get back together - he is no longer prepared to hide in the closet.
A fresh start when you’re forty is not always easy – but it can be very liberating. Both Nathan and Damien had unresolved feelings for each other and I loved watching them get their second chance. They very much needed to finally deal with what happened in their past. Meeting again years later and still getting along really well, both men begin to reconsider their relationship. They are clearly still very attracted to each other, possibly still in love. It's torture for Nathan, and the incident that makes him realize it is time to come out and grow beyond where he was surprised me – in a good way. Not a boring moment in sight!
As a side note, the setting was really well described and played a major role in my enjoyment of this novella. I knew I was in Australia throughout. Nice details from the weather to the environment, the food, and details like what the characters were wearing made me remember my time living in Sydney and helped the story come alive. Another factor was the author's language - Australian words, slang, and spelling throughout. I loved that.
If you like stories with lots of depth despite their shortness, if you enjoy second chances for mature lovers, and if you’re looking for a read that is entertaining, interesting, and just mysterious enough to make it slightly suspenseful, then you will probably like this novella as much as I do.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review. show less
Sweet low angst story with an authentic feeling location (small town Australia).
The guys are perfect together and the women in their lifes are all strong independent characters.
If I had one complaint it would be that there were a few too many sex scenes, but that's just personal preference :)
Overall a lovely gentle story. Recommended.
The guys are perfect together and the women in their lifes are all strong independent characters.
If I had one complaint it would be that there were a few too many sex scenes, but that's just personal preference :)
Overall a lovely gentle story. Recommended.
Sticky Fingers is the story of Jeff Wilder. Told in third person from Jeff’s pov.
This is a fast read, only about thirty pages. It’s also a light read and the tone of the story reminds me more of a YA plot even though it’s not. Maybe because the plot doesn’t have any angst even though it includes Jeff’s dissatisfaction with his current career. I consider this book more like a lead-in to following stories because there isn’t a definite HEA or HFN, just the possibility of where Jeff’s life might be going.
We don’t learn much about the characters’ personalities, except maybe for Danny the neighbor who seems to be friendly, helpful and artistic.
It felt like the story was telling me what was happening rather than experiencing it. There was more monologue than dialogue. I did however enjoy the cooking and the recipe the author included at the end of the story.
Sticky Fingers is an extremely quick, angst free read that reminds me of YA even though there is a small sex scene. The plot is a brief glossing over of people and a small event. I give this story 3 Stars.
show less
This is a fast read, only about thirty pages. It’s also a light read and the tone of the story reminds me more of a YA plot even though it’s not. Maybe because the plot doesn’t have any angst even though it includes Jeff’s dissatisfaction with his current career. I consider this book more like a lead-in to following stories because there isn’t a definite HEA or HFN, just the possibility of where
We don’t learn much about the characters’ personalities, except maybe for Danny the neighbor who seems to be friendly, helpful and artistic.
It felt like the story was telling me what was happening rather than experiencing it. There was more monologue than dialogue. I did however enjoy the cooking and the recipe the author included at the end of the story.
Sticky Fingers is an extremely quick, angst free read that reminds me of YA even though there is a small sex scene. The plot is a brief glossing over of people and a small event. I give this story 3 Stars.
I have mixed feelings.
The first half was absolute torture - the writing bugged me because it was too descriptive (why say something in 2 words when you can do it in five? also, I will explain every little thing too you in as many words as possible). So much so that I was using this book when I couldn't fall asleep. Also, as I've already mentioned in a couple of previous reviews, lately I'm not in the mood for reading sex scenes, and in the first half of this book there were a lot (I admit show more skimming on them). Add to that I couldn't relate to the characters (and the writing made them sound fake to me) and it was a nightmare. But I pushed through it because of a challenge (yes, yes, I know I'm an addict).
But in the second half things actually got better. The big part of it was that the focus of the story became more about Charlie's and Josh's family and feelings than about them getting in each other's pants. The writing surprisingly stopped bugging me (and that usually doesn't happen) and I became, if not exactly interested in the story, at least not bored to tears. And I'm actually curious to hear Andrew's and Patric's stories. show less
The first half was absolute torture - the writing bugged me because it was too descriptive (why say something in 2 words when you can do it in five? also, I will explain every little thing too you in as many words as possible). So much so that I was using this book when I couldn't fall asleep. Also, as I've already mentioned in a couple of previous reviews, lately I'm not in the mood for reading sex scenes, and in the first half of this book there were a lot (I admit show more skimming on them). Add to that I couldn't relate to the characters (and the writing made them sound fake to me) and it was a nightmare. But I pushed through it because of a challenge (yes, yes, I know I'm an addict).
But in the second half things actually got better. The big part of it was that the focus of the story became more about Charlie's and Josh's family and feelings than about them getting in each other's pants. The writing surprisingly stopped bugging me (and that usually doesn't happen) and I became, if not exactly interested in the story, at least not bored to tears. And I'm actually curious to hear Andrew's and Patric's stories. show less
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 42
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 248
- Popularity
- #92,013
- Rating
- 3.5
- Reviews
- 16
- ISBNs
- 21