Drawn Together

Rory Delaplaines travels to a con to meet a comics artist whom he's infatuated with. When he gets there and discovers that the artist he thought was a she is really a he, he begins to learn things about his sexuality and his ability to love. As Roy and the artist, Ran Yamane, get to know one another, an unhinged stalker from Yamane's past shows up, attacks Yamane, and threatens Rory and his family. Roy and Yamane take a road trip to try to hide from the stalker, and on the way they must sort out what they mean to each other.

One must suspend one's disbelief fairly often in the story (a famous author had a stalker and he still entertains the notion of hanging out with a random infatuated stranger? A cop tells a stalking victim to go on show more the run?), but if one can manage it, there's an enjoyable, well-written story with heart under the handful of implausibilities. I enjoyed the beginning falling-for-each-other-against-all-odds stuff much more than the on-the-run road trip, but your mileage may vary. show less

I enjoy the author's style: she is clearly enjoying herself and is adept at zippy dialog between her characters. There are some huge implausibilities(a policeman's actions, a straight guy melting for a gay man, the financial source for the cross-country trip, I could go on....) in this story but Rory and Yamane are so endearing, so loveable that you go along for the ride and are willing to suspend the disbelief. It's a fun romp, an adventure,and a luscious romance. Normally I would give this a 3 or 3.5 star rating, but this would be fun to read again so it gets a 4.

Everytime I read a new book by Z.A. Maxfield I wonder how can she manage to write something new everytime, and still be original and better than before. If you pick one per one all the books she wrote in less than a year, and try to compare them, it's almost like they are written by different authors. There is only one thing that is certain, that the two characters will fall in love and that their romance will be wonderful, even if not simple.

This last book starts as a funny romp to go through a thriller story and end as a big Hollywood comedy; the middle part reminds me a bit that movie with Cary Grant, North by Northwest, with a simple man that finds himself in a story bigger than him and forced to play the role of an unwilling knight show more in shining armor. Well to be exact, Rory, our unwilling hero, at first is not so unaware that he is embarking in something big and unknown. From a small town of less than 1000 people, he falls in love with the work of a Japanese artist, Ran Yamane. People who knows him are not surprised: Rory has a big heart and is a very good boy, but he seems to not have the reputation of a very clever man. But he has dreams, and when Katrina upturns down his life and leaves him with nothing, Rory clings to that dreams: he will find Ran Yamane, the artist who draws a comic that is become Rory's only bond to reality, and he will sweep her away in a crazy dance under the moon and she will love him. And they will be happy.

And so when Ran Yamane comes to California for an anime convention, Rory takes all his worldly possession, spends his last money to buy flowers, and stays in line for dazzling the girl with his smile. Only that the girl is not a girl, but a man, a man older than Rory, and way more experienced and not so easily impressed. Yamane is beautiful, no doubt, but Rory is not ready to forget the little details that he is not gay, not even for an handsome man like Yamane.

I like that Rory, without being grossed out or disappointed about Yamane, doesn't either immediately falls at his feet. Rory has dreams, dreams about a girl, and he can't change them without notice when he discover that Yamane is a man; he needs time to assimilate the news and to reprogram his mind on this new turn. But even if he needs time to decide if he wants to go on with his romantic plans on Yamane, he has no doubt on the artist and the man: Yamane needs help, he needs a knight in shining armor, and Rory will be that knight, even if he will not immediately profit of the grace of the damsel in distress. Rory faces this new adventure as if he is playing with a new videogame; he plans his move, he hides his traces, and he for real sweeps Yamane away but not for dancing under the moon, but in a run through the country. As a good player, Rory has aces in the sleeves, means that he has friends scattered all around the country, everyone the face of the state in which they live, from the party girl in Las Vegas, to the mormon in Utah, to the cook in Louisiana, every single supporting character is like a piece in a country puzzle. And when he has not a friend in the place, Rory is ready to tighten new bond of friendship: no one seems able to resist to his southern charm. Neither Yamane.

Yamane is a strange character; at first he probably doesn't believe in Rory, he thinks he is an overgrown puppy, an adoring fan like all the others. And since he doesn't believe in him, he also doesn't believe in their story, and he doesn't fight enough for it. And when their relationship becomes intimate, he approaches it like a carpe diem thing, takes as much as you can since maybe tomorrow it will be over. Again Yamane doesn't trust Rory to be serious. I don't know if Yamane is worried since Rory is too young, too straight, a bit of both... Probably it's also a cultural clash, even if used to live in USA (he is also half American), Yamane is also Japanese, and Japanese man always follows a strict etiquette, in everything they do, and instead Rory is an outburst of energy, always in motion. And then Rory tends to do thing without informing Yamane, and this is not good since, even if he is not aware of it, doing so he is dismissing Yamane as a man and a partner. I really think that Rory is not aware of it, he is only young, and obviously used to having relationship with girls, and above all with southern girls. From what I know, southern girls are really good in making their men doing what the women want believing that it's what the men want to do; they don't talk but they are really good in directing behind the scene. And so Rory is not used to give explanations, but Yamane, on the other hand, is not good in reading between the lines. Even if small and apparently fragile, Yamane doesn't like to be treated as a woman, even if, truth be told, he likes to be the center of of attention.

All right, at this point you have understood that I can go on for thousand of words, always finding something new, some new side, some new perspective for the story. Not only the two main characters are complex and interesting, the book is also full of funny and various supporting characters, don't get me start with Rory's grandparents, or the various police officers, even the evil men have their 'positive' side.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1607374021/?tag=elimyrevandra-20 show less

Ran Yamane is used to crushing the dreams of star struck young men who love his manga but fail to realize his gender until it is too late. When he sees the tall, red-headed man with an armful of stargazer lilies and white roses all he can say is, "oh crap, not another one."

Born and raised Southern Boy and Cajun Rory Delaplainas had traveled half-way across the country on the faith that destiny was drawing him to his fated manga-ka and that once she saw him, they would be together forever. The fact that Ran Yamane turns out to be a guy is no small bump in his plan, more like a mountain sized boulder.

What starts out as a misconception on the part of Rory and an unusual bout of pity from Yamane soon becomes a frantic race against time when show more a homicidal stalker intent on owning Yamane shows up, determined to do anything to get to Yamane and remove anyone who might be in her way.

I'm not a huge fan of ebooks but once in a while something will come up that just looks too interesting to pass up. Drawn Together is one such story and I'm glad to say it was worth it. I loved the characters of Rory and Yamane, both their personalities and how they acted with each other. Unlike some of the other ebooks I've purchased through Loose-ID, this story does both a lot of character building and plot set up, which means it doesn't jump right into the sexual part of the story (although there is plenty of that too, as you might expect). I really like that because I care much more for the story than for the graphic sex scenes. There are some very cute, smile inspiring lines as well. There are spots where the writing feels a little clumsy, rather like this is an early story by this author, but nothing bad enough to detract from the enjoyment of the tale.

This is certainly an interesting story of an unlikely friendship, blossoming romance and intriguing danger that I very much enjoyed. It is one of the few ebooks I believe I might put an additional investment into should it ever come out in print.

Updated in 12/2020 - Here it is so many years later and I still really like this story. It is one I've re-read a few times over the years and now have re-purchased for my Kindle. Plan to read again soon. show less

What an interesting book.

In so many ways, I felt that this was like an art film. The author has an unique voice and she does not always write the plot in the stereotypical "romance" fashion and you as the reader have to just roll with it. Sometimes that means that some readers might feel betrayed or bewildered by the author's actions, but for every character's action, there is a reason and it will be explained.


I loved the writing style, such a great use of imagery, humor, and storytelling. I will be looking into other books by this author.

Lots happening in this book. GFY, hurt/comfort, serial killer, artist, road-trip, showdown, and fortunately HEA/HFN. Took me a while to work out the personalities of the MCs and the middle was a little slow, but it all comes in a very nicely put together package and is a solid read.

Rory meets Yamane, the girl of his dreams, but it turns out she’s a man! Before he has a chance to figure out what that means, someone’s trying to kill him. Yamane needs a knight, and Rory is the only guy around.

This book is seriously cute. But, is one of those reads that you need to pull on you big suspension of disbelief pants for. Not that the book pretends to be anything other than this, it was quick, sweet, with over the top drama and much campy fun. It’s kinda yaoi in a way and reminded me of something Jen said, … it didn’t attempt to do anything other than entertain you.

Some of the story felt like it stalled occasionally, and part way through I just wanted the boys to cut line, drop pants and swap man juice (in a very show more safe, tied condom way of course). It was admittedly a little frustrating as a reader. There was much moving around of characters that seemed a little unnecessary at times and did not really drive the story. Bit LOTR minus the talking about the scenery.

The characters were sweet and I liked Yamane immensely, it was the hair that did it and I kept thinking of Ayano Yamane when I read his name (I just adore her). Yamane was so honest and at ease with himself and physically he was terribly appealing. Rory was a very solid character and a good foil for Yamane. A total hero in a plaid shirt.

I was sucked in by the PL Nunn cover, completely. I love her work, especially her Clex and Silver stuff. She rocks.

All in all, a nice enough read. Check out the full review here http://sharrow.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/drawn-together-by-z-a-maxfield/ show less