I’ll be honest. I’d never heard of Thorny Sterling before. I’m not sure exactly how I’d managed to not run into him or stumble across his blog, since we have 50 gazillion Facebook friends in common, but I didn’t. All of a sudden, a week or so ago, his name was everywhere and everyone in the M/M world was talking about his debut novel, Splinters. Matt & Brad from my favorite blog (2 Boys In Love) were reading it and dedicating an entire week to blogging about it! I’ll admit, that was a tad disappointing – you know how it is when everyone is talking about something you know nothing about? I looked up this Thorny person and… hey! He lives very near me! I friended him – we chatted a time or two - to be nice, I bought his book.
I started it yesterday. I can honestly say, it grabbed me right from the very first page. I had to know why this guy, Al, would find himself naked and tied to a plank in the middle of Texas ranchland. Enter Duke, the cowboy and knight in shining armor! (Okay…leather…even better.) To quote Allen, “He can save me, protect me, mother and smother me. I hope he’s one of those armed-to-the-teeth, don’t-you-worry-‘bout-a-thing-little-darlin’ Texans who’s a light sleeper, prays to the NRA, and has a hair trigger.”
When Duke takes Allen back to his ranch, Duke’s sister Mia prepares them a farm-style breakfast. The description of Allen eating breakfast had me giggling for hours. I would love to actually see that scene played out on the screen.
“My God, this food is good. My tongue is having an orgasm, it’s that happy to taste all this. I put another bit in my mouth, all buttery and sticky sweet, and just hold it there. I close my eyes and sigh, managing to not moan, but just barely. It’s like that commercial where taste buds are microscopic people. I think mine are f*cking each other senseless.”
“I reach over and pat the back of her hand since my mouth’s full again. I need more butter. Actually, I need more things to put butter on. Muffins! Perfect.”
I adored Allen. He is a gender fluid male model who looks good and knows how to use it. He is funny and sweet, yet heartbreakingly vulnerable and longing for love. He is immediately drawn to bear-like Duke and teases him with glimpses of lacy underthings and his androgynous sensuality. Their chemistry is instant and hot. Their first sexual encounter was steamy, but written so well you will not skim it – even if you are a skimmer. Trust me - you don’t want to miss lines like this:
“…my whole body goes still from pointed toes to arched neck. My yell is lodged in my throat, mouth open but silent and then I fall like my strings were cut…”
Is that not the most perfect description ever?
You will no doubt find it hard to believe this is a debut novel. It’s well written, the main characters are so well developed you will fall instantly in love with both of them, and even the cover art (which Thorny painted himself) is carried through as chapter icons and scene separators. I never noticed any typos or formatting issues – a rare pleasure these days. I’m so glad Thorny is such a young guy. That means we have many years ahead to enjoy more of his work.
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