Crucify my Love: Gay Book Reviews: [25-ENG] Review: Love Times Five

Series: -

Volume: 1/1
Publisher: Self-Published

Genre/s: paranormal, gay romance, contemporary, polyamory

Length: 77 000 words

Pages: 382

Read in: English
Review copy format: epub

Rate:✮✮✮✮✮✬

When, shortly after a nightmarish date with some accidentally met guy, Shaun didn't show up at work and simply disappeared without a word of explanation, his boss and best friend, Colin, decides to do whatever he can to find him. He starts by checking all the places in some way important to Shaun and where he could hide. His intuition doesn't lie, as the man eventually finds his friend in a forest cottage in the mountains. It turns out that Shaun is not only fine, but what is more he lives with extremely handsome Zach who's surrounded by an aura of mystery and danger. Colin quickly discovers shocking, paranormal reason why Shaun had to leave the city and slowly allows himself to be charmed by Zach to the point that he decides to spend a little more time in the woods with him and his friend.
When Wes and Dane, two friends hiking in the mountains, get to the cottage, five men befriends very quickly. At that moment, the fate takes matters into its own hands and because of that a random acquaintance turns into a sincere friendship which, despite the secrets, constantly develops and transforms into something even more special. However, in order for their feelings to survive, these five will need to face quite a challenge.

I think that at the very beginning of this review, it should be noted that "Love Times Five" is to a certain extent a novel for open-minded people who do not cling to the concept of love set arbitrarily by the society. The novel revolves around the subject of polyamory, in other words the romantic relationship, and in this case also the sexual one, between many people. I admit that it was my first meeting with a polyamorous romance, but even right now I can honestly say that it definitely won't be the last one. Lily G. Blunt presented this subject in such a charming and sensible way that it undoubtedly encourages the reader to reach for this type of literature. Not for a moment do we feel in any way put off, on the contrary, we are getting more and more drawn in with every read page. What's more, we simply can't imagine a situation in which any of our characters would have to choose between his lovers just to fit into the convention of a two-man relationship.

In this case, an undoubtedly huge role play the characters, whom we immediately start to love, as they are really wonderful and, furthermore, diverse in many respects. They differ from one another not only in their physical characteristics but also in their personality traits and, what's more, they have different experiences from the past. However, they all want the same thing from life – love. The author managed to depict them in such a way that the reader immediately falls in love with them and is attracted to their inner cuteness. They all have so much warmth, tenderness and passion in them that it is simply impossible not to have warm feelings for them. Their polyamorous relationship is something that really suits them, as these five main characters are perfectly complementary and totally made for one another. In short, "I ship it!".

As "Love Times Five" is primarily a romance, in the novel the theme of love simply had to occupy a significant place. Nevertheless, it should be noted that Lily G. Blunt compiled it largely with a subject of friendship and she really skillfully combined these two feelings on several levels. On the one hand, she presented the problem of friends who are in love with each other but who are afraid to take a step forward and get intimately closer to each other, as they don't want to lose what they have at the moment or to break the unique bond that unites them. On the other, the author showed love which foundation is friendship born between the characters, and at its core lies a clear mutual interest. In this case, the characters deliberately try to be friends first, so that they can later transfer their relationship to a higher level. And finally, as it is easy to guess, as a result of the entanglement of these two bonds, which probably link people emotionally most strongly, the topic of lovers who are also friends appears in the novel. Thanks to the friendship, their love gains a completely different depth and has much more intense "color" than an ordinary "red" usually associated with this feeling.

However, it is worth mentioning that apart from the pure romantic theme, in the novel we can also find some adversities with which the characters have to struggle and which additionally make this story even more interesting and keep us in suspense. We are dealing here with the subjects of pain of the past, illness, unbelievable secrets, which disclosure to the wrong person could have a disastrous effect as well as their concealment from loved ones, and of other problems of the supernatural world. The author managed to present all these difficulties in such a way that they do not dominate over the romantic part of the story but they fit in perfectly. The more so that to deal with all of them, the characters have only one weapon – one another, and thus, their deep mutual feelings.

I believe that one of the most important subjects in the novel is the already mentioned painful past, so I would like to come back to it for a moment. Lily G. Blunt depicted in her novel various kinds of painful past events with which the characters, not only the main ones, still have to struggle to some extent. It is said that time heals all wounds and then only scars remain after them. However, I would say that in "Love Times Five" the author presented it a little differently, more like a serious injury. Devastating at the beginning, it heals with time but still leaves a mark. Although it seems that everything returned to normal, at any time the injury can start to hurt again or it even can recur. Yet what helps in its complete acceptance and works like a painkiller is not time, but love. And that's what I really liked about this unique novel.

In summary, "Love Times Five" is a truly amazing novel about love, friendship, mutual support and overcoming of life's obstacles. It is a wonderfully romantic story that enchants the reader and makes them want to reach for it again. It also has many great characters to whom we feel attached and lovely, addictive vibe. It is undoubtedly a book worth recommending.

Headcanon: Every time one of five boys gets dirty during the meal, it ends with a passionate sexual session, because there is always someone who consider such a situation as arousing and he makes others excited.

Fanfiction idea: Five lovers spend their summer holidays together. Unfortunately, due to bad weather, they are forced to stay inside a house they rent for holidays. To keep themselves entertained, they play strip poker and other erotic games, some of which they change so the games meet their expectations.

AU idea: During a storm, a ship crashes near the shores of a deserted island where in the past a luxurious hotel used to be. Five passengers survive the crash – Colin, Shaun, Zach, Wes and Dane. Unable to get out of the island, they are forced to stay on it. Fortunately, the abandoned hotel is still well-equipped, thanks to which the men have something to eat and drink. Soon, on the island some strange, inexplicable things, that put men to the test, begin to happen. In fact, a crazy scientist is responsible for the sinking of the ship and the stay of five men on the island, as for him they are his experimental objects.