##inspired by Lisabea – see previous post##

So when is it okay for a young man – and, yes, I am talking about m/m fiction – to become involved in a serious relationship in a story?

Is it okay when he is involved with someone his own age? Or is it the whole boy child and older man thing that some of us; myself included on occasion, have a problem with?

Three scenarios/stories for consideration~

Z A Maxfield’s Crossing Borders

Relationship: Tristan (19) and Michael (27-ish – although the cover makes him look a lot older – those damn covers again!)

K B Forrest’s Calor del Amor

Relationship: Gabriel (18) and Alejandro (late 20s/30s – old enough to be a detective)

J L Langley’s My Fair Captain

Relationship: Aiden (19) and Nate (mid 30s – and friggin’ hot with it!)

It’s a first time relationship for all of the young men and for all of them it is all-caps LOVE. There are other similarities, but what is or isn’t it about each of the books that makes us as readers think that the older/younger thing works in the story or doesn’t?

Is it the characters or development thereof, is it the plot itself or is it the personal beliefs of the reader? Perhaps it is as simple as the setting/sub-genre; that is, contemporary vs fantasy?

All I really know is that two of the books absolutely did it for me. I was totally engaged with the story and, when I finished them, I knew they wouldn’t be disappearing into the back-ups of my computer, but would be kept on my Iliad waiting to be re-read. The other… well, for me it was like reading a train wreck. Enuf said.

And for those of you thinking ‘love has no boundaries’ or some other sentimental crap – just get over it.