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Lavender & Gold

   (1 review)
Genres: General Fiction, Romance,
Sub-genres: Drama, General Romance

Benjamin Connor’s rise to fame hardly surprised anyone, not even himself. He thrives in the spotlight and enjoys his work as an actor, but his world is turned topsy-turvy when he meets Mark, an unknown musician from Camden. As their relationship blossoms, Ben must decide whether to face the bigotry of Hollywood or keep his odd, interesting, gorgeous little punk a secret for the sake of his career. And for how long can such a high-profile individual keep a secret anyway?

Epic thanks to my beta Yettie and my editor George for their invaluable help and support! <3
This story and its main characters are fictional. However, any reference to individuals in show-biz, living or dead, is probably intentional.
Rated for nudity, sexuality and some drug use.
You can discuss this story with other readers HERE.
Copyright © 2016 Thorn Wilde; All Rights Reserved.

Story Recommendations (2 members)

  • Action Packed 0
  • Addictive/Pacing 2
  • Characters 2
  • Chills 0
  • Cliffhanger 0
  • Compelling 0
  • Feel-Good 0
  • Humor 0
  • Smoldering 1
  • Tearjerker 1
  • Unique 2
  • World Building 1
  • Like 17
  • Love 5

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ChillFire

ChillFire 70

   2 of 2 members found this review helpful 2 / 2 members

Ben, a famous actor, meets Mark, a struggling musician, at a party. The two quickly start to fall for each other, but must keep it hidden for the sake of Ben’s career. How long can their relationship stay a secret?

Likes

Mark and Ben's relationship progressed at a natural pace without it feeling rushed.

Both lead characters were not perfect and had their own flaws which they had to deal with (for example, the events in The Secret in a Photograph, and The Brief Silence).

Accurate portrayal of the starving vulture-like nature of the British tabloids. I quite 'enjoyed' the imitation articles from real outlets like The Sun and The Daily Mail.

Dislikes

I felt that there were a tad too many sex scenes. This is definitely something that is subjective (then again, what isn't in life?), but personally, I could've done with less of them. As time went on, I ended up skimming through them as I just wanted to get back to the plot.

Spoiler-y Thoughts

Spoiler

Likes

Mark's mental health issues were realistic and handled with care. (I can really identify with his anxiety and self-esteem issues in particular. I can only imagine how I'd feel if I saw my boyfriend with some famous person... especially when the tabloids are constantly speculating on whether they're together or not!) It's great that he has a robust support network in Ben and his mother.

The exact second that Ben stopped giving a shit, it kicked off the downfall of his and Mark's privacy, haha. It all worked out in the end, though.

Ben's appearance on The Graham Norton Show was excellent. It felt like part of a real episode!

Dislikes

This isn't really criticism per-se, but I honestly have no idea if Hollywood really is as homophobic in secret as portrayed in this story. It did make me wonder if it was true every time it was mentioned.

Would a relatively unknown artist like Mark really be given radio air time that fast?

Verdict

Lavender and Gold is one of my favourites! Will definitely re-read again in the future - can't wait to revisit Mark and Ben's journey.

4 and 1/2 stars (rounded up to 5).

Response from the author:

Thank you for this kind and in depth review! It's much appreciated. I'm especially glad you also touched upon the bits you didn't like so much. When it comes to the sex scenes, the story was always meant to be erotica, so a little hard to get around, really. ;) 

Spoiler

Regarding homophobia in Hollywood, it's definitely getting better, but you still get actors who kind of disappear after they come out, struggle with getting good roles, etc. This story was started back in 2013 and it was very much still a problem at that point. Very few queer actors have ever received the biggest awards, and only one gay actor has ever been nominated for an Academy Award playing a gay man. There are quite a few articles around the net about it and many actors have spoken up in recent years, which is probably why it's getting better. As for Mark's career, he did gain some fame (or infamy) practically overnight, which would contribute to exposure. Was my reasoning, anyway. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to both read and review this story! 

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