Book Review: Quillon’s Covert by Joseph Lance Tonlet and Louis Stevens

Reviewed by JustJen

Title: Quillon’s Covert
Authors: Joseph Lance Tonlet and Louis Stevens
Heroes: Martin/Marty
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 186 Pages
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: December 18, 2015
Available at: PayHip, All Romance Ebooks, Smashwords
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Martin is a guy’s guy, one who enjoys the simple things in life: baseball games with his son, family days, barbecues, and date nights with his lovely wife.

Once a year for two weeks, Martin takes his son, Marty, to Quillon’s Covert, a rustic family cabin secluded in the beautiful California mountains. Since before those long days of learning to play ball, Marty has loved his dad, but as Marty matures, Martin starts to see something else settle in his son’s uncertain gaze. What’s there lingers a little more than it should, and it seems far more appraising than it once was.

As Marty shows every sign of taking the lead, Martin is faced with the tough choices most parents never see: lose his son by being a father, or try to balance what’s best for their relationship by being something… more.

But with another trip to Quillon’s Covert on the horizon, has the point of no return already begun?

Review: What a surprise this story turned out to be. I knew going in it was taboo, centering around the incestuous relationship of Martin and his son, Marty, so I was expecting a deliciously dark tale. What surprised me instead was just how sweet and meaningful this turned out to be.

The story starts out with Marty as a young man of around 14. He and his father, Martin, have a tradition of spending two weeks together for some father/son bonding at their cabin in the mountains. It felt a little odd at first that they shed their clothes at the beginning of the trip and spent their time naked, but the story quickly takes over and I forgot all about the wierdness. They spend their time talking and working through the many issues facing the teenager, such as growing pains, school, etc. Marty has a problem with stuttering that comes out when he is nervous or uncomfortable. Martin has a way of helping Marty with this problem by simply putting a finger to his lips. It was little things like that that I found so touching.

The years pass as the story progresses, and as Marty gets older, he starts having more and more feelings for his father. Martin tries to be understanding and help Marty come to grips with his hormones, etc. At the age of 17, when Marty fully explains the extent of his feelings towards Martin, Martin still puts him off, with the promise of them re-examining the issue when Marty is 18, if the feelings remain. They obviously do, and they begin to explore things a little further…and further.

I honestly kept waiting for this to get darker or creepy, but it just never happened. The love between these guys just bleeds off the pages as does their openness and honesty. We get both points of view throughout and it really gave a good sense of where each guy stood with what was happening. I loved that we were able to see things from both sets of eyes. It really gave a good sense of the characters and made it easy to feel and care about each of them.

I found I wanted to learn more about these guys when they were back in their lives outside of Quillon’s Covert. We know that they are just father and son, Martin the loving husband and Marty the sweet growing up son who then goes on to have his own relationship. Their trips to Quillon’s Covert continue, but it is only during those two weeks that they partake of each other.

I have read and loved each of these authors separately and now love their collaborative work as well. This story pulls you in quickly and keeps hold until the end. If the subject matter isn’t a hard limit for you, I definitely recommend you give this sweet story a try. It is definitely worth it for those with open minds, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Overall Impression: It was amazing

*I received a copy of this book from the authors in return for a fair and honest review.*