The Infinite Onion by Alice Archer (Spotlight, review) ANT ADULT title

The Infinite Onion

ADULT title

by
Alice Archer

 

 

Publisher:

Shine Even If

Release Date:

March 31, 2020

Length (Print & Ebook):

Print: 388 pages

Subgenre:

Contemporary gay romance

Blurb:

The truth is harder to hide when someone sharp starts poking around.

Grant Eastbrook hit the ground crawling after his wife kicked him out. Six months later, in Seattle without a job or a place to live, he escapes to the woods of nearby Vashon Island to consider his options. When he’s found sleeping outdoors by a cheerful man who seems bent on irritating him to death, Grant’s plans to resuscitate his life take a peculiar turn.

Oliver Rossi knows how to keep his fears at bay. He’s had years of practice. As a local eccentric and artist, he works from his funky home in the deep woods, where he thinks he has everything he needs. Then he rescues an angry man from a rainy ditch and discovers a present worth fighting the past for.

Amid the buzz of high summer, unwelcome attraction blooms on a playing field of barbs, defenses, and secrets.

 

 

Praise for The Infinite Onion:

I loved this book! - Christa Désir, Award-Winning Author

There are writers whose prose is so vivid and so emotionally resonant, that you might briefly forget you’re reading a work of fiction, and while Alice Archer has already proven that her hand is as elegant as it is masterful, her newest novel continues to show real insight into the human soul. - Natasha is a Book Junkie

The Infinite Onion was a powerful and relevant story which touched our hearts immensely. - Totally Booked Blog

I loved this book! This is a brilliant story. So fulfilling. I laughed and cried. I kept sneaking away to read another chapter. I loved the atmosphere and artistry of the characters and the setting. This is exactly the sort of romance novel I look for. The Infinite Onion is the real deal--deep and deeply satisfying. - Kelly Jensen, Award-Winning Author

 

 

 

Excerpt:

GRANT

Grocery bags thumping against my calves, I’d trudged half a mile down Southwest Bank Road before I got a ride from the young guy, who took me all the way to Mitch’s driveway.

“Best of luck,” he said before he drove off.

Finally. Silence.

Well, not exactly silence. Birds twittered. A breeze sang through the hemlock and pine trees. My feet crunched on the gravel.

It was a long driveway.

My shoulders hurt from all the hauling. I prayed the cabin had a bathtub. A soak and a meal would go a long way toward rebooting my brain. I’d spend what remained of the afternoon in contemplation of my situation. If my crap cell phone could pick up a signal, and if I had enough credit left on my pay-as-you-go phone plan, I’d start a job search. I didn’t expect it to take long to find a new job. All I required was The Zone and enough money to keep my ass out of a homeless shelter. On the other hand, I was a thirty-eight-year-old underachiever who’d been suspended from a menial job and then quit, so maybe the ship of employability had sailed without me.


Buy links:

alicearcher.com/book/the-infinite-onion

Amazon 

About Alice Archer:

Alice has questions. Lots of questions. Scheming to put fictional characters through the muck so they can get to a better place helps her heal and find answers. She shares her stories with the hope that others might find some healing too. For decades, Alice has messed about with words professionally, as an editor and writing coach. She also travels a bunch. Her home base is Eugene, Oregon.

Connect with Alice:

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GIVEAWAY

Join us to celebrate the release of THE INFINITE ONION by Alice Archer with this special giveaway. 

3 prizes: 1 e-copy of critically acclaimed EVERYDAY HISTORY; 1 e-copy of THE INFINITE ONION; 1 grand prize of a paperback copy of THE INFINITE ONION.

Must be 18 to enter and win. Physical prizes mailed only with the USA; international winners will receive e-copy. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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My review: 

3.75 out of 5 stars

The Infinite Onion by Alice Archer centers around Grant Eastbrook as his life implodes and he flees all he has known while he regroups. His decision to camp out on an island leads him to encounter a quirky man, Oliver Rossi, who not only has complex layers but who forces Grant to delve into himself, no matter how painful it may be. Surprisingly, each man has something to teach the other, provided he can truly listen.

This adult contemporary gay romance story has multiple layers, as is to be expected from the title. I found it VERY slow moving and I didn’t feel that Grant was necessarily a very likeable person, despite his allure to and care for children. I did enjoy the way he was able to connect with the kids, and the care he demonstrated for his nephew, but I was a bit disturbed by him. Oliver is a great onion, but a frustrating character for me. The more layers that are peeled back, the more revealed. There are some aspects to the story that continue to puzzle me, and I’m not quite sure that either of these guys are quite stable enough, despite the growth of their character arcs through the story.

One of the things I enjoy about this author’s writing is the vivid and lyrical imagery employed (e.g. “…the sky rang with blue”), and the carving and drawings that are central to the story are evoked deftly even as one puzzles over the person who is creating the works of art. Although this is a thought-provoking story, it is also a discomfiting tale, and I would consider it a happy for now ending as I think both the men and their relationships will continue to be a work in progress.

A copy of this title was provided for review