How would you feel if tragic circumstances suddenly and fatally whisked away the love of your life? Would you be tempted to bring your beloved back from the dead if the possibility were presented? What would the consequences be if you did play with fate in this manner? Author Willa Okati speculates on these very questions with A Year and A Day.

Ash and Slate had been introduced through Ash’s cousin and the love that grows between the two men gives them the strength to turn their backs on a world that rejects them both. Together they move to the Appalachian Mountains and set up housekeeping on a farm. Theirs is a life of hard work, casual routine, and overall devotion to one another. But when Ash unexpectedly dies, Slate is thrown into a deep depressive state. Life at the farm once shared with Ash goes on; but Slate is now a man dispossessed of all spirit. Only an encounter with unworldly forces holds a prospect of happiness for him: the tempting proposition to bring Ash back from the dead.

A Year and A Day is a paranormal M/M romance. Unlike some gay stories I’ve read, I was impressed with the author’s skill for balancing graphic sex with convincing affection between partners. The overall writing style is tidy, and writer, Okati, knows how to make for clever scene changes.

With this said, I did have a few problems with A Year and A Day. The secondary characters had interest, and I was drawn to know more about them. However, they were never fleshed out enough to come across as anything more than sounding boards for the main characters’ perceptions. I also felt that the very wonderful premise was sacrificed for a conscious fixation on the sex. While there are few genres I enjoy more than a good erotic paranormal story, the haste with which the paranormal was handled here left me feeling rather gypped. There can be harmony of plot and sensuality in any tale, but I didn’t find this the case here.

My final verdict: A Year and A Day will probably appeal to readers who enjoy a read with sex and plenty of it. But for those looking for a satisfying marriage of paranormal and erotica, this story leaves much to ask for.

Reviewed by Laurie
©April 2007