Hawaiian Gothic by Heidi Belleau & Violetta Vane
M/M Paranormal Romance
June 12, 2012
Loose ID
Reviewed by Helyce
This is the story of Ori and Kalani, childhood best friends. Ori knows he’s in love with Kalani but believes that Kalani can never feel the same way about him. So he joins the Army and spends about three years away from home. In that time, he’s dishonorably discharged for punching an officer and spends a year in jail. When Ori learns that Kalani was attacked, beaten and left for dead, he decides to return to Hawaii. Coming home is not easy for Ori. He feels he’s disgraced his family-a family with a strong military background. He feels incredible guilt for not being there for Kalani when he needed him most. When Ori first sees Kalani in the hospital he’s devastated. His beautiful Kalani, bedridden, his skin ashen, nothing like the man he remembered. He is saddened that he never had to courage to tell Kalani exactly how he felt.
Kalani’s body may be damaged and broken, but his spirit is alive and well and when he comes to Ori he finds that his spirit can take corporeal form, but only with or for Ori. Ori realizes that he has a second chance to tell Kalani how he feels and express his feelings for Kalani physically. Kalani wants Ori to discover the secrets of his family as they may explain why Kalani’s life was so cursed. Ori will need to dig into Kalani’s past to see when, who and why the curse was placed and if Ori is able to survive the journey, perhaps they will finally have the truth Kalani longs for.
I really don’t know what to make of this book. I struggled with it, but I was determined to finish it as I had to know how it ended. Initially I was drawn to the book because it takes place in Hawaii. As I grew up there and am part Hawaiian myself, I really wanted to see the author’s take on Hawaiian Mythology. Like anything, mythology is really left wide open to interpretation, and I am certainly no expert on Hawaiian Mythology just because I grew up there. I was really looking forward to it in this book; sadly, it was probably my least favorite part.
The first part of this book is really sad as Kalani’s family struggles with the decision to keep Kalani on life support or pull the plug. Ori is adamant that they wait, he’s not ready to say goodbye. When Kalani’s spirit first comes to him Ori realizes that he has a second chance to say all that he’s ever wanted to say to Kalani. As they talk and reminisce, Kalani realizes that he has so many questions that need to be answered and he tasks Ori with finding them. Ori will do anything for Kalani. As he starts digging into Kalani’s parent’s past, he realizes that there was so much more to the story than even Kalani may have known. Determined to see this through, Ori takes a journey through the ghostworld where he will learn the truth about Kalani’s parents and their deaths.
I liked Ori and Kalani together. Their scenes are beautifully done and heartbreaking at the same time. It’s a second chance love story of two people who should be together, though circumstances kept them apart. It made me wonder how different both their lives would have been if either one of them had just been honest and had admitted their feelings for each. The intense longing they have for each other comes through strongly and is well done.
I really had a hard time with the fact that the story is told primarily in flashbacks and flash-forwards. The back and forth used here to give background and history while moving the story forward was incredibly frustrating at times and made me have to work for the story. It just didn’t flow smoothly for me and I often had to look back to see if I was in the past or present.
Lastly, the whole ghost world portion of Ori’s journey to find the truth of Kalani’s parents just didn’t work for me. It felt a bit drawn out and I persevered only to learn the final truth and see if the journey Ori took would have a positive result where Kalani was concerned. I was pleased with the ending, and the fact that Kalani and Ori did get their HEA but I felt somewhat disconnected throughout the whole read. This one just was not for me.
Rating: D
Recent Reviews:
Dear Author – C+
Red Hot Books – C+
Joyfully Jay – 4.5/5
Pants Off Review – 4.5/5
Goodreads
You mentioned in some of previous Weekly Wrap Ups, that you were reading this, so I was waiting for your review to decide should I dive in. The premise sounds very interesting and although I lean more toward contemporaries in m/m romance fiction, I was tempted.
I love Hawaiian setting in books, and for that I have to thank, coincidentally, one m/m author. His name is Neil Plakcy and he wrote amazing Mahu series. It’s mystery series about gay detective in Honolulu, but there are relationships issues, coming out of closet issues…It’s one of my favorites and auto-buy for me. There is a lot of mentioning street names, O’ahu descriptions, cultural references… Maybe it’ll be interesting for you…?
Yes-I must say that my connection to Hawaii was the main reason for my wanting to read this book and I really wanted to love it, but it wasn’t for me. I will definitely check into the author you mentioned as I am totally intrigued by the title of his series. Mahu is a word that is used to describe a man who is very effeminate, but not necessary gay-though 9 outta 10 times they are. The word itself does not mean “gay”. I’m interested to see how he uses it. Thanks so much for the recommendation.
I do know about struggling with a book but still wanting to finish, and therefore this book is not for me. I do not want to struggle
Hi there! I wanted to love it-it just wasn’t meant to be.
I’m sorry to hear this one didn’t work for you. :( I was hesitant to read it as well, mainly due to the ghosts aspects.
Yes, I was disappointed-especially when it seems others enjoyed it so.
I have all the Ipads, Ipods, and the kindle touch, I would love to win this to give to my mother in law who is 84, and an avid reader, I think she would enjoy a kindle.
At least it has a pretty cover?
Yes, it does! But for me it wasn’t enough. :)