Astounding!

Astounding! is a new favorite of mine. It’s quirky, intelligent, and sweet. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a unique and romantic Sci-Fi.

The story starts out slow and dark, but it builds and morphs, twisting in unexpected ways. The love story between Carter and John is lovely. But I’m actually more taken with Carter’s journey. It’s refreshing to see a story where the ending of something isn’t seen as a failure. There is loss, but it’s bittersweet, and after the loss there is room for new possibilities. His is a moving story, beautifully told. Carter and John are great characters, and the supporting characters add richness and depth as well.

All in all, I love this book. It’s clever and fun but it’s also moving and sexy. I’ll be back to re-read it for sure!

"That’s what they’d called the magazine from the very beginning—the baby. It had been born when they were a young couple, their hearts light with hope and optimism. But while Freddy’s career took off like a rocket, their relationship fizzled into friendship and the baby remained stunted and underfed. And now the baby was very close to dying completely."

When I read the description for 'Astounding!' by Kim Fielding, I got a flashback of the movie K-Pax with Kevin Spacey. This was not a bad thing, not at all. I really enjoyed that movie, it made me think, and it left me wondering what if? Since this author has been known to do that same thing to me on many occasions, I was very interested to read about Carter and John.

My heart went out to Carter right from the start. The magazine is all he has, begun in his twenties with his then-boyfriend, Freddy. The Internet boom has been slowly killing Astounding! for years now but Carter's stubbornness has him holding on. If he could just stop getting these horrible stories every month from J. Harper life might be a little better. In a drunken fit of pique Carter mails off a not-so-very-nice rejection letter that, if I had received it, would have crushed me. Instead, Carter receives another submission and the sweetest letter from Mr. Harper begging Carter to publish just one of his stories and then Carter will never hear from him again. Instead of sending another reply, Carter gets in his car and drives to John Harper's home, not knowing his life is truly about to begin.

“You tell me honestly why this is such a huge deal. Tell me even if you think I won’t believe you. And I’ll publish one of your stories in the next issue.”
“I can… I can tell you. But you won’t believe me.”
Carter sighed and put down his glass. “Well, make it good, then. I never could resist a good story.”

Now Carter has sent the final issue out, with John's story at the end, and his good friends, Freddy, his husband, Keith, and Carter are taking an RV vacation for fun. They end up picking up John and bringing him along. Carter doesn't believe John about being an alien, but there's something about him. Something that every day they spend together grows deeper and more intense.

As this author has done to me time and time again, this book went in a direction I wasn't expecting. I'm not even sure I have the words to describe John except he was sweet and innocent, in some ways, and loving beyond belief. Carter had been a bitter, stubborn, man who didn't see anything positive for his future but John changed him. Carter's experiences with John changed him and made him a better man. In order to avoid spoilers there's a lot I can not reveal, just trust me when I say it's all worth it.

I fell in love with John and Carter, and their love story. There were moments where I cried and times where I just held my breath in hope. 'Astounding!' was beautiful and lovely and I highly recommend it.

NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews

This book is absolutely amazing! I ache for the main character, Carter, who is an editor for a struggling magazine that was his dream. He's bitter and beaten down and so very depressed, resorting to drinking to deal. His drinking leads him to meet a man named John Harper, who routinely sends in terrible stories for Carter's magazine. But there's more to John than meets the eye, as Carter discovers, and nothing will ever be the same. John is sweet and kind and his belief in Carter's goodness is heartening. I love Freddy and Keith and the way they look after Carter and care about him. Fielding's characters are likable, the plot moves along at a steady pace, and the writing style is engaging. This book made me smile, made me tear up, and made me cheer for Carter and John. I'm intrigued by the universe Fielding has created here, and the non-human beings that populate it. The possibilities are tantalizing. Everyone should read this delightful book!

Wow! That was again a great and awesome written story from Kim Fielding. Exciting, touching full of love, good friends and everything what counts in real life. I do live her stories and I'm so much behind with reading everything she has written so far. What I also enjoy ( not just her emphatically style and her wonderful style of writing is the fact that you can meet some of her character from another of her great books in her other books without feeling left out. Yeah, you remember them (or not if you didn't read them - which is btw. your lost😃) And you are glad they are still happy together. Well, at least I was very happy to meet some of the men again. Sigh, go read it! It's the best thing you can do in your free time!