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Whistle Stopper - Diplomacy
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List Price: $11.99
Our Price: $11.96
Your Save: $ 0.03 ( 0% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Dreamspinner Press
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Average Customer Rating: 
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780980101867
ISBN: 0980101867
Label: Dreamspinner Press
Manufacturer: Dreamspinner Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 228
Publication Date: 2007-12-29
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Studio: Dreamspinner Press
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: M/M Romance for Grown-Ups
Comment: DIPLOMACY is a story about Jack, an American ambassador, and Lucas, a younger European diplomat. Jack and Lucas meet at a political event in Belgium, and they're instantly attracted to each other. However, Jack is a married man of 15 years and Lucas is engaged to a beautiful young woman. They can't deny their explosive chemistry, but can they risk giving in to their feelings? When their wives go away together for a weekend sightseeing trip, the men decide to explore their attraction. Their passion for each other is undeniable, but is it worth risking their careers and relationships, and hurting the ones that are dear to them?
This is a very adult love story that involves many adult themes, including infidelity, politics, long-term relationships, and parenting. There's plenty of deception, and even a bit of danger.
I absolutely cannot read M/F stories that involve cheating, but for some inexplicable reason in a M/M romance I don't mind the men cheating on their wives.
This is a very entertaining story, and the romance is very real. The angst is realistic and appropriate, not contrived for the sake of drama. The sex is pretty hot, though it is not the focus of the story. DIPLOMACY is a romance, not erotica. I don't care much for politics, so I found the political aspects a bit dry. Fortunately, though, the author focuses more on the relationships in this story than on politics and policy. In quite a few places the book feels very much like the Nicole Kidman movie THE INTERPRETER, and there's even a nod to that movie in the book.
If you like a serious, more grown-up feel to your M/M romance, this is a great read.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sex at the Embassy
Comment: Jack Christenson is living the perfect life with the perfect wife. He has recently been appointed the youngest Ambassador for the United States in Belgium. The evening following a State Banquet there is a reception for US citizens to meet the President and the Ambassador and it is there that Jack meets Lucas Carlton, a junior Information Officer with the British Consulate and his fiancée, Lucy Marsh. One look into Luke's eyes awakens feelings that Jack, who is deep in the closet, thought he had buried over 20 years ago.
Things heat up quickly and Luke and Jack go away for a very passionate weekend together when their women are on a weekend shopping trip, and they continue the relationship after they return home. They realize that they are playing a very risky game and Jack knows that the slightest hint of scandal could result in him being recalled as Ambassador and most likely his marriage will be over. For Luke it will mean the end of his career in the Foreign Service if his sexual orientation and affair with the Ambassador were revealed. Will Jack and Luke have the courage to stay together and take the heat and all the negative consequences that their affair will have on their careers and their personal lives? You will have to read the book to find out.
Diplomacy has everything - danger, intrigue, high stakes and a whole lot of sex as Jack and Luke can't keep their attraction under wraps. The sex is erotic, sensuous, hot, combustible and above all, loving. Zahra Owens paints a picture of two wonderful men whose love has to withstand a kidnapping, the glare of living in the spotlight, the tabloids and betrayal. At times the story is bittersweet as they separate but try to find a way back together.
This is Ms Owens' first novel and what a treat it was for me read it. The two main characters are believable and three dimensional and the supporting characters add breadth to a very complicated plot. Although English is not her first language the author has done a great job of mastering it, and her prose has a European flavour which only adds to the dialogue. This is a wonderful novel with lots of plot twists and turns and the right amount of conflict to make it extremely interesting. Based on this story I'm confident Ms. Owens has a long career as a writer ahead of her and I highly recommend this book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sexy diplomats.! Well thought out love story.
Comment: This is not merely a M/M romance erotica. There is a thoughtful plot, some mild political insinuations and of course the two protagonists make you care for them.
At first I was a bit put off by the attraction between Jack and Lucas. After all they do have wife/live-in girl friend. It is their own choice to ignore their true self because their career is more important. More so in Jack's case when he is already married for 15 years. So he does not feel lust for his wife but it is his choice to remain in the closet.
But my view soon change because Owens pens such a convincing love story. Their attraction is pure lust at the beginning but their love is true and credible as the story progresses over 9 years. I just feel a tug at my heart when Lucas left. Good thing the writer does not dwell into both men's pain much during their separation. 2 years later and both men has "matured" and know what they want in life. Not their career but each other and a family. A most heartwarming, bittersweet and loving reunion.
Maybe the writer's treatment of the supporting females roles are a bit off. It is hard to believe that Jack's wife cares for her role as a diplomat's wife more than her husband. And Lucy's callousness is hard to believe. Maybe it is Owen's way to garner sympathy for her men's plight but there is no need. The strong emotions between Jack and Lucas have already done a convincing job.
They are a few comical moments as Jack's personal secretary and secret service body guard help the 2 guys in their adultery. And I do favor Owen's injection of her personal but "so true" view of War into her story.
Another great quality release from Dreamspinnerpress. Strongly recommended for M/M fans who look for plot, angst but not over board, loving romance, appealing characters and hot sex.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Diplomacy by Zahra Owens
Comment: Do you know that feeling? when you come accross a book and read the blurb and say, no this is not for me, but somehow you know you are making a big mistake? Cause something in that book draws you and you know you have to read it.
Well Diplomacy is that book for me. When first came out, I read the blurb: cheating man, NO. married cheating man, NO NO. married cheating man who has a relationship with another committed cheating man, NO NO NO. But... it's a may / december relationship, YES. It's an office affair, YES YES. It's setting in Europe, YES YES YES. And so in the end I read it and I'm really happy to have done so.
Jack is the US Ambassador in Brussel. He is a more than forthy handsome man with a perfect wife. He has a wonderful career and he is an example for all the men around him: perfect at work and perfect at home, he is loving with his wife and caring. He even knows how to cook. But then he lays his eyes on Lucas, the British liaison officer for the US ambassy. Lucas is a mid twenty beautiful man who, since the first night is irremediably attracted by Jack. Lucas is not fresh to gay relationships, when he was studying in America he has had also a boyfriend, but then he has understood that, for having a carrer in the diplomacy, he has to have the right connections and also the right woman beside him. And Lucy, his fiancee, is that woman. But Jack, Jack is his dreams come true. Maybe if it would be a one side thing, never would happened, but Jack has a secret by his own. He has been always attracted by men, but never has followed his instincts, preferring to pursue his career. And Maria, his wife, is a good woman and now also a good friend. Can he jeopardize all for a brief passion? maybe not, but when passion is the only thing he haven't in his perfect life, and never has had, it's no more a thing he can deny.
All right, I felt sorry for Maria. She is not the bad witch usually we find in this type of story. Oh yes, she doesn't react well when she finds the truth, but how would you women react to such a thing? I think she is a fine woman trapped in the situation. But not Jack or Lucas can stop to feel what they are feeling, and then they are so perfect together.
Both Jack and Lucas are good men, but not dominant characters. They are average men who have to face difficult decisions. And I like the way they act. They don't hurry the time, they try to do the right thing for all the people involved. They are also very similars, and maybe for this reason, you don't feel much the age difference between them.
The plot is very complex and last for a very long period. There are also some unexpected twists, I don't want to spoil, but that are very well intertwined in the story. After all it's a very classical romance, especially in the final part, and who is used to read romance, will know what I mean. I'm wondering why, among the M/M romance lover (mostly women) I haven't heard much of this book, cause for me it's really a good romance.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Jack Christensen has everything he ever wanted. He's a rising star in US Diplomacy, the youngest man to have been appointed as an Ambassador of the United States. A career diplomat who's just been sent to a politically interesting Embassy in Europe, he has the perfect wife, speaks five languages and has all the right credentials, yet there's something missing and he doesn't quite know what. Then Lucas Carlton walks into an Embassy reception and introduces himself and his American fiancée. From the first handshake, the young Englishman makes an impression on Jack that leaves him confused and uncharacteristically insecure. Lucas' position as the British liaison to the American Embassy means they are forced to work together closely and they have a hard time denying the attraction between them, despite their current relationships. When their women decide to go on a weekend trip together, Jack and Lucas start a passionate relationship, which continues long after their partners return. Diplomatic circles are notoriously conservative though, and they each know that the right woman by their side makes a very significant contribution to their success. Will they be able to make the right choices in their professional and personal lives? Or will they need to sacrifice one for the other? Full Chapter excerpt available at www.dreamspinnerpress.com
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