REVIEW: 'Across the Sea' by Wayne Mansfield
Title: Across the Sea
Author: Wayne Mansfield
Published: July 24, 2016
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Genre: Historical Romance; Erotic Romance
Length: 135 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; Historical; Novella; May/December
About Across the Sea
Twenty-two-year-old Jacob Tomkins is sentenced to seven years’ labour in the fledgling colony of Sydney Town, Australia. The voyage across the sea is arduous. He is traveling with mean, street-hardened criminals, some of whom would like to use him for their pleasure.
Fortunately he meets Peter, who takes Jacob under his wing. Together they find moments of pleasure amid the drudgery of the voyage. They share their hopes and dreams, and finally declare their love for each other upon the eve of their arrival in Sydney Town -- a place where the currency is rum, distilled and controlled by the powerful military.
But what will happen once they disembark? The chances of remaining together are slim. A lot can happen in seven years, especially when Jacob’s new master takes a liking to him. Is their love strong enough to survive the ravages of time? Can they survive the rigors of their sentences?
5 HEART READ
REVIEW: Across the Sea by Wayne Mansfield is a beautifully written, while emotional, historical tale of two men who find each other in spite of adversity; set in the nineteenth century when the upper crust ruled, punishment didn’t fit the crime and being gay (more specifically sodomy) was a crime.
Jacob Tomkins, at the young age of twenty-two, finds himself sentenced to seven years of servitude for the crime of stealing a few apples in order to feed his family. He’s then shipped off to an Australian colony in order to serve out his time.
The trip across the sea is tough with a multitude of inherent dangers from natural elements, other prisoners and even the guards. Due to the harshness of the journey many don’t survive. It’s during this voyage that Jacob meets Peter Hawthorne, a man several years his senior, who has also been sentenced to seven years for a crime we are left to assume is similar to Jacob's.
Jacob and Peter become fast friends and ultimately lovers. They provide each other with much needed support and comfort, while filling a physical need. The fact that they will most likely be split apart upon arrival constantly looms over their thoughts while all too soon becoming a reality.
Jacob is one of the lucky ones. His master treats him with kindness. He learns new traits while becoming Jasper Livingstone’s manservant/house boy, even befriending the cook, Polly, along the way who provides Jacob companionship, levity and a distraction from thoughts of Peter. And while he knows that Master Jasper wants more from him Jacob is unable to give it, ultimately in his heart Jacob cannot forget Peter.
Each man serves out their time hoping that in the end they will be able to find one another again.
That depiction of the passing years is well written into these pages. And although we don’t see the experiences that Peter endures, at the conclusion we are treated with the realization that he was able to retain hope for the future.
I must admit that I’m not usually one for historical's but Across the Sea grabbed my attention. Every character is well developed bringing this story to life.
Jacob and Peter toy with our emotions, provide us with a bit of suspense, mix in a little jealousy to stir things up, and treat us to a beautiful younger-older romance that both breaks and melts your heart.
A copy of Across the Sea was provided to Kimmers' Erotic Book Banter, by the author, at no cost and with no expectations in return. We offer our fair and honest opinion on behalf of our readers.
If you enjoy Across the Sea you might also enjoy K.A. Merikan’s The Black Sheep and The Rotten Apple.
About the Author
Wayne Mansfield was born and raised in rural Western Australia. As a boy, Wayne and his family moved around quite a bit and he attended two different kindergartens, three different primary schools and two high schools. He graduated from university as a primary school teacher and also has a Diploma in Counseling. He currently resides and works in Perth, Western Australia. The bulk of his books, novellas and stories have been published by JMS Books ("The King's Consort", "The Hiding Place", "Cool Blue", "Six Numbers" and "Changelings"). Always at the top of his English classes, Wayne first began as a published writer by contributing poems to the local community newspaper when he was in high school. Throughout university he wrote for fun, including "an awful Jackie Collins-type novel set in places I'd only read about or seen in movies". Some time after graduating he began writing short horror stories, a few of which were published in the types of magazines "...only purchased by the people who were published in them and their friends". He then progressed to writing gay erotica and was more successful . Most of his stories and novellas of the past six or seven years have combined his love of horror, science-fiction and fantasy with gay erotica / romance. Occasionally, he also writes more mainstream romance. He enjoys the books of Neil Gaiman, Michael Crichton and Clive Barker. Facebook; Goodreads; Tumblr; Amazon
For more works by Wayne visit his website.
