Book Tour & Review: Need Your Love by Dean Pace-Frech

Author Name: Dean Pace-Frech

Book Name: Need Your Love

Release Date: November 29, 2015

Pages or Words: 191 pages

Categories: Gay Fiction, Historical, M/M Romance, Romance

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27992429-need-your-love

Publisher: JMS Book LLC

Cover Artist: Written Ink Designs

In June, 1966, ACLU attorney Eron Lassiter attends his uncle’s wedding, and makes an unsettling discovery. Though he’d bowed to family pressure and has a potential marriage planned, his long-ignored attraction to other men roars to life when Garrett Emerson, the bride’s nephew, captures his attention.

After serving in the Korean War and going to college later than his peers, upwardly mobile Garrett is a loan officer at a local bank. For his girlfriend, fiancé in her mind, he can’t climb fast enough. But none of that matters to Eron, and maybe that’s why Garrett’s so drawn to him.

Can Eron and Garrett find happiness amidst the still pervasive culture of propriety, honor, and expectation in the 1960s?

I’m so excited to finally be able to review this. Dean Pace-Frech is an author guaranteed to have me sitting up and saying, “Oh, a new novel? Yes, please!” I had the privilege of reading Disappear with Me for one of my first reviews (for another web site), so this is a little like coming home. I’ve been waiting to read this one, and it more than met my expectations. It’s well-written and drew me in from the first page.

While I’m not ordinarily a reader of historical romance, I was particularly interested in this novel because of the era in which it’s set. I have long had a fascination with the time period. What I love is that though the focus is primarily on the relationship between Eron and Garrett, the story is just as much about their cultural context as it is about them.

For readers who just came out to have a good time, there’s plenty in here to satisfy. This is a classic against-the-odds love story with lots of both romance and heat. There’s also plenty of really awkward sex, which delighted me because let’s be honest, it gets pretty dull reading about perfect people having perfect sex. There are also eyeroll-inducing exchanges with Eron and Garrett’s girlfriends and some excellent family tension thrown in for good measure.

Beyond the surface, there are so many layers here to unpack, and I’m fairly sure my review won’t do it justice. A number of times, I had moments where I had to pause to unravel the complicated feelings it gave me. For example, when Eron and Garrett are in Provincetown, they’re talking about seeing couples who have been together long-term. This quote was like a punch:

“Who knows, maybe the world will be a different place in twenty years.”

Having lived through that era myself, I can say it was indeed a vastly different place for gay men in 1987 compared to 1967, and reading it was like having all the air sucked out of the room. It made me wonder what Eron and Garrett’s life would have been like then. I have no idea whether that was intentional, but it was certainly effective. In the same way, I had an immediate and overwhelming reaction to Garrett’s father talking about his time in the military. These may seem like small details, but they are an important part of a larger tapestry and made reading an incredibly emotional experience.

What I really took away from the story was how our collective liberation never belonged to one single group. In Eron and Garrett’s story, I’m reminded that sometimes, it’s quietly but defiantly living our lives which can have as much impact as throwing bricks. The overt activism and the lives of those who didn’t grow up or make their space in privilege should never be discounted, but neither should the stories of countless “spinster aunts” and men like Eron and Garrett.

On the surface, this is a sweet love story, but underneath, it’s much more than that. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I’m giving it 10/10 fountain pens for elegant, flawless writing, characters who feel real, and a hope chest full of deeply-held emotions.

They finished the drive back to the apartment in silence. Eron’s sincerity had shone through when he spoke of what they had done and his lack of regret. Eron’s words eased the tension between them. At the flea market, with other people around, they had no trouble carrying on a conversation.

Garrett pulled into his parking spot and nodded toward his apartment as they got out of the car. Once inside, Eron lowered himself to the davenport and Garrett plopped down next to him.

“I’ve been a jerk,” Eron said.

“We’re both confused. Don’t be so hard on yourself. It doesn’t help that we both have girlfriends and family that only want what they think is the best for us.”

“Do you and Johnette…you know…”

“Have sex? No. I used to tell myself it was because she was a respectable girl and we should wait.”

“And now?”

“Come on, you know the answer to that. What about you and Mary Ellen?”

“Same situation.”

“Eron, why did you come see me today?”

Eron had struggled with the same question. “As much as I don’t want to be queer, I want to be with you.”

“I understand that,” Garrett said after a while. “I don’t identify with the queens that live in the city.”

“What about our jobs? Our family?”

“Could we make it work?”

“I have no idea. Honestly I don’t. I’ve spent hours plotting and examining every angle and I’m more confused than I was to start. I walled up any feelings I had about other men a long time ago, but you brought them to the surface.”

With inspiration from some historical tourism sites, the love of reading, and a desire to write a novel, L. Dean Pace-Frech started crafting his debut novel, A Place to Call Their Own, in 2008. After four years of writing and polishing the manuscript, he submitted it for publication and Musa Publishing offered him a contract in early 2013.

Dean lives in Kansas City, Missouri with his partner, Thomas, and their two cats. They are involved in their church and enjoy watching movies, outdoor activities in the warmer weather and spending time together with friends and family. In addition to writing, Dean enjoys reading and patio gardening.

Prior to novels, Dean did some technical writing in his career. He has written another complete fiction manuscript and has a third manuscript outlined.