Counterpoint Dylan’s Story is a gorgeously written, deeply emotional historical romance that centers on some irresistibly classic themes. First, there is the theme of the misunderstood artist, way ahead of his time, who must follow his own creative genius regardless of conventional society’s pressure to conform. Then there is the poignancy of first love, unrequited love, and forbidden love all bound up in the first major relationship in the novel. Finally, the novel weaves in a storyline involving outsiders, redemption, and the chance to love again. Throughout, the novel grounds the readers in three-dimensional sensual detail that makes both the world of music and the world of Victorian England come alive for the readers. The characters are complex and flawed and their struggles are heart-rending and absorbing.

The story opens in Victorian England with Dylan attending the prestigious Venerable Bede School for Young Gentlemen. Dylan is a headstrong music genius from a well-to-do family. His father wants him to enter a respectable profession such as law or business, but Dylan is a volatile mixture of arrogance and innocence and cannot imagine doing anything other than his deeply personal vocation to compose music. In a further twist of fate, the music that Dylan is driven to compose is so ahead of its time that his own peers and mainstream society react with scorn, puzzlement, and maybe even fear disguised beneath an indifference designed to break him. His situation, as he struggles for opportunities to continue his work, gripped me in the same suspenseful way as the early part of Howard Roark’s story in The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Meanwhile, Dylan’s character is profoundly shaped by the two great loves in his life, someone who believed in him when he was an untried youth, and someone to whom he lends his own hard-won perspective and experience later on in life.

Val for AReCafe ( )

Read for m/m team bingo challenge & for the Q4 quarterly gang bang challenge.

Read for m/m team bingo challenge & for the Q4 quarterly gang bang challenge. ( )

I didn't think this author could top herself after "The Phoenix". Well she has. Ms. Sims has created another masterful, Epic love story. She writes beautifully telling the tale of Dylan and his life and two loves, Laurence and Geoffrey. There is enough greatness here to fill two novels. It s a life filled with love, laughter, tragedy and triumph. I can count this as one of my favorite novels, one which I will visit again. I finished this through tears, truly wanting more. I just love the prose and the writing style of this author. However, she does take her time in writing new novels. But they are certainly well worth the wait. I highly recommend this book and this author. ( )

Following Dylan's story is a journey that will require patience at first, but as Dylan grows and finds love you begin to connect to him more intimately. You will follow him through failure, loss and grief, certain that your heart will break while sobbing and blinking the tears from your eyes so you can keep reading.

You will also cheer for Dylan as he begins to let himself live again and finds love once more when he least expected it. But love is never easy, and there are outside forces that will try to take away everything Dylan cares about. Dylan refuses to give up and we follow him and his lover to their ultimate triumph. Just reading the last paragraph of this story brought the tears again.

When you are able to step back after finishing this powerful story, you realize you've put yourself in the hands of a master. And her name is Ruth Sims. ( )