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The historical genre is not one of my favorites so I almost didn't read this. I'm glad I did, though. This was a sweet story during a difficult time. It was well written and I loved Martin's sisters and mother. ( )

This is an interesting historical, set in the early 1900s. Beginning just a day or so before the great San Fransisco earthquake of 1906, the events are seen through the eyes of Martin and Hugh who just met and are trying to carefully establish whether or not they are as interested in each other as they hope they are.

Martin is a member of a large family of "rebellious" women (well, for the times they certainly were!), a widowed mother and four younger sisters. The family is pretty well off, and Martin hasn't got many worries in life, but when he meets Hugh, the potential risk of getting caught and being thrown in prison certainly ads some tension. Of course, once the earthquake hits, all of that moves to the background as they struggle to survive and end up rebuilding their lives together.

Hugh is from a small family of "socially correct" people in Virginia, and is looking for a higher level of personal freedom "out West". From the little he says about his family it becomes clear they were stifling him.

If you like historicals set around catastrophic events, if you enjoy reading about the aspirations and hopes of gay men in times that were less than welcoming, and if you're looking for a read that is captivating, contains lots of historical details, and is quite intense, then you will probably like this free short story. ( )