This was really cute, and actually packed a lot of story in for one so short! I was afraid that either the romance or the mystery would suffer from lack of pages, but the author balanced both wonderfully, and I didn't think I missed anything at all. We had the new relationship, trouble with the old love, murder, whodunnits, and a totally unexpected killer! ( )

Dylan Forest is an architect from a small Pennsylvania town called Raven Pass. He is successful and fairly content with his life, but he’s looking for something a little more. He compares his longing to a desire for his favorite dessert, ice cream. When Dylan meets the town’s new art teacher Michael, who is six years his junior, the two are almost instantly attracted to one another. Michael is very cautious, though, having been badly burned in a previous relationship. It becomes clear to Dylan just how strong this attraction really is when he visits Michael’s house and discovers that his friend has painted a magnificent picture of him. In the portrait, Dylan is portrayed as a beautiful angel. From this point forward, the two are inseparable.Conflict arises when an old flame of Dylan’s rolls into town, trying to rekindle what they’d once shared. When Dylan rejects the offer of his former lover, things get pretty ugly. Two murders and a series of death threats keep things exciting, as well as a startling attack on Michael which nearly kills him. In truth this story was a mystery. Although the plot contained a very beautiful romantic element, the storyline was driven by the protagonist’s quest to discover who was responsible for these unexplained murders and death threats. Although I’m generally not a huge fan of mystery novels, this one was very enjoyable for me. When I first discovered the direction in which the plot was headed, I sort of rolled my eyes, thinking it was all too predictable. In the end, however, I was pleasantly surprised. Particularly, I was impressed by the strong writing as well as by the impeccable editing of this rather short story. I felt the dialogue was believable, and the characters were both realistic and likeable. Some of the secondary characters were confusing to me at times, though, for the narrator seemed to drop names as if the reader was supposed to automatically know who they were. In the end, however, everything became clear.The romantic and erotic scenes in the story were extremely well written. The author obviously has thoroughly researched gay sex and the male anatomy, something we sadly cannot always say about writers in the m/m fiction genre.The story itself was quite powerful. I was actually disappointed that it was not longer. I do not want to include any spoilers, but I really appreciated the way the author used the conflict to strengthen the relationship of the central characters rather than to create a forced separation plot device. Overall I loved the writing style of the author, and I thoroughly enjoyed the story. It was exciting, interesting, and very romantic. I do not hesitate to recommend both the author and the book. ( )

Without doubt, from the cover and from the initial scenes, this novel appears to be light and pretty. Dylan is a 32 years old successful architect living in a liberal small town; he is well welcomed and with a lot of friends. Apparently is life is perfect; but suddenly strange coincidences start to happen: his former college boyfriend Ian, the one who broke his heart but despite that remained one of his best friends, call to invite Dylan to the opening of his exhibition and at the same time to ask if Dylan is willing to spend some days together, obviously with the intention to refreshing more than an old friendship. During a work meeting Dylan meets Michael, a young artist who happens to be in the same exhibition as Ian; Michael is young and cute and new in town, and willing to share more than a simple work relationship with Dylan. If being in the middle of an old lover and a new one was not enough, another past relationship comes back again in Dylan’s life to bite him.

From being a funny and light novel, the story suddenly shift almost in a stalking horror; Dylan doesn’t know who to trust, are all coincidences or there is a crazy lover out there who wants to have exclusively access to Dylan? Is it Ian who wants Dylan’s back? Or is it Michael who is unwilling to share Dylan’s love? Or maybe is it Quentin, who Dylan has always rebuffed in the past and who maybe is tired of it? Is it Jeff, the young architect who obviously comes to work for Dylan only since the boss was gay?

There is a clear shift in the story, almost a Red Sea separation: first part is basically a light and pretty romance, with two new lovers who have to know each other and test their possible love relationship; both of them were burnt in the past, and have to be careful with their hearts, but when they realize that it’s not a dream, and that maybe they have really found the perfect soul mate in each other, the step to happiness is easy and fast. Then the second part of the novel, the love story goes in background and one by one horrible events happen in Dylan’s life, and he is no more sure of anything or anyone around him. I have to say that the author was good enough to present more than one possible culprit, and in this way it was not easy to find the one, but she didn’t push too much on the mystery button: as the relationship between Dylan and Michael started fast and developed even faster, also the presentation and resolution of the mystery had the same fast approach.

Ice Cream on the Side is a good debut novel for this author, I think both side of the story, the light and the dark one, were well built and balanced.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00375LH98/?tag=elimyrevandra-20