A slow-burning white-hot tale of obsession and desire.
A House of Cranes is a compelling story about sexual awakening set within a chroma color 1960s backdrop. Being orphaned is a painful experience filled with confusion, grief, and uncertainty, and young Lucius Cook has no shortage of any of these. It is at precisely this agonizing time of change that the Crane family comes into his life. Mr. Kenneth Crane steps up as a sensible and charitable benefactor, adopting the child. While losing both parents is devastating, not everything in Lucius’s life proves to be an exercise in adversity. The Cranes exist in a world of expensive clothes, paid household servants, and decadent habits. For the grieving young man, “Their warmth covered the hole in his heart.” At least, to a degree. And the riches aren’t the only perk that comes from living with the Cranes. Mr. Crane shares his passion for photography with Lucius. Soon, through the lens of youth and a spectacular camera, the lady of the house catches his attention. An artist at his core, Lucius learns to trust his instincts, even when he is forced to reckon with loneliness, love, heartbreak, and acceptance. Still, the alluring Eleanor Crane remains the muse he can’t get close enough to.
A young boy’s grief is channeled into a passion for beautiful things in James Walter Lee’s sexually charged coming-of-age novel, A House of Cranes. Intimacy dominates the pages with nearly all the cast enjoying amorous adventures as often as the mood strikes. Fans of erotica will be satisfied with all the requisite spicy elements, while audiences craving refinement and plot development will appreciate characters with marked depth and a story whose edges are colored with secrets. Spanning decades, the novel takes readers on an emotional journey, allowing them to form an attachment to Lucius and become invested in his path of personal and sexual discovery. The wisp of mystery surrounding the contents of his mother’s diary, a cache of scandalous photographs, unrequited longing, and illicit lovers are as important to the novel as the manifold sex scenes. The artistry of photography also plays a prominent role, providing yet another stage for the book’s sensuality to flourish. Blurring the line between romance and erotica, James Walter Lee delivers a slow-burning white-hot tale of obsession and desire, then bottles it up and packages it in an irresistible musk that is certain to stimulate the senses and linger on the soul.
