{"id":20131,"date":"2022-07-25T20:01:33","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T00:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=20131"},"modified":"2026-03-22T08:58:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T12:58:25","slug":"the-wanderer-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20131","title":{"rendered":"The Wanderer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wanderer<\/a><\/em> (2017) Dahlia Donovan<\/a> (The Sin Bin)<\/p>\n

After a hookup at his friend Francis’s wedding, Graham doesn’t expect to see the handsome rugby, but when the meet a second time, when Graham’s brother books him at the Inn BC inherited, he has a wonderful time–and then leaves in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n

Graham isn’t a jerk, per se, he just refuses to fall in love or get into a relationship, because an incident in his past left him terrified to have others care about him.<\/p>\n

I like both Graham and BC, even if they are both ridiculous.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to be shitting me.\u201d Graham couldn\u2019t help the burble of mocking laughter that escaped him while he continued to watch the frantically gesturing former rugby player. \u201cAre you actually telling me you\u2019re afraid of spiders?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cKill. It.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a surprisingly dark story, but one that addresses things I’d not seen before in a romance, which is some aspects of chemo that aren’t regularly discussed.<\/p>\n

Sex had been non-existent since his chemo started. Not only was (he) too tired, but he also found he couldn\u2019t perform.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The story is blunt about the various difficulties of cancer treatment.<\/p>\n

Aside from losing his hair, Graham\u2019s body suffered from other side effects. His skin grew paler, and his nails were brittle. They\u2019d gotten lotion to help with his dry and irritated skin.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But also looks at the strain the diagnosis and treatment puts upon family and friends.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d be ever so grateful if you\u2019d tell my bloody brother to bugger off. How can he not see why I might need a good laugh right about now without feeling guilty? I\u2019m taking my decreasing chances of survival as seriously as I can. What does he want me to do?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a romance, so you don’t need to worry that one of the characters dies, but it’s not an easy journey you take with them.<\/p>\n

But it is a fascinating one, as the two come to terms with how cancer changed their lives, but also allowed them to stretch beyond what they thought they could be.<\/p>\n

It’s really an excellent story, just be aware it takes a deep and unflinching look at what someone goes through with cancer treatment.<\/p>\n

But, it also has some lovely bits as well, especially as the two use humor to deal with some of the hardest aspects of the illness.<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s appetite hadn\u2019t been stable since he\u2019d begun chemotherapy. He did find it encouraging how the smell of eggs made him even hungrier. \u201cHand it over then.\u201d <\/p>\n

BC snickered at him before handing over the glass and shifting the tray further up the bed. \u201cTry not to vomit on it\u2014 or me.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Publisher: Hot Tree Publishing<\/p>\n

Rating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Wanderer (2017) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin) After a hookup at his friend Francis’s wedding, Graham doesn’t expect to see the handsome rugby, but when the meet a second time, when Graham’s brother books him at the Inn BC inherited, he has a wonderful time–and then leaves in the middle of the night. Graham […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[12,30,292,742,148,41,26,56,934],"tags":[50,533,254,544,573,532],"class_list":["post-20131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-10","category-british","category-ebook","category-physical-health","category-queer","category-reread","category-romance","category-sexual-content","category-trigger-warnings","tag-boinking","tag-cancer","tag-dahlia-donovan","tag-mm","tag-serious-illness","tag-sin-bin"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-5eH","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18338,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18338","url_meta":{"origin":20131,"position":0},"title":"The Wanderer","author":"Michelle","date":"October 5, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Wanderer (2017) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin) This is a romance. With cancer. Graham languished in his bungalow on the water for two days. He never got sick, which made him the worst patient in the world. One of the things that makes this story so good is that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Wanderer","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/The-Wanderer.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14094,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14094","url_meta":{"origin":20131,"position":1},"title":"Sin Bin Series: Box Set","author":"Michelle","date":"March 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Sin Bin Series: Box Set (2020) Dahlia Donovan This is seven stories (and three short stories) around a group of former rugby players and friends and the men they fall in love with. The Wanderer (2017) The Caretaker (2017) The Botanist (2017) The Royal Marine (2017) The Unexpected Santa (2017)\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sin Bin Series","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Sin-Bin-Series.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20133,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20133","url_meta":{"origin":20131,"position":2},"title":"The Caretaker","author":"Michelle","date":"July 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Caretaker (2017) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin) This story picks up after The Wanderer. Taine is another retired rugby player. Freddie is the traveling nurse who helped Graham through his cancer treatments, and became a friend. Taine is fascinated by the slight young man. Taine stood silent while the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":20137,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20137","url_meta":{"origin":20131,"position":3},"title":"The Royal Marine","author":"Michelle","date":"July 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The Royal Marine (2017) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin) Wyatt's partner, Hamish, is set up with Graham and Freddie's friend Akash. Except that the rugby players are also trying to set Akash up with Scottie. This does not go well for Scottie. Although this is Hamish and Akash's story, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14163,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14163","url_meta":{"origin":20131,"position":4},"title":"After the Scrum","author":"Michelle","date":"March 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"After the Scrum (2014) Dahlia Donovan (Sin Bin) Caddock Stanford lost his brother, lost his place on the national rugby team, and became the parent to his young nephew. So he wants a place to start over, to make a new life for himself and Devlin. \u201cLooe\u2019s a brilliant place\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/After-the-Scrum.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18342,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/18342","url_meta":{"origin":20131,"position":5},"title":"The Caretaker","author":"Michelle","date":"October 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Caretaker (2017) Dahlia Donovan (The Sin Bin) Freddie Whittle is a cancer nurse. It's an incredibly hard job, and he puts too much of himself into it, but he doesn't want to do anything else. Taine stood silent while the nurse gathered himself. He squared his shoulders, took a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Caretaker","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/The-Caretaker.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20131\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}