Favorite Fictional Character --- Jory Harcourt-Kage

 

Way back in 2010, I had a conversation with a few other bloggers about the sheer number of straight female authors writing m/m romance. I had no clue such a phenomenon was happening, and I was even more surprised to learn most of the readers were also straight women. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it—especially when I’d occasionally come across reviews that felt like the reviewer was fetishizing us. We have enough problems; I didn’t need a new one. Eventually, Mandi of Smexy Books talked me into reviewing one, and in September of 2011, I read and reviewed my first.

I was new to romance in general, and while that first book didn’t quite work for me for several reasons, I was willing to keep exploring the genre. It’s been a wild, occasionally chaotic ride over the last fourteen years. Since then, I’d say over 50% of my reading is m/m romance featuring every archetype imaginable: cowboys, Navy SEALs, hockey players, cops, bikers, werewolves, vampires, firemen, PIs, FBI agents, royalty, magic users, and spies. I quickly learned which authors I preferred, and while I do think the gay men writing in this genre feel more realistic, it is romance. It’s not supposed to be realistic.

One of those favorite authors is Mary Calmes. She’s one of the few writers whose new releases I will automatically buy, and a huge part of that is Jory Harcourt-Kage, the star of her A Matter of Time series. Jory is a character you will either adore or despise—there’s no in-between. He’s the kind of man who will give you the shirt off his back; if you were ever once a friend, he’ll drop everything to help you. He has a huge heart, and he doesn’t just wear it on his sleeve—it’s perched on top for the entire world to see it beating. His story is not meant to be factual; it is one of the most gloriously over-the-top romances I’ve ever read. If you don’t have a strong willingness to suspend your sense of disbelief, Mary Calmes is not the author for you.

But that same enormous heart is what gets Jory into trouble. It makes him a react-first, consequences-later person. He puts himself in danger constantly, convinced he’s protecting someone else. He’s been kidnapped, mixed up with gangsters and the mafia, nearly killed more than once, chased kidnappers, solved murders, been hunted by assassins, and was even paralyzed for a while. What amazes me most is that none of it has changed him. He’s still one of the most trusting characters I’ve read in decades. He gives almost everyone the benefit of the doubt, and he loves his family fiercely. He will do anything to protect them.

I absolutely adore Jory, his husband Sam, their kids, and their entire found family. He’s a character I revisit every year just to feel at home. And writing this has made me want to visit him again sooner rather than later.