REVIEW: The Art of Drowning by EM Denning

THE ART OF DROWNING

by EM Denning

Release Date: August 20, 2026

Review

An absolutely stunning novel!

It’s full of emotional turmoil, but it’s beautiful and satisfying.

Admittedly, this paralleled a bit of my own life. I lost my brother this year, but we hadn’t been speaking for a few years prior. I love him, but that complicated relationship mixed with his death is an emotional field of landmines. So this story really hit me deep.

Callum and Damien are orbits in Sam’s life. The possessive, angry man dictates their life and happiness. Making them all miserable. Then he dies.

Sam's death brings a whole host of new complicated emotions, but it also brings Callum and Damien back together.

We get to witness their past and how they built their love in the quiet moments they were alone, how they were torn apart, and the present, when they are forced to reckon with the past, their own roles in the end of their relationship, and who they want to be now that they see what the future could be.

It’s a stunning story.

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Synopsis

Once upon a summer, Callum Weeks rescued his brother's best friend and things were never the same.

Damien Flynn was a little bit younger and a lot more popular. He was also the constant companion of Callum’s brother, Sam. From a neglectful home, Damien was a constant fixture at the Weeks's house, often hanging out poolside whether Sam was there or not.

The two boys get in over their heads, literally, when Callum saves Damien from near drowning. The course of their relationship was changed forever, but neither of them expected things to get so serious. Sam was possessive by nature and his best friend should have been off-limits, but that was not enough to keep Callum away. The love that grew between Damien and Callum was also not enough to keep Sam from eventually tearing them apart.

Hell hath no fury like a teenage boy scorned.

One summer day, Callum taught Damien how to swim, and without Callum, Damien has spent his life mastering the art of drowning. He moved away and moved on. He built a life, found a new best friend, a pet rock. Things are good. But Sam dies and turns Damien's life upside down for the second time. Without a good reason to be apart, Callum and Damien are brought back together for the first time in years.

Time can heal many wounds, but history repeats itself. Sam is not done interfering with the lives of the people around him and the secrets that he's left behind threaten to drown everyone who loved him.

About EM Denning

E. M. Denning is a Canadian author and lover of gay romance.

I was born in the '80's in small town Canada, and I still live there. I have three kids, a husband, and a cat who is in his twilight years. I love writing and I especially love writing gay romance. I had a friend in my teens who was deeply closeted and I often think of that friend, and how different his youth would have been if there had been the books and acceptance that are out there now. The world isn't perfect, not yet, but I hope to make it brighter.

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