Review: Finally - a May/December romance done right!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 14, 2014
When Brigham Vaughn asked if I would be willing to beta read Equals, I jumped at the chance.  I have read a few of her short stories and I adore her writing style.  It’s clean and precise and a joy to read.  This book is no different.  I marveled more than once how smoothly the story flows and how easily Brigham describes simple little things in a very meaningful way.  Here is one example:“Stephen had carried both of their suit jackets over his arm, so as not wrinkle them, and when he carefully laid them on the tan leather backseat of his Mercedes, Russ felt a funny lurch in his stomach he couldn’t quite identify.”Nice twist on the “I saw my toothbrush next to his..” analogy that has been done a thousand times too many, huh?  I loved the visual I had of Stephen being so careful and Russ seeing their jackets lying together and having it trigger something inside him.I personally love May/December romances because my husband is quite a bit older than I am.  It’s not always an easy dynamic, either in real life or on the written page.  I have truly only read one other book (Years by Lavyrle Spencer, a M/F story) that did it well - without the older man coming off as a father figure, which totally turns me off.  I’ve never read a M/M story with more than a ten-year age difference.  There are twenty-some years between Russ and Stephen and Brigham not only pulled it off, she nailed it.It’s not love at first sight, but the chemistry between Russ and Stephen is instant and believable.  When Russ is injured in a fall caused by Stephen’s spilled coffee, Russ’s annoyance and Stephen’s guilt and eagerness to help in every way possible is completely realistic.  Russ really has no choice but to accept Stephen’s offers of assistance and before long, things begin to sizzle.  Because of Russ’s injuries they are kept from acting on their attraction physically.  This forced abstinence is as sexually charged for the reader as it is for Stephen and Russ.  One scene in particular, that begins with a race in the rooftop pool, threatened to melt my Kindle into a shiny, black, plastic puddle.The angst whore in me was also well satisfied.  Without any spoilers, there were a couple of parts that just made my heart hurt, but Russ and Stephen are both smart men and they got things worked out to my satisfaction.I appreciated that Ms. Vaughn showed how annoying “outside opinions” of a May/December relationship can be.  The exception to this is Russ’s roommate, Monty, who has a special knack for saying totally inappropriate things, but I give him a pass because he cracked me up every time he appeared.I thoroughly enjoyed this story from beginning to end.  My only complaint was I wanted more – much more – of Russ and Stephen.  Imagine my giant smile when I saw the cover sporting the words “book one”.