Review: Refreshing romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 3, 2013
This book is different from many M/M romance novels in two ways: 1) there is an actual, plausible, captivating plot, and 2) it isn't thinly disguised porn. In fact there isn't a single explicit sex scene in this book. That doesn't mean that it isn't sexy or that there isn't plenty of tension between Lewis and his two potential paramours, but the drama is emotional more than it is physical. Having read a lot of M/M romance and expecting the often formulaic page after page of detailed sex, I found this refreshing. The romance seems almost old-fashioned and it works really well.The plot concerns tennis, which might put some people off. I've not touched a tennis racket since I was in school and I've never taken any particular interest in tennis as a spectator sport, but Brighton does a good job of keeping the tennis interesting even for readers like me.If I were to mention a weakness with this book, I'd say that it's the writing. It's not horrible - not by a long-shot - but it is quite unpolished. Repetitive phrases (I don't know how many times I read, "a riot of men and parties"), clumsy phrasings, somewhat stilted dialogue. Occasionally the prose reminds me of how my nana (or anyone's nana) talks: dated expressions and confidential yet excited tones, as if gossiping. There's also an abundance of exclamation marks, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. However, none of this was enough to make me stop reading, although there was the occasional turn of phrase that made me chuckle for all the wrong reasons. For instance, towards the end, when a sip of champagne is described as "an explosion of gas in [his] mouth". All of these prose problems could be tidied up by a good editor.On the whole, it was a refreshing, fun and engaging read and though not perfect by any means, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. As far as freebies in this genre go, it's brilliant.