Review: 3 stars
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 21, 2012
A good portion of Loving Jacob is the telling of Malcolm and Jacob's story, their relationship from beginning to end. Malcolm Jenner is married with a teenage son, Liam. However, his wife Penny and he have an arrangement, they both have lovers on the side. Malcolm prefers men, since he's gay and they really only stay married to please their parents. He meets Jacob and while the two begin a casual relationship, it turns into something more...and Malcolm must decide what he wants more: his family or Jacob?Perhaps I am old-fashioned, but I have a hard time feeling sympathy for any character, even in fiction, who is married yet cheats on his spouse - with either a man or a woman. While Malcolm's wife gave him permission to cheat, I still found Malcolm's lack of backbone to leave a loveless marriage, stand up to his family and claim Jacob as his lover to be a serious determent to me liking him. In fact, Malcolm's characterization almost soured me on the entire novel; except for Jacob. In Jacob, I found redemption for Malcolm. While I sincerely hoped Jacob would get his own HEA (far, far away from Malcolm), the emotional connection between the two men was strong despite the hurt, betrayal that occurred over the years.So while, Lee Brazil's Loving Jacob might not have been my cup of tea, I think some readers who don't mind the cheating aspect will enjoy this gripping and heart-breaking tale of love, loss and forgiveness.Dark Divas Reviews