Review: A short novel that closes open issues from the original story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 20, 2011
I rated this four stars. It's well-written with interesting characters and manages to close up all of the open ends "Rules of Engagement" left you with. It's not a full-sized novel, but it's a bit more than a short story. A novella, if you will.In "Rules of Engagement", Brandon and Dustin finally worked out their differences and started a life together. The story ended with many things left out in the open. There were quite a few members of Dustin's family that didn't accept him, and Brandon's own brother ostracized him years ago. This story opens up with Dustin's estranged brother showing up wishing to make amends. Though he doesn't understand the "gay thing", he realizes he misses his brother and is willing to make sacrifices to get him back. When Brandon's sister tries to convince him the time is right for Brandon to try to make amends with his own brother, Brandon decides to relent to optimism. Perhaps if it worked out this well for Dustin, it will work out this well for him too.It's an emotional tale and works very well as a sequel. That said, it only gets four stars from me because it's not a full story. The original story was a romance, and there were obstacles in place keeping the two men apart. Here, the relationship is established and the worst that could happen is a continuation of the status quo. The story really is meant to just finish off what was started in "Rules of Engagement" and give you a better glimpse of the future these two have together. It's more of an extended epilogue than a story, but it does have some length to it, and the author handles the situations and writing very well.If you read the original and liked it, then you'll definitely enjoy this. Who doesn't like checking in on two characters they like?