Review: Very Schmoopy (Good If You Are Into That Sort of Thing)
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 4, 2013
I don't know how I handled "Family Man"--This novel is a bona fide schmoopfest and not even I am immune to it.So we have our narrator, the young Trey Giles, who has a sweet old granny and an alcoholic mother. He has a "no sex" rule even though he is out and proud, and he doesn't feel bad for being a virgin (you go glen coco). He meets the closeted but questioning Vinnie Fierro at a gay bar and they leave together to......slow-dance at a jazz club.To me, that's the sexiest part of the book. The build-up is scorching but the pay-off left me cold because I was more interested in the plot and character development. Oh-ho, look at me, I'm doing romance novels completely wrong.But seriously. Both characters are interesting and multi-faceted. I loved Vinnie's honest talks over cigars and scotch with his sister Rachel and Trey's support from his good-natured put-upon old grandmother. The end was intense and left me scrambling to finish the book.One way this book impressed me was through the discussions of sexual identity and what it means to be a man surrounding Vinnie. He was never homophobic or judgmental towards gay men, which is rare for closeted men in gay romance novels (in the really bad ones, they spend two chapters stewing in internalized homophobia before being miraculously "cured"). In fact, he dealt with his emotions maturely and at a pace he set for himself, confiding in both his sister and his new lover and making sure they understood his apprehensions about coming out after three failed marriages. He had issues with the fact that he craved receptive penetrative sex with another man, questioning traditional gender roles. This novel made it clear that however a man has sex does not change his gender identity, which is an important point to make because so many people pass judgment. In a same-sex relationship, there aren't clear roles and stereotypes set up through a history of patriarchy, and I hope one day all relationships will be based on mutual respect, pleasure, and equality.It was also refreshing to see positive female allies and minor characters like Rachel, Lisa, and Sophia. Many gay erotica or romance novels are incredibly misogynistic, pinning the problems of closeted gay men on their past relationships with women. Vinnie spoke frankly to Trey of his prior marriages and made it clear that his own confusion over his sexual identity was what made his heterosexual relationships fail. It wasn't being spurned by a lover or being cheated on (believe me, this is a very common plot device).The only big problem I had was with the narration style. It was told in first person through Trey, but we also got Vinnie's perspective through third person omniscient. So for awhile it felt like Trey was inside Vinnie's head, which was confusing.This was a cute, fluffy, surprisingly intelligent, quick romance read. It is very Erotica Lite with more plot and romance than sex.