Review: Really good writing, but ...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 08 14, 2011
ZA Maxfield is very skilled at concocting believable characters, "real" and often humorous dialogue, and steamy sex scenes that ring true to me as a gay man.  Then why am I not rating this 4 or 5 stars?  One of the characters breaches professional ethics in a fundamental way.  This is what sticks with me most about this book.  If you have ever been vulnerable and needed help, or known someone who has been vulnerable and needed help, this violation may be particularly disturbing.  Some might say, "It's fiction - a fantasy!  What's the big woop?"  I have many fiction books on my wooden and virtual bookshelves that I enjoy a great deal.  One thing they don't do is turn morality on it's head and excuse behavior that can be profoundly injurious to someone.  Maxfield wrestles with this in the book to some extent, but ultimately gives this character a "pass" and attempts to depict him as likeable and redeemed.  For my part, I can't get past what this character did, and I can only imagine that a continued relationship with him will be fundamentally warped and unhealthy.