Review: An incredibly fun read with non-typical characters
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 6, 2011
When I started to read Bad Company, I became instantly hooked and quickly made some assumptions about the two primary characters, Kellan and Nate. Soon into it though, the characters became more multidimensional, and I had trouble shoehorning them into the boxes I created. Kellan, while I felt he started out as the bad guy, turned out to be deeper and more sensible than I imagined. And Nate, who I at first felt sorry for, starting showing signs of tarnish around the edges. What follows was a nice and engaging romance with colorful characters in an interesting setting, all flowing at a brisk pace.Kellan had everything handed to him, as his father is the mogul of an energy drink company. When Kellan breaks up with his third fiancee, his father tosses him out. With nowhere to go, Kellan tries the one person who may be able to help... his childhood friend Nate. They were best friends until Nate came out, and then Kellan seemingly abandoned him (in actuality, he stayed in the background keeping his friends from getting too abusive with Nate). Nate's father used to be friends with Kellan's dad, but due to some business maneuvering, was drummed out of the business, and Nate never forgave Kellan's dad for screwing him over like that. Kellan's plan is to pretend to have a love affair with Nate. Dad is incredibly homophobic, gives money to many antigay organizations and politicians, and will not like the publicity of having a gay son. Kellan will also give information to Nate (who's a journalist now) that will expose how his dad is abusing the city by collecting tax credits but hiring elsewhere.So Kellan tracks Nate down, refuses to leave him alone, and finally gets him to agree to this plan. For two months, they will publicly be lovers. Naturally, Kellan starts to question his own sexuality, Nate questions his own motives, the dad questions everything, and the spark of romance is ignited.As the story progresses, you become more aware of the characters' motivations and desires, and you start to realize that Kellan is not as shallow as he seems and Nate is not as noble as he likes to think. This all happens at an appropriate pace. The writing style is engaging, and there's a lot of prose that captures the imagination. With sensitivity, good humor, and a great style, the story unfolds and is sure to please.