Review: Not entirely satisfying melding of interesting story and erotic writing
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 22, 2013
Previously straight identified college senior Jeremy is conflicted after drunkenly sleeping with his best friend and college roommate Ben. Adding to his discomfort is his growing disinterest in his girlfriend, and the impending changes signaled by his college graduation.Overall I have mixed feelings about this novella. While it had several hot, well written sex scenes and for the most part, able yeoman-like prose advancing the story-line, there were some transitional glitches melding the narrative story-line with the erotic scenes. Admittedly these are two very different forms of storytelling and I felt that they both warranted more development and smoother transitions than the short novella form afforded them.Another shortcoming I perceived was the "almost adequate" development of the main characters. We are told a few things about each of the main characters but not really enough to allow us to get fully inside their heads and fully appreciate their feelings. In part, readers read to live vicariously and when the character development is stinted, some of that fulfillment is short-changed. Again, this could have been better if the overall form had not been so rushed.Also on a mixed note, the ability of the author to create charming supporting characters is clearly shown with Al the straight but Texan roommate but the girl friend failed to ring true on almost all levels. There was no detail that allowed me to reconcile what Jeremy had originally seen in her with her nasty racist and sexist hate speech during their break-up scene. It just felt artificial, or worse, poorly written.Finally, the novella starts with a steamy recollection/fantasy but is then jolted back into a straight boy realizing he's not story. I was surprised a bit by my own reaction to having to re-imagine the boyfriend after it was reveal that he was black. While it certainly didn't affect his sexiness, it wasn't made clear in the initial description and my fantasy lover's tend to be white. For a while I found myself contemplating what my level of racism was rather than concentrating on the details of the story. However this morphed into my speculation about how much more I could have appreciated the story if I'd been given some of the build-up before the major sex scene.As with so many stories that give details like this, It's a bit tricky deciding just how much detail to reveal. It's a bit like being given a perfectly brewed cup of coffee with two sugars and milk. No matter how great the coffee and perfect the brew if one takes ones coffee unsweetened and black, it's a bit hard to appreciate the overall beverage.Overall, I've decided that I enjoyed it but will be curious to read something longer by the author to see if the imperfections I found here are cured when she has more room to work. Read it and judge for yourself.