Review: page-turner
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2014
So enjoyed reading this story, the wonderfully well-written tale of what happens when someone lets a Mr Wrong into their life. Dan Skinner takes us on a journey, not just of the relationship between the used and abused JJ and the eponymous 'Dick' of the title--a dick in both name and nature, it turns out--but a journey through what Dick's motivations might be for his bad behaviour. His evil, bigoted, fundamentalist Mom being a huge contributing factor. Ultimately, though, Mom or other forces in his life do not excuse Dick from being a, well, dick. The other journey is that of JJ himself, and that is the journey that kept hope alive when Dick's behaviour made for so much frustration. I just wanted to reach in and pull JJ out of where Dick tried to have him mired because JJ himself was not always confident of his self-worth. Turned out, though, that JJ is talented and smart, with some good friends, and when Dick turns even more 'vindicktive' the good guy wins. Best of all, despite his feeling he might have frittered away his youth and chances at love, JJ manages to find both himself and a HEA, with a big dose of 'aspiring higher'. Those of us who follow Dan, both as writer and amazing photographer, will suspect many autobiographical elements in this story, and we thank him for giving us this great tale. Truly a recommended read.