Review: Better than my three-star rating suggests...I really liked it in the end.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 11 25, 2013
If my rating is mediocre, that's because this is clearly an earlier book by Amy Lane, one of my favorite writers. It starts off weak in terms of writing, and then - rather fascinatingly - seems to "become" the Amy Lane we all know and love.  She finds her writer's style and her narrator's voice, and from that point on the book gets better and better."Bewitched by Bella's Brother" is, first off, an unsuccessful title.  Sorry.  The book is better than the title. "Growing Up" "Bella and her Brother" "Falling for the Byrnes"  Plenty of choices.And, to begin, the character of Sebastian is off kilter and sort of unbelievable (to a middle-aged gay man, at least). I keep emphasizing the "at the beginning" problem, because at first, the light-hearted and not really authentic frothy gay banter from Sebastian's narrative voice just doesn't really work.  He sounds shallow and, well, sort of pin-headed.  And for a guy going for his second PhD (in craft theory, no less, something I do for a living as a curator!), he just didn't ring true.But maybe a third into the story, things begin to settle in. Aside from the stereotypical everybody has to be model-gorgeous (also annoying, and as a constant and faithful reader of m/m books, I feel I have a right to voice this). Amy Lane writes characters who, ultimately, show that they have souls that are beautiful - so they needn't be porn-star hotties.  Really. They don't.The relationship between Sebastian and Bella is endearing and touching. The evolving relationship between Sebastian and Asa and Asa's son Jordan is equally so.  But - and something I love in books like this - the role of Bella and Asa's parents, Brenda and Bjorn (yes, there's a joke about this) is something that warmed my heart.The book is about Sebastian's effort to grow up - to stop hiding in academia and face up to his real fears. Here we see Amy Lane's patented (and powerful) damaged men.  She handles a messy divorce, a drug-abusing mother, a bisexual man who's actually a mensch, and a deeply loving platonic gay man/straight woman friendship with tenderness and emotional truth.There's a lot in this book.  It's just not as good as Amy Lane can get; which makes reading it a fascinating opportunity to watch an author mature before our eyes.  I am really glad I read it, because Amy rules.