Review: PLEASE Stop Saying That!!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 31, 2013
Let me start out by saying that I love Mary Calmes. For some reason, I adore her characters, who all have huge hearts and a way with others. Stef is one of the best. His dialog is laced with humor and warmth, his internal struggles always there, but rarely overwhelming. The whole idea that he could end up in love with someone he fought with for a decade was not just heartwarming, but so realistic. I had a similar experience myself. After fighting publicly with someone for years, one day we just fell into each others' arms and became one of the major passions of each others' lives - soul mates, as it were, so that part of the story really touched me.And I also liked the setting of a truly modern ranch, with Internet sales, nationwide shipping of beef, a PR company, smart marketing and managed growth. It surely ain't the old West any more!!But I do have one complaint. I wish that M/M authors would be a bit more sensitive, current and smarter than they often appear to be. Mary Calmes is one of the best, so I was really surprised that she had Stefan refer to his "lifestyle" when discussing his sexual orientation. Doesn't she know how offensive and inaccurate that is? Being gay is NOT a lifestyle. A choice of shoes, apartment, movies and restaurants is a "lifestyle", not whom you love! And it is a loaded word used by the religious right to denigrate and diminish same sex couples' love by treating the commitment of their hearts as a mall shopping experience.Ms. Calmes knows better, as she clearly demonstrates in her excellent and moving writing. She (and all the other M/M authors) need to be more careful and not put loaded "hate" words in the mouths of gay characters unless they're specifically trying to express self-loathing.Just a surprising blot on an otherwise wonderful work.