Review: My FIrst Lane Hayes Book And I Loved It!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 19, 2014
I took a flyer on this one, not being familiar with the author, and there weren't many reviews when I bought "Better Than Friends".I'm so glad I did. Ms. Hayes is a flawless author - her prose is impeccable, the pacing is perfect and her characters are just plain wonderful.On the other hand, this is a Gay Romance novel, so there is a fair amount of obligatory angst, but she doesn't let it derail the almost-cinematic progress of this book. Dialogue is both authentic and lush - with voices different enough to easily identify the speaker without the benefit of "Curt said"s, and the like.The story is as simple as it gets. Two dissimilar men, one a rather uptight attorney (Curt), the other (Jack), gorgeous, built and tattooed, successful in business and the proud owner not just of a Harley, but of a high-end motorcycle business and a popular gay bar. YIn and yang.The obstacles are all internal - Curt's  conviction that Jack is "out of his league", Jack's trust issues that derive from a nasty breakup with his most recent lover, two years earlier. Curt's self-esteem problems stem from a successful, domineering father who went ballistic when Curt came out.The unlikely pair meet at a mutual friend's gay wedding, and the fireworks start, right off the bat. There's nothing unique or particularly inventive about the machinations they go through on their way to a life together. So why did I love the book? Because it was breezy, light, written with a deft touch, and I just liked both characters so damned much.No, it's isn't Shakespeare, but it is a remarkably well-written gay romance with a welcome light touch. What more could you ask?