Review: Not up to snuff (spoilers ahead, beware)
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 06 6, 2014
While I love JL's stories and characters and will auto-buy his novels and novelas, when it comes to his shorts, they tend to be hit or miss or miss for me. Sometimes they're perfect (A Perfect Day) and sometimes not so much.Things I like:The very real terror of being suddenly unemployed was examined nicely, as well as Con's inner turmoil at how others do/don't perceive him. For teachers, the absolute worst accusation is inappropriate conduct with your students, and that fear is given a spotlight here. A little too bright, but I'll get to that later. I liked his friends rallying around him and giving him the support he needed. I liked that the resolution only came about because of the almighty dollar, even if it came rather later than it should have, because that's how the world works and its sucks, but that's reality. I liked the detail of his mom and really wish that would have been expanded on more.Things I didn't like:Wes is a raging a-hole. Sure, he dresses up pretty, but he's an a-hole. I didn't like him. I could have, but I wasn't given any time to forgive him (sorry, I'm not as quick to forgive accusations - even unintended ones - of child molestation as Con is) before the romance ramped up and I was forcing myself to read all their scenes, the entire time wondering why? Why would Con be so quick to forgive this guy who cost him his job and put what could have been a permanent black mark on his career? And why did it take Wes so long to demand (or bribe in this case) that Con get his job back? Wes tried to explain himself, he had reasons for already being in an emotionally crappy place even before his daughter was hurt - but that was crossing a line-more like a chasm actually-and he never fully explained why he crossed it. Because he's been thinking about Con a lot because he likes him... so his reaction to a medical emergency is to suggest Con is wrong-touching his daughter? No. That's not how you show your interest, dude. Then, after Con shows considerable emotional maturity in forgiving this blowhole, Wes has the nerve to get all butt hurt when Con's ex bursts in on one of their dates and refuses to give Con a chance to explain himself? Really???? Go screw yourself.Con is a pushover. Which is fine, I don't mind pushovers in my stories as long as they learn to stand up for themselves by the end - which Con starts to do until he gets pushed over by Wes once again. Grow a spine, dude. I know Josh has a formula he follows for pretty much every single story he writes, but this would've been one of those times to break that formula. Con didn't need to be in a relationship crutch. He needed to stand on his own.  He was an emotional wreck throughout their incredibly short courtship, his judgment was sketchy at best. They went on all of three dates and in that time he falls in love with Wes? Is it really that easy to fall for someone you can't even trust and who makes you paranoid to be around kids? Really??? Because I'm thinking no. There's something not right with Connor. He needs therapy, or something, to work out these neediness issues of his.The Misunderstanding is not one of my favorite tropes on a good day and here it's used not once (the hospital), not twice (the firing), but three times. And the last time is so beyond contrived. Was Eric stalking Connor, waiting for him to bring a date home so he could barge in and ruin it? Give me a break. As if I wasn't rolling my eyes enough at this point, I really was worried they'd roll right out of their sockets.I think that's my main issue here is that the things I like (the fear/uneasiness that Con feels throughout) are so vivid and real, they were in stark contrast to the things I didn't like. It felt unbalanced, like there were two different stories being told. One was a semi-social commentary on a gay pre-K teacher suddenly fired and facing horrible accusations, and the other was a smarmy romance worthy of Lifetime. Neither story was given the time nor space to fully develop.So wrapping this up, this was a hot unholy mess that would have been mediocre from any other author. I hold Josh to a higher calibre though, and this one just didn't stack up. I'm glad I borrowed it.