Review: Well-Written
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 13, 2013
And Manny Makes Three is a well-written old-fashioned love story. The characters are eminently likable, the plot simple and consistent, and the pace pretty good.It is the story of two men, 9 years in age between them, who fall in love. The problem is that the older one has an adopted son and keeps finding reasons why their having an open relationship would be bad for the kid.And therein lies the rub. The kid would love to have two daddies, even though one of them is paralyzed by the fear that the younger one will desert them to go sow his "wild oats".Which is my major criticism of both this and many other gay romance novels: the obstacle so often seems to be manufactured - or the characters are just too stupid to act on what they feel, constantly finding excuses why they can't be together or "it just won't work". I understand, a common plot device. However, the best M/M novels do not revolve around synthetic obstacles, which is the only reason I didn't give this book five stars. That, and the fact that so many books I've read recently have a really good first half, leading up to the moment the two MCs have sex for the first time, and then devolve into third-rate erotica with endless and repetitive sex scenes that, ultimately, just aren't sexy.Nonetheless, I do recommend this book for its innocent and passionate love story and a lot of cool teasing dialog among the three - the two guys and a precocious, but realistic, kid.