Review: Forced and Unrealistic
Rating: 1 out of 5
Date: 05 5, 2013
I saw the effusive 5 star reviews and thought this would be a great book. It wasn't. I am now wondering if the reviews were written by friends and family of the author.***SPOILERS BELOW***There are several reasons this book falls flat. First, tackling homelessness in romantic fiction is an ambitious endeavor, and here, the writer didn't do it justice. If you've ever seen homelessness up close, you'll understand why it's near impossible to romanticize it. The protags fall in love while one is homeless and the other is in high school. The love seemed incredibly fake. When someone is homeless sleeping outside in the dirt, their looks, teeth, smell, hair, body, clothes, demeanor etc do not evoke romance. That Harry falls in love and is sexually attracted to Danny seemed far-fetched and way too contrived. Harry literally had to bring Danny a toothbrush in order to make a kiss happen. Um, okay. I guess the toothbrush solved the sexy vs. homelessness problem.Also absurd is the idea that Harry had to leave without warning, only to return and not recognize the person he claims to love so much. Really? You love someone with your whole heart, fantasize about them endlessly, cross the Atlantic to find them.... but you can't recognize their voice? The way they move? Their height? Their hands? Eyes? And you've been intimate--so you don't recognize him sexually either? ABSURD. This whole aspect of the story line is a joke, and I just couldn't get on board.And, the likelihood of both lovers changing their names is another farce. The reason Harry/Jack goes by a different name when he lives in America made no sense. "Jack" moves back to England, reconnects with his true love, doesn't recognize him, proceeds to date him for YEARS and then finds out about the deception (for which, like every other plot device in the story, there is only a bogus explanation) and then insta-forgives the lie which has spanned their relationship all these years. Wait, what? These guys have been together for years, but Harry/Jack never learned of his lover's past? Danny never slipped up and mentioned that they are each other's first love? Danny never mentions that he was homeless as a teen? Never mentioned his family? Never explained his coming out story?  Well, what in the heck did they talk about for all those years?! And how is a deception this major forgiven in just a paragraph of text? I was flabbergasted.  It is really the most ridiculous book I've read in a very long time.It's a highly disappointing to read a book that is billed as deep and insightful only to find that contrived plot devices are all the story has to offer. I don't recommend this one.