This book in a way wasn't easy to read, since Andrew starts working as a gay escort (while being straight..) to pay off Mary's hospital bills as she is diagnosed with cancer. He is an actor but hasn't found a real job in a while now, and while he could have had a job back home in Kansas he is living in New York City now helping his sister as best as he can. Which means money has to be had no matter the cost. Most of the sexual encounters Andrew has aren't "that bad" or are really funny yet some of it is quite disturbing.. (not to mention Sven the Swedish who sounded like the version of Søren I see in my head - the one from "The Original Sinner" though I don't think there is ANY connection. Søren might be a sadist but he isn't a bad guy. Sven is, well, a douche!). Also there is the fact that Mary is dying. There is no way to miss that. We might not know when it will happen but for me, from the state she was in and the way the cancer progressed it was obvious that we will not see a miraculous recovery. Also if you read any other novel by T. Baggins / S. A. Reid I think it would be obvious to you that it's not only about HEA, it's about life and the fact that it's not as easy was we would want it to be.
But if we put the facts above in prospective. This was a really funny and sweet read. Yeah! it actually was! There is also a romance story between the closeted Republican Senator Cormac Donovan and Andrew Reynolds who always considered himself straight and having issues with the fact his father is living with Hugh who used to be his English Teacher.. When his father came out and divorced his mom he had a really difficult time, at home as well as at school so being gay or acting gay is something Andrew is terrified of. Which is one of the reasons I'm reducing half a star from my rating.. Andrew succumbs to his desires WAY to quickly in my personal opinion.
As Andrew learns more about his desires from the escort job he is doing, the relationship between him and Cormac - which is also a client - start changing. Cormac started as a nice person to hang out with for Andrew but as he learns to admit his desire he wants to act on it and what he learns from the odd jobs somehow helps his out even though it was SO awkward at times, at least in my opinion..
I think both Andrew and Cormac are quite likable. Maybe Cormac more than Andrew with his homophobic past and the way he treated gay men before and especially his father and his life partner Hugh. Cormac is such a sweet person! He has been closeted for so long while all he wants is to be able to act on his wants and needs and not seeing a way to do that without destroying the life he worked really hard building. But as Andrew realizes he loves Cormac he won't settle for a closeted relationship which means Cormac has to choose between manning up for the man he loves or stay alone and keep living a lie.
I know that Republicans in the US suppose to be conservative but beside this small detail I know NOTHING about American politics. Oddly enough this book feel really relevant to what is going on in MY country. As elections are coming soon, there is one party which stats that it's MAIN goal is to prevent gay people from getting married. I'm so PISSED about it I have NO WORDS. Besides the obvious I can't understand how in a time like this were there are so many other issues to peruse - lets start with not being afraid of war and bombing and continue with the fact that there are more and more (working!) people who have no money to maintain themselves and their families - this party is concerned with what again? gay marriage? really? REALLY? doesn't it sound a BIT too shallow (and damn stupid!) to think ONLY of a couple of people wanting to get married instead of people who don't have food to eat or live in fear that they are going to be bombed and DIE. I do think there is significant to gay marriage but not as a the FIRST thing on a political agenda.
That being said, for me, reading of Cormac and what he had to deal with, makes me wonder how many more people have to hide and made decisions they don't want to make (meaning get married to people they don't love or want or stay single in order to "fit in") and how long will it take for society to realize that as we are all free men and women, who have rights as citizens in our democratic countries NO ONE should tell us who we are allowed (or not allowed!) to live with in honor and in love. I don't even understand the need for it to be discussed. It should be allowed by the civilian laws in any democratic country with NO connection to other people's religious beliefs (they are THEIR OWN and should NOT make others live by them if they chose not to).
I'm stopping with my rambling RIGHT NOW :)
Really enjoyed this one. While it has a few disturbing moments, it was HOT and funny and while it had it's sad moments I really enjoyed the way it ended.
Additional Details: Kindle Ebook, 258 pages, 18-19 January 2015 / On GoodReads
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