Work is the most important thing in my life, until now.I love being a cop, it’s what I’ve always wanted to be and I put my heart and soul into it. I never cared that all my relationships have failed due to working too much because, really, I never felt very passionate about any of the women I dated. But I feel passionate about Charlie, even if he’s resistant to it. I hope his dog, Bailey, can be … hope his dog, Bailey, can be the tie that binds us.
He’s perfect for me, but he’s straight…
Noah would normally be everything I wanted in a man, but him being straight complicates things. And the last thing I need is more complication after my recent break-up. Not to mention the fact that I’m trying to care for my father with alzheimers who I haven’t spoken to in nearly a decade. Things are hard enough without adding a new relationship into the mix.
But my dog, Bailey, really likes him. If I have to keep seeing him for her, I don’t know how long I can resist him.
This standalone gay-for-you novel comes complete with a HEA ending!
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Best Character in the Novel? The DOG…
It’s getting more and more difficult to write reviews for this genre for the more of these that I read, the more I’m convinced that many of the authors (and I’m using the term generously) grinding these novels out must assume that their readers simply have little to no expectations of excellence. Now, to clarify, I’m not a literate snob. (If I were I wouldn’t be reading this stuff in the first place.) Truth?, I totally love the romance genre! When executed properly it’s delightful escapism unlike anything else. That having been said, I take great exception to what I see is a far too common and overused formula i.e., take two disparate characters and throw them together, have a honeymoon period, throw an obstacle in front of them, have characters appear they will not be able to overcome said obstacle, one (or both) character(s) has a sudden epiphany/change of heart, and… cue the HEA ending! Anything following this tired structure wouldn’t even earn you a C- in a creative writing course from any teacher (not even one that actually liked you) and it certainly is no set up for a great read or a worthwhile spend of your hard earned money no matter how little you may have paid for it.
Hunt also has a peculiar and highly unsatisfying method of bringing his straight characters into their gay acceptance. They seem to live in a monk like state, blissfully devoid of passion, desire, need or emotional hunger. They literally spend no time at all questioning their sexual existence either before or after meeting the guy who becomes their very first same sex attraction and future husband. Here’s a quote from this novel’s straight character;
“I wasn’t in the mood to over analyze it, though. I was sure, for most men, these feelings might bring about some kind of existential crisis. Maybe a normal guy would resist hanging out with Charlie as they questioned their sexuality and did their best to figure out where they stood on the spectrum of sexuality. But I had no desire to question my sexuality. Because, frankly, I just didn’t care. I didn’t care if I was completely straight and women were my only thing. I didn’t care if I was gay, and it was men I was looking after. I didn’t need to label myself either thing; it didn’t seem important.”
Here’s another from the straight character from Hart’s novel Forever Soulmates;
“It was weird just how little it bothered me that I was potentially gay. I knew most people had some kind of crisis in suddenly accepting a sexual orientation that was different from the one they had identified as their entire life. I guess I was just so happy to finally feel emotions again that it didn’t really matter to me. Who cared if I was gay? If things worked out with Hunter, I couldn’t give a &%#.”
Newsflash to authors: Remove a character’s existential crisis and you remove the conflict. Lack of conflict is BORING and nobody wants to spend their time or money on boring. While the author may personally espouse such ideals concerning sexual identity (and I think they’re great ideals!) this is a trick you can only get away with once. You can’t make every straight hero so easily accepting of their “true” nature without eventually being accused of being unoriginal and/or supremely lazy.
If it sounds like I’m being a little harsh, it’s because I totally am. Hart has great ideas, is skilled at both inner and conversational dialogue, and shows great potential. I’d like to see him grow and break out of this formulaic rut I’m seeing and give us something we can really sink our romance novel teeth into.