Review of Easy by Tammara Webber

I didn't want to read this book at first. Yes, it's true that I want to try more new adult books, but the college setting makes me leery since I'm only a year removed from living in that setting. Tammara Webber managed to win me over with a truly excellent love story, much to my surprise.

The book opens with our heroine, Jacqueline, very narrowly avoiding getting raped by her ex-boyfriend's frat brother. Her rescuer, Lucas, is sexy, mysterious, and everything her ex-boyfriend was not. The attack has made Jacqueline feel like a victim, especially when her attacker starts following her and telling lies about her. With Lucas there to support her, Jacqueline finds perspective, strength, and power against helplessness.

The relationship between Jacqueline and Lucas is simply precious. I found their emails and texts really charming. Jacqueline initially comes off a bit judgmental, labeling Lucas (because he has tattoos and piercings) as a slacker and a bad boy. To her credit, though, she seemed all too willing to be proven wrong. Once she sees him in the right light, she's eager to help him slay his personal demons (and he's got some serious demons). What I enjoyed most, though, was the fact that Lucas is protective. Not just that he's protective, really, but that he wanted her to be able to defend herself, and he fully believed that she could. The care he takes in giving her the empowerment of self defense is as emotionally impactful as it is practical.

Now, perhaps the only downside to the book is the fact that it gets a bit heavy handed with its message. Not only does it preach self defense and personal safety up, down, and sideways, but it also returns time and again to rape and how rapists should be treated--it's a huge part of the plot, and it's a little bit after-school special. Even as I write this, though, I can understand that their are teenagers and young women that can never hear these messages enough--they need to hear that rape is not the fault of the victim, that rape needs to be reported, that rapists need to be apprehended. Yes, I'm quite certain there are young readers who need to marinate their brains in these thoughts until they sink in past all of the rape culture we've been stewing in. For me though, I must admit, I got sick of it.

To sum this book up, it's a lovely romance and a nice contemporary story with awesome intentions. If the messages felt a bit tiresome to me, the characters made up for it by being adorable and sexy. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

Review of Family Man by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton

I've been sort of subconsciously intending to  read more M/M this year, so here we go--a nice contemporary that actually sort of surprised me with some of the directions it took.

Vinnie, a forty-something accountant turned plumber from a big Italian family, has a sudden epiphany that he might be gay. In an effort to figure this out, he goes to a gay club way outside of his usual haunts--and of course, runs into a guy from his family's neighborhood. Trey is twenty-six, but old for his age, and the attraction between them is intense.

I want to say right off that the age difference is a total non-issue. Trey is, as I said, very old for his age, having endured a pretty rough home life with an alcoholic mother. Vinnie is not remotely experienced in the art of dating men, so Trey's relative sexual innocence actually suites him well. Their attraction is deep, but they put off having sex, so it's a slow burn sort of thing. I actually really enjoyed the fact that they took their time jumping into bed together, because they both wanted it to mean something. I also liked that once they do end up together, it's not quite what you would expect.

The highlight of this book for me was the way that Vinnie treats Trey. He's extremely considerate and affectionate. He takes Trey out on really excellent dates and makes sure he's comfortable with everything. When Trey's situation with his mother comes to a crisis point, Vinnie drops every selfish hang-up that he has in order to make sure that Trey has the support he needs. This book is so much sweeter than I expected.

The major hang-up I had with this book was the fact that Vinnie's transformation from "No, not gay, no way." to "I would like to marry a man." is really, really quick. His family's acceptance of him is equally very abrupt. It's as though both Vinnie and a majority of his family exist in a rainbows-and-puppies ideal universe where any reservations about sexuality are worked out in the blink of an eye. From the set-up, I expected it to be more of a journey.

I also thought the ending was a bit saccharine. It through the tone off for me a bit, because for awhile it goes to a really dark place with Trey and his mother and all of that. I thought it might just end on a hopeful note. I didn't feel like the grand public gestures were necessary in this case.

So to sum up: this book is sweet and hot (like pie), and it's totally worth reading if you like contemporary M/M. I dare say it might even make a good introduction for readers who haven't tried contemporary M/M before. 3.5 stars.