julianc's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
justin_w's review
5.0
I absolutely adored this. Jim Grimsley is a wonderful writer and the way he wrote this romance was just so authentic and sweet. Ronny and Ben need to be protected.
j3rstw's review
5.0
I absolutely adored this. Jim Grimsley is a wonderful writer and the way he wrote this romance was just so authentic and sweet. Ronny and Ben need to be protected.
revisions_pending's review
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
5.0
lord_crybaby's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was such an intimate read. I love books like these - depicting life exactly how it is with no frills, tugging on my emotions as if I'm there in the moment with the characters.
It hit too close to home a few times, but I try to always find appreciation in reading about a character going through the same things I have.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this, even when I had to put it down for a time and find the strength to return.
It hit too close to home a few times, but I try to always find appreciation in reading about a character going through the same things I have.
All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this, even when I had to put it down for a time and find the strength to return.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Dementia, and Cancer
brittaniethekid's review
3.0
This is a book for people that like slow, quiet "day in the life of" stories with ambiguous endings. We follow Ronny through a year of college in 1970s South Carolina as he tries to figure things out. There is plenty of drama and life changing events but they're all presented here on a low simmer. As a result, while the story itself was easy to follow and kept me mostly engaged, I never really connected with any of the characters and none of these huge events really hit me very hard. Unexpectedly, it has a HFN "ending" but left me feeling like the story still had a long way to go.
The book opens with Ronny starting a new year in a dorm that houses a lot of the football team - who use him as their resident paper writer. He helps them study and pass their classes and they don't give him too much shit. One of the team, Ben, is someone Ronny has always been a bit obsessed with and they end up having a secretive affair throughout the year. Ben is still dating girls during and it's a little convoluted whether he's doing this because he wants to, to keep up appearances, or it's just something that's just expected but meanwhile he's very possessive of Ronny even while he perpetually cheats on him. There are a lot of moments that are major red flags against Ben but there are also a lot of sweet private moments that make you think maybe it's worth it for Ronny, especially when he doesn't have much else in his life.
Besides the relationship drama, we also see two deaths of old women, daily school and local newspaper business, and a vague picture of what college life was like in this time and area. Interestingly, there aren't a lot of mentions of racism or even homophobia (besides blatant use of the word fa**ot) despite the time and location of the story which I thought was strange. There's even a campus-supported LGBT meetup group. Unless this was a particularly liberal city in the middle of the South, it felt a little duplicitous. The author mentions that his own life inspired a lot of the story so who am I to call it fake but it also makes me think he must have been incredibly lucky and/or naive.
Overall, I'd recommend it if the above is your thing. It was well written and the characters felt like real people with realistic dialogue. It just left me feeling a little bereft and wasn't a page-turner for me, taking me 3 weeks to complete.
The book opens with Ronny starting a new year in a dorm that houses a lot of the football team - who use him as their resident paper writer. He helps them study and pass their classes and they don't give him too much shit. One of the team, Ben, is someone Ronny has always been a bit obsessed with and they end up having a secretive affair throughout the year. Ben is still dating girls during and it's a little convoluted whether he's doing this because he wants to, to keep up appearances, or it's just something that's just expected but meanwhile he's very possessive of Ronny even while he perpetually cheats on him. There are a lot of moments that are major red flags against Ben but there are also a lot of sweet private moments that make you think maybe it's worth it for Ronny, especially when he doesn't have much else in his life.
Besides the relationship drama, we also see two deaths of old women, daily school and local newspaper business, and a vague picture of what college life was like in this time and area. Interestingly, there aren't a lot of mentions of racism or even homophobia (besides blatant use of the word fa**ot) despite the time and location of the story which I thought was strange. There's even a campus-supported LGBT meetup group. Unless this was a particularly liberal city in the middle of the South, it felt a little duplicitous. The author mentions that his own life inspired a lot of the story so who am I to call it fake but it also makes me think he must have been incredibly lucky and/or naive.
Overall, I'd recommend it if the above is your thing. It was well written and the characters felt like real people with realistic dialogue. It just left me feeling a little bereft and wasn't a page-turner for me, taking me 3 weeks to complete.
niteskyi's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
castle_42's review
5.0
Toxic yet exhilarating like poison rushing through your veins reminding you of being alive . A story about anger , sorrow , and feeling alive through the biting cold.
Somber , tender . It was a sucker punch .
A love story without gentleness . Just enough to ease . The characters were immaculately written they felt complex and when they felt
pain so did I. It almost brought me to tears.
Definitely well written .
Somber , tender . It was a sucker punch .
A love story without gentleness . Just enough to ease . The characters were immaculately written they felt complex and when they felt
pain so did I. It almost brought me to tears.
Definitely well written .
kay_jax's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
i loved the writing style and the narrator for the audiobook (Michael Crouch has narrated some of my favorite books!). i’m tried and don’t want to write a review, but basically these are the elements that i enjoyed:
slow-paced
not plot, just vibes
tender hearted
explored one of my favorite topics; unrequited love
seasonally atmospheric - summer through winter
slow-paced
not plot, just vibes
tender hearted
explored one of my favorite topics; unrequited love
seasonally atmospheric - summer through winter
louismunozjr's review
5.0
TEN stars! Just finished this, and I don’t know how to put my thoughts into words. This book grabbed me and never let me go.
Jim Grimsley pulls off an outrageous magic trick with “The Dove in the Belly.” Gay college kid befriends big, beefy straight jock with hints of danger: the stuff of thousands of books, shows, movies, and, yup, “adult movies” and fantasies. But right from the start I felt I was with two main characters who were very “real,” very compelling. Technically, Ronny, the gay kid, is the MC, but Ben, the football player, he comes to us as more than just a tired trope, more than just the obscure object of our desires - the movie is referenced in that context. In fact, I cared just as much, hoped just as much, believed just as much, for Ben, than one might normally care and than I thought I would.
There was electricity in this book, and there WAS danger, and I stayed wound up, keyed-up, the whole way through this incredible, beautiful, powerful journey. And the ending was so different and so much better than what I expected. No spoilers from me, but I’ll just say, I can breathe again; I didn’t realize how much I had been holding my breath. And now that I can breathe again, I can tell you, this book will stay with me for a very long time to come.
Jim Grimsley pulls off an outrageous magic trick with “The Dove in the Belly.” Gay college kid befriends big, beefy straight jock with hints of danger: the stuff of thousands of books, shows, movies, and, yup, “adult movies” and fantasies. But right from the start I felt I was with two main characters who were very “real,” very compelling. Technically, Ronny, the gay kid, is the MC, but Ben, the football player, he comes to us as more than just a tired trope, more than just the obscure object of our desires - the movie is referenced in that context. In fact, I cared just as much, hoped just as much, believed just as much, for Ben, than one might normally care and than I thought I would.
There was electricity in this book, and there WAS danger, and I stayed wound up, keyed-up, the whole way through this incredible, beautiful, powerful journey. And the ending was so different and so much better than what I expected. No spoilers from me, but I’ll just say, I can breathe again; I didn’t realize how much I had been holding my breath. And now that I can breathe again, I can tell you, this book will stay with me for a very long time to come.