thatjds's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Homophobia, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Death of parent
cqlanier's review
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
frenziedmaenad's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
jencameron's review
3.0
What’s good: the very real pain, confusion, and fear of admitting to oneself and loved ones about being gay. Excellent writing in that regard. Once again, this particular topic breaks my heart that any parent could not accept their child. I look forward to the day my son brings home a man he loves and the day I get two sons for the price of one....after college preferably :-)
What’s not so good: hints at storylines that never actually happen. Why bother bringing it up if it’s not going to be finessed in any significant manner? I admit that I was briefly afraid I had picked up a gay version of harlequin romance, which I cannot stomach no matter who the characters are. Fortunately it was not that at all.
What’s not so good: hints at storylines that never actually happen. Why bother bringing it up if it’s not going to be finessed in any significant manner? I admit that I was briefly afraid I had picked up a gay version of harlequin romance, which I cannot stomach no matter who the characters are. Fortunately it was not that at all.
jkh107's review
4.0
More literary than genre. Set in the 1980s, a gay couple's strained relationships with their families are intensified during the holidays.
trin's review
2.0
This is a queer romance, set around Christmas, so I thought it would be the perfect holiday read for me. Um. Not so much. The tone is just so dour—I’m not sure there’s a joke in the entire book. Neither Ford nor Dan particularly grabbed me. And Grimsley has this annoying tendency to write sentences. That stop. And devolve. Into fragments. Argh!
There are some nice atmospheric moments, but I never felt involved with the characters and was thus pretty bored.
There are some nice atmospheric moments, but I never felt involved with the characters and was thus pretty bored.
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