The Particulars: Contemporary gay romance, Riptide Publishing, 2017, In Print, LAMBDA finalist Best Gay Romance
Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I liked the cover, I LOVED the fact that both main characters were in their 50s, and I scored a free copy at last year's RWA Librarians Day.
The Review: Buckle up kiddies because I have a lot to say about this book - some of it good and some of it that had me frothing at the mouth angry.
Cam McGhee is a widower in his early 50s with two grown children. He lives in a small, historically black, rural town. He played high school football, married the girl next door, opened his own feed store and he's gay. He's still firmly in the closet, but has decided to take a sabbatical from the business (his son is running it in his absence) and spend some time in The Big City (Austin). Cam has to find himself, and who he ends up finding is Dave Montoya.
This is a romance, but to be honest it works better as a Coming Of Age or Self-Discovery Narrative. Cam has been hiding his truth for so long that reading about the romance between him and Dave is actually quite sweet. Cam married LaVerne right out of high school so not only has he not dated in a dog's age, he also hasn't been involved with someone he feels a deep attraction and passion for. Naturally it all gets complicated when he realizes he is developing real feelings for Dave. For one thing, Cam's kids have no clue that Dad Is Gay.
So what's the problem? LaVerne. The author chooses to employ flashbacks to Cam's marriage and that makes LaVerne a very big problem. I learned a long time ago that life isn't fair. You know what I love most about genre fiction? It's fair. True love conquers all, the bad guys lose in the end, genre fiction is art's way of righting the universe. LaVerne is a sweet, small town girl who is "sickly." Turns out she has sickle cell that goes undiagnosed for a long time and ultimately it's complications from that disease that kill her. LaVerne is married to a closeted gay man who does love her (in the way friends love each other) and LaVerne DIES. And by all accounts, LaVerne has no clue that Cam is gay (the author tap-dances around this a bit, but there's never any big moment where LaVerne indicates she knows the truth so I'm operating under the assumption she doesn't know).
LaVerne gets hosed.
LaVerne spent her whole adult life married to a man who had to fantasize about other men when they did have sex (which wasn't often). LaVerne NEVER knew what it was like to be desired. LaVerne never felt true passion. No man ever looked into LaVerne's eyes and told her how much he desired her, how much he loved her, how he would walk through the fires of Hell for her. And now, LaVerne is dead. Her chance at happiness, her chance at true love and passion are forever gone. And that makes me so angry I want to throat punch somebody.
Look, I get it. I'm not unsympathetic to Cam's plight. But the fact that nobody, at all, says word one about how LaVerne got shafted makes me angry. When the kids find out they both ask Cam if he cheated on their Mom (he didn't). But then they just drop it. Nobody thinks for one moment what life must have been like for LaVerne - with a myriad of health related issues and a husband who was using her as a beard.
The worst part about this whole thing is that I don't think the author made these choices for her story with any malicious intent. LaVerne is not a villainous character by any stretch of the imagination. However, while I'm not widely read in m/m, even I know that the sub genre doesn't have the best track record when it comes to writing female characters. Which, when you think about the fact that the readership is largely female and the writers are largely female is seriously messed up.
Is this a sweet romance featuring an older couple? Yes, it is. But it's also a rage-inducing read about a woman who gets screwed, and not in a good way. If there is any justice at all in the world, an author is going to read this review, agree with me that LaVerne gets hosed, resurrect her, and give her her own passionate, soul-defining and beautiful happy ever after with someone who treats her like a goddamn goddess.
I recognize that the narrative of Cam finally living his truth is a good one but I can't overlook LaVerne. So...
Final Grade = C
