I was expecting this to be a campy bit of fun but found myself really liking Brin the man and friend. Definitely worth reading after you meet the over the top, sometimes nasty Brin in The Good Boy. ( )

I just don't like Brin. ( )

This is a great companion book to The Good Boy (reviewed here). As angsty and deep as that book is, this one is the perfect addition because it is light and funny. Interestingly, that doesn't mean it isn't deep, and I love how J.A. and Lisa use a totally different style here to expand on the point that friendship and respect, no matter what the rest of the relationship looks like, is a crucial fundamental without which a partnership won’t last.

Brin, at first glance, is the flighty, glittery, utterly flamboyant gay man of the stereotype so many people think of as the "typical" gay man. He is a sub, capable of throwing epic tantrums to get exactly what he wants, and that's the way he normally likes it. The thing is, talking to his friend Lane, Brin realizes that isn’t all he wants to be. The image is so strong though, and has offered him a certain level of protection for many years, that it is hard for him to see the truth. His biggest fear is that he really is that superficial and can’t be a good, true friend to anyone. Self-doubt starts eating at him to the point he goes into a mini melt-down.

It's a good thing Fergus recognizes this when he comes home. Like the good Dom he is, he "Tops his way to the bottom of the issue" (as the blurb promises), and finds the right actions and words to fix the problem. Everything he says and does speaks of his deep love of Brin, and even though it takes a while to get through Brin's funk, eventually he does succeed.

The book is written in Brin's voice, and that being about a mile a minute, it gives a high level of energy to the entire story. If you like stories that follow up with some of the characters from a longer novel, if you enjoy reading about men who have a great sense of humor and are loyal to a fault, but doubt themselves, and if you're looking for a short read that has more depth than usual stories of that length, then you will probably like this short book.

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