StitchersGirl

3 stars

Well, what did I think? I'm not sure. It was good, but I definitely didn't love it.

What I really liked were the MCs. Billy is shy and complex, and he might have taken longer than others finding out who he really is, but he's also smart and considerate and so damned sweet. He sacrificed so much, went above and beyond for his family - it could be ridiculous, but really isn't. I'm always a sucker for real stories and real pain, and he was just right. There. Same for Shaz. I liked his flamboyant, feminine side. The color, the "darlings", everything fit and worked and I adored him. To me, so sad that some authors tend to pair two alphas together and dismiss the "effiminate" characters because they're not considered to be "real men" or worse, "not manly enough". I always call BS on that one, so it's nice to see a character like Shaz finding some happiness with the big bad construction worker. What I loved was the development of these two, but especially Billy. Going from getting an anonymous BJ in his car to loving an out and proud starlight like Chaz was a treat to witness. And I loved his standing up to his mother even more.

The thing was: I couldn't love the whole story. One reason was the writing. It wasn't bad all the time, but the dialogue? Now that was hard to stomach. Some of the lines were so unbelievably cheesy, I was tempted to skip whole parts of the dialogues more often than not. Especially the sex scenes got to me, and not in a good way. Talking about tools and jackhammers and god knows what during sex just really doesn't work for me. And in the end, I might be good with some cheese and be a real sap from time to time, but parts of this book were way, way too much - even for me.

Even worse was the ending. Too much, way too much, and especially the reaction of Billy's mother was a no-go. Not. For. Me. I just didn't buy it. You don't change your whole perspective on homosexuality in the blink of an eye, or do a 180 because of one tiny little discussion with your kids. That might just be my experience talking, but there is just no way I believe in this kind of insta-acceptance.

So I liked it, it was sweet, not too angsty and had two adorable MCs, but that was just it.