Month: July 2019

Review: Marry Me by Casper Graham

Good story idea, but the execution was lacking.

3 out of 5 stars

Ebook. 76 pages. Published March 4th 2017 by JMS Books LLC

Blurb:

Nathan Wong wants to marry his boyfriend of more than seven years but has no idea how to propose. Neither of them is particularly fond of huge gestures, so he decides to go the traditional route.

Jason Yang has also been considering proposing to Nathan, and eventually he manages to pull it off. It’s one of the more memorable events in their relationship. The two then begin to plan the wedding with the help of their mothers.

The only problem is neither man realizes the extent of planning for a wedding and how stressful it can be. As the wedding date approaches, frustrations take their toll and put a strain on their relationship. Will they ever get their dream wedding and happy ever after? 

Likes:

  • Short.
  • Hot sex scenes.
  • Showed the difficulties of trying to create perfect moments.
  • Good story idea.
  • Racially diverse characters.

Dislikes:

  • Sex without lube.
  • Lack of dialogue tags and contractions.
  • The men didn’t act or speak like they were in their thirties.
  • All the characters were one dimensional.
  • Wasn’t sure if the story was set in England or America.
  • Some important events weren’t shown and other scenes didn’t affect the plot at all.

*I wrestled with what to give this novella, and decided on three stars with the caveat that I don’t recommend it.

I can tell that Mr. Graham has talent. The basic plot was interesting. The main characters want to make their proposals and wedding perfect events, only to face the reality of how stressful it can be. The blurb caught my attention and the story started off well.

However, by the end of the book I was skimming. I just didn’t care anymore. What I’d liked about the beginning of the book was the focus on the men’s relationship. By the end, the scenes played more like a list of steps that had to happen just to get to the happily ever after.

I think this book needs a good editor. It’s more than just the overuse of ellipsis and lack of contractions. There were scenes that added nothing to the story and some, like the couple fighting, that were only mentioned in passing, not shown. The focus of the story should have stayed on the romance, not the process of setting up the wedding.

Then there was the lack of dialogue tags. I lost the thread of the conversation a few times and had to flip back pages in order to find who was talking. Not to mention, without the dialogue tags, there was no action or description between the dialogue. Not only did that make things a little boring, it deprived the story of the opportunity to flesh out the characters. And they could use it.

All the characters were one dimensional and most were stereotypes. From the bro best friend to the wedding obsessed mothers. As for Nathan and Jason, neither talked or acted like they were in their thirties. Their last names and a few words in the story hint at their ethnicity, but it’s not a big part of the story which makes me wonder why it’s in there at all. As for what country they were living in, I assumed it was America. Then the word ‘knackered’ was used and I thought they were in England. But eloping to Vegas for the wedding was mentioned several times, so I have no idea.

The sex scenes were by far the best part. Which was good, because there were a lot. Five or six at least. However, the couple had penetrative sex without lube three times. That lost the story a quarter of a star automatically. Not to mention, each time they had dry sex, it was in their own living room. You’d think that sometime in the two years they’d owned the house they’d have thought to shove a travel sized bottle of lube between the couch cushions.

I read this book because I was curious about Casper Graham. This story was much better than the first one of his I tried to read (and couldn’t finish) and it’s clear that the talent is there. But it needs to be polished and refined. At the end of the day, the finished product leaves much to be desired.

Review: Falling for His Best Friend by Casper Graham

Awkward writing and character motivations that don’t make sense made me DNF at 17%

1 out of 5 stars

E-book. 149 pages. Published June 8th 2019 by JMS Books LLC

Blurb:

Keenan Underwood finally reunites with Pablo Cotilla, his first ever best friend from his younger years. They begin hanging out again, spending plenty of time together. He enjoys every moment with Pablo, but doesn’t expect to fall in love with his best friend, who doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. 

Pablo has a hard time controlling himself around Keenan. Keenan is gorgeous, and the man has grown up into a hunk. Pablo doesn’t think he has a chance with Keenan because his best friend doesn’t have any romantic feelings toward him. It would be better for Pablo to conceal his real feelings rather than risk the possibility of being rejected by Keenan and also losing his best friend. But that’s easier said than done. 

Can they figure out their feelings? Or are they destined to only be best friends forever? 

Likes:

  • The plot and setup are classic.

Dislikes:

  • The writing was clunky. Awkward phrases, few contractions, too many exclamation points, and lots of people not laughing normally.
  • The characters weren’t engaging.
  • Their decisions not to try for a relationship don’t make sense.

DNF 17%

This book made me cringe. It reminded me of other books I’ve read on Kindle Unlimited where the author clearly never had someone edit the content. This book didn’t have spelling mistakes or incorrect words, but it is in dire need of someone to come along and iron out the plot and smooth out the clunky writing.

When I started reading, I assumed that this was the Graham’s first book. The writing has that ‘enthusiastic but unpolished’ feel to it. I pushed myself to continue reading, both because I assumed that Graham was a first time author and because the publisher, JMS, is a small queer press and it feels good to support them. When I eventually did look Graham up, I found that he has 30 unique works registered on Goodreads. And in that instant, all my acceptance of the book’s flaws disappeared.

If the clunky writing was only occasional, I could have kept reading. But there were so many awkward phrases that I couldn’t ignore them. Here are some of the ones I highlighted:

Keenan glared at the triumphant grin on David’s face before expelling his breath through his mouth.

“Judging by the tight clothing on the man’s body, his lean body is to die for.”

He also remembered how he almost drooled mouthfuls of spit at the sight of Pablo’s naked, muscled chest behind the counter.

Then there’s all the chuckling, chortling, and guffawing people do. Ugh.

The biggest issue, and the one that ultimately made me call it quits, was the reasoning behind both men independently deciding not to start a relationship. It doesn’t make sense. They both like guys, they both know about the sexuality and dating history of each other. They both think the other is hot and want to get together. And yet there is no flirting. No hinting. No testing the waters to see if the other would be interested in a relationship.

Because neither makes the first move, they both assume the other isn’t interested and so they pretend not to be interested. All because they “didn’t want to make things awkward between them and lose his best friend all over again.”

That in and of itself doesn’t make sense. These guys were best friends, but lost touch. Just because they suddenly meet up as adults doesn’t make them automatic best friends anymore. I honestly don’t get what’s going through their heads. The process of seeing them become friends – and more – should be the whole focus of the story. Instead, they both try to go straight to ‘we’re best friends again’ despite not knowing the other person as an adult. It just doesn’t work.

I’ve never read anything by Casper Graham before, and this book was not a good introduction. I’m tempted to read one of his short stories to see if I like it or not. I’ll also be interested to see what other people have to say about the book since there are no reviews for it on Amazon or Goodreads yet. I don’t keep track of how quickly people review things, but this book had been out for almost a month.