Title: Red
Series: N/A
Author: B.G. Thomas
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novella (90 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press LLC (January 21st 2015)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts
Reviewer: Aerin
Blurb: Leslie “Red” Parks was pretty surprised to find he was considered attractive enough to be a male escort. And once he started and the money came rolling in, he found he didn’t want to stop. For the first time in his life, people truly want him, and he likes that. A lot.
Kirk Toliver has never thought of himself as desirable either—which is why he is single. That, and he has spent years of his life caring for his ill mother. Before she passed away, she made him promise he would splurge on something crazy with the money she left him. So what’s crazier than hiring a male escort?
But neither expected that one night together could lead to what was missing in both their lives.
ISBN: 9781632167712
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5964
Review: Sooo hard to rate this book, not because it was badly written, but because as much as I tried, I couldn’t connect with any of the characters. I think the POV plays an important role in getting to know a character; I’m sad to say I didn’t really get to know very well neither Red nor Kirk. This book was in third person omniscient, and the constant jumping from one person’s mind to the other’s made it very impersonal and I felt distanced from the characters.
Red is a male escort; he’s a ginger (yay, I love gingers) hottie, beautiful, with a body to die for. But Red is only a façade; the real person hiding under Red is Les, an insecure boy, who still has some self-esteem problems. Les wasn’t always beautiful. In fact, he used to be overweight. I had a hard time figuring Red (Les) out; he was terrified of becoming overweight again, but considered chubby Kirk hot, yet when they first have sex, Red thinks another man. *shrugs*
Kirk is a middle-aged investor, overweight, inexperienced, shy; to me, he was more like a blushing virgin than a mature man. The first time he set eyes on Red, he fell in love lust with him; his promise to his deathly ill mother leads him to hire Red for a night of fun. Kirk is somewhat endearing with his constant stuttering and blushing, but I can’t say I really liked him as a person.
My biggest problem with this book was the constant flashbacks Red had of conversations with Matthew while he interacted with other characters; at one point I had to go back and re-read to make sure Matthew wasn’t actually a part of that scene. And who exactly was Matthew? I’m still not sure, could be a friend, a pimp, a co-worker, a jealous lover, a raging drama queen…I got glimpses of all of them but I couldn’t say for sure.
I liked the book but I didn’t love it. Too many flashbacks and I know for a fact the omniscient element doesn’t work for me, it’s simply too impersonal. There is a love story somewhere in this book, but it’s hard to detect any emotions that the characters feel at any given time.
However, what I liked was the easy to see character growth. Both Les and Kirk change; Kirk becomes more confident and learns to accept that a beautiful man like Les can and does love him for who he is. Les realizes that with the love and support Kirk gives him, he can turn his life around and be his true self.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *