Title: All the Wrong Places

Series: Bluewater Bay, #14

Author: Ann Gallagher

Genre: Contemporary

Length: 240 pages

Publisher: Riptide Publishing (June 13th 2016)

Heat Level: Low

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts

Blurb: Three cheating girlfriends in a row have given skateboarder Brennan Cross the same excuse: he wasn’t meeting their needs. Desperate and humiliated, he goes to the professionals at the local sex shop for advice.

Zafir Hamady, a sales clerk at Red Hot Bluewater, has an unusual theory: he doesn’t think Brennan is a bad lover. In fact, he doesn’t think Brennan is heterosexual. Or sexual at all, for that matter. He also can’t stop thinking about Brennan. But even if he’s right and Brennan really is asexual, that doesn’t mean Zafir has a chance. Brennan’s never dated a man, and Zafir’s never met anyone whose game for a Muslim single father with a smart mouth and a GED.

Brennan’s always thought of himself as straight. But when sex is explicitly out of the mix, he finds himself drawn to Zafir for the qualities and interests they share. And Zafir can’t help enjoying Brennan’s company and the growing bond between Brennan and his son. They work well together, but with so many issues between them, doubts creep in, and Brennan’s struggle with his identity could push away the one person he didn’t know he could love.

ISBN: 978-1-62649-420-6

Product Link: http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/all-wrong-places-bluewater-bay-novel

Reviewer: Aerin

Review: After reading the blurb for All the Wrong Places I was convinced that I wouldn’t like it that much since my favorite books usually have lots of dirty, filthy sex in them. Since both characters are asexual men I knew this wasn’t up my alley and yet I was compelled to read it. This book ended up being a journey of self-discovery for Brennan, one of our main characters, and for me as well. If you’re expecting any heat or sex of any kind, if the lack of steam is a deal breaker for you, then this book is not for you.

Brennan is a man in his 20’s who’s struggling to understand what he’s doing wrong in his relationships with women. He knows his problems start with his inability to make his girlfriends sexually happy, he realizes something must be wrong. Yet, he can’t figure out what needs to change. Heartbroken after his latest girlfriend cheated on him, he goes to Red Hot Bluewater (the adult store in Bluewater Bay) in search of some answers. Who better to answer his questions than a person who’s heard it all and would never make fun of him?

Zafir is an asexual man who’s also bi-romantic (able to form strong emotional connections with both sexes) and who falls under the gray-sexual area of the asexual spectrum (able to have sex and enjoy it, if there is a strong emotional connection established with that person). Talking to Brennan even for a few minutes makes it very obvious to him that Brennan is asexual as well. Yes, Brennan has been in relationships with women and has had sex with every single one of them, but he’s never initiated it and has always been a source of tension for him.

Zafir and Brennan become friends, they have a lot in common, and enjoy spending time together. Zafir is tremendously helpful to Brennan. He is someone who can answer all his questions, reassure him that he is normal and just as good as everybody else,even if his body isn’t wired to need sex.

What I loved most about this book was how complex the characters are. There’s more than just the issue of asexuality that’s being discussed. Zafir is Muslim, follows the Muslim religion and he is teaching his own son about the teachings of Allah. Can you imagine a better time than right now to discuss/address the struggles of Muslim men and women, the discrimination and hatred people have towards them?

Zafir’s insecurities run deep and are not due to his religion only. Becoming a single father at 17 has been brutal, but his son came first. Even if that meant dropping out of high-school in order to care for him. Hard work and perseverance lead him to a GED and a string of retail jobs.

Currently working two jobs in order to afford a better life for his child doesn’t give him much spare time to spend with his so. But, he is aware of the sacrifices he needs to make. Zafir is aware that he will never have a successful career and that’s a sore issue for him. He and his son Tariq have dealt with a lot of loss over the years and it seems like Zafir is never good enough for people to stay.  He is either too poor, too short, looks too much like a terrorist, too uneducated, and lacking potential for more.

Even though his friendship with Brennan starts to feel like more and even though he starts to develop feelings for Brennan, he is determined to keep things as they are. If they don’t become more than friends, then Brennan will not find a reason to leave him and Tariq.

This book is about more than sex. It’s about how to fall in love with somebody you never expected to fall for. It’s not about sexual attraction. It’s about emotional attraction and soul-deep connection. It’s about prejudice and struggles, about self-discovery and learning to accept that being different still means being normal. It’s about a child struggling to accept that the people he loves always leave. About an adult struggling with his sense of self-worth.

I learned so much from this book, or maybe learned isn’t exactly the right word. Sure, I’ve heard of asexual people. I’ve read about them even. But, I never truly grasped what it really means and how it truly feels. This book has become personal to me. It helped me understand things about myself that I never considered.

It was beautiful, enlightening and has a beautiful happy ending!

Recommended!
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *