Rating: 
Summary: Read This Book Now!
Review: Coincidentally, I'm on vacation in Provincetown and picked this novel up the minute I saw it in the bookstore window. I spent all day reading it because I couldn't put it down. Never have I encountered such an enjoyable and unforgettable cast of characters, and never have I read a novel that could be laugh-out-loud funny one minute, reach-for-the-tissues poignant the next, and steam-up-the-windows sexy right after that. This book is so much fun I want to read it all over again immediately. Ford is an amazingly talented writer, and this book is THE summer read.
Rating:
Summary: The Next TALES OF THE CITY!
Review: Finally, finally, finally someone has written a gay novel that's big, fun, sexy AND intelligent. I was curious to see what Ford's fiction would be like, and I'm pleased to say that it's a lot like his nonfiction. He combines spot-on humor with an insight into what it means to be gay that is unmatched in contemporary fiction. Best of all, these are characters that almost all of us can relate to. They aren't gym queens and circuit boys--they're real people dealing with real situations. This is the book I've been waiting for since finishing Armistead Maupin's TALES OF THEY CITY series.
Rating:
Summary: Great Cast of Characters!
Review: Having just completed all 400+ pages of this engaging slice of life for these quirky, yet compelling, characters I can only hope the author has a follow-up lined up for Josh, Ben, Ted, Toby, Emmeline, Jackie, Reilly, Reid, Ty, and company. With a cast of characters this large, it takes a while to introduce everyone. When you think you have the whole gang memorized Toby arrives on a bus from Missouri, escaping his homophobic family he had just come out to. The story pretty much centers on Josh, who find himself in the all to believable position of being too comfortable in his eight-year relationship with Doug. Josh, being the moral guy many people only dream of, finds himself in turmoil when Doug admits to a one time fling with someone from his gym. Josh launches the brilliant tale by escaping to Provincetown from Boston, hurt and confused and appropriately bitter. Ever the compulsive nurturer, Josh finds himself in a Laundromat waiting on some one to remove their clothes from the dryer so that he can use it. Not willing to wait, Josh removes the clothes, folds them as neatly as any Gap employee could hope to, only to have Reilly enter to claim the clothes, and his heart. The only problem is that Reilly is straight and about to be married to Donna later that same summer. Enter Jackie, turning 40 and alone after a long relationship. Emmeline, an aging pre-op transgender who adopts Toby, and eventually her aging Mother who mysteriously makes Emmeline's biggest dream possible. You have Ty and Reid, handsome movie star and producer who escape to Provincetown to be with one another in a way that they cannot do in Hollywood. By the end of the novel you have a deep fondness for each of the characters. And you truly hate to see it end, although the author makes this ending a true delight. You don't feel cheated. There are some characters that could have been left out. While I enjoyed reading about Marly's struggle of whether she should have an affair or not, she wasn't necessary in the book. This really was a wonderful ride.
Rating: 
Summary: Why stop at 400 pages!!!
Review: I have never enjoyed a Key West vacation more than one I just returned from....relaxing in a swinging hassock, wind blowing gently while I read this most wonderful book. This being my first gay read, I was expecting to be 'entertained' by superficial stereotypes that become boring soon after the first introductions. I could not have been more wrong. Simply put... very good job. I do hope a follow up book is currently being written.
Rating:
Summary: A novelist is born
Review: I hope Mr. Ford continues to write nothing but novels. While I enjoy his nonfiction work he has such a gift for the novel. This book has multiple characters and is an enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Ford's novel equal to his nonfiction
Review: I loved Michael Thomas Ford's previous books and this one is no exception. His characters are believable, the situations they get into at times poignant and at other times very funny. I love the fact that he doesn't just write about the usual "pretty boys" or "depressed HIV/AIDS survivor" as is too common in gay fiction. I hope he writes another novel because this one rocked!
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good...but too spanned out
Review: I loved the detail on all the couples and love and sex, but i felt that the book was way to spanned out where instead of just following one group of people for a while it makes you go to all the other characters so if you dont like some characters or their stories you can get bored i liked the parts with ty and reid and with josh and reilly
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!!!
Review: I loved this book--great characters and development. I only wish this book was longer. Looking forward to another novel by MTF.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable character-heavy summer novel
Review: I really enjoyed this book, but thought it could be better. While some of the characters and plot directions are just excellent(Josh & Doug, Emmeline & Toby, Jackie) others seemed so completely superfluous (Marly, Ryan)that they barely intersected with the main narrative and seemed designed merely to pad out the book. Still, pleasant enough and worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable character-heavy summer novel
Review: I really enjoyed this book, but thought it could be better. While some of the characters and plot directions are just excellent(Josh & Doug, Emmeline & Toby, Jackie) others seemed so completely superfluous (Marly, Ryan)that they barely intersected with the main narrative and seemed designed merely to pad out the book. Still, pleasant enough and worth reading.
|
