Blind Items

Rating:
Summary: And you thought YOUR love life was rough!
Review: A wonderful example of "boy-meets-boy" book. Like so many other works of gay fiction I've read, "Blind Items" intermingles camp and gossip with true feeling and emotion, bringing characters alive as real human beings. I especially loved it that David was not some hot Greek god, but just your ordinary Joe -- good-looking but with some "flaws." Matthew Rettenmund has a great deal of talent, and I hope he comes out with more novels like this very soon!

Rating:
Summary: Loose Writing Style makes this a boring read
Review: Blind Items has the same writing style as at least one of Rettenmund's other books (Boy Culture). He goes on for pages and pages to describe something that could have been said in two paragraphs. Kind of reminds me of the articles you read in the Sunday magazine section of your newspaper. If you like this writing style, Rettenmund's books may be for you. Personally it drove me crazy and I set the book down after the first few chapters.

Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately Mediocre and Derivative
Review: I really wanted to like this book. The author's first novel was fluffy but diverting and I was a fan. This book is equally easy to read, however, the cockiness of the writing and the hollow metaphors don't mix well here. To this reader, the humor is dated and the gay stuff is unquestionably reactionary. Retenmund should be writing for People magazine and leave the novels to the big boys.

Rating:
Summary: Definitely a Favorite
Review: If you enjoy a novel that offers you lazy giggles, splendid human encounters, ton of dialogue, undeniable sexual situations, quick page turning drama, sassy humor, soap opera scenerios, and gorgeous individuals, this is the book for you. I recommend this as a summer at the pool read. I love this author!

Rating:
Summary: I loved this novel!!
Review: In the vein of "contemporary gay fiction" I must say that there are many other books worth buying before this one. The fairytale quality of the plot is cute at best, but the dialogues ... are pretty awful. Everything about this book pointed to the eventual deception that I felt, so I suppose it was not that surprising. If you have a long flight (and you count on sleeping a little, but not too much...) this is a perfect choice.

Rating:
Summary: Okay book... good for a rainy day...
Review: Let's face it, Rettenmund isn't going to win a Pullitzer prize for "Blind Items" anytime soon, but it was a cute little story that's good for one of those rainy days, or slow afternoons. The novel is full of campy fun, hilarious little quips here and there, and Rettenmund has an awesome eye for kitsch and oldies culture (sorry dolls, I'm a 19 year old who really didn't get a bunch of the Jon-Erik Hexum, and other dated jokes... not my generation.) I loved reading this novel, great to read to while away the hours.

Rating:
Summary: Okay book... good for a rainy day...
Review: Let's face it, Rettenmund isn't going to win a Pullitzer prize for "Blind Items" anytime soon, but it was a cute little story that's good for one of those rainy days, or slow afternoons. The novel is full of campy fun, hilarious little quips here and there, and Rettenmund has an awesome eye for kitsch and oldies culture (sorry dolls, I'm a 19 year old who really didn't get a bunch of the Jon-Erik Hexum, and other dated jokes... not my generation.) I loved reading this novel, great to read to while away the hours.

Rating:
Summary: Much better than his first novel
Review: The author loves throwing in pop culture junk, celebraties, and circuit boys. Through it all, he has managed to write a touching romance novel, with real fleshed out flawed characters facing everything we hate to deal with in real life. I reveled in the banter, was tittlated by the romance, and genuinely felt for the hero of the story, an every(gay)man type working in a job he hates trying to become a successful writer. It feels very fairy talish until we are faced with a real morning after.

Buy it. Read it. Love it.

P.S. Much better than his first novel.

Rating:
Summary: Much better than his first novel
Review: The author loves throwing in pop culture junk, celebraties, and circuit boys. Through it all, he has managed to write a touching romance novel, with real fleshed out flawed characters facing everything we hate to deal with in real life. I reveled in the banter, was tittlated by the romance, and genuinely felt for the hero of the story, an every(gay)man type working in a job he hates trying to become a successful writer. It feels very fairy talish until we are faced with a real morning after.

Buy it. Read it. Love it.

P.S. Much better than his first novel.

Rating:
Summary: Who knows why, but I really liked it...
Review: This is a fairly typical gay book - closeted gay celebrity, not closeted love interest, flaming best friend, cool chick friend...

Yet the style, with two concurrent stories,one present, one past, works well. You know fairly early on how they will connect, but knowing the destination does not distract from the trip. I liked the gentleness in the developing relationship, the reality of gay men's obsession with "who is, who isn't", and what we would do if given the chance.

The writing is solid, and offers some solid insight to the characters. It does not have the humor of Christian McLaughlin's "Glamorpuss", but I still say it is worth a try.