Gym Dandy by Storm Grant
Publisher: MLR Press
Genre: GLBT, M/M, Erotic
Publisher: MLR Press
Genre: GLBT, M/M, Erotic
Summary: Vic is just emerging from a pretty messy divorce into the full glory of his bisexuality, so when the slightly overweight hunk, Doug, joins the gym where he works, it looks like Vic's got it made. Looks can be deceiving, though, and so are the signals Doug is sending. Now Vic's gone and mixed business with pleasure and not only is his job at risk, but so is his fledgling friendship with self-avowed straight guy, Doug.
Now, Vic has to keep his libido in check, and keep his boss happy; not an easy task after she hits on him and he turns her down.
You would think being a gym rat shouldn't be this complicated, but at Orr's Gym, nothing is as straight cut as it appears.
My review: This is a tough one. I really have mixed feelings about this book. It has some brilliant zingers and witty observations, it's true. It also has a few...less than brilliant observations.
First off, I've spent my whole life in Northern Ontario. Born, bread and proud of it, and I can't help but feel vaguely insulted by the image the author has painted of the North being an empty, backward place so boring a couple of teenage boys can't seem to find anything better to do that torment each other. There's a lot more in this neck of the woods than...well...woods. Pond hockey and working dogs, I assure you, are not all we have to offer.
I was more than willing to let that be my own personal bias showing through, though. Until I came across this gem:
"This sounded promising to Victor, and he said so. He truly
hoped that Doug would find someone with whom he’d be
happy. And since Doug seemed bound and determined that he
was straight, sexuality being very much a matter of personal
taste, he assumed it wouldn’t be one Victor Brighton any time soon."
Um...no. This one is more than just vaguely insulting, and much easier to define why it puts me off. A person doesn't wake up one morning and decide one gender or the other is more to their liking that day. They don't decide over morning coffee to be gay or straight, and being bi is even more confusing, thank you very much. If I hadn't been reviewing this book, I would have stopped reading right there, I was so disappointed. Mostly, I think, because I believed, and I still do believe, that this author knows better than this. But it's a good example of how one line can completely ruin a good book.
Now, I will allow that this might not be author voice. It might just be the opinion of the quirky, shallow, and not very endearing main character, Victor. That it took me over half the book to even like the guy is telling, though. Witty and funny, he might be, and I did laugh a few times, but sensitive? That didn't come across so well.
So. All that being said, I now have a confession. Somehow, this book still sucked me in. Somewhere after the middle of the book, the plot took off, and took me along with it. Victor learned a bit of humility, and humanity, and I felt for him. In the end, I wanted him to win the heart of his love interest.
As for the love interest Рlet's just say, there's innocent, and then there's Doug. His saving grace from all that naivet̩ is that he has a brain, and he knows how to use it. He managed to stand up for himself in the end, and get what he wanted. I would have liked to see his transition happen a little more on stage, but alas, the book was written from Victor's POV, and we don't get to see it. It would have been nice, though.
All in all, my thought is that though I haven't yet read anything else by this author, (and I do plan on keeping my eye open for more of her work) I suspect once I do, this particular book will not be among my favourite by her, but I do have to admit, it has its moments, both good, and for me, not so good.
My recommendation: Give it a shot. I think if you're not from the North, you won't have the same issues I did, and it does have some very fun bits of banter. Because I know my personal bias has coloured this review beyond reason, I want to say, I think for most people, the pluses will outweigh the minuses.
Rated three and a half Delightful Divas by Jaime!
Now, Vic has to keep his libido in check, and keep his boss happy; not an easy task after she hits on him and he turns her down.
You would think being a gym rat shouldn't be this complicated, but at Orr's Gym, nothing is as straight cut as it appears.
My review: This is a tough one. I really have mixed feelings about this book. It has some brilliant zingers and witty observations, it's true. It also has a few...less than brilliant observations.
First off, I've spent my whole life in Northern Ontario. Born, bread and proud of it, and I can't help but feel vaguely insulted by the image the author has painted of the North being an empty, backward place so boring a couple of teenage boys can't seem to find anything better to do that torment each other. There's a lot more in this neck of the woods than...well...woods. Pond hockey and working dogs, I assure you, are not all we have to offer.
I was more than willing to let that be my own personal bias showing through, though. Until I came across this gem:
"This sounded promising to Victor, and he said so. He truly
hoped that Doug would find someone with whom he’d be
happy. And since Doug seemed bound and determined that he
was straight, sexuality being very much a matter of personal
taste, he assumed it wouldn’t be one Victor Brighton any time soon."
Um...no. This one is more than just vaguely insulting, and much easier to define why it puts me off. A person doesn't wake up one morning and decide one gender or the other is more to their liking that day. They don't decide over morning coffee to be gay or straight, and being bi is even more confusing, thank you very much. If I hadn't been reviewing this book, I would have stopped reading right there, I was so disappointed. Mostly, I think, because I believed, and I still do believe, that this author knows better than this. But it's a good example of how one line can completely ruin a good book.
Now, I will allow that this might not be author voice. It might just be the opinion of the quirky, shallow, and not very endearing main character, Victor. That it took me over half the book to even like the guy is telling, though. Witty and funny, he might be, and I did laugh a few times, but sensitive? That didn't come across so well.
So. All that being said, I now have a confession. Somehow, this book still sucked me in. Somewhere after the middle of the book, the plot took off, and took me along with it. Victor learned a bit of humility, and humanity, and I felt for him. In the end, I wanted him to win the heart of his love interest.
As for the love interest Рlet's just say, there's innocent, and then there's Doug. His saving grace from all that naivet̩ is that he has a brain, and he knows how to use it. He managed to stand up for himself in the end, and get what he wanted. I would have liked to see his transition happen a little more on stage, but alas, the book was written from Victor's POV, and we don't get to see it. It would have been nice, though.
All in all, my thought is that though I haven't yet read anything else by this author, (and I do plan on keeping my eye open for more of her work) I suspect once I do, this particular book will not be among my favourite by her, but I do have to admit, it has its moments, both good, and for me, not so good.
My recommendation: Give it a shot. I think if you're not from the North, you won't have the same issues I did, and it does have some very fun bits of banter. Because I know my personal bias has coloured this review beyond reason, I want to say, I think for most people, the pluses will outweigh the minuses.
Rated three and a half Delightful Divas by Jaime!
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