Definitely not for the timid, this Bacchanalian confection conjoins two gay couples, a drenching of explicit sex, and enough...
A novel chronicles the uninhibited adventures of two interracial gay couples meandering their way through Austin, Texas, and elsewhere.
It all starts out so innocently: the foursome, dreamed up by prolific author Jack (The Mandrakes, 2017, etc.), includes longtime couple Luke Cevennes, an emergency room physician, and “Nubian prince,” university philosophy teacher, and single father Jeremy Kell. Alongside the pair are Jake Marshall, also an ER doctor, and his daring software entrepreneur partner, Cal Broadhearst. All enjoy one another’s company and energetic lifestyles, which contribute to their “ripped” physiques, with the major difference being that Luke and Jeremy prefer the bustle and variety of the city as opposed to Jake’s and Cal’s more placid rural life. The Supreme Court’s landmark same-sex marriage decision paves the way for both couples to plan their nuptials in the Colorado mountains, but a hot air balloon wedding and honeymoon intimacies aren’t the only things on their minds. Chattily narrated by Luke and Jake, the story strays from their marital bliss with the integration of a series of hardcore, graphic sexual situations that veer the book into the gay-erotica arena, complete with oversized genitalia, truck-stop sex, and gritty, provocative language (“Who says the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach?”). Their collective escapades move seamlessly from a cabin hideaway in Telluride for Luke and Jeremy to Rome, Georgia, where Jake and Cal vacation, with each man driven by his insatiable libido and easily distracted by the scent of marijuana, the sight of oversized feet, or the smooth seduction of the nearest handsome stranger. Some readers may question how this behavior equates to gay marriage, but Luke seems to speak for the group when declaring, “My ambivalence to the concept of monogamy was well known.” Supporting characters drift in and out of the long-winded narrative periodically, including a pack of voracious bears, but they all take a back seat to the orgies of the fab four. Whether or not readers consider unbridled gay sex palatable or not, Jack remains a consistently engaging storyteller and amply embodies his characters with personality, carnal appeal, and enough opinionated social criticism to make them appealing and realistically drawn.
Definitely not for the timid, this Bacchanalian confection conjoins two gay couples, a drenching of explicit sex, and enough drama and sweat to please fans of the ribald and the raunchy.Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9980990-1-9
Page Count: 404
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of...
Lifelong, conflicted friendship of two women is the premise of Hannah’s maudlin latest (Magic Hour, 2006, etc.), again set in Washington State.
Tallulah “Tully” Hart, father unknown, is the daughter of a hippie, Cloud, who makes only intermittent appearances in her life. Tully takes refuge with the family of her “best friend forever,” Kate Mularkey, who compares herself unfavorably with Tully, in regards to looks and charisma. In college, “TullyandKate” pledge the same sorority and major in communications. Tully has a life goal for them both: They will become network TV anchorwomen. Tully lands an internship at KCPO-TV in Seattle and finagles a producing job for Kate. Kate no longer wishes to follow Tully into broadcasting and is more drawn to fiction writing, but she hesitates to tell her overbearing friend. Meanwhile a love triangle blooms at KCPO: Hard-bitten, irresistibly handsome, former war correspondent Johnny is clearly smitten with Tully. Expecting rejection, Kate keeps her infatuation with Johnny secret. When Tully lands a reporting job with a Today-like show, her career shifts into hyperdrive. Johnny and Kate had started an affair once Tully moved to Manhattan, and when Kate gets pregnant with daughter Marah, they marry. Kate is content as a stay-at-home mom, but frets about being Johnny’s second choice and about her unrealized writing ambitions. Tully becomes Seattle’s answer to Oprah. She hires Johnny, which spells riches for him and Kate. But Kate’s buttons are fully depressed by pitched battles over slutwear and curfews with teenaged Marah, who idolizes her godmother Tully. In an improbable twist, Tully invites Kate and Marah to resolve their differences on her show, only to blindside Kate by accusing her, on live TV, of overprotecting Marah. The BFFs are sundered. Tully’s latest attempt to salvage Cloud fails: The incorrigible, now geriatric hippie absconds once more. Just as Kate develops a spine, she’s given some devastating news. Will the friends reconcile before it’s too late?
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of poignancy.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-312-36408-3
Page Count: 496
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007
BOOK TO SCREEN
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