Helpful Score: 1
Just finished Jay Bell's Something Like Summer and am looking forward to reading the next installment Something Like Winter.
This novel opens with our hero, Ben, an out and proud, gay High School junior with accepting parents, a supportive gal-pal, and a spunky attitude, stalking his latest crush de jour, Tim, the beautiful but mysterious new boy in town. When an unplanned collision puts Tim on crutches, Ben is only too happy to minister to his needs. Imagine how thrilled Ben is when some of Tim's needs parallel his own! However, Tim is still closeted and pretty much in denial and Tim's overwhelming need to "appear" normal soon puts a monkey wrench into their relationship.
There are plenty of romantic novels (and movies - see Get Real 1998) that deal with these coming out issues, but this novel is more than just that. While it's a superficial, hormone addled, romance that begins this story, we are soon considering questions of fidelity and what makes for a true lasting love.
I've seen reviews of this book that suggest that the later scenes were unnecessary, however for me they were what made the book truly special. Yes, the romance scenes are sweet but then so is frosting, and just as most people prefer a little cake with their frosting, most people will appreciate the look into other aspects of a loving relationship that make this book superior to the insta-love romances that everyone seems so keen on today.
In checking out other reviews of this book I was worried that the drunken angry father character would be over the top. I didn't find him to be at all. There was also criticism of how Jace's role plays out. Having seen how unbelievably quixotic real life can be, I had no trouble believing this aspect of the story.
I understand that the second book in this series is the same story as told from Tim's perspective and I fully expect to see even more unanticipated aspects of this story than in the first telling. Love is seldom easy or simple, more so when the lovers are not always welcomed by bigoted society. And people and relationships do change over time.
If you're looking for a generally upbeat gay romance that manages to have depth without being maudlin and allows the reader to consider aspects of relationships that seldom make it into lighter weight fiction, you could worse than checking out this book.
In the mean time I'm starting on the second book, Something Like Winter and the third part Something Like Autumn in which Jace gets his chance.
This novel opens with our hero, Ben, an out and proud, gay High School junior with accepting parents, a supportive gal-pal, and a spunky attitude, stalking his latest crush de jour, Tim, the beautiful but mysterious new boy in town. When an unplanned collision puts Tim on crutches, Ben is only too happy to minister to his needs. Imagine how thrilled Ben is when some of Tim's needs parallel his own! However, Tim is still closeted and pretty much in denial and Tim's overwhelming need to "appear" normal soon puts a monkey wrench into their relationship.
There are plenty of romantic novels (and movies - see Get Real 1998) that deal with these coming out issues, but this novel is more than just that. While it's a superficial, hormone addled, romance that begins this story, we are soon considering questions of fidelity and what makes for a true lasting love.
I've seen reviews of this book that suggest that the later scenes were unnecessary, however for me they were what made the book truly special. Yes, the romance scenes are sweet but then so is frosting, and just as most people prefer a little cake with their frosting, most people will appreciate the look into other aspects of a loving relationship that make this book superior to the insta-love romances that everyone seems so keen on today.
In checking out other reviews of this book I was worried that the drunken angry father character would be over the top. I didn't find him to be at all. There was also criticism of how Jace's role plays out. Having seen how unbelievably quixotic real life can be, I had no trouble believing this aspect of the story.
I understand that the second book in this series is the same story as told from Tim's perspective and I fully expect to see even more unanticipated aspects of this story than in the first telling. Love is seldom easy or simple, more so when the lovers are not always welcomed by bigoted society. And people and relationships do change over time.
If you're looking for a generally upbeat gay romance that manages to have depth without being maudlin and allows the reader to consider aspects of relationships that seldom make it into lighter weight fiction, you could worse than checking out this book.
In the mean time I'm starting on the second book, Something Like Winter and the third part Something Like Autumn in which Jace gets his chance.
