Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Leslie "Red" Parks was pretty surprised to find he was considered attractive enough to be a male escort. And once he started and the money came rolling in, he found he didn’t want to stop. For the first time in his life, people truly want him, and he likes that. A lot.

Kirk Toliver has never thought of himself as desirable either—which is why he is single. That, and he has spent years of his life caring for his ill mother. Before she passed away, she made him promise he would splurge on something crazy with the money she left him. So what’s crazier than hiring a male escort?

But neither expected that one night together could lead to what was missing in both their lives.

 

Book Review

Wow. Let me repeat that: Wow! I simply adored this book. On one level, it is an amazing character study of two men, who each think they are utterly unattractive, only to learn that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. But it is also a moving love story, one with a message of hope for everyone who thinks nobody will ever like them for who they really are. And the way it is written utterly charmed me. B.G. Thomas takes the truth of what it is like to be a male escort and focuses on the emotional implications instead of the physical side of the job. Yes, on the surface this book is very sweet and romantic, but the underlying transformation Red goes through and the realization of what has stopped him from being Leslie, i.e., himself, completely pulled me in.

Red is a very attractive, extremely successful male escort. He likes the finer things in life, and is focused on making the most of his youth while he still has it. Red is a consummate professional, and has learned from the best. It’s all money, and he needs to build a nest egg, provide for is future, and make sure he never goes back to being poor and misunderstood. That is—until he meets Kirk. Kirk isn’t attractive the way most people would define it. He looks slightly nerdy, he is just a little overweight, and his job as an accountant and financial adviser isn’t exactly rip-roaring exciting. But he is solid, and he is real, and he speaks to something inside Red that he has hidden for years.

One “appointment” with Red leads to more, and very gradually, over the course of six months, Red changes. The shell he has built around himself crumbles and, step by step, Leslie emerges. It was fascinating to watch little glimpses of the man underneath the veneer at first, only to see more and more revealed as the story progresses. It’s a gradual process, and very well done. Slow enough to fool Red into not even knowing what is happening until his transformation is complete. And even then the learning and surprises don’t stop as Leslie learns to deal with his past.

If you like character driven stories with men who feel so real you expect them to jump off the pages at any moment, if you want to read about characters who grow and learn right before your eyes, and if you’re looking for a read that is sweet and romantic, yet a deeply meaningful and an emotional journey at the same time, then you will probably like this novella as much as I do. I adore it, and know I will read it again and again because there are lots of layers to it, and I am not sure just one reading has revealed them all. I think it is one of those books that will allow me to discover something new every time I read it. Truly amazing!

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novella, 90 pages/25623 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	21-January-2015
Price	$3.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/red-by-bg-thomas-4130-b