|
Whipped Cream Review by Coreopsis 4 cherries What is confirmed bachelor Cal to do when he meets the one man that could flip his whole world upside down and inside out? With a little bit of patience and a whole lot of luck maybe Cal can find out what all his friends are talking about when it comes to finding the one. Accidentally in Love was truly a beautiful love story. It shows the gradual build of a relationship between two men who are such polar opposites it isn’t even funny. When pairing up a man who doesn’t believe in love and one who thinks he’s unlovable, the misunderstandings and over thinking come out in full force. Cal is a photographer who jets sets around the world for his job. Like his job, his love life is the same. A little fun here, a little fun there, but when the deed is done he can’t get away fast enough. He’s not a man looking for love or anything of a relationship that lasts longer than a quick roll in the hay. But what makes this character so great is he falls for the last man he ever would have noticed, and from there starts the journey to become the kind of man Tom could love and spend the rest of his life with. Cal comes to find out you have to work hard for the things you want most in life, and getting Tom is turning out to be his biggest challenge yet. Tom is a shy guy. He displays the typical behavior of a person picked on and put down throughout his life. So it’s only natural for him to question Cal’s feelings with everything that happens between them. At times I wanted to shake Tom because he is his own worst enemy. His self-confidence is so low it is just heart wrenching that he thinks he is so not worthy of anyone’s love or affection. This story has its ups and downs but the outcome is so worth it in the end. It’s a good mix of the ugly duckling and the bad boy turned good. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a longer read with a lot of; "what were they thinking?" And, how cute two people can be together. This story left me with a smile on my face and I feel lucky to have gotten to read it. Well Read Review by Jenre If this story was an m/f, set in the regency period then the plot would fit neatly into the virginal heroine who captures the heart of the seasoned rake. As it is, the modern day setting gives it a new twist and I found myself really enjoying this story for most of the book. The story follows Cal who's a photographer and a bit of a player. He's used to going out a couple or more times a week and picking up random men for good sex. He's attractive with a good income and a job he enjoys and he can't see himself changing his ways any time soon. When his landlord sells the house he's renting, Cal has to find new accommodation which fortunately comes through Tom, who's a friend of mutual acquaintances. Tom could not be more opposite than Cal being a bit shy and socially awkward, and Cal decides he's going to make Tom his pet project. However, after a measure of success, Cal is a bit alarmed to realise that he's not too happy seeing Tom in the arms of another man. To say that I was riveted by the first half of this book is an understatement. The whole set up of Cal the player and Tom the virginal shy young man was just the sort of thing I usually enjoy and I could hardly bear to put the book down. Tom is a delight. After years of bullying at school he's got a very low self-confidence about his looks which makes him dress to hide his body despite being decently attractive. My heart went out to Tom several times as he tries to cope with the loneliness by pretending it didn't matter. Not only that but he's not the most sociable person, preferring his own company and having a tendency towards bluntness which other people find off-putting. Cal finds this rather refreshing and, apart from a few hiccups, the pair get on well almost from the start. There's a bit of a make-over storyline where Cal decides to offer Tom some tips on how to look good, and the whole time this was happening I just knew that Cal was going to fall for him. I read on with gleeful anticipation of the time they would get together and I wasn't disappointed when it happened. Cal too is a great character. He has his own brand of honesty in that he's quite open about the fact that he likes to sleep around and doesn't see the need to settle down. His horror towards the beginning when he discovers that a friend and occasional hook-up has fallen in love, may have been a tad over-the-top but it set the scene for what was going to be a very satisfying fall into love for Cal. I also liked that he was unable to charm and seduce Tom, and so had to rely on other methods to get his attention. He deals with Tom's lack of self-esteem in a surprisingly gentle fashion, showing that he's not quite as shallow as you might think. As I said, the book gripped me from the start and this continued for most of the story. My main niggle though is that once the two men get together the story flounders a little and loses the focused intensity that was present at the beginning. Partly this is because there's a lot of sex as Tom attempts to make up for lost time, but also there's nowhere really for the story to go after the men get together and so it meanders through a few scenes before a sudden crisis brings everything to a head. The crisis itself was due to lack of trust - a theme which runs through the book - and also a misunderstanding. However, I couldn't help but get the impression that the men behaved a little out of character by running from the situation rather than doing what they had throughout the book, which is to talk sensibly to resolve their issues. It left me feeling that the last few pages had been a little forced when for most of the book both the plot and writing had flowed beautifully. Despite my feelings for the latter part of the book, Accidentally in Love is still worth reading. There's an engaging, witty tone to the narrative and the characters are well rounded and realistic. The story is mainly lighthearted but doesn't shy away from some topics such as low self esteem and conflict arising from lack of trust. If you're the sort of reader who likes a shy, virginal hero then this will be a good book to read but I would also recommend it, with a grade of 'Very Good', to those looking for a well written contemporary with likeable characters. Dear Author Grade: B Reviewed by Sunita. Dear Ms. Davitt and Ms. Snow, Joan/SarahF has favorably reviewed some of your previous books here at DA, but I had somehow overlooked them. When I came across the excerpt for Accidentally in Love, though, I was hooked. I’m a fan of opposites-attract romances, the writing in the excerpt was strong, and I was curious to see how the characters would develop: Could you make Cal into a believable romantic hero? And was Tom a fake ugly duckling or a real one? You delivered the substantive goods in both cases, and in ways that sometimes surprised me. Calvin Reece is a successful professional photographer who travels frequently for work and shares a house which functions more as a landing pad than a home. Cal is handsome, decent, and emotionally shallow. He has no trouble hooking up for passing one-night stands and that’s pretty much all he wants in his relationships. Tom Holden, on the other hand, is shy, introverted, and almost pathologically afraid of making emotional connections with people. He has a successful website design and consulting business, he lives in a house he acquired from his parents, and he avoids social occasions as much as possible. Tom and Cal meet at a dinner party thrown by common friends. Cal notices Tom because he dresses so badly (coordinating shades of mustard!) and Tom notices Cal because he’s handsome, charismatic, and self-assured. Cal barely notices Tom at the party and hooks up with a more appropriately gorgeous and outgoing man, so Tom mentally writes him off. But Cal needs a new place to stay and Tom needs a new roommate, so they reluctantly join forces and get to know each other. As the story progresses, Cal and Tom slowly become friends and then more than friends, and in the process, they both mature and confront their own weaknesses and insecurities. In a book like this one, where nothing much happens in terms of plot, success is going to hinge almost entirely on the individual characters and the development of the relationship, and you definitely deliver on those two fronts. Cal moves in and is cheerfully oblivious, Tom is uptight and nervous about having him around. A series of events lead each to learn more about the other, and they move from awkward acquaintances to friends to two people who know each other well and are attracted. When they finally recognize and articulate their feelings for each other, the scenes are well done and rewarding for the reader, because by that point I felt that I knew a lot about who Cal and Tom were and why they were falling in love. At first it seems unlikely that Cal and Tom will even be able to communicate, much less become friends:
Cal progresses from being a carefree guy who can easily get what he wants, i.e., a quick, no-strings hookup, to someone who realizes he wants Tom, and since the only way he can have Tom is to be serious about him, he thinks carefully about whether he can do that. When he decides that he can and he wants to, we believe him. Tom is not only a virgin, he hasn’t had intimate relationships with anyone. He’s an only child, he had few friends growing up, and his parents don’t understand him or try to (and it’s only partly because he’s gay). The scene in which Tom and Cal have brunch with Tom’s parents will ring painfully true to anyone who has experienced a dysfunctional family relationship. Tom’s birthday, and Cal’s desire to give him a proper birthday celebration, provide the catalyst for them to confess their feelings to each other and act on them. It’s a long stretch of pages, and by the time I got there, I was as ready as they were to see them get together. You portray this part of the story well, without changing either man’s basic personality or character. Tom is still insecure and wary of intimacy, and Cal is still the decent guy that tries to ensure that his partner is enjoying himself.
As the excerpt suggests, these two talk about their feelings quite a bit once they admit their attraction. But it worked for me in the context of the characterizations. Tom is a reclusive virgin and Cal has never thought about really being in love, so even the most inarticulate guys are going to have to figure some stuff out. More problematic, however, was where you were able to take the story once they become a couple. They already live together. The scene with Tom’s parents effectively writes them out of the picture. So the only impediment to their relationship is whether Tom will believe that Cal can change and settle into a loving, monogamous relationship. There is an intense conflict on this point toward the end of the book, which is resolved fairly quickly. Overall, the last third of the book is a bit of a letdown after the strength of the first two-thirds, which is understandable but unfortunate. One other minor complaint: while much of the writing is very good, the repetition of the main characters’ names became overwhelming after a while. Cal, Tom, Cal, Tom, Tom, Cal, and so on. I realize it’s difficult to use pronouns when you are writing m/m, but there are various ways around it and I wish you had tried out more of them. Despite these drawbacks, I really enjoyed reading this. Both characters came alive for me on the page, standing out from the stock m/m protagonists we see all too often. I look forward to reading more of your work. Grade: B ~Sunita Literary Nymphs Reviews 3.5 Nymphs Reviewed by Critter Nymph. Calvin needs to find a new place to live and fast, but, with his job and all the clubs and pretty boys calling his name, he just can’t find the time. Tom needs a new roommate to help cover costs. All his past roommates have been women but when mutual friends suggest Tom give Cal a try, he decides to call the outgoing young man. There are many things I enjoyed about Accidentally in Love. It is long enough that the authors are able to flesh out the characters and background story nicely. The premise is one that is sure to be entertaining and the characters are easy to like. Cal is an outgoing player who loves life. His job as a photographer allows him to travel some and of course, there are tons of available men out there just looking for a one night stand. Tom is the total opposite. To start with, at 25 he is still a virgin and he does not do well with people, often coming across as too blunt when, in reality, he is just unsure. Their relationship builds over time, moving from acquaintances to friends and finally lovers. However, their journey is a rocky one and while it would seem as if Cal would be the logical one to have relationship issues it turns out to be Tom, instead. Tom’s feelings of unworthiness lead to some intense problems for the two men. Once the reasons behind his feelings come out, they are completely understandable. The authors do a wonderful job showcasing the men’s relationship in its various forms. The problems Tom has, as well as Cal’s trying to deal with them, come across realistically. I enjoyed the characters and the background story; however I felt the story moved too slowly. There were times I found myself wanting to skip ahead, hoping the pace would pick up some. Return to Home Click here if you'd like to send feedback |