What’s the book about (from Goodreads):
Nick Russo has worked his way from a rough Brooklyn neighborhood to a reporting job at one of the city’s biggest newspapers. But the late 1950s are a hostile time for gay men, and Nick knows that he can’t let anyone into his life. He just never counted on meeting someone as impossible to say no to as Andy.
Andy Fleming’s newspaper-tycoon father wants him to take over the family business. Andy, though, has no intention of running the paper. He’s barely able to run his life–he’s never paid a bill on time, routinely gets lost on the way to work, and would rather gouge out his own eyes than deal with office politics. Andy agrees to work for a year in the newsroom, knowing he’ll make an ass of himself and hate every second of it.
Except, Nick Russo keeps rescuing Andy: showing him the ropes, tracking down his keys, freeing his tie when it gets stuck in the ancient filing cabinets. Their unlikely friendship soon sharpens into feelings they can’t deny. But what feels possible in secret–this fragile, tender thing between them–seems doomed in the light of day. Now Nick and Andy have to decide if, for the first time, they’re willing to fight.
Review:
This is probably one of my favorite reads so far this year. I loved the dynamic between Nick and Andy. They started out as almost rivals and the turned into something else entirely. I loved the character development and loved how Nick did simple and sweet things for Andy.
I would say that this is a slow burn. We also have to keep in mind that we are talking about a gay relationship in the 1950’s. The 1950’s was an era where being gay was not at all acceptable and so many couples were a dirty little secret in society. I think that Sebastian did a very good job with setting the tone and letting us know that the love story would be worth it in the end.
What I also loved was that both of these men were sure about their feelings. They may not have been able to verbalize them or show them in the way they wanted to sometimes, but they were ever present. Some of my favorite moments in this book were the tender moments they shared within the walls of Nick’s apartment.
There was no really heavy angst in this and the love story was well paced and beautiful. I do recommend this one if you want something that you can read on a vacation or just want to decompress after a difficult read.
Rating: 