Log In to be able to add this product to your Wish List.
GENRE: Gay Spicy Romance LENGTH: 177,188 words RATING: When Michael Knapp brings his lover Dan Biggs home to meet his parents, he doesn't expect things to go smoothly. His mother's been trying to marry him off for years, and sometimes he isn't even sure his father knows he exists. He has always felt like the shadow son, competing with his terminally stupid older brother and smart-mouthed little sister for his parents' attention. Coming out to them over dinner seemed like the perfect opportunity to finally get noticed.But an unexpected phone call interrupts his announcement -- Aunt Evie, the family matriarch, is dead. With Dan in tow, Michael follows his family to Sugar Creek, where he spent his summers growing up, to prepare for the funeral.Amid an overabundance of memories and relatives, Michael's world begins to slip. His dysfunctional family, Evie's death, and an old friend's confession all threaten to smother him. Worse, in his grief and confusion he seems determined to inadvertently push everyone away, including his lover. Can he and Dan move beyond his family and his past to a new life together, before Michael's insecurities tear them apart?EXCERPT:Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.
While this is a M/M novel it is not a romance in per se. It's about growing up, transitioning from a child to an adult in the eyes of your family and yourself. Michael comes across as immature to me much of the first two-thirds of the book. He's slipped into the role his family has created for him and he is once again a 10-year-old. With all the juvenile behavior that goes with being 10. Traveling to an unexpected family funeral he is faced with mortality, bigotry, his own selfishness and is trying to deal with all the emotions of losing someone he loved deeply. Someone who saw him, not who they wanted him to be. Facing his father's indifference and being able to speak of a need for recognition and acceptance was his first step. Watching him grow emotionally enough to face his mother with strength and grace while keeping his stance that he is not in a "phase" was amazing. He begins to see his siblings as more as well. They are people with needs and pain of their own. He also has to dea