Description courtesy of Goodreads
It’s 1991, and Dan Calzolaio has just moved to Florida with his lover, Mark, having fled Chicago and Mark’s addictions to begin a new life on the Gulf Coast Tampa AIDS Alliance
Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected. The guy is an original—witty, wry, and sarcastic with a fondness for a smart black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good mai tai. Adam doesn’t let his imminent death get him down, even through a downward spiral that sees him thrown in jail.
Each step of Adam’s journey teaches Dan new lessons about strength and resilience, but it’s Adam’s lover, Sullivan, to whom Dan feels an almost irresistible pull. Dan knows the attraction isn’t right, even after he dumps his cheating, drug-abusing boyfriend. But then Adam passes away, and it leaves Sullivan and Dan both alone to see if they can turn their love for Adam into something whole and real for each other.
Adam Schmidt is not at all what Dan expected. The guy is an original—witty, wry, and sarcastic with a fondness for a smart black dress, Barbra Streisand, and a good mai tai. Adam doesn’t let his imminent death get him down, even through a downward spiral that sees him thrown in jail.
Each step of Adam’s journey teaches Dan new lessons about strength and resilience, but it’s Adam’s lover, Sullivan, to whom Dan feels an almost irresistible pull. Dan knows the attraction isn’t right, even after he dumps his cheating, drug-abusing boyfriend. But then Adam passes away, and it leaves Sullivan and Dan both alone to see if they can turn their love for Adam into something whole and real for each other.
Ok, public service announcement before I write this review. I ordered this book from NetGalley because I lived in a community heavily populated with gay men in the 80’s and 90’s so this book could have been written by or about people I knew, worked with and lived with when I was in my teens and 20’s.
That said this book was beautiful, lyrical and incredibly personal. While I don’t know much about the author, it stands to reason that this book may be somewhat autobiographical. It deals with several difficult issues of the time with sensitivity and hope. It’s about subjects that could be incredibly dark and depressing but it manages to be full of light and life. The characters flew off the page and the story was so poignant I found myself tearing up and laughing out loud at different times.
It’s after reading books like this that I think about the public perception of the Romance genre. I defy anyone who thinks that romances don’t deal with difficult issues to read this book because it is a love story and it deals with promiscuity, drug abuse, and AIDS.
Mr. Reed has written a story that is still resonating with me days later, and that is the true test of a good book in my mind.
ARC courtesy of Dreamspinner Press via NetGalley
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