Sandra @ My Fiction Nook

Unapologetically in your face Southern gay man, struggling single father of a nearly 10 year old deaf son, meets Boston Yankee transplant male nurse in Tupelo, Mississippi. 

I read this twice, and I'm glad I did. 

The book perfectly captures Southern culture and Southern life, with its charm and bigoted underbelly, from Wiley's crazy-ass Papaw and the rest of his family who don't approve of his "lifestyle" choices, to riding out a tornado warning in the bathtub, to Fourth of July birthday parties and fireworks, small town gossip, drug abuse, and includes a quiet love story to boot. There are religious themes in the book, from both sides of the fence, and it shows that one can be a Christian without being a bible-thumping bigot. 

I laughed on one page and sniffled the next as Wiley and Jack figure things out between each other, and as Wiley and Noah have father-son conversations. There were fishing holes and naked camping, skinny-dipping and Elvis, smack-talk and humorous banter, but also some rather poignant moments that made me tear up more than once. 

I fell in love with Noah, more so than Wiley and Jackson. I hurt for that kid. The conversations he has with his daddy were heartbreaking at times, but I could see that Wiley loved him with abandon, and that he wanted the very best for his son, and tried to do everything he could to make him happy. There was a scene that took place at a McDonalds that stood out for me when Wiley explains to another set of parents that deaf children don't need fixing - they need understanding and loving. 

There was more depth to it than my first reading revealed, and it took reading it a second time to see beyond the words on the page and read between the lines, to see the anguish and pain and hopelessness that is keeping Wiley down. But Wiley also still has a few things to learn, and he does, as does his Mama and his brother. The book shows that things can change, and that it's never too late for honest communication or for someone to give a little, on both sides. 

I didn't understand the inclusion of Juan - that seemed superfluous and served no real purpose in the novel. 

Wiley was sometimes too stubborn to see the forest for the trees, but he had a strong sense of responsibility, and he fought mostly for his son and himself to be seen as worthy. He also took a rigid stance on drug use, and made it clear that he wouldn't tolerate it for anything. 

I really liked the relationship between Jackson and Wiley. While their banter is humorous and snarky most of the time, their love story had a quiet strength to it - something that became more and more important as the book progressed. And while all the love scenes were fade to black, I didn't mind not being given a stroke by stroke description of what they were doing in the bedroom. 

The last third of the book got a little too preachy even if I completely agreed with everything Wiley told that reporter. The ending, while sweet, came a little too abrupt for my taste - it's a HFN with an implied HEA, but I guess I can live with that. 

I would have liked a bit more insight into Jackson - with the book being told entirely from Wiley's first person POV, we only get his impressions of what Jackson is doing and thinking, and the same applies to the other characters in the book. Their motives aren't always clear to Wiley, and thus aren't clear to the reader. 

Nevertheless, I was thoroughly entertained and captivated by this book, and would recommend it. I'm also very interested in reading more by this author. 

** I received a free copy from the publisher. A positive review was not promised in return. **