i categorized this as romance, but it isn't really—more gay literature. I liked Schell's writing. He uses lots of detail to create the emotional/social environment of which he speaks. In the end, it's a story of learning to love selflessly and thereby gaining true happiness. The story was a bit sex, drugs and la vida loco for me, but as it was set in the cocaine-prevalent 1980s, I suppose it was realistic. So I'd rate it good for writing and characters and average for plot. I just wish I liked the characters.