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Learning With A Man
Jeff is leaving high school and he's glad---even his best friend is ignoring him, despite everything they've shared...
Jeff is leaving high school. Finally. The only good thing there was Ray, the young assistant coach. The guy who has decided to ignore Jeff completely, out of the blue, although they used to be best friends. It hurts to be taunted in the hallways by homophobic jerks, but Ray's indifference hurts Jeff even worse.
Then Ray show's up at Jeff's house unexpectedly. Smiling. It's just like old times, but will it last? What will Ray do when Jeff confesses to the crush he's hidden for so long? Jeff is terrified of Ray's rejection. But he can't hold his feelings in anymore.
Jeff is leaving high school. Finally. The only good thing there was Ray, the young assistant coach. The guy who has decided to ignore Jeff completely, out of the blue, although they used to be best friends. It hurts to be taunted in the hallways by homophobic jerks, but Ray's indifference hurts Jeff even worse.
Then Ray show's up at Jeff's house unexpectedly. Smiling. It's just like old times, but will it last? What will Ray do when Jeff confesses to the crush he's hidden for so long? Jeff is terrified of Ray's rejection. But he can't hold his feelings in anymore.
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First published May 8, 2014
35 people want to read
About the author
Albert Nothlit
17 books27 followers Albert Nothlit is an engineer who loves thinking about the science behind science fiction. He fell in love with literature ever since Where the Red Fern Grows made him cry as a ten-year-old. Growing up as a gay man, he realized that he had rarely been able to truly connect with the characters he read about in books because almost none of them were like him. He didn’t have any fictional role models to look up to. Now that he is a writer, he tries to convey the joy and pride of being different through his own books, celebrating the fact that each unique voice brings something special to the beautiful chorus that is human artistic creation.
He likes to think about what the future might be like with the help of science, but he has always been fascinated by that other, much more elusive corollary to scientific curiosity: the mystery of consciousness. He finds the fact that a mind can think about itself both marvelous and slightly terrifying. His books often explore how people (or aliens) grow as a result of facing hardship, which itself has taught him variable lessons through the tough portions of his life.
When he takes a break from writing, Albert loves to cook, despite his varying degrees of success when attempting to make good sushi rice.
He likes to think about what the future might be like with the help of science, but he has always been fascinated by that other, much more elusive corollary to scientific curiosity: the mystery of consciousness. He finds the fact that a mind can think about itself both marvelous and slightly terrifying. His books often explore how people (or aliens) grow as a result of facing hardship, which itself has taught him variable lessons through the tough portions of his life.
When he takes a break from writing, Albert loves to cook, despite his varying degrees of success when attempting to make good sushi rice.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 11, 2014
A Hearts On Fire Review
TWO HEARTS--The young and the bullied...find insta-love.
Albert Nothlit's "Learning with a Man" is a romance told in 1st POV from gay, bullied eighteen year old Jeff. Jeff has no friends. He's ostracized for being gay and tormented at his high school- the beginning of the book gives a hard slice of the crap Jeff deals with. Jeff thinks he has a friend in neighbor/ supposed best friend Ray. Ray is two years old, works at Jeff's high school as an assistant coach and still hangs out with the popular crowd at the local high school. (I found it odd that 1. a 20 year old can work as a H.S. asst. coach and 2. he's hanging around high schoolers)
Ray ignores Jeff and never steps in or stops any attacks made to Jeff because he does not want to be associated with the gay kid. And Jeff is depressed and depressing. I thought the story was going to take a turn for the worst with Jeff's angry message on Facebook. But it didn't. And I felt for the kid.
Then the story gets weird. Ray visits Jeff's house after not talking to Jeff for a year or so. Jeff is so pathetic that he licks up the crumbs of attention Ray paid him and invites his 'friend' to have a sleepover of sorts. There a porn jerk off happens. Jeff is in hog heaven thinking he has a friend and tries to hide his crush from Ray.
But Ray is a selfish jerk to the bone. A cycle starts of Ray secretly frolicking with the naive Jeff and then ignoring him in public when the popular crowd is out and about. And Jeff still takes what ever attention he can get. Ray is everything to him.
The story could have been cut in half. Too much filler like a dog chase and bite that led to nothing as did a fall off a cliff. Why add these things? Maybe to make a stale plot have something more interesting? Probably but the story was weakly delivered and made no sense. The dialogue was dry, sometime mundane actions were described at length for pages and then the PWP sex. Two virgins that can deep throat, rim and have anal like pros? Really?
It read like a jerk off fantasy that was stretched into a novel that should have just been kept at jerk off material length.
The plot is grey, the story is beige and I did not like any of the characters. Nothing about them are redeemable, in fact I stopped pitying Jeff and quit caring. He was fine with his ill treatment so why should I care? Ray is disgusting and selfish and will probably revert back to his old ways. The story ends with a HEA but I am not buying it.
Who would enjoy this? Fans of doormat heroes. I'm sadly not one of them.
TWO HEARTS--The young and the bullied...find insta-love.
Albert Nothlit's "Learning with a Man" is a romance told in 1st POV from gay, bullied eighteen year old Jeff. Jeff has no friends. He's ostracized for being gay and tormented at his high school- the beginning of the book gives a hard slice of the crap Jeff deals with. Jeff thinks he has a friend in neighbor/ supposed best friend Ray. Ray is two years old, works at Jeff's high school as an assistant coach and still hangs out with the popular crowd at the local high school. (I found it odd that 1. a 20 year old can work as a H.S. asst. coach and 2. he's hanging around high schoolers)
Ray ignores Jeff and never steps in or stops any attacks made to Jeff because he does not want to be associated with the gay kid. And Jeff is depressed and depressing. I thought the story was going to take a turn for the worst with Jeff's angry message on Facebook. But it didn't. And I felt for the kid.
Then the story gets weird. Ray visits Jeff's house after not talking to Jeff for a year or so. Jeff is so pathetic that he licks up the crumbs of attention Ray paid him and invites his 'friend' to have a sleepover of sorts. There a porn jerk off happens. Jeff is in hog heaven thinking he has a friend and tries to hide his crush from Ray.
But Ray is a selfish jerk to the bone. A cycle starts of Ray secretly frolicking with the naive Jeff and then ignoring him in public when the popular crowd is out and about. And Jeff still takes what ever attention he can get. Ray is everything to him.
The story could have been cut in half. Too much filler like a dog chase and bite that led to nothing as did a fall off a cliff. Why add these things? Maybe to make a stale plot have something more interesting? Probably but the story was weakly delivered and made no sense. The dialogue was dry, sometime mundane actions were described at length for pages and then the PWP sex. Two virgins that can deep throat, rim and have anal like pros? Really?
It read like a jerk off fantasy that was stretched into a novel that should have just been kept at jerk off material length.
The plot is grey, the story is beige and I did not like any of the characters. Nothing about them are redeemable, in fact I stopped pitying Jeff and quit caring. He was fine with his ill treatment so why should I care? Ray is disgusting and selfish and will probably revert back to his old ways. The story ends with a HEA but I am not buying it.
Who would enjoy this? Fans of doormat heroes. I'm sadly not one of them.
dnf
August 25, 201430% - and I'm done. I don't like it at all. I tried the excerpt before I bought it and it was ok, but now this whole thing gets me aggravated. Jeff is totally stupid, Ray behaves as if he has no idea Jeff is gay, although he is being bullied at school as the gay kid, and instead of saying 'good riddance' to Ray, Jeff is still infatuated with him. And lets himself being treated like dirt. No, I don't want to read that.
May 21, 2014
Full review on Booklikes: http://myfictionnook.booklikes.com/po...
This didn't work for me.
This didn't work for me.
August 30, 2014
Just finished this - wow. It reminded me a lot of when I was going through that time when I struggled to accept who I was. Will be on the lookout for more stuff from this guy!
May 17, 2014
3.75 stars
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews