What do you think?
Rate this book
Kevin Connor Mysteries #1
First You Fall
Winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery, 2009.
When his friend's death is ruled a suicide, Kevin Connor--a hustler by trade, sleuth by default--sets out to prove a case of murder. It doesn't help matters that the victim's grown children, who disapproved of their father's sexual orientation, are only concerned about their inheritance. But they are not Kevin's only problem. His high-strung mother has moved in with him--and she knows nothing about his questionable . . . job. Throw in his super-hot ex - now a New York City detective - and Kevin has more than his hands full.
JA Konrath calls Sherman "the gay Janet Evanovich." You'll fall for this sexy, funny first mystery in the Kevin Connor series.
Scott Sherman has written for Newsweek, Genre, Instinct, and The Washington Blade. The follow-up to First You Fall, Second You Sin was released by Kensington in October, 2011 in trade paperback and for the Kindle. The third book in the series will be coming out in 2012.
When his friend's death is ruled a suicide, Kevin Connor--a hustler by trade, sleuth by default--sets out to prove a case of murder. It doesn't help matters that the victim's grown children, who disapproved of their father's sexual orientation, are only concerned about their inheritance. But they are not Kevin's only problem. His high-strung mother has moved in with him--and she knows nothing about his questionable . . . job. Throw in his super-hot ex - now a New York City detective - and Kevin has more than his hands full.
JA Konrath calls Sherman "the gay Janet Evanovich." You'll fall for this sexy, funny first mystery in the Kevin Connor series.
Scott Sherman has written for Newsweek, Genre, Instinct, and The Washington Blade. The follow-up to First You Fall, Second You Sin was released by Kensington in October, 2011 in trade paperback and for the Kindle. The third book in the series will be coming out in 2012.
264 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2008
27 people are currently reading
1025 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
June 6, 2012
If you put Dani Alexander and Josh Lanyon into a blender, and added half a jigger of Mary Calmes and a dash of a fourth ingredient (which I'll come to in a minute) you'd have First You Fall.
Our MC Kevin is a mildly witty and ironic high-end rent boy with a heart of gold, who has never gotten over his first love, neighbour boy Tony the Italian Stallion - now a cop. There's a camp, sassy best friend. There's a death, which Kevin is sure is murder, and Tony is sure is suicide. There's a cast of suspects.
There's sexual shennanigans between Tony and Kevin, despite the fact Tony "decided" not to be gay and broke young Kevin's heart.
All of this is handled quite deftly. The tales of each of Kevin's clients are amusing, and function extremely well as a narrative device to keep the pace rolling along swiftly when not much is happening on the mystery front.
The relationships between the different characters are written well, although Kevin's mother is disappointing as a character, being a one-dimensional sterotype.
I was also disappointed with Sherman's description of one secondary character as "...a drag queen. Or a transvestite. I'm not sure which." In fact, the character is pretty clearly written as a transwoman, not a cross dresser or a drag queen (all three are different). This lack of distinction seemed kind of rude and dismissive to transpeople. (EDIT 06/2012: another reviewer makes a really valid point that this is character voice, and it is unreasonable of me—to say the least—to criticise this as being rude and dismissive. I'm pretty sure my attitude was coloured by my annoyances with a different aspect of the book, and I shouldn't have picked on this. There is no issue here, and I was wrong.)
The book fell apart for me at the very end. The denouement was bizarre to say the least. It was a bit like I'd stumbled into a different book. It felt like the end of the Rocky Horror Picture Show when the spaceship appears, and everyone changes from fetish wear into fetish space-wear. All the characters are the same, but I'm going, "What the...?" However at least the mystery got solved (and I picked it, yay!), and we got some resolution on the romance front.
So for the cute mystery, I give this a 3.5: nearly a four. However...
Hate-speech
Here's my big problem with the book. The fourth ingredient is vile hate-speech. Sounds harsh, right?And unexpected in m/m, to say the least. I never realised, until I read this book, that one of the things I enjoy the most about the m/m genre is its acceptance. Characters are defined by their actions. Characters who treat each other well are good. Characters who are mean, intolerant, and abusive are bad. There is a place for all in m/m romance. (EDIT 06/2012 This is gay fiction, not m/m. I still don't find the language OK.)
But apparently, in First You Fall, there is no place for fat people. A character who is described as having "a heart of gold" is also described thusly (and these are only a few examples I picked out):
She was Jabba the Hut with pubic hair
...[she] leaned out the [second story] window, her pendulous breasts reaching almost to the ground. Well, not really, but you get the picture.
"...it confirms my theory that Daddy isn't sleeping with her...He couldn't," I explained. "It wouldn't reach".
"Could a person even find her, excuse my French, vagina? Do I look like Jacques Cousteau to you?"
I find this language vile and repulsive. The theme of the book is supposed to be acceptance. It features an organisation that tries to use psychological techniques to reprogramme gay men so they can live 'normal' lives. The MCs feel sad at the inability of some men to accept being gay. They sympathise with one character who was made his whole life to feel ashamed of being who he is. Then the book sets out to shame and humiliate a fat character.
I also think it is particularly damaging because the instances of this hate-speech are slipped sparsely throughout the text, and played for laughs. Only one other review I read even mentioned it. This is the kind of language that not so long ago was used against gay characters, again for laughs, in mainstream media. It passes mostly un-noticed, and contributes to a hegemony of female shaming.
Fat-hating language is something I never encountered before in any m/m romance(EDIT 06/2012: not m/m). Fat-hating language this outlandish is something I never encountered before in any published fiction.
Mr Sherman, frankly I think you should be ashamed of yourself.
For this reason, I give this book a single star.
EDIT 9 June 2012: I ended up doing a guest post on Dani Alexander's blog which expands on this. You can read it here.
Our MC Kevin is a mildly witty and ironic high-end rent boy with a heart of gold, who has never gotten over his first love, neighbour boy Tony the Italian Stallion - now a cop. There's a camp, sassy best friend. There's a death, which Kevin is sure is murder, and Tony is sure is suicide. There's a cast of suspects.
There's sexual shennanigans between Tony and Kevin, despite the fact Tony "decided" not to be gay and broke young Kevin's heart.
All of this is handled quite deftly. The tales of each of Kevin's clients are amusing, and function extremely well as a narrative device to keep the pace rolling along swiftly when not much is happening on the mystery front.
The relationships between the different characters are written well, although Kevin's mother is disappointing as a character, being a one-dimensional sterotype.
The book fell apart for me at the very end. The denouement was bizarre to say the least. It was a bit like I'd stumbled into a different book. It felt like the end of the Rocky Horror Picture Show when the spaceship appears, and everyone changes from fetish wear into fetish space-wear. All the characters are the same, but I'm going, "What the...?" However at least the mystery got solved (and I picked it, yay!), and we got some resolution on the romance front.
So for the cute mystery, I give this a 3.5: nearly a four. However...
Hate-speech
Here's my big problem with the book. The fourth ingredient is vile hate-speech. Sounds harsh, right?
But apparently, in First You Fall, there is no place for fat people. A character who is described as having "a heart of gold" is also described thusly (and these are only a few examples I picked out):
She was Jabba the Hut with pubic hair
...[she] leaned out the [second story] window, her pendulous breasts reaching almost to the ground. Well, not really, but you get the picture.
"...it confirms my theory that Daddy isn't sleeping with her...He couldn't," I explained. "It wouldn't reach".
"Could a person even find her, excuse my French, vagina? Do I look like Jacques Cousteau to you?"
I find this language vile and repulsive. The theme of the book is supposed to be acceptance. It features an organisation that tries to use psychological techniques to reprogramme gay men so they can live 'normal' lives. The MCs feel sad at the inability of some men to accept being gay. They sympathise with one character who was made his whole life to feel ashamed of being who he is. Then the book sets out to shame and humiliate a fat character.
I also think it is particularly damaging because the instances of this hate-speech are slipped sparsely throughout the text, and played for laughs. Only one other review I read even mentioned it. This is the kind of language that not so long ago was used against gay characters, again for laughs, in mainstream media. It passes mostly un-noticed, and contributes to a hegemony of female shaming.
Mr Sherman, frankly I think you should be ashamed of yourself.
For this reason, I give this book a single star.
EDIT 9 June 2012: I ended up doing a guest post on Dani Alexander's blog which expands on this. You can read it here.
April 12, 2013
This book made me smile.
It’s…
Zany
Madcapped
Silly
Fun
Funny
Charming
Adorable
Quotable
Predictable
Likable
Readable
NYC-able
Focus, Susan. Focus.
Kevin Connor is a Jory-esque twink prostitute who finds himself 1)amateur-investigating a murder of a friend and 2)in a love octagon (how many sides is that????...8? Yeah, that should be enough to cover them all!)
HE IS DELIGHTFUL.
And as such, it’s not even that annoying that everyone is in love with him. Because, honestly, he deserves it. In fact, I’M IN LOVE WITH HIM! :) He’s hysterical and brave and confident and and and…(I’m sure it will get annoying at some point as the series progresses, but for now, I heart him!)
The story is not original, the characters are all familiar (meaning, you’ve met versions of them in 100’s of other books), and the mystery is not anything groundbreaking. But, I finished the book feeling completely entertained and smitten. The romance angle is left up in the air, with many options available and open to our Kevvy…which makes me eager to read the next installment of the series.
As for who my vote goes to? I say Then again, I kinda heart me some :)
I enjoyed this immensely!
May 11, 2014
i will never knowingly devote a single one of my trillions of excess calories to a book that requires fat-shaming to define a character for laughs.
bcuz fuck you, that's why.
bcuz fuck you, that's why.
October 19, 2008
Very amusing first effort -- and a good job in concealing the murderer. Personally, I felt the likeable protagonist was nearly overbalanced by the usual zany cast of characters one expects in gay amateur sleuth novels. And the laughs come at the expense of character and relationship. The mystery itself is pretty far-fetched -- I say this as someone who has written a fair amount of far fetched fiction.
None of which spoiled my enjoyment -- and I will certainly look for more from Sherman.
None of which spoiled my enjoyment -- and I will certainly look for more from Sherman.
August 25, 2016
I LOVE THIS BOOK!! It's endearing, funny, sassy, SEXY!! Oh, gosh, how many times you will encounter a book where the protagonist/main hero is a male prostitute?!?
This is what the book gives. The main hero is very endearing and you cannot help to love him even if in reality, you cannot accept his line of work. You fall for his narrating the story (it is told from 1st POV) and his friends and his clients (yes, some of his clients are really loveable), and the only man he ever love, who returns to his life after breaking his heart 7 years ago. The uncovering murder part is also handled nicely. But it's not the murder you want to read. It's Kevin and the men in his life that you want to know more.
I really don't want this book to end and it doesn't happen a lot.
This is what the book gives. The main hero is very endearing and you cannot help to love him even if in reality, you cannot accept his line of work. You fall for his narrating the story (it is told from 1st POV) and his friends and his clients (yes, some of his clients are really loveable), and the only man he ever love, who returns to his life after breaking his heart 7 years ago. The uncovering murder part is also handled nicely. But it's not the murder you want to read. It's Kevin and the men in his life that you want to know more.
I really don't want this book to end and it doesn't happen a lot.
April 13, 2022
This turned out to be a fun little mystery. Early on it becomes obvious that this is as much a light, almost screwball, comedy as it is a mystery. If you just go along for the ride, you’re in for an enjoyable read. The deceptively humorous story makes the twist to the mystery at the end all the more surprising. Kevin is an engaging character; in spite of what his age and profession might make you believe otherwise. He is also surrounded by a large group of equally well-defined characters, including some of Kevin’s customers, who are portrayed in a quite non-judgmental fashion. If the story has any weakness at all it’s in the last part of the story which stretches credulity just a little bit too far. Otherwise, it's a really good and worth your time read. Those that like to follow award winners will be pleased to know that this was the winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Mystery in 2009.
March 16, 2022
WINNER OF THE 21st Lambda Literary Award—BEST GAY MYSTERY!
Rating: 3.5* of five
I received, unpacked, cataloged, and finished 'First You Fall' by Scott Sherman in one afternoon. Flawed, a first novel for sure, but very funny in many places, poignant in others, and a worthwhile read. Gay rent-boy sleuth has never resolved his feelings for closet-case first love; they meet again when rent-boy's good friend allegedly commits suicide, and first love is one of the cops investigating; hijinks ensue.
For a book featuring a rent-boy, there is surprisingly little...ummm, well, a fast consultation shows NONE...no graphic sex in the book. The author talks about sex a lot, but that's sorta what you expect in a book with this main character. That SHOULD win over a mainstream audience. There was only marginally less sex in the 'Brandstetter' mysteries by Joseph Hansen, and they were hugely popular.
The mystery aspects of the book weren't its strongest selling points. I was sure I knew who the murderer was, and I was right; I had the murderer's motive all wrong, though, and that made a nice surprise. The satisfying resolution to the red herrings strongly appealed to my orderly side. The romantic complications were believable, and while I have never been a rent-boy (never pretty enough), I have been down the road that Kevin, our main character, traveled, though without the happy ending. Life so needs a better script, don't y'all agree?
Recommended for mystery fans, straight or gay, who like to root for the underdog to win; also to fans of the reluctant sleuth genre. The truly homophobic should not even try this book. The mildly, "ewww ick" homophobic might see something worthwhile here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Rating: 3.5* of five
I received, unpacked, cataloged, and finished 'First You Fall' by Scott Sherman in one afternoon. Flawed, a first novel for sure, but very funny in many places, poignant in others, and a worthwhile read. Gay rent-boy sleuth has never resolved his feelings for closet-case first love; they meet again when rent-boy's good friend allegedly commits suicide, and first love is one of the cops investigating; hijinks ensue.
For a book featuring a rent-boy, there is surprisingly little...ummm, well, a fast consultation shows NONE...no graphic sex in the book. The author talks about sex a lot, but that's sorta what you expect in a book with this main character. That SHOULD win over a mainstream audience. There was only marginally less sex in the 'Brandstetter' mysteries by Joseph Hansen, and they were hugely popular.
The mystery aspects of the book weren't its strongest selling points. I was sure I knew who the murderer was, and I was right; I had the murderer's motive all wrong, though, and that made a nice surprise. The satisfying resolution to the red herrings strongly appealed to my orderly side. The romantic complications were believable, and while I have never been a rent-boy (never pretty enough), I have been down the road that Kevin, our main character, traveled, though without the happy ending. Life so needs a better script, don't y'all agree?
Recommended for mystery fans, straight or gay, who like to root for the underdog to win; also to fans of the reluctant sleuth genre. The truly homophobic should not even try this book. The mildly, "ewww ick" homophobic might see something worthwhile here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
May 1, 2012
Loved This, I Did!
Until the end. I thought the ending was weak and a bunch of bullshit. That and a few too many editing errors, including switching characters names kept this from being five stars.
Other than that I loved Kevin. Awesome MC he was and really enjoyed following him around.
I stayed up too late reading this but it's a very hard book to put down...
And OMG it was so flipping funny I had to stop reading a couple times until I could get my laughter under control only to then read another sentence and burst out laughing again.
This book was full of amazing, lovable characters...
Until the end. I thought the ending was weak and a bunch of bullshit. That and a few too many editing errors, including switching characters names kept this from being five stars.
Other than that I loved Kevin. Awesome MC he was and really enjoyed following him around.
I stayed up too late reading this but it's a very hard book to put down...
And OMG it was so flipping funny I had to stop reading a couple times until I could get my laughter under control only to then read another sentence and burst out laughing again.
This book was full of amazing, lovable characters...
January 20, 2014
This is one of the most frustrating books that I’ve read in a while.
What I liked – I’m a big fan of mystery/romance. I love mixed genres, and First You Fall is a good mystery (and more mystery than romance.) Kevin, our cute young male escort MC finds himself adding “amateur sleuth” to his repertoire of skills (alongside being the receiving end to a gentle, wannabe sadist and delivering comfort for a hot hacker agoraphobe). A friend has fallen to his death, but Kevin is sure it wasn’t suicide, and once he starts digging, he starts finding a mess of connections, ones that gets dirtier and more twisted the further he investigates.
The mystery was good and had a lot of potential paths. I did not guess the truth, which is always a plus. Kevin is an appealing, funny, upbeat and resilient presence, and his escort job is more colorful and humorous than other dreary rent-boy stories. (Kevin’s profession is born more from the easy money and amiable clients than from an abused past or a broken home.)
The side characters are also colorful, amusing, and fun—especially Kevin’s sleuth partner Freddy, a guy who always has his radar up for the next hot man who might be in reach, and Marc, the shy, genius hacker who Kevin visits, but who is so sweet, their “sessions” never feel like part of his escort job.
Sherman is also very adept at characters and their voices, and everyone had their own distinct voice. I was super impressed when he made one character so scarily persuasive, it was like watching one of the scenarios spin out from The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence. (People, if someone won’t take “no” for an answer, at all, it’s a good sign to back away.)
What was harder: Sweet Jeebus, I don’t think I could give a shit less about Kevin’s love interest than what I felt for “his” Tony, a closeted, married cop who had been his first teenage love, but who had left him, only to reenter his life when Kevin’s friend was killed, still carrying his back-and-forth attraction for Kevin. “You’re so cute.” “Oh, but I’m married.” “I’m not gay. You know that, right?” “Oh, but the *things* you do to me, Kevvy...”
The irony is that Sherman is VERY CAPABLE of creating likeable characters. Pretty much every other guy, except the suspects, are all better choices for Kevin’s attentions. (Freddy! Marc! Romeo!) I don’t understand why he centered on drab, colorless Tony, who felt more like a stereotype of the “straight?” cop love interest than anything else. It was like…someone pointed him to Josh Lanyon, and said, “This guy sells books. Look at all those law enforcement MCs! Look at Jake Riordan! People fell in love with him, even though he jerked Adrien around for multiple books!” That or Sherman really wanted to work out his own thing for “straight?” love interests.
Well, I will tell you--Tony is no Jake Riordan. Even in book 1 of Adrien English, where nothing super-sexy progresses between him and Adrien, the back-and-forth that he was struggling with was way more raw and evident. Whereas here, following Kevin’s forlorn love for Tony was so innately unsatisfying. At one point, I left a reading status of “I feel more sympathy for a wet load of laundry that has been left in the washer overnight than I feel for Kevin’s thing for Tony.”
I honestly don’t understand why Sherman picked Tony to be Kevin’s love interest. Was it because Tony might help “straighten” Kevin out from his escort job? Was it to hold on to the theme of “first love”? I don’t know, but I did not give a shit about their relationship, and I mostly felt that Kevin was missing out by holding on to his Tony dream. This pretty much lost the “heart” in the story for me, so only the mystery was left.
I also agree with the points in Emma’s review. There is some anti-fat/women humor in here that was absolutely not necessary for the story’s progression. Making fun of heavy women and how they’re considered unattractive (and here, posited as unfit to be loved at all), It’s what I qualify as “cheap laughs”, like having a visually impaired person walk into a wall. “HA! HA! They walked into the wall ‘cause they can’t SEE!” The humor is very base-level, is not at all clever, and really dragged things down. There’s also the appearance of the villains, both are , and one is the over-used , the bane to m/m mysteries.
You can say that being from 2008, maybe that cliché villain still felt “fresh”, but I doubt it, and it’s one that doesn’t age well in a growing genre.
So, mad props to Sherman for creating a fun main character in Kevin, excellent side characters, a twisty mystery, and a terrible romantic subplot. On the plus side, I have no desire to read further in Kevin’s journey to redemption/love, which will save me some moolah since both book 2 and book 3 are more than $9 for the ebooks.
What I liked – I’m a big fan of mystery/romance. I love mixed genres, and First You Fall is a good mystery (and more mystery than romance.) Kevin, our cute young male escort MC finds himself adding “amateur sleuth” to his repertoire of skills (alongside being the receiving end to a gentle, wannabe sadist and delivering comfort for a hot hacker agoraphobe). A friend has fallen to his death, but Kevin is sure it wasn’t suicide, and once he starts digging, he starts finding a mess of connections, ones that gets dirtier and more twisted the further he investigates.
The mystery was good and had a lot of potential paths. I did not guess the truth, which is always a plus. Kevin is an appealing, funny, upbeat and resilient presence, and his escort job is more colorful and humorous than other dreary rent-boy stories. (Kevin’s profession is born more from the easy money and amiable clients than from an abused past or a broken home.)
The side characters are also colorful, amusing, and fun—especially Kevin’s sleuth partner Freddy, a guy who always has his radar up for the next hot man who might be in reach, and Marc, the shy, genius hacker who Kevin visits, but who is so sweet, their “sessions” never feel like part of his escort job.
Sherman is also very adept at characters and their voices, and everyone had their own distinct voice. I was super impressed when he made one character so scarily persuasive, it was like watching one of the scenarios spin out from The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence. (People, if someone won’t take “no” for an answer, at all, it’s a good sign to back away.)
What was harder: Sweet Jeebus, I don’t think I could give a shit less about Kevin’s love interest than what I felt for “his” Tony, a closeted, married cop who had been his first teenage love, but who had left him, only to reenter his life when Kevin’s friend was killed, still carrying his back-and-forth attraction for Kevin. “You’re so cute.” “Oh, but I’m married.” “I’m not gay. You know that, right?” “Oh, but the *things* you do to me, Kevvy...”
The irony is that Sherman is VERY CAPABLE of creating likeable characters. Pretty much every other guy, except the suspects, are all better choices for Kevin’s attentions. (Freddy! Marc! Romeo!) I don’t understand why he centered on drab, colorless Tony, who felt more like a stereotype of the “straight?” cop love interest than anything else. It was like…someone pointed him to Josh Lanyon, and said, “This guy sells books. Look at all those law enforcement MCs! Look at Jake Riordan! People fell in love with him, even though he jerked Adrien around for multiple books!” That or Sherman really wanted to work out his own thing for “straight?” love interests.
Well, I will tell you--Tony is no Jake Riordan. Even in book 1 of Adrien English, where nothing super-sexy progresses between him and Adrien, the back-and-forth that he was struggling with was way more raw and evident. Whereas here, following Kevin’s forlorn love for Tony was so innately unsatisfying. At one point, I left a reading status of “I feel more sympathy for a wet load of laundry that has been left in the washer overnight than I feel for Kevin’s thing for Tony.”
I honestly don’t understand why Sherman picked Tony to be Kevin’s love interest. Was it because Tony might help “straighten” Kevin out from his escort job? Was it to hold on to the theme of “first love”? I don’t know, but I did not give a shit about their relationship, and I mostly felt that Kevin was missing out by holding on to his Tony dream. This pretty much lost the “heart” in the story for me, so only the mystery was left.
I also agree with the points in Emma’s review. There is some anti-fat/women humor in here that was absolutely not necessary for the story’s progression. Making fun of heavy women and how they’re considered unattractive (and here, posited as unfit to be loved at all), It’s what I qualify as “cheap laughs”, like having a visually impaired person walk into a wall. “HA! HA! They walked into the wall ‘cause they can’t SEE!” The humor is very base-level, is not at all clever, and really dragged things down. There’s also the appearance of the villains, both are , and one is the over-used , the bane to m/m mysteries.
You can say that being from 2008, maybe that cliché villain still felt “fresh”, but I doubt it, and it’s one that doesn’t age well in a growing genre.
So, mad props to Sherman for creating a fun main character in Kevin, excellent side characters, a twisty mystery, and a terrible romantic subplot. On the plus side, I have no desire to read further in Kevin’s journey to redemption/love, which will save me some moolah since both book 2 and book 3 are more than $9 for the ebooks.
April 7, 2013
4.5 Stars!
Absolutely hilarious and delightful. Full review soon.
Absolutely hilarious and delightful. Full review soon.
February 23, 2012
4.49 STARS
"Focus, Kevin, focus." That is our narrator, Kevin Connor. He has AADD (Adult Attention Deficit Disorder) that is thankfully mostly under control with medication. He knows the signs, so when his mind starts to wander he knows how to make himself focus...mostly. I had a blast keeping up with him.
Now, let's understand something about Kevin. He's a prostitute, call boy, hustler, who doesn't have a problem with his occupation of choice. He might also have some of the most unrealistic, sweetest clients on the planet, but anyway, there's a lot of humor coming from that end. The reason I bring this up is because "romance" isn't the focus of this story.
I liked the mystery part of the story even when it went slightly off. I can honestly I had some idea but didn't find out until THE very end and it still took me by surprise. The way Kevin went about trying to figure things out was believable to me. Phew! No TSTL on this one!.
But what I enjoyed the most were Kevin and a great deal of the characters, too many to name. I had tons of fun with them and their antics. It came close to 5 stars for me, it really did. There were a couple of things that prevented me from doing it . Otherwise, I loved it!
"Focus, Kevin, focus." That is our narrator, Kevin Connor. He has AADD (Adult Attention Deficit Disorder) that is thankfully mostly under control with medication. He knows the signs, so when his mind starts to wander he knows how to make himself focus...mostly. I had a blast keeping up with him.
Now, let's understand something about Kevin. He's a prostitute, call boy, hustler, who doesn't have a problem with his occupation of choice. He might also have some of the most unrealistic, sweetest clients on the planet, but anyway, there's a lot of humor coming from that end. The reason I bring this up is because "romance" isn't the focus of this story.
I liked the mystery part of the story even when it went slightly off. I can honestly I had some idea but didn't find out until THE very end and it still took me by surprise. The way Kevin went about trying to figure things out was believable to me. Phew! No TSTL on this one!.
But what I enjoyed the most were Kevin and a great deal of the characters, too many to name. I had tons of fun with them and their antics. It came close to 5 stars for me, it really did. There were a couple of things that prevented me from doing it . Otherwise, I loved it!
July 23, 2009
First You Fall...and I most certainly did.
While I've long believed we needed another 'gay-hustler protag' about as much as we needed more Log Cabin Republicans, I'm actually ready to say it...I was wrong. I would no longer wish to live in a world that didn't include Kevin Conner, no matter what he decides to put in his mouth!
What made this story so fresh was the fact that his career path wasn't the focus of the story. I loved that what Scott Sherman gave us was a little like, 'hooker-unplugged'. You get the Full-life Monty so to speak and we see that Kevin is sweet, funny, and most importantly no different than any other guy you might meet on the street, so to speak. He's someone I'd want to be friends with and that makes him different than the usual tortured-rent boy we've all seen so many times before.
The scenes between Kevin and his mother were for me the brightest spots in what was a thoroughly enjoyable and very funny read. I'm secretly hoping she discovers what her son has been doing to make money at some point, in what will definitely be an auto-buy for me, in regards to this series. Not to be overly punny...but I'm dying for the next installment.
While I've long believed we needed another 'gay-hustler protag' about as much as we needed more Log Cabin Republicans, I'm actually ready to say it...I was wrong. I would no longer wish to live in a world that didn't include Kevin Conner, no matter what he decides to put in his mouth!
What made this story so fresh was the fact that his career path wasn't the focus of the story. I loved that what Scott Sherman gave us was a little like, 'hooker-unplugged'. You get the Full-life Monty so to speak and we see that Kevin is sweet, funny, and most importantly no different than any other guy you might meet on the street, so to speak. He's someone I'd want to be friends with and that makes him different than the usual tortured-rent boy we've all seen so many times before.
The scenes between Kevin and his mother were for me the brightest spots in what was a thoroughly enjoyable and very funny read. I'm secretly hoping she discovers what her son has been doing to make money at some point, in what will definitely be an auto-buy for me, in regards to this series. Not to be overly punny...but I'm dying for the next installment.
December 14, 2018
I first started reading this in February and for some reason that escapes me now ( I've slept since then! ) I put it to one side and started reading something else. So today I was searching through the groaning TBR list, when I came across it again and decided to give it another chance.
Great decision!
It reminded me so much of the laugh a minute adventures of Stephanie Plum only in this, swap Stephanie for blonde twink Kevin: gay amateur sleuthing male prostitute with sass, attitude and a cuteness factor that will make you want to become his sidekick just so you can keep an eye on him because like all these types of stories the guy is a walking trouble magnet as well as a man magnet. I just adored him!
He has all the daft quirky supporting characters who you'd expect to find. In this case there's the will they/won't they ex boyfriend and closeted cop, the flamboyant sexy as hell 'bed anything that moves' BFF, the agoraphobic sweet client who has mad computer skills, the transvestite ' madame', a hot balcony climbing construction worker plus a truck load of other weird clients with odd but funny kinks, like the guy who is into sadomasochism but apologises a lot! I found myself snorting many times! Then last but not least poor Kevin has to put up with his eccentric, no holds barred embarrassing mother who turns up on him out of the blue whilst all the other shenanigans are going on, and who although she's totally cringeworthy, you can't help but like.Well I did because she made me laugh.. she's funny!
Then of course theres a suitably well plotted crime story involving a suspicious suicide, with lots of red herrings that wraps up the package very nicely and the love interest ... or three ... or possibly four, that you're left pondering about at the end of the story ( lucky old Kevin has a few vying for his attention ) just adds to why if you pick this quirky, laugh out loud story it will probably leave you wanting more, just like Stephanie and her Joe versus Ranger conundrum! Only in this its Tony the cop, Freddie the BFF, Mark the agoraphobe or Romeo, that balcony hopping construction worker!!! Lots of UST. Yum!
The thing is, there's nothing particularly new about the whole book and its ideas but its one of those tropes that just works and like they say: " If its not broke, don't fix it! " and in my opinion there's nothing to fix about Kevin, his entourage or any of the stuff he gets up to. I really loved this and have found another favourite character to add to the many others I've fell in love with in this genre. Great fun and now its on to book two to see what other trouble this delightful little blonde minx can get into.
If you want a book that will make you laugh or just plain smile a lot, then give this a try... I'll be surprised if this doesn't fit the bill. I'm hooked.
Great decision!
It reminded me so much of the laugh a minute adventures of Stephanie Plum only in this, swap Stephanie for blonde twink Kevin: gay amateur sleuthing male prostitute with sass, attitude and a cuteness factor that will make you want to become his sidekick just so you can keep an eye on him because like all these types of stories the guy is a walking trouble magnet as well as a man magnet. I just adored him!
He has all the daft quirky supporting characters who you'd expect to find. In this case there's the will they/won't they ex boyfriend and closeted cop, the flamboyant sexy as hell 'bed anything that moves' BFF, the agoraphobic sweet client who has mad computer skills, the transvestite ' madame', a hot balcony climbing construction worker plus a truck load of other weird clients with odd but funny kinks, like the guy who is into sadomasochism but apologises a lot! I found myself snorting many times! Then last but not least poor Kevin has to put up with his eccentric, no holds barred embarrassing mother who turns up on him out of the blue whilst all the other shenanigans are going on, and who although she's totally cringeworthy, you can't help but like.Well I did because she made me laugh.. she's funny!
Then of course theres a suitably well plotted crime story involving a suspicious suicide, with lots of red herrings that wraps up the package very nicely and the love interest ... or three ... or possibly four, that you're left pondering about at the end of the story ( lucky old Kevin has a few vying for his attention ) just adds to why if you pick this quirky, laugh out loud story it will probably leave you wanting more, just like Stephanie and her Joe versus Ranger conundrum! Only in this its Tony the cop, Freddie the BFF, Mark the agoraphobe or Romeo, that balcony hopping construction worker!!! Lots of UST. Yum!
The thing is, there's nothing particularly new about the whole book and its ideas but its one of those tropes that just works and like they say: " If its not broke, don't fix it! " and in my opinion there's nothing to fix about Kevin, his entourage or any of the stuff he gets up to. I really loved this and have found another favourite character to add to the many others I've fell in love with in this genre. Great fun and now its on to book two to see what other trouble this delightful little blonde minx can get into.
If you want a book that will make you laugh or just plain smile a lot, then give this a try... I'll be surprised if this doesn't fit the bill. I'm hooked.
April 12, 2013
I loved almost everything about this book. It was entertaining, (mostly) funny, clever, well-written, and had some truly fantastic, quirky, and in some cases, literally crazy, characters in it.
The primary mystery plot was engaging, and there were a few unexpected twists to it (though admittedly, the foreshadowing gave too much away). Overall, I thought the way it was resolved was pretty satisfying – I was just sad that .
The subplot in the book revolved around our rent boy/amateur detective Kevin’s colorful love life, and by the end, he
There was one thing in this book that really detracted from my enjoyment, however, and it was the plethora of outright mean, nasty comments directed at overweight people. I admit, I’m incredibly sensitive to that as a plus-sized girl myself, but I thought they added nothing to the story, and just made characters I like in every other way seem excessively superficial and thoughtlessly cruel. In a book where one of the predominant themes is self-acceptance, that was such a slap in the face, and I found it hurtful and depressing. I’m an avid supporter of gay rights and marriage equality – some of my best friends in the world are gay or bisexual, so it was a bit of downer to know that someone whose rights I would fight for all day long would look down on me because I’m not supermodel thin. The book lost a full star from me for it – I would have probably rated the book a 4/4.5 otherwise.
But despite that, I am looking forward to continuing the series.
The primary mystery plot was engaging, and there were a few unexpected twists to it (though admittedly, the foreshadowing gave too much away). Overall, I thought the way it was resolved was pretty satisfying – I was just sad that .
The subplot in the book revolved around our rent boy/amateur detective Kevin’s colorful love life, and by the end, he
There was one thing in this book that really detracted from my enjoyment, however, and it was the plethora of outright mean, nasty comments directed at overweight people. I admit, I’m incredibly sensitive to that as a plus-sized girl myself, but I thought they added nothing to the story, and just made characters I like in every other way seem excessively superficial and thoughtlessly cruel. In a book where one of the predominant themes is self-acceptance, that was such a slap in the face, and I found it hurtful and depressing. I’m an avid supporter of gay rights and marriage equality – some of my best friends in the world are gay or bisexual, so it was a bit of downer to know that someone whose rights I would fight for all day long would look down on me because I’m not supermodel thin. The book lost a full star from me for it – I would have probably rated the book a 4/4.5 otherwise.
But despite that, I am looking forward to continuing the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2013
Sassy sleuth. Mysterious murder. Entertaining escort.
Amusing and cute, Kevin Connor is not your typical rentboy. When an unexpected tragedy crashes at his feet, he becomes a charming mix of Deuce Bigalow and Magnum PI in this feisty crime-solving tale.
Money talks and it didn’t take long till college lost its appeal and the fast easy flow of cash spoke to Kevin. Putting school on hold, Kevin embraces his new gigolo lifestyle with open arms. A potential client may have turned Kevin down, but quickly turns into a dear friend and mentor. When Kevin stumbles into the crime scene of his assumed suicide, his life is flipped upside down with a searing blast from the past.
Kevvy
I adore him! Everything about him…..
He is charming and sweet. He is clever and hilarious. He is genuine and loving. And most of all he is strong despite any would-be weaknesses.
I wanted to protect him. I wanted to save him. I wanted to Taser anyone who tried to ruin his happily ever after.
Kevin is bound and determined to prove foul play is a factor, and Allen would never take his own life. With his faithful BFF in tow and his sexy ex close behind, this amateur private dick confronts all promising leads while continuing to meet the random needs of his clients.
I was so distracted by his stimulating adventures I never saw the true murderer’s identity. Complete blindside for me. Bravo!
Between his ex, his best friend and his mother (my, oh my, his batshitcrazy mother) the story never lulled or lost my interest for a second.
Love possibilities attack him from all directions and I for one simply cannot wait to see which lucky man wins the delicious creamy filled prize!
*4.5 charismatic & satisfying stars*
Amusing and cute, Kevin Connor is not your typical rentboy. When an unexpected tragedy crashes at his feet, he becomes a charming mix of Deuce Bigalow and Magnum PI in this feisty crime-solving tale.
Money talks and it didn’t take long till college lost its appeal and the fast easy flow of cash spoke to Kevin. Putting school on hold, Kevin embraces his new gigolo lifestyle with open arms. A potential client may have turned Kevin down, but quickly turns into a dear friend and mentor. When Kevin stumbles into the crime scene of his assumed suicide, his life is flipped upside down with a searing blast from the past.
Kevvy
I adore him! Everything about him…..
He is charming and sweet. He is clever and hilarious. He is genuine and loving. And most of all he is strong despite any would-be weaknesses.
I wanted to protect him. I wanted to save him. I wanted to Taser anyone who tried to ruin his happily ever after.
Kevin is bound and determined to prove foul play is a factor, and Allen would never take his own life. With his faithful BFF in tow and his sexy ex close behind, this amateur private dick confronts all promising leads while continuing to meet the random needs of his clients.
I was so distracted by his stimulating adventures I never saw the true murderer’s identity. Complete blindside for me. Bravo!
Between his ex, his best friend and his mother (my, oh my, his batshitcrazy mother) the story never lulled or lost my interest for a second.
Love possibilities attack him from all directions and I for one simply cannot wait to see which lucky man wins the delicious creamy filled prize!
*4.5 charismatic & satisfying stars*
March 2, 2012
Kevin is one of those characters that I absolutely fell in love with that you could place him in any plot, and I'd probably love it because of how absolutely endearing Kevin is!
There were so many laugh out loud moments with Kevin and his absolutely amazing list of supporting characters...and mom...how much do I love mom!
The mystery and the way Kevin and friends (completely love Freddie too) go about solving it kept me interested and intrigued and the clumsiness involved made it so believable (since he really isn't a detective). I constantly questioned Kevin's choices and would scream in my head at him, but he didn't listen :) I'm still deciding what I think of the love interest and think I probably will throughout the series.
I realized I use love a lot in this review :D Great read, lifes concerns completely dissolved when I opened this book! I actually had to go start the sequel right after.
There were so many laugh out loud moments with Kevin and his absolutely amazing list of supporting characters...and mom...how much do I love mom!
The mystery and the way Kevin and friends (completely love Freddie too) go about solving it kept me interested and intrigued and the clumsiness involved made it so believable (since he really isn't a detective). I constantly questioned Kevin's choices and would scream in my head at him, but he didn't listen :) I'm still deciding what I think of the love interest and think I probably will throughout the series.
I realized I use love a lot in this review :D Great read, lifes concerns completely dissolved when I opened this book! I actually had to go start the sequel right after.
August 15, 2022
I was just tagging the book and realized I had to select a "minimal/no sex" tag for a book about a rent boy. Ha-ha.
I read through the reviews and found a few negative points, quite valid ones, too, that should bring the stars down. Yes, there were some not very appropriate jokes at other characters' expense, but be real. How often do we do it in real life without even realizing it at times? It's unfortunate, but true.
The mystery aspect might be far-fetched but the story grabs your attention, sucks you right in and won't let you go until the end. There should be something said for that.
5 stars. Filing it under "favorites".
I read through the reviews and found a few negative points, quite valid ones, too, that should bring the stars down. Yes, there were some not very appropriate jokes at other characters' expense, but be real. How often do we do it in real life without even realizing it at times? It's unfortunate, but true.
The mystery aspect might be far-fetched but the story grabs your attention, sucks you right in and won't let you go until the end. There should be something said for that.
5 stars. Filing it under "favorites".
Read
January 5, 2022A cute and quick read. I did not have any expectations before reading this. It was a little predictable and very repetitive. The ending was somehow exaggerated but still okay.
I enjoyed this and want to read the sequel, if I can find it somewhere, not sure the local library holds this.
I enjoyed this and want to read the sequel, if I can find it somewhere, not sure the local library holds this.
August 12, 2016
I liked this. This book made me laugh and I'll always love books that make me laugh. That's a pretty rare feat these days and I know that I'll always appreciate finding a little gem that manages to make my day a little brighter!
April 13, 2013
3.5
Cute MC.
Funny dialogue.
Endearing side characters.
Variety of potential love interests.
Keep you guessing mystery.
Very enjoyable! :-)
Cute MC.
Funny dialogue.
Endearing side characters.
Variety of potential love interests.
Keep you guessing mystery.
Very enjoyable! :-)
March 16, 2020
Not quite 4 stars but damn, I laughed my ass off the whole time I was reading this (when I wasn't also rolling my eyes) so I rounded up.
September 22, 2012
So, after reading several chapters of this book I had the feeling - I already know this. And well, yes. I was right. I got the Pb of this book not totally b.k.(before kindle) but b.GR. and I found it on my shelves in my basement. So, the fact that the whole story came back to me shows that the story stayed with me. I still liked it a lot, I only think the solution of the mystery let me down a bit. Nevertheless, I laughed out loud several times, Kevin is really cute and now there is a sequel I'm looking forward to reading and within a few days the third installment, although - I'll wait for a more reasonable price to get that.
May 3, 2012
Clever, funny. Loved it. Not so much on the romance, though. Don't be expecting that.
April 27, 2013
2.5 Stars
Unfortunately, I find myself in the unenviable position of being one of the few people who didn't go gaga over this book. Sometimes I hate being in the minority. *sigh*
Kevin Connor is an unrepentant hustler determined to save money for grad school. When Kevin's friend's death is ruled a suicide, he is committed to proving otherwise and catching a murderer. Along the way, Kevin is reunited with an old flame but his "job" is not conducive to honest relationships.
I liked Kevin enough; he was sass and fun. And, I could get behind him as a protagonist, including what he does for a living. But, I draw the line at love. Sorry, perhaps it's small minded but I just can't reconcile HEA with the love of your life with selling yourself for sex. Can't...quite...wrap...my...head...around that one. Casual fling? Fine. Friends with benefits? Sure. Monogamous relationship with the one-and-only-love-of-your-life? Uh, no. I know Kevin insisted he separated himself when he "works" and how that totally differs from making love ... but, that just doesn't work for me. This is especially true since Kevin .
Bottom line: the dialogue was funny at times, I enjoyed many of the supporting characters, and the mystery was alright ... but I couldn't really get behind the protagonist. Oh, and there wasn't enough smut. *blushes* My guilty pleasure ...
Unfortunately, I find myself in the unenviable position of being one of the few people who didn't go gaga over this book. Sometimes I hate being in the minority. *sigh*
Kevin Connor is an unrepentant hustler determined to save money for grad school. When Kevin's friend's death is ruled a suicide, he is committed to proving otherwise and catching a murderer. Along the way, Kevin is reunited with an old flame but his "job" is not conducive to honest relationships.
I liked Kevin enough; he was sass and fun. And, I could get behind him as a protagonist, including what he does for a living. But, I draw the line at love. Sorry, perhaps it's small minded but I just can't reconcile HEA with the love of your life with selling yourself for sex. Can't...quite...wrap...my...head...around that one. Casual fling? Fine. Friends with benefits? Sure. Monogamous relationship with the one-and-only-love-of-your-life? Uh, no. I know Kevin insisted he separated himself when he "works" and how that totally differs from making love ... but, that just doesn't work for me. This is especially true since Kevin .
Bottom line: the dialogue was funny at times, I enjoyed many of the supporting characters, and the mystery was alright ... but I couldn't really get behind the protagonist. Oh, and there wasn't enough smut. *blushes* My guilty pleasure ...
November 29, 2017
Fun Murder Mystery...4 Stars.
What a lighthearted, funny, and entertaining murder mystery! Here we have the common trope of our everyday rent boy starting a murder investigation. No, really, I’m not a big fan of non professionals jumping in to solve crimes, but this was a very refreshing take on the trope.
First we have a sweet-as-pie rent boy, Kevin, looking to solve the suspicious suicide of his good friend. I wanted to devour him like a prize-winning cupcake. We also have Kevin’s best friend, Freddy, who leaves every scenes with either a boy or a number in hand. Kevin’s mom is hilarious. His Johns are sweet. His ex is a bit of a closeted douche-not a fan of him. And there’s also a escape ladder climbing construction hottie named Romeo. And, yes, there are some crazies of the murderous kind.
What’s not to love? Although I had the murder solved from the get to, there were several twists and turns that surprised me (even if some were difficult to swallow, they were at least funny).
This was my first novel by this author, and I’ll happily pick up another when I’m up for a good laugh and a light read!
What a lighthearted, funny, and entertaining murder mystery! Here we have the common trope of our everyday rent boy starting a murder investigation. No, really, I’m not a big fan of non professionals jumping in to solve crimes, but this was a very refreshing take on the trope.
First we have a sweet-as-pie rent boy, Kevin, looking to solve the suspicious suicide of his good friend. I wanted to devour him like a prize-winning cupcake. We also have Kevin’s best friend, Freddy, who leaves every scenes with either a boy or a number in hand. Kevin’s mom is hilarious. His Johns are sweet. His ex is a bit of a closeted douche-not a fan of him. And there’s also a escape ladder climbing construction hottie named Romeo. And, yes, there are some crazies of the murderous kind.
What’s not to love? Although I had the murder solved from the get to, there were several twists and turns that surprised me (even if some were difficult to swallow, they were at least funny).
This was my first novel by this author, and I’ll happily pick up another when I’m up for a good laugh and a light read!
February 7, 2013
Very fun, fast-paced read with well-drawn characters, a caffeinated plot, and great humor. This is the kind of book one can easily read in a sitting. The best thing I can say about it is I will definitely now buy the next two in what promises to be a very engaging series.
September 26, 2012
Reread on 9/25/12
Loved it even more the second time.
Loved it even more the second time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2015
First You Fall
Hustlers needs friends, too.
This book is about a hustler named Kevin, when his best friend Allen died falling off a building, everyone thought it was a suicide, but Kevin doesn't think so. He knew his best friend very well that he wouldn't do such things. Now, he's determined to find out who killed his best friend.
I had fun reading it and I especially liked the mystery. The plot was never slow, never rushed, the plot unfolds itself in a nice and gentle way so I was never bored. Kevin is a short, hustler and also is the reason why I was laughing out loud, he's just funny and he's very witty.
I get "cute" a lot. At five foot three and one hundred twenty-five pounds, with blond hair that I keep short on the sides and floppy on the top, it's hard to be called anything else. My face fits the bill, too, with a slightly broad nose, thick lips and cheeks that turn red at the slightest chill or embarrassment.
His best friend, Freddy, is my favorite character in the book. He's like, the greatest best friend even though his mouth can't stay shut.
Throughout, he helped Kevin solve the mystery, at some point, gives advice while never forgetting to flirt. He's just plain adorable, he's like a walking dick I guess.
Freddy was quite the sight. Five foot ten inches of hip-shaking goodness. Thickly muscled but not over built, with a classically handsome face. Broad nose, wide lips and a supermodel smile. Freddy's ass was the stuff of legends. And he could move it like nobody's business: Watching Freddy dance could bring a dead man to erection. Freddy is the twenty-six-year-old African-American adopted son of a nice Jewish couple from Cleveland, OH. Raised rich, liberal, and white, he's a strange mix of contradictions and common sense.
Butchy and campy, Semitic and street, well- read and foul-mouthed, Freddy never ceases to surprise me.
He's also endearingly sweet, terrifically loyal, and blessedly nonjudgmental.
The male lead, Tony, I do not like. Seriously, I don't like him. If he can't be straight or gay, then so be it. I know it's not easy to determine if you're gay or not and it's hard to be yourself, it's confusing, but you left Kevin brokenhearted years ago. Now you two meet again you want him? You want him?! You want his ass?
It was after that when, sticky with sex and sweat, he pulled me close and told me that he loved me. I had known for a while, but it was still the greatest thing I'd ever heard.
It was also the first time he called me "Kevvy", a nickname no one else had ever called me. It was almost as good as when he said he loved me.
Two weeks later, I came home to an e-mail that stopped my heart. "It has to be over between us. I'm going to college this fall, and I think it's best if we don't see each other again. I hope someday we can be friends. Just friends. Take care. Your friend, Tony." Had that e-mail contained the word "friend" one more time, I would have printed it out and used the paper to set his house on fire.
Go fuck yourself, Tony. He's the least character I like in the book. The secondary characters are also likable especially Michael- or Marc? I forgot his name, the IT friend of Kevin. He's the one I like to end up with Kevin but Kevin is in love with Tony, like, what the fuck he has a wife who he have sex probably every night and you want his D.
The last time I was in love with was with Tony Rinaldi. I was sixteen, he was nineteen. I knew I was in love because of that squishy feeling I got in my stomach whenever I saw him in the neighborhood, playing stickball or hanging with my older sister. I had been watching him for years, getting close just to breath in the way he smelled in the summer, green and fresh like newly mowed grass. Tony was six feet of smooth Italian pony boy deliciousness, lank muscles, dark eyes and ebony hair that he wore in a sleek Caesar.
Tony is a fucking asshole. He's the kind of guys who flips someone and then forget about them.
"Don't pull that shit with me, Rinaldi. You fucked me, remember? I sure do."
"That was a teenage experimentation."
"And I fucked you."
"Yeah, well you'd have to call that part a failed experiment, wouldn't you?"
I had to grant him that one.
"You told me you love me."
"That was my dick talking."
See? A real asshole. And Tony is too tall for Kevin, imagine a 5'3 and a 6'0 kissing... It's very awkward, like, imagine the 5'3 guy standing next to his very tall boyfriend.
It's very clear, that Tony is still in love with Kevin, but I don't ship them. Kevin could end up with Freddy, anyone but Tony. Kevin's mom is also cool, however she feels stereotyped but I don't care as long as she entertains me. And other than that, the cruel jokes about fat people bothered me though, sometimes it's just below the belt. This book is a lot of fun if you like mystery and romance (Not Kevin and Tony romance).
Hustlers needs friends, too.
This book is about a hustler named Kevin, when his best friend Allen died falling off a building, everyone thought it was a suicide, but Kevin doesn't think so. He knew his best friend very well that he wouldn't do such things. Now, he's determined to find out who killed his best friend.
I had fun reading it and I especially liked the mystery. The plot was never slow, never rushed, the plot unfolds itself in a nice and gentle way so I was never bored. Kevin is a short, hustler and also is the reason why I was laughing out loud, he's just funny and he's very witty.
I get "cute" a lot. At five foot three and one hundred twenty-five pounds, with blond hair that I keep short on the sides and floppy on the top, it's hard to be called anything else. My face fits the bill, too, with a slightly broad nose, thick lips and cheeks that turn red at the slightest chill or embarrassment.
His best friend, Freddy, is my favorite character in the book. He's like, the greatest best friend even though his mouth can't stay shut.
Throughout, he helped Kevin solve the mystery, at some point, gives advice while never forgetting to flirt. He's just plain adorable, he's like a walking dick I guess.
Freddy was quite the sight. Five foot ten inches of hip-shaking goodness. Thickly muscled but not over built, with a classically handsome face. Broad nose, wide lips and a supermodel smile. Freddy's ass was the stuff of legends. And he could move it like nobody's business: Watching Freddy dance could bring a dead man to erection. Freddy is the twenty-six-year-old African-American adopted son of a nice Jewish couple from Cleveland, OH. Raised rich, liberal, and white, he's a strange mix of contradictions and common sense.
Butchy and campy, Semitic and street, well- read and foul-mouthed, Freddy never ceases to surprise me.
He's also endearingly sweet, terrifically loyal, and blessedly nonjudgmental.
The male lead, Tony, I do not like. Seriously, I don't like him. If he can't be straight or gay, then so be it. I know it's not easy to determine if you're gay or not and it's hard to be yourself, it's confusing, but you left Kevin brokenhearted years ago. Now you two meet again you want him? You want him?! You want his ass?
It was after that when, sticky with sex and sweat, he pulled me close and told me that he loved me. I had known for a while, but it was still the greatest thing I'd ever heard.
It was also the first time he called me "Kevvy", a nickname no one else had ever called me. It was almost as good as when he said he loved me.
Two weeks later, I came home to an e-mail that stopped my heart. "It has to be over between us. I'm going to college this fall, and I think it's best if we don't see each other again. I hope someday we can be friends. Just friends. Take care. Your friend, Tony." Had that e-mail contained the word "friend" one more time, I would have printed it out and used the paper to set his house on fire.
Go fuck yourself, Tony. He's the least character I like in the book. The secondary characters are also likable especially Michael- or Marc? I forgot his name, the IT friend of Kevin. He's the one I like to end up with Kevin but Kevin is in love with Tony, like, what the fuck he has a wife who he have sex probably every night and you want his D.
The last time I was in love with was with Tony Rinaldi. I was sixteen, he was nineteen. I knew I was in love because of that squishy feeling I got in my stomach whenever I saw him in the neighborhood, playing stickball or hanging with my older sister. I had been watching him for years, getting close just to breath in the way he smelled in the summer, green and fresh like newly mowed grass. Tony was six feet of smooth Italian pony boy deliciousness, lank muscles, dark eyes and ebony hair that he wore in a sleek Caesar.
Tony is a fucking asshole. He's the kind of guys who flips someone and then forget about them.
"Don't pull that shit with me, Rinaldi. You fucked me, remember? I sure do."
"That was a teenage experimentation."
"And I fucked you."
"Yeah, well you'd have to call that part a failed experiment, wouldn't you?"
I had to grant him that one.
"You told me you love me."
"That was my dick talking."
See? A real asshole. And Tony is too tall for Kevin, imagine a 5'3 and a 6'0 kissing... It's very awkward, like, imagine the 5'3 guy standing next to his very tall boyfriend.
It's very clear, that Tony is still in love with Kevin, but I don't ship them. Kevin could end up with Freddy, anyone but Tony. Kevin's mom is also cool, however she feels stereotyped but I don't care as long as she entertains me. And other than that, the cruel jokes about fat people bothered me though, sometimes it's just below the belt. This book is a lot of fun if you like mystery and romance (Not Kevin and Tony romance).
April 9, 2012
4.75
A thoroughly engaging, delightful read! Even when the plot went over the top, I was more than willing to go with it. The rather campy denouement didn't bother me at all; in fact, it seemed appropriate. (By that point, most of the characters had so endeared themselves to me, I was willing to buy into anything!) Besides, I found it refreshing to read a novel that wasn't only funny without continually straining to be funny, but also avoided the tropes and character types too often found in gay fiction and, in particular, m/m romance.
Here we have a pretty, 5'3" twink hustler hero with quirky clients. A Jewish African-American, unabashedly randy, male BFF. An array of boyfriend options for the hero. The list goes on.
I'll admit, the MC's mother did start to get on my nerves. I wish she would've exited the action a lot sooner. My only other bitch has to do with the number of line-editing and proofreading oversights: typos and misspellings; dropped quotation marks; improper paragraph breaks; confusing transitions; at least one instance of a character being called another character's name. This story deserved better.
I suspect the sequel, Second You Sin, won't be plagued by the same problems. It was published through Kensington, which has become my go-to pub for nongenre GLBTQ novels.
A thoroughly engaging, delightful read! Even when the plot went over the top, I was more than willing to go with it. The rather campy denouement didn't bother me at all; in fact, it seemed appropriate. (By that point, most of the characters had so endeared themselves to me, I was willing to buy into anything!) Besides, I found it refreshing to read a novel that wasn't only funny without continually straining to be funny, but also avoided the tropes and character types too often found in gay fiction and, in particular, m/m romance.
Here we have a pretty, 5'3" twink hustler hero with quirky clients. A Jewish African-American, unabashedly randy, male BFF. An array of boyfriend options for the hero. The list goes on.
I'll admit, the MC's mother did start to get on my nerves. I wish she would've exited the action a lot sooner. My only other bitch has to do with the number of line-editing and proofreading oversights: typos and misspellings; dropped quotation marks; improper paragraph breaks; confusing transitions; at least one instance of a character being called another character's name. This story deserved better.
I suspect the sequel, Second You Sin, won't be plagued by the same problems. It was published through Kensington, which has become my go-to pub for nongenre GLBTQ novels.
July 8, 2012
I loved Kevin right from the start of this book. He's funny and sarcastic and vain and quite a crap amateur detective. He's also a prostitute and he's quite happy about that. Kevin also has a lot of men in his life and not just his clients. He has quite a few potential love interests including his first love, Tony. After Kevin's friend dies and he is convinced it wasn't suicide but murder he sets off on a really hilarious investigation of his own. Through the course of Kevin's bumbling investigation we meet his parents, his friends, his clients and of course Tony. We didn't get to see a lot of Tony in this book so I'm hoping he features more prominently in the next book as I'm not quite convinced he's the man for Kevin yet. I will definitely go on to read about Kevin's adventures in the next book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews