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Loyalty, Love, & Vermouth
After a bitter and humiliating breakup, Charlie Vernon lives not-quite-alone in his Capitol Hill town house. He kept Mamie, the cockapoo that he and Freddie adopted together, but he’s just arrived home to find he’s been visited by thieves…and they’ve taken Mamie.For the next thirty-six hours, he and his family of choice—a pair of rhyming lesbians, a Georgia-born man who might be married to a sex addict, and the hostess of DC’s hottest Drag Bingo—will band together to search for Mamie. What’s at stake isn’t just a beloved dog, but whether Charlie will be brave enough to love anything or anyone, ever again.“Eric Peterson’s debut novel is a heartwarming and charming tale of love, loss, community, and self-discovery featuring man’s best friends of the two- and four-legged kind. A delightful read.” —Michael Nava, Lambda Literary Award-winning author of Lies With Man
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2021
4 people are currently reading
21 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 31, 2021
I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley. Here's the review!
Loyalty, Love & Vermouth is a sweet novel about a man named Charlie desperately looking for his dog, Mamie, who has been stolen from his apartment. A nice cast of characters- rhyming lesbians, a drag queen, a couple with some issues, a ridiculously awful ex, and a truly atrocious human resources person- help and hinder Charlie's quest to find his lost pooch.
The characters are well-drawn and brought to life through the events of the novel and a series of flashbacks. Charlie's good and bad sides are both on display. Mamie haunts the book both as the missing friend and a metaphor for Charlie's mental state in general.
I read this book in a couple of hours tonight. It was delightful. The only criticism I have is the title. I would have called it Desperately Seeking Mamie. I guess I'm just that gay.....
Loyalty, Love & Vermouth is a sweet novel about a man named Charlie desperately looking for his dog, Mamie, who has been stolen from his apartment. A nice cast of characters- rhyming lesbians, a drag queen, a couple with some issues, a ridiculously awful ex, and a truly atrocious human resources person- help and hinder Charlie's quest to find his lost pooch.
The characters are well-drawn and brought to life through the events of the novel and a series of flashbacks. Charlie's good and bad sides are both on display. Mamie haunts the book both as the missing friend and a metaphor for Charlie's mental state in general.
I read this book in a couple of hours tonight. It was delightful. The only criticism I have is the title. I would have called it Desperately Seeking Mamie. I guess I'm just that gay.....
April 2, 2022
(2.5)
see my review on reads rainbow
Rep: gay mc, gay side characters, Latino gay side character, lesbian side characters, Black side character
see my review on reads rainbow
Rep: gay mc, gay side characters, Latino gay side character, lesbian side characters, Black side character
November 10, 2021
This was such a fun read. The dog stories and love of dogs combined with a found family of gay men in DC came together beautifully for a quick, fun and in some ways, touching read.
I requested this on NetGalley because of the dog on the cover. She looks like she'd fit right in with the fluffy white dogs in my life. Turns out she's supposed to be a blond cockapoo but she reminded me of my smart and stubborn westie who passed away almost a year ago. The way Charlie thinks and talks about his dog is just perfect and rang so true. He loved her completely, he called her "girlie girl", he didn't consider himself alone when she was there. It was done so well and I know other dog lovers will relate to Charlie and probably see other similarities to their own dogs.
The human characters were also a lot of fun. I didn't love all of them or all of the side stories but they were overall a really fun group. But really, this story is all Mamie's and she's the star.
There were just a couple of things that took me out of the story that I didn't love which kept my rating at 4 stars. The whole storyline with Bunny seemed like an unnecessary addition to have a little smut and I could have done without the whole thing (except they still needed Drag Bingo, that was gold). I also don't really understand how the author wrapped up the story of the reward. It was an odd choice and felt a little forced and out of place, I just didn't understand why it was ended that way.
Overall, if you love your dog, this is a really fun and quick read.
*I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I requested this on NetGalley because of the dog on the cover. She looks like she'd fit right in with the fluffy white dogs in my life. Turns out she's supposed to be a blond cockapoo but she reminded me of my smart and stubborn westie who passed away almost a year ago. The way Charlie thinks and talks about his dog is just perfect and rang so true. He loved her completely, he called her "girlie girl", he didn't consider himself alone when she was there. It was done so well and I know other dog lovers will relate to Charlie and probably see other similarities to their own dogs.
The human characters were also a lot of fun. I didn't love all of them or all of the side stories but they were overall a really fun group. But really, this story is all Mamie's and she's the star.
There were just a couple of things that took me out of the story that I didn't love which kept my rating at 4 stars. The whole storyline with Bunny seemed like an unnecessary addition to have a little smut and I could have done without the whole thing (except they still needed Drag Bingo, that was gold). I also don't really understand how the author wrapped up the story of the reward. It was an odd choice and felt a little forced and out of place, I just didn't understand why it was ended that way.
Overall, if you love your dog, this is a really fun and quick read.
*I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 16, 2021
I loved this book! If you have a dog that you adore (or have just always WANTED a dog to adore!) or have ever been through an excruciatingly horrible break up or if you recognize that friends can become families that are vital to our survival in traumatic times -this warm, witty book is for you!
November 21, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I connected with Charlie navigating through adulthood and finding the people who are with you through good times and bad; who know you better than you know yourself and who are there in bad times and good. Plus Mamie❤️
February 18, 2023
This is not a fast-paced or terribly exciting book but it was a nice, relaxing read. I enjoyed the characters. For the most part they are fun to read about. It was engaging enough to keep me turning the pages.
I empathized with Charlie as he deals with the fact that someone has stolen his beloved dog, Mamie. Anyone who has a dog or cat they love as their own family has probably had to deal with the fact that the rest of the world does not see them the same way. The predominate view seems to relegate them to something less than. That makes it doubly hard when something bad happens to them. That is when the love and comfort from others, who understand what we’re going through can be so important.
This is a book about friendship, our bond with our fur-babies and the importance of found family and about the emotional price we often pay for love. I enjoyed reading it.
I empathized with Charlie as he deals with the fact that someone has stolen his beloved dog, Mamie. Anyone who has a dog or cat they love as their own family has probably had to deal with the fact that the rest of the world does not see them the same way. The predominate view seems to relegate them to something less than. That makes it doubly hard when something bad happens to them. That is when the love and comfort from others, who understand what we’re going through can be so important.
This is a book about friendship, our bond with our fur-babies and the importance of found family and about the emotional price we often pay for love. I enjoyed reading it.
August 4, 2021
On the surface, LL&V is a story about a man's immeasurable love for his dog and how he'll stop at nothing to get her back when she's taken. But Eric Peterson's debut novel explores many facets of the LGBT community -- from "chosen family" to drag culture -- and does it more eloquently and honestly than I've seen before. I saw myself, my dearest friends, and my community on every page; I've never found a novel to offer a more accurate depiction of life in the gay community.
Brace yourself for the gamut of emotions as you accompany Charlie on his journey to find his "little yellow dog" and, fortuitously, his own true self. From suspense to elation, and peppered with literal laugh-out-loud moments, LL&V strikes the perfect balance for your literary diet.
Brace yourself for the gamut of emotions as you accompany Charlie on his journey to find his "little yellow dog" and, fortuitously, his own true self. From suspense to elation, and peppered with literal laugh-out-loud moments, LL&V strikes the perfect balance for your literary diet.
August 4, 2021
A really wonderful work of art and story, I highly recommend this excellent book!
November 12, 2021
Oh my God. I would say that I hate to be the first person to leave a negative review about this book, but I'm really not. I honestly think I'm the wrong audience for this book. I am a queer woman in my late twenties and a book about a group of middle-aged white cis semi-wealthy gay men is not necessarily my idea of a good time. I wanted to like this book. It had potential to be fun and exciting and emotional, but I was bored out of my mind. Every time I look at how far I was in the book I would get a little bit more depressed that I had so much longer to go. I almost DNF this book at like 17% and I should have just done it because I dreaded reading this book every second. It just wasn't interesting. I honestly only kept reading because I received an arc through NetGalley and wanted to be able to leave feedback.
As for problematic moments, this book has a few. There is one character among the friend group who is older, I'm not sure exactly how old but maybe 50s or 60s, and he is honestly just garbage. He is really queerphobic to anyone who isn't cis gay or cis lesbian and he also has moments of being racist and sexist. There's a particular encounter that I should have just stopped, they're talking about bisexuals and he literally says " bisexuals aren't even real " or something like that. It only gets worse when all of the other characters attempt to correct him and tell him that bisexuality and pansexuality are valid but the character just is too set in his ways to change his mind apparently. These cis gay men just sit there and say wow he's never going to change his mind so it's not even worth it. That kind of attitude is why there is so much queer phobia, biphobia, transphobia, aphobia, etc within the queer community itself. Now this book has written by a gay man in his forties, I'm not sure if he's cis or not I don't know if he's white but the lack of an effort to correct this character on his intensely biphobic comment, struck me the wrong way.
Moving on, there are a couple other comments about how no one was meant to be alone or just vaguely amatonormative nonsense. There's also a Latino character among the group of friends but the only actual information we get about this is random words in Spanish. It's just not great.
So if you want to read about a middle-aged white cis gay man whose dog goes missing and him and his gaggle of white cis middle-aged gay men, with the exception of the single questionable POC character, who attempt to find the dog will also drinking copious amounts of alcohol and lots of outdated theater references, be my guest. I am extremely disappointed in this one
It should also go to say that this cover belongs to Finders Keepers by NR Walker and I can't get over the fact that it's literally the same stock photo with a brown piece of whatever cut down the middle. Save yourself some trouble and to go read that book instead because it's actually good.
As for problematic moments, this book has a few. There is one character among the friend group who is older, I'm not sure exactly how old but maybe 50s or 60s, and he is honestly just garbage. He is really queerphobic to anyone who isn't cis gay or cis lesbian and he also has moments of being racist and sexist. There's a particular encounter that I should have just stopped, they're talking about bisexuals and he literally says " bisexuals aren't even real " or something like that. It only gets worse when all of the other characters attempt to correct him and tell him that bisexuality and pansexuality are valid but the character just is too set in his ways to change his mind apparently. These cis gay men just sit there and say wow he's never going to change his mind so it's not even worth it. That kind of attitude is why there is so much queer phobia, biphobia, transphobia, aphobia, etc within the queer community itself. Now this book has written by a gay man in his forties, I'm not sure if he's cis or not I don't know if he's white but the lack of an effort to correct this character on his intensely biphobic comment, struck me the wrong way.
Moving on, there are a couple other comments about how no one was meant to be alone or just vaguely amatonormative nonsense. There's also a Latino character among the group of friends but the only actual information we get about this is random words in Spanish. It's just not great.
So if you want to read about a middle-aged white cis gay man whose dog goes missing and him and his gaggle of white cis middle-aged gay men, with the exception of the single questionable POC character, who attempt to find the dog will also drinking copious amounts of alcohol and lots of outdated theater references, be my guest. I am extremely disappointed in this one
It should also go to say that this cover belongs to Finders Keepers by NR Walker and I can't get over the fact that it's literally the same stock photo with a brown piece of whatever cut down the middle. Save yourself some trouble and to go read that book instead because it's actually good.
November 16, 2021
A stolen dog, the chosen family, an intimate and compelling story of one man’s tale of working to find his beloved Mamie and the integral friends who helped. Eric Peterson writes dialogue like no one else, with wit and charm, pulling in cultural tidbits and keen observations, letting you see just who Charlie, the main character, really is. Charlie’s friends are equally defined and we all know someone who is like one of Charlie’s friends, making this story approachable and endearing. No spoilers but the ending will likely have you in tears. While the main characters and actually most of them are gay or lesbian, this isn’t a gay life novel. It’s a human nature story which just happens to feature gay people. If you’re offended by this, well, you’re missing something extraordinary in this novel, and in life. I enjoyed this book enough that I think I’ll go back and re-read it, and I almost never do that.
May 3, 2024
Writing this view 2 months late because apparently I totally forgot to review it when I finished. Was not intentional.
Anyway, this is a lovely little book about a man looking for his kidnapped dog and, in the process, finding himself! The characters were all very round and sparkling with life. Loved the story from start to finish, was emotionally invested, and cried multiple times (along with laughing at various absurdities and jokes) along the way. Very well done!
Anyway, this is a lovely little book about a man looking for his kidnapped dog and, in the process, finding himself! The characters were all very round and sparkling with life. Loved the story from start to finish, was emotionally invested, and cried multiple times (along with laughing at various absurdities and jokes) along the way. Very well done!
November 16, 2021
Witty, enjoyable tale with wonderful characters. I hope that Eric follows up with more stories about these friends (human and canine) and their adventures through life. I zipped through the book wanting to find out what happened next, while being rewarded along the way with just enough snippets of their backstory to better understand the characters. I highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews