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Best Behaviour
He’s not known for obeying orders… When Jim loses his job, it’s the final straw. With nowhere else to go, he ends up living in his sister’s spare room—where he is promptly told by straitlaced Sarah and her reverend husband that he simply must be on his best behaviour. And it’s immediately apparent that best behaviour means no men. Jim’s never been known for his ability to behave and meeting the gorgeous piano tutor who visits every week doesn’t help. Fran might look like an angel at the ivories, but he’s a devil between the sheets, and Jim has every intention of finding out just how bad Fran can be. But when Jim’s niece comes out, Jim is faced with a choice. If he wants to support her as she desperately needs, he’s going to have to stop lashing out and avoiding the subject. It’s time to grow up and learn what his best behaviour really looks like.
- GenresM M Romance
239 pages, Paperback
First published February 12, 2019
3 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Matthew J. Metzger
34 books351 followersMatthew is an asexual, transgender author from the wet and windy British Isles.
Matt writes LGBT novels, both adult and young adult, and particularly enjoys digging into the weird and wonderful diversity of people all across the sexuality and gender spectrums. When not writing, Matt is usually asleep, or crunching numbers at his day job. Free time is not really a concept here.
He is also owned by an enormous black cat. Approach with caution.
Matt writes LGBT novels, both adult and young adult, and particularly enjoys digging into the weird and wonderful diversity of people all across the sexuality and gender spectrums. When not writing, Matt is usually asleep, or crunching numbers at his day job. Free time is not really a concept here.
He is also owned by an enormous black cat. Approach with caution.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 24, 2019
Jim is a good-at-heart bi guy who can't catch a break. He got into debt helping out a boyfriend and as a young guy had enough of a temper that he did time in prison, neither of which have made his life easy. Since then he has worked minimum wage while failing to make a dent in his debts, until job, apartment and life all disappear with the closing of the warehouse he worked in. All he can do is appeal to his older sister who refused to help him before. This time, she gives him a room in her fancy house, alongside her bigoted older clergyman husband, and her three young kids, and the nanny.
It really grates on Jim to take anything from his sister, but his only alternative is the street. However there's an unexpected bonus at her house - the kids' music tutor, Fran, who is gorgeous and wickedly sexy, and up for some private fun. As Jim tries to deal with his brother-in-law's disapproval, and the lack of a job, his time with Fran is an escape, and then becomes something more - a meeting of dissimilar minds that somehow fit together, a breath of air at a stifling moment in his life.
Fran is nonbinary, which doesn't faze Jim whose last boyfriend was trans. And as Jim discovers his sister's oldest child Oscar has questions about identity, Fran is an ally for both of them. Jim really needed someone like Fran in his life. Their relationship is sexy and playful and a bit kinky and builds naturally.
I always enjoy this author's characters and their personal stories. This is another very good book by Metzger, with a look at nonbinary identity that is very personal and not about labels and definitions.
My one issue is with the second of his sister's children, Patricia. She's presented as a budding sociopath, and although that's treated lightly, it's not shown as a humorous exaggeration. There is something wrong happening with this child, and as Jim focuses all his attention on Oscar whose needs he empathizes with, Patricia is left out of the mix except as a troublemaker. IMO, to see the behavior of this little girl, and not step up to advocate for psychiatric help for her on an urgent basis, is irresponsible. I can understand why they shy away from dealing with her or even discussing her with the sister. But in my love for Fran and especially Jim, and how they advocate for kids and each other, it's a bit sad to see no attention to Patricia's issues.
Some of Jim's behavior toward his sister was also petty, given his age, but it did help make him human, and recognizing his issues is part of his character development. I like a hero who isn't too perfectly polished. This one came to a satisfying end, and is worth a reread.
It really grates on Jim to take anything from his sister, but his only alternative is the street. However there's an unexpected bonus at her house - the kids' music tutor, Fran, who is gorgeous and wickedly sexy, and up for some private fun. As Jim tries to deal with his brother-in-law's disapproval, and the lack of a job, his time with Fran is an escape, and then becomes something more - a meeting of dissimilar minds that somehow fit together, a breath of air at a stifling moment in his life.
Fran is nonbinary, which doesn't faze Jim whose last boyfriend was trans. And as Jim discovers his sister's oldest child Oscar has questions about identity, Fran is an ally for both of them. Jim really needed someone like Fran in his life. Their relationship is sexy and playful and a bit kinky and builds naturally.
I always enjoy this author's characters and their personal stories. This is another very good book by Metzger, with a look at nonbinary identity that is very personal and not about labels and definitions.
My one issue is with the second of his sister's children, Patricia. She's presented as a budding sociopath, and although that's treated lightly, it's not shown as a humorous exaggeration. There is something wrong happening with this child, and as Jim focuses all his attention on Oscar whose needs he empathizes with, Patricia is left out of the mix except as a troublemaker. IMO, to see the behavior of this little girl, and not step up to advocate for psychiatric help for her on an urgent basis, is irresponsible. I can understand why they shy away from dealing with her or even discussing her with the sister. But in my love for Fran and especially Jim, and how they advocate for kids and each other, it's a bit sad to see no attention to Patricia's issues.
Some of Jim's behavior toward his sister was also petty, given his age, but it did help make him human, and recognizing his issues is part of his character development. I like a hero who isn't too perfectly polished. This one came to a satisfying end, and is worth a reread.
March 11, 2019
A Joyfully Jay review.
5 stars
I don’t think I have yet to encounter a novel by Matthew J. Metzger that I haven’t enjoyed. Best Behavior is no exception. Dealing with a myriad of obstacles in his life, Jim is a really wonderful guy who has simply had his life derailed by the pain of being rejected by his family. It left him angry and volatile, and Jim makes some decisions that cost him dearly and leave him trapped in low-level jobs when he can even find anyone to take a chance on hiring him. After finding out his current job is being dissolved and discovering his landlord wants all the back rent he owes or he will be out on the street, Jim is forced to ask his sister, Sarah, for help. The best thing that can be said for her other than that she’s wealthy is she’s a cold-hearted bitch, and I’m being kind in that description. Between her and her ultra conservative husband, Anthony, a reverend she met at her mother’s church, Jim was set to be miserable until he could find employment. Then he sees Fran—the piano teacher that visits the house to give Jim’s niece and nephew their lessons—and things are suddenly looking up.
Read Sammy’s review in its entirety here.
5 stars
I don’t think I have yet to encounter a novel by Matthew J. Metzger that I haven’t enjoyed. Best Behavior is no exception. Dealing with a myriad of obstacles in his life, Jim is a really wonderful guy who has simply had his life derailed by the pain of being rejected by his family. It left him angry and volatile, and Jim makes some decisions that cost him dearly and leave him trapped in low-level jobs when he can even find anyone to take a chance on hiring him. After finding out his current job is being dissolved and discovering his landlord wants all the back rent he owes or he will be out on the street, Jim is forced to ask his sister, Sarah, for help. The best thing that can be said for her other than that she’s wealthy is she’s a cold-hearted bitch, and I’m being kind in that description. Between her and her ultra conservative husband, Anthony, a reverend she met at her mother’s church, Jim was set to be miserable until he could find employment. Then he sees Fran—the piano teacher that visits the house to give Jim’s niece and nephew their lessons—and things are suddenly looking up.
Read Sammy’s review in its entirety here.
July 7, 2019
Best Behaviour
By Matthew J. Metzger
Pride Publishing, UK, 2019
Five stars
“It’s just like homework. You can’t just tell her the answer. She has to figure it out for herself and she needs you to tell her she’s doing a great job.”
I always start out one of Matthew Metzger’s novels with a shiver of anxiety. I know I’ll be entering into new territory, and I worry that somehow I’ll fail, that I won’t live up to the trust the author has in me as a reader.
“Best Behavior” was particularly worrying at first, because Jim Love, the central player in this family drama, is kind of a jerk. I did not like him and wasn’t sure how I was going to grow to like him. I really should have just had faith in Metzger and his story-telling ability. I should have known he had a plan.
Out on the street again due to a series of misfortunes for which he fully accepts the blame, Jim Love has no recourse but to call his sister Sarah and seek shelter with her and her disapproving parish priest husband in their suburban mansion. Sarah, you see, gave up her rebellion and became a good citizen. Four years older than Jim, Sarah is a lot like her little brother, but for the choices she made in her life.
Then Jim meets Francesantonio Carr, the tow-headed, elegantly-dressed music tutor for his sister’s older children. In Carr, Jim finds a man who has faced similar troubles in his life, but has made different choices, leading him to a life that, if not luxurious, allows him contentment and pride in his work. More importantly, Fran Carr sees Jim Love without judgment. He accepts who he is and likes what he sees. For Jim, this is the critical difference.
Together, Jim and Fran make a discovery that presents an enormous challenge. Handling that challenge correctly will make all the difference in a child’s life.
Metzger’s books, at least for me, are always educational, and I’m sure that’s his intention. The thing is, they are not obviously didactic. Metzger is a subtle teacher, helping the reader open his heart and mind so very tenderly that the ultimate embrace of greater truths feels inevitable. At the end of the story, you find yourself having somehow changed – grown – along the way.
By Matthew J. Metzger
Pride Publishing, UK, 2019
Five stars
“It’s just like homework. You can’t just tell her the answer. She has to figure it out for herself and she needs you to tell her she’s doing a great job.”
I always start out one of Matthew Metzger’s novels with a shiver of anxiety. I know I’ll be entering into new territory, and I worry that somehow I’ll fail, that I won’t live up to the trust the author has in me as a reader.
“Best Behavior” was particularly worrying at first, because Jim Love, the central player in this family drama, is kind of a jerk. I did not like him and wasn’t sure how I was going to grow to like him. I really should have just had faith in Metzger and his story-telling ability. I should have known he had a plan.
Out on the street again due to a series of misfortunes for which he fully accepts the blame, Jim Love has no recourse but to call his sister Sarah and seek shelter with her and her disapproving parish priest husband in their suburban mansion. Sarah, you see, gave up her rebellion and became a good citizen. Four years older than Jim, Sarah is a lot like her little brother, but for the choices she made in her life.
Then Jim meets Francesantonio Carr, the tow-headed, elegantly-dressed music tutor for his sister’s older children. In Carr, Jim finds a man who has faced similar troubles in his life, but has made different choices, leading him to a life that, if not luxurious, allows him contentment and pride in his work. More importantly, Fran Carr sees Jim Love without judgment. He accepts who he is and likes what he sees. For Jim, this is the critical difference.
Together, Jim and Fran make a discovery that presents an enormous challenge. Handling that challenge correctly will make all the difference in a child’s life.
Metzger’s books, at least for me, are always educational, and I’m sure that’s his intention. The thing is, they are not obviously didactic. Metzger is a subtle teacher, helping the reader open his heart and mind so very tenderly that the ultimate embrace of greater truths feels inevitable. At the end of the story, you find yourself having somehow changed – grown – along the way.
May 26, 2019
rounded up from 3.5 stars. I am largely a person who reads in order to spend time with characters. I'm less concerned with plot. This was more a book that was telling a story than giving me character. I didn't really feel like I got to know the POV character that well, and the love interest, while I think I would have liked him irl, I'm not really sure, because I didn't feel like I knew him much at all. I loathed the MCs family, and the redemption arc for his sister didn't leave me feel as much as I'd have liked. Having said all that, I absolutely ADORED the relationship of the MC with his trans niece, and also the love interest's relationship with her. Clearly that was the story that wanted telling, and that was where this book really shines.
March 14, 2019
Matthew Metzger is my favourite author, so much so that I always have to keep his books to read on holidays because I know once I start I won't want to stop reading. This book was no exception. Started reading about 5pm and read until 11pm (normally I'm asleep around 9pm), then started reading again as soon as I woke up until I finished the book. And I was super sad to finish this one as yet again, Mathhew has created the best characters, and I really do want to spend more time with them. If you've never read a book by Matthew I highly recommend you do.
June 6, 2021
Another brilliant book by Matthew J. Metzger - bi, queer and trans rep! Not as heavy as a lot of Metzger’s books - a really good refreshing read.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews