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The Beard
“Beard’ is a term often used to describe women who, knowingly or unknowingly, are dated by gay men to give the man the appearance of being straight. These relationships often end in broken hearts and serious misunderstandings. What happens when it is the gay guy who is the beard?
First published December 1, 2012
2 people are currently reading
61 people want to read
About the author
Dan Kirk
18 books40 followersNOTE: Some of this author's stories have been restored to gayauthors.org: The Beard, The Bully, Dreams of Humanity, Goon, and Rich Boy Awakening. Others are not yet available there, but may appear in the future.
(NOTE: The original files may be found via the wayback machine:
http://web.archive.org/web/2010100711... The author has indicated in the past that he is OK with people accessing the stories this way.)
(NOTE: The original files may be found via the wayback machine:
http://web.archive.org/web/2010100711... The author has indicated in the past that he is OK with people accessing the stories this way.)
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 4, 2013
Post-read Notes:
This was a frustrating read. A quite annoying read. I really wanted to like it. I have no idea why, since the concept IS interesting, but when I think about it, it (at its most basic denominator) has been done before. I suppose its novelty wore off?
*sigh
///Rest of the Review, written partly as I read as I am wont to do\\\
I liked it until it started hinting at Love Dodecahedron...
Actually, even before that, something about this had a really manga-y feel about it...and that's not necessarily a good thing.
Might be that this thing has me speaking in tropinese.
Anyways, I was annoyed because I didn't come to this realization until past half-way. After I realized this is basically an m/m manga/light-novel/clusterfuck-of-idk, I settled down and enjoyed it in all its manga-y goodness.
I mean, I knew going into it there had to be a Becoming the Mask and Third Act Misunderstanding (which means Cole would have to be Jerk with a Heart of Gold).
It's just...ridiculous? Yeah. Ridiculous. For whatever reason, I just couldn't really take it seriously. Or pseudo-seriously.
It's a manga. That's all there is to it.
And there's Flanderdization, too.
Cole is kind of a study in Jerk (see The Jerk Index for more information. He fits several superficially, but that might be the Flanderdization.)
Hooray for Moral Myopia.
Argh. I don't know. I feel like I want to like this book, but I just can't. It's a study in tropes, for one thing, in such a way that I feel like it's been manga-fied.
I think part of it may be that all of a sudden, Dale goes from the alleged pariah to the dick magnet.
I mean, it was already annoying that Cole and Dale are almost impossible to keep straight (haha) in the beginning. Why did both their names have to end in "-le"? Sheesh.
It could also do with a good round of editing...
I mean, I've been reading so much romance lately that sometimes, I kind of expect/hope that the main couple NOT to end up together because when in doubt, go for variety.
I kind of...I dunno. Usually I care enough about the characters that the above is generally only a passing fancy and more for the principle of variety than anything else.
This one, though...
=_=
Oh, and don't let me forget.
There's HEAs all around. "You get one, and you get one, and here's one for you, too."
Oh, god. There's even a Defrosting Ice Queen thrown in the mix.
Hmmm...
-le^2's romance summarized
Cole = Con Man/The Mole (let's face it; he was kind of the bad-ish guy) >> Reverse Mole
Dale = Geek >> Beautiful All Along/Just the Way You Are/He Cleans Up Nicely
>base progression<
Offer You Can't Refuse (kind of)
Was It All a Lie?
It Meant Something to Me/Becoming the Mask/(was already the mask...?)
Words cannot describe how close I was to not finishing.
I was sufficiently close enough to the end for me to justify with myself some speed-skimming. I basically don't really know what happens in the last 10% or so, though.
Actually, I did start tuning in against once all the political-speak was done-ish and they moved into a bit of intrigue.
=_=
Too...many...tropes...
And then two beautiful words:
"The End"
Post-Everything ETA:
I should have known. Look at the blurb. Look at the rhetorical question. Look at how gimmicky it makes it all sound.
I should have known better.
This was a frustrating read. A quite annoying read. I really wanted to like it. I have no idea why, since the concept IS interesting, but when I think about it, it (at its most basic denominator) has been done before. I suppose its novelty wore off?
*sigh
///Rest of the Review, written partly as I read as I am wont to do\\\
I liked it until it started hinting at Love Dodecahedron...
Actually, even before that, something about this had a really manga-y feel about it...and that's not necessarily a good thing.
Might be that this thing has me speaking in tropinese.
Anyways, I was annoyed because I didn't come to this realization until past half-way. After I realized this is basically an m/m manga/light-novel/clusterfuck-of-idk, I settled down and enjoyed it in all its manga-y goodness.
I mean, I knew going into it there had to be a Becoming the Mask and Third Act Misunderstanding (which means Cole would have to be Jerk with a Heart of Gold).
It's just...ridiculous? Yeah. Ridiculous. For whatever reason, I just couldn't really take it seriously. Or pseudo-seriously.
It's a manga. That's all there is to it.
And there's Flanderdization, too.
Cole is kind of a study in Jerk (see The Jerk Index for more information. He fits several superficially, but that might be the Flanderdization.)
Hooray for Moral Myopia.
Argh. I don't know. I feel like I want to like this book, but I just can't. It's a study in tropes, for one thing, in such a way that I feel like it's been manga-fied.
I think part of it may be that all of a sudden, Dale goes from the alleged pariah to the dick magnet.
I mean, it was already annoying that Cole and Dale are almost impossible to keep straight (haha) in the beginning. Why did both their names have to end in "-le"? Sheesh.
It could also do with a good round of editing...
I mean, I've been reading so much romance lately that sometimes, I kind of expect/hope that the main couple NOT to end up together because when in doubt, go for variety.
I kind of...I dunno. Usually I care enough about the characters that the above is generally only a passing fancy and more for the principle of variety than anything else.
This one, though...
=_=
Oh, and don't let me forget.
There's HEAs all around. "You get one, and you get one, and here's one for you, too."
Oh, god. There's even a Defrosting Ice Queen thrown in the mix.
Hmmm...
-le^2's romance summarized
Cole = Con Man/The Mole (let's face it; he was kind of the bad-ish guy) >> Reverse Mole
Dale = Geek >> Beautiful All Along/Just the Way You Are/He Cleans Up Nicely
>base progression<
Offer You Can't Refuse (kind of)
Was It All a Lie?
It Meant Something to Me/Becoming the Mask/(was already the mask...?)
Words cannot describe how close I was to not finishing.
I was sufficiently close enough to the end for me to justify with myself some speed-skimming. I basically don't really know what happens in the last 10% or so, though.
Actually, I did start tuning in against once all the political-speak was done-ish and they moved into a bit of intrigue.
=_=
Too...many...tropes...
And then two beautiful words:
"The End"
Post-Everything ETA:
I should have known. Look at the blurb. Look at the rhetorical question. Look at how gimmicky it makes it all sound.
I should have known better.
February 20, 2012
Dale works at a fast food joint just to help is grandparents take care of his now disabled mother after his father's suicide. He's a character I can really feel for, and can see as a real person. Dale agree to be Cole's beard, to help get his father support with re-election from the gay community, not because he wanted money or fame, but because he wanted a friend.
There's no sex scenes in the story, but it doesn't mean Dan Kirk sugar coats the story with sweet bunnies and innocent fairy-tale kisses. He makes the real, with faults and teenage hormones - attitude and all.
This story would count as a cinder-fella type of story, if cinder had to fake being in love with the prince.
There's no sex scenes in the story, but it doesn't mean Dan Kirk sugar coats the story with sweet bunnies and innocent fairy-tale kisses. He makes the real, with faults and teenage hormones - attitude and all.
This story would count as a cinder-fella type of story, if cinder had to fake being in love with the prince.
August 10, 2011
3.75 stars :)
July 5, 2013
Very unrealistic and just cliche overall. I did finish but skimmed the last 2-3 chapters, have no idea what happened with the pictures and, really, don't care.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews