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When the Stars Come Out
Noah Abraham finds a cure for his writer's block when he meets former film and television star Quinn Scott, who, armed with plenty of dish on Hollywood, agrees to a tell-all book, much to the dismay of his ex-wife, a former screen queen who will stop at nothing to save her image from being tarnished.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
3 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Rob Byrnes
13 books20 followersA 21st century American, gay novelist and blogger, whose fiction focuses primarily on gay men and other sexual minorities. Byrnes's work is often set in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 9, 2022
"When the stars come out" was not the story I expected, but it was good. Normally, I don't like omnicsienct narrators that continually switch back and forth between a dozen characters. This type of narration usually confuses the character voices for me and i lose track of whose perspective i'm in. Byrnes did an amazing job in making sure I NEVER lost track and the story kept it's natural progression. The only thing is...It feels like this story was supposed to be at least 2 seperate books. I wanted to read only Quin & Jimmy's story and then I wanted Noah & Bart's story. Instead, the book started out with the N&B story and then went into Q&J's story before the balance of telling both stories at the same time left us with not enough of either. I wanted to know more of N&B's romance and read more about Q&J's background. Chunks of the good stuff felt like it was missing.
Don't get me wrong..."When the stars come out" is still a good book. it just felt like it could have been more...
Don't get me wrong..."When the stars come out" is still a good book. it just felt like it could have been more...
February 6, 2018
The first quarter of the novel completely faked me out; I expected a certain type of familiar modern rom-com...but I wasn't expecting the transformation that took place. Instead of a rom-com, it transmuted into something far more epic & far more intimate, complete with a gloss of old school Hollywood glamour & romance...dragged into the 21st century and beaten into an even more interesting shape. The ending is perfect.
June 5, 2007
While sharing several plot points (not to mention a title word!) with My Lucky Star, this book is much more serious—and much less enjoyable. Conversely, it would seem, Byrnes' novel's best parts are some of the more serious ones—toward the beginning, there's some interesting discussion about the politics of coming out, mostly based around the book protagonist Noah Abraham is trying (and failing) to write about closeted congressional staffers. Noah abandons this project, however, when he meets Bart, personal assistant to former movie star Quinn Scott, who Bart reveals is not only gay, but has been secretly living in Long Island with his partner for thirty-six years. Noah must then try to convince Quinn to let him ghostwrite a tell-all, even if it invokes the wrath of Quinn's ex-wife, the Hollywood heavyweight Kitty Randolph.
There are several problems with this book. First, it's too long; everything—Noah meeting Bart, Noah convincing Quinn, Kitty's machinations—takes much too long to occur. Second, none of the characters are really done any justice; Noah is barely in the last third of the book, and Bart remains as flat as a backlot prop. Why do he and Noah fall in love? 'Cause they're there? How very romantic.
And that's the male characters. The female ones, well. Noah's mom is out of the picture. (After several mentions of the fact that she eats her salad in an annoying way. Clearly, she deserves to die! Or, well, move to Florida.) Noah's dad's third wife is a dopey fag-hag lush. Then there are some other bitchy women, and of course Kitty, who is an absolute monster. Which might fly if the rest of the novel were a bit broader, but it can't really seem to decide if it's a wacky comedy or a serious issues piece. To be both requires a delicate balancing act, and whoops, I think Byrnes just got egg on himself.
There are several problems with this book. First, it's too long; everything—Noah meeting Bart, Noah convincing Quinn, Kitty's machinations—takes much too long to occur. Second, none of the characters are really done any justice; Noah is barely in the last third of the book, and Bart remains as flat as a backlot prop. Why do he and Noah fall in love? 'Cause they're there? How very romantic.
And that's the male characters. The female ones, well. Noah's mom is out of the picture. (After several mentions of the fact that she eats her salad in an annoying way. Clearly, she deserves to die! Or, well, move to Florida.) Noah's dad's third wife is a dopey fag-hag lush. Then there are some other bitchy women, and of course Kitty, who is an absolute monster. Which might fly if the rest of the novel were a bit broader, but it can't really seem to decide if it's a wacky comedy or a serious issues piece. To be both requires a delicate balancing act, and whoops, I think Byrnes just got egg on himself.
April 23, 2012
When I first read 'The Night We Met' by Rob Byrnes, I was stunned: I was reading a gay fiction book, and it was gut-bustingly witty, dappled with comedy, and - amazingly - it was fun. Rob Byrnes opened my eyes a bit to the world of gay literature in that it could be all of those things, and still be well written, smart, fiction.
So I bought 'When the Stars Come Out' with heavy expectations, and again Byrnes delivered.
To oversimplify, this is a love story about a young man, Noah, who might just be falling for "the one" (and he's not sure he even believes in the idea of "the one") while trying to convince a closeted star of the celluloid era to come out. Preferably with a powerful autobiography about the decades of love he has spent with his partner.
The tale is told with Byrne's trademarked witty banter, and a nice dash of hilarity; You will laugh out loud reading passages of this tale, so if you're reading in public, don't say I didn't warn you.
I adored this story (which is probably obvious), and Byrnes delivers characters that are easy to love (and deserves kudos for his duet of truly loveble aged gay protagonists, who take hip replacements, failing hearing, and mid-day physical therapy episodes with a completely realistic flair).
If you're looking for a fun gay love story that crosses a decade or six, give Byrnes a shot. You'll come out a winner.
So I bought 'When the Stars Come Out' with heavy expectations, and again Byrnes delivered.
To oversimplify, this is a love story about a young man, Noah, who might just be falling for "the one" (and he's not sure he even believes in the idea of "the one") while trying to convince a closeted star of the celluloid era to come out. Preferably with a powerful autobiography about the decades of love he has spent with his partner.
The tale is told with Byrne's trademarked witty banter, and a nice dash of hilarity; You will laugh out loud reading passages of this tale, so if you're reading in public, don't say I didn't warn you.
I adored this story (which is probably obvious), and Byrnes delivers characters that are easy to love (and deserves kudos for his duet of truly loveble aged gay protagonists, who take hip replacements, failing hearing, and mid-day physical therapy episodes with a completely realistic flair).
If you're looking for a fun gay love story that crosses a decade or six, give Byrnes a shot. You'll come out a winner.
November 12, 2008
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It's purportedly a gay romance, but it's lacking in conflict and... romance.
So I think the romance is supposed to be between Bart and Noah, but most of the romancing happens off screen. There's some cheesy stuff in the beginning where they keep running into each other and then they think it's fate, so they go out on a date and then the rest pretty much happens off screen. The only "conflict" between them is that Noah's not convinced gay men are capable of having long-term committed relationships, but he gets over that when he realizes he's in love with Bart. And this is all wrapped up nicely by the mid-way point in the novel.
Bart, meanwhile, has zero personality to speak of.
The Quinn/Jimmy story-line is really sweet, though, and these are the only two characters who seem fully-realized to me. There's even a crazy-lady-gets-her-comeuppance arc in the second half of the novel, which was fun (I read this whole half of the book while standing on line to vote, so it kept me entertained).
So I think the romance is supposed to be between Bart and Noah, but most of the romancing happens off screen. There's some cheesy stuff in the beginning where they keep running into each other and then they think it's fate, so they go out on a date and then the rest pretty much happens off screen. The only "conflict" between them is that Noah's not convinced gay men are capable of having long-term committed relationships, but he gets over that when he realizes he's in love with Bart. And this is all wrapped up nicely by the mid-way point in the novel.
Bart, meanwhile, has zero personality to speak of.
The Quinn/Jimmy story-line is really sweet, though, and these are the only two characters who seem fully-realized to me. There's even a crazy-lady-gets-her-comeuppance arc in the second half of the novel, which was fun (I read this whole half of the book while standing on line to vote, so it kept me entertained).
July 31, 2011
I really wanted to love this book, but it seemed rushed, filled with holes, and I felt Mr. Byrnes only accomplished one thing which you can ascertain from the title of the book. It took me several months to complete this book, as during some parts I truly wondered if I would be able to make it through. All in all this was a good read, and for the most part I was entertained, mostly during the beginning, and the ending was quite fantastic, cute, and had me laughing out loud.
March 31, 2011
A pleasant if predictable read -- not unlike the romantic comedy movies referenced in the backstory. The author has a real gift for dialogue and creating likable (if slightly familiar) characters. The book starts and ends strong but sags in the middle slightly -- rehashing itself before going where we know it's going to go. Also, some of the plot points are a bit of a reach, but overall the book is cozy, cute and comfortingly romantic.
January 3, 2009
This book is squarely in the "gay fiction" category, but I found it to be such a good read that I recommended it to straight friends, too. In fact, I loaned my copy to a straight friend! Gay or straight, you'll love this book. It's a fun read with themes that transcend sexuality. A wonderful book!
October 7, 2011
I haven't read very much "good" gay-oriented fiction, but this one was actually pretty decent. There's hardly any eroticism (and what there is of that is actually kinda hot ;-), but the plot and characters are what make the story interesting. Nothing too thought-provoking or mindblowing, but enjoyable.
October 5, 2009
Chick-lit in style - just with gay men instead of women. Don't expect a heavy romance or lots of sex. Very nice, very sweet.
October 6, 2010
If you're looking for a light, funny gay novel, this is it !
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews