Loving Jay

Title:  Loving Jay

Author:  Renae Kaye

Publisher:  Dreamspinner Press

Length:  200 pages

Rating:  A List

Up All Night Satisfaction

Blurb:  One thing Liam Turner knows for sure is that he’s not gay—after all, his father makes it very clear he’ll allow no son of his to be gay. And Liam believes it, until a chance meeting with James “Jay” Bell turns Liam’s world upside-down. Jay is vivacious and unabashedly gay—from the tips of his bleached hair to the ends of his polished nails. With a flair for fashion, overreaction, and an inability to cork his verbal diarrhea, Liam believes drama queen Jay must have a screw loose.

An accident as a teenager left Liam with a limp and a fear of driving. He can’t play football anymore either, and that makes him feel like less of a man. But that’s no reason to question his sexuality… unless the accident broke something else inside him. When being with Jay causes Liam’s protective instincts to emerge, Liam starts to believe all he knew in life had been a convenient excuse to stay hidden. From intolerance to confrontations, Liam must learn to overcome his fears—and his father—before he can accept his sexuality and truly love Jay.

 

Review:  I loved this book. It was so much fun. It is a book that will be read again and again for the sheer pleasure of the funny, quirky, sweet and sexy love story.

This book makes me smile from beginning to end. And okay I cried a little, but there are some serious and emotionally charged things dealt with in here as well. But it is all handled in such a genuine way. It’s not that things aren’t bad or scary or heartbreaking, but the writing is poignant and the characters are fun people, dealing with life in the best way they know how, which is frequently with a smile or joke.

Liam is your average guy. He comes from a large and close knit family who has monthly Sunday meals, with a relationship status interrogation from his mum, and joking and sniping with his four brothers. He is afraid to be gay, he has found that neither men nor women seem that exciting, so why cause upset and problems. Except he can’t seem to stop obsessing about the most fascinating man, who he has dubbed Jay, who shares his commute. He watches him every weekday morning and waits through the long weekend until he can see his Jay again.

Jay is actually named James, but he will always be Liam’s Jay. That is all that either man will ever want. He is loud in every way, from his hair and dress to his voice and manner. There is no hiding for Jay, about anything. Unlike Liam who has been able to bury and hide from his sexuality, anyone who looks at Jay knows that he is gay. There was no coming out for him. He is absolutely fabulous in every way and I adore him.

I’m completely besotted with their families. There was so much love and support there even as they were all batshit crazy in different ways. Family is a huge part of their lives and they are very fortunate in theirs. They both fit in so well with each other’s family, although at first neither man thought that they would. There are some tensions and issues, especially on Liam’s side, but there is also so much love there. Some of the interactions left me with tears in my eyes and searching for a kleenex. I relished the relationships between Liam and his brothers, especially Dale, one of the best brothers ever.

Both men are genuinely kind, caring and gentle. They are good boys who are always willing to help and who in their own ways help each other. They are perfect together. Bringing out the best and the most needed things in each other. Even though on the surface they seem very different there was an immediate click and spark that set their friendship who became lovers who became everything. There is no doubt that they will be little old men together, still in love, still happy, with Jay as the shining sun and Liam as the earth that grounds and protects him and revels in his joyful rays.

Reviewed by Nina