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Absolutely loved this book! Couldn't put it down until it was finished. Will definitely be recommending to customers at my work!

This was rather disappointing. Gay man (who may actually be bisexual, but that's a horribly bad word in this book, because how dare anyone actually be bisexual) squanders fellowship on expensive OKCupid dates and whines about it, then meets a well-off depressed woman and takes advantage of her but plays the victim when she thinks he cares more than he does. It's just wholly toxic. There's not a single healthy relationship in this entire book, and that's not really what i'm looking for in LGBTQIA lit.

Always a pleasure to be the first to review the book and have nice things to say. I almost passed by this book, the dating woes of New York millennials didn’t seem especially alluring. But something did…enough to pick it up. And I ended up liking it considerably more than I expected, so let’s call this one a pleasant surprise. And also a most auspicious debut. The writing is, in fact, absolutely terrific, absolutely the shining star here, more than enough to outshine its tedious cast of characters, which is no small mercy. The descriptive language, the psychological discernments, the way the subject of a novel decisively takes a much heavier, much more complex and interesting direction the flimsy premise might suggest…awesome. It leaves you thinking and thinking. Wherein the plot alone, the love triangle with one side straight, one side gay and one side confused, that just sounds like a trite romcom. But seriously, seriously, it isn’t, it just seems that way. The confused side of the triangle is our (whatever the opposite of intrepid is) protagonist. Is it inept? Well, he’s certainly challenged. In many ways…his graduate school work has stalled jeopardizing his only source of income, his romantic life is nonexistent, his unrequited love for his best friend is…well, unrequited, unspoken even, and generally quite sad. The dating apps are a failure. So what’s a gay boy to do in the brutal spirit sapping New York but to get himself a ladyfriend to adore him, feed him and help him write his papers. Thus develops a wildly unbalanced codependency that does seem like a relationship in many ways. Until he meets a guy who embodies all the things he always thought he always wanted. Now it’s a triangle, with both Blake and Anne inexplicably competing for a man whose main characteristic seems to be lukewarm amiability. Weird. Weird choice for a protagonist, weird for him to be the least likeable thing about the book, his ambivalence, his milquetoast personality…what’s the appeal there? The only compelling thing is the choice. And that’s actually really compelling indeed, because it brings up so many interesting questions about the nature of love, romance and relationships. Which organ to follow? Which considerations to prioritize? Does comfort override passion? Is being accepted for who you are just as you are more or less valuable than being pushed toward some sort of character elevation or a more conventionally accepted family structure? Is being taken care of outweigh other more frivolous less materialistic aspects of a relationship? The protagonist eventually does make something of a decision, but those things are just fascinating to ponder. Because it does elevate above the ugliness of the modern dating scene (especially the male gay version, which has a sort of single minded carnality that’s just offputtingly aggressive) and the ugliness of desperation at least as it pertains to trying to make it in the most overrated city of all. And (this may be neither here nor there) but how often can someone go out to eat? In one of the most expensive cities in the world no less. Is that why no one ever has any money? I don’t think I’ve ever read a book featuring quite this much dining out. To be honest, gay male characters have never done it for me in a book (I’m certainly no Anne), not just the carnality, but the overwhelming vapidity and superficiality of the culture…just no. This, in fact, might be the only such book I actually enjoyed. Because, as mentioned before, there’s so much more to this book. It’s the writing, it really is, the author shows such magnificent command of the language, some paragraphs are pure magic and some turns of phrase he uses…it just makes me want to remember them and throw them into conversations. It’s that good. And it poses smart questions, which is always appreciated. That pretty much makes up for the unlikeable characters, it seems. So yeah, this might very well be the cleverest book on modern dating disguised as a silly love triangle and I’m glad to have taken a chance on it, despite any initial misgivings. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.