Loving Jay

I am not sure about this one... It made me laugh, but I had issues with how the characters were presented. So, I am marking it as a 3.

At the start of the book, I was irritated with Liam and how many times he repeated, “I am not gay.” It didn't match his history. If a man was that set against being labeled as gay, why would that same person have had sex twice, as the bottom? I understand pushing denial and confusion. But I feel that the author played this up too much, at the beginning of the book. As a reader, it was confusing when you learn more about his back story.

That said, Liam was very sweet and protective. Jay was over the top and loving it. This is an easy read. If you need that White Knight fix, Liam is your man. This Book is from 2014. Same-Sex marriages were not legalized in Australia until 2017. Be prepared for major social prejudice that reflects the fight for change.

3.25 stars. I was going to give this book 4 stars but the more I thought about it, the more quibbles I found. On the surface, Loving Jay is a complete feel-good romance, with low angst and a straight line romance development without any major crises. Liam is a fun narrator, and his caring personality is very appealing. Even the GFY/OFY trope (not one of my favorites) is handled relatively well, with Liam's “I can't possibly be gay” monologue quickly replaced by “Okay I'm gay, now what?”

Upon reflection, what bothered me was twofold: 1) Jay didn't have a character development arc of his own and 2) Jay was always the one who needed caring/rescuing. Jay is a flamboyant character whose constant “verbal diarrhea” and exclamations of “Oh. My. Gawd!” are either adorable or annoying depending on your viewpoint (Liam finds them totes adorbs of course). But he ends up exactly the way he starts, without any change except he has a wonderful boyfriend now. Even though Jay goes through several traumatic events like being brutally beaten and losing his grandmother, he doesn't show any long-term effects. There's also a rather stereotypical “damsel in distress” aspect to Jay's personality. Liam rescues him from a dangerous situation and comes to his aid again during a family crisis, but other than helping Liam accept his sexuality Jay doesn't get a chance to return the favor. Yes it is part of Liam's personality to be a caretaker, but that doesn't mean Jay shouldn't be more than the passive target of Liam's heroic efforts.

TL, dr: cute, feel good story, don't think too much about it.