Adrian is a thirty-something guy forced back into the closet by emotional blackmail from his father. Ben is an actuarial student from Minnesota, young, gay, and out, who goes to work for Adrian's insurance firm. They have a nice slow-building chemistry, a clean, believable plot, and some good if not very complex secondary characters. This was almost a five-star book for me, and I did feel the emotions, especially towards the end, and enjoyed the hard-won HEA.

But some of the guys' reactions to the issue of HIV when it rears its head seemed awfully low-key to me.

Spoiler

I though Ben should have had a much stronger reaction to what Jason did. I understand that Ben is a calm guy, and I do realize that the second time they barebacked, he consented to it (partly because he found out it wasn't the first time, though.) But that first time, Jason got him too drunk to protest and did that despite previous risky behavior with other men. Being told about that barely caused a ripple for Ben, even after Jason tested positive. That behavior is damned close to assault, and I think for someone as trusting as Ben the betrayal would have loomed much larger.

I also thought that when Ben and Adrian were finally alone in the woods, Ben was much too cavalier about sex, and so was Adrian for a guy who lost a lover to AIDS. Sure, they paid lip service to needing a condom and to Ben not topping when they found one. But they played around with mixing spunk in ways that, while not really risky, I think would feel psychologically risky. If Ben really was in love, I think he would have played it super-safe at that moment, not risked Adrian in any way. He would have kept any possibility of virus away from Adrian, no matter how turned on he was. And while Adrian might have been more willing to be the one at risk, I think there would have been more awareness on his part, for instance not topping Ben super hard on a first time, condom or not. I really wanted deeper emotions around this issue than I got.

I was also very irritated with Adrian for springing Ben's severance on him at work like that. I would have thought he would have been considerate enough to go to see Ben and discuss the issues and possible solutions with him in private. But I could see Adrian doing things the hard way out of obliviousness and a bit of self-centeredness, thinking more about his own sacrifice than Ben's. So that was within the realm of the character's range, even if it made me think less of him.

I would definitely pick up another book by this author - I really enjoyed her writing style, and my issues with this book were purely personal preconceptions. In fact, they reflect the fact that I believed and felt for her characters and had a whole image built up of who they were and how I expected them to behave. That shows the talent with which they were created. Oh, and as a Minnesotan? Yeah there were a couple of stereotypes but you know, they're stereotypes for a reason. Come visit and we'll show you guys just like that, you betcha.