Bad Company

A lot of reviewers have concentrated on why this book didn’t appeal to them, so I’m going to concentrate on why it did to me.

First off, the characters were different. They weren’t ones the reader might want to go to bed with or live forever after with, but they were characters in their own right. They weren’t your average Mr and Mr Romance couple.

I enjoyed the fact they had unusual occupations: one who wrote advice columns in a gay newspaper and the other who ended up doing occupational therapy in rehab centres. Real people having real lives, not romance fiction lives.

The exploration of being gay or in recognising one was gay or “out for you” was handled well. Their past as best friends during their early years continued to show more impact on the way they were today. Sometimes, knowing someone so well actually adds conflict as attitudes, fears and thoughts from the past impede the relationship in the present. It’s hard to let old attitudes go.

K.A. also consciously avoided stereotypical situations such as the way three gay men fought back against their assaulters and managed for once to come out on top.

Sure, the main protagonists avoided emotional confrontations wherever possible. Sure they were pretty matter of fact about their needs and desires. That suited them and their circumstances.

Maybe they weren’t the “nicest” characters around. Maybe at times they did things that were unethical or dubious in their motives, but that made them more “real” in my book.

You’ve got to love the originality of lines like these:

“I told you I wanted to do this on the morphine.”

Just because Nate didn’t get mushy over a fuck didn’t mean he had some kind of hang-up about sex.

Eli sat on a pile of folders. Nate’s office was perfectly organized. He kept the folders there so no one would come in and sit down.

Interspersed throughout were little snatches of humour, perfect for the guys and the mood of the book.

My only beef. Cover artists must like their men smooth. What happened to Nathan’s goatee beard??? It’s “him”. They're too young, too. Never mind. It's the words that count.

If five stars means perfection, it’s possibly not the right rating. But I have yet to read a book that’s “perfect”. Any areas which weren’t “perfect” were more than made up for by the above.

I respect K.A. Mitchell for her bravery in writing out-of-the-mould characters in original hook-ups and situations. She didn’t fail. I hope she continues to trust her own judgement and continues to create “difficult” characters in situations and plots that are not cliched. I, for one, will continue to buy and read your books and wish I could write like you.

Oh, and I'm really looking forward to reading Eli's book... show less

Before continuing this series, I decided to revisit the first two. I read this one late in 2011, which is early in my M/M reading obsession. I thought it would be interesting to see if my tastes and opinion had changed. Lucky for me, I don't think they have as much as I might have thought.

This is an interesting book, because in general, when I'm not truly sure I actually like the MC's, I struggle to read the book through quickly. That's not happening in this case. I actually struggle to put the book down, even though both Nate and Kellan take turns irritating the hell out of me lol. But I suppose that's just the sign of a well written story!

I’m not sure that I had much sympathy for any of these three characters. All are rebellious. Nate Gray lives a comfortable life. He loves his job giving advice in his column. He’s not looking for a relationship because he’s had disappointment and heartache in the past and is going to make sure that it isn’t going to happens again...ever. Now his friend, Kellan, wants him to be his boyfriend...his FAKE boyfriend. Nate knew this was a bad idea...but when has that ever stopped any of the characters in these books??? Problem is things are changing for both these men. The question is... is Nathan ready to try to take a chance again...and is Kellan only after getting one over on his homophobic father? It’s not a bad book but the show more very fast evolution of the characters taking place in a very short time (just a couple of months), somehow undermines the credibility of the story...but it is romance and those things, I guess, do happen. show less

These characters both needed a good slap, although one much more than the other (and surprisingly not the one I thought it would be at the beginning of the book). Yet despite being so infuriating that I wanted to shake them, I also wanted them to get their happy ever after. Not that I think it's going to be an easy ride but then I think they both realise that already.
Well written story of long held grudges and the real truths behind them.

Kellan never redeemed himself from the spoilt, obnoxious brat he was in the beginning of the book. I disliked him quite intensely for this lack of personal growth and it ruined the story for me. I didn't feel any chemistry between the MCs at all - there was more chemistry between Eli and Nate, tbh. I usually enjoy Mitchell's books but this one was not for me.

2.5 stars rounded down.

Just felt really artificial and all over the place. I didn't really get why they needed to fight all the time, or why the resolution had to wait so long and couldn't have just happened before those last few fights (since nothing really happened to resolve anything besides them being like okay, let's do it...which they already had said before).

I dunno, I feel like nothing much really happened in this. I wasn't expecting to be wowed because of the ratings and reviews, but others in the series look better, so I'm gonna read more and see.

Hearing Kellan Brooks say "I need a boyfriend" was probably one of the last things Nate Gray ever expected to happen in his life. He and Kellan had been friends when they were younger, but they quickly drifted apart when Nate started getting targeted by his classmates for being gay. Nate has witnessed Kellan's playboy antics on television and in magazines, but Kellan's father has finally cut him off for his philandering - something Kellan hopes to undo by pretending he's gay to upset his father. And Nate's even more surprised when he learns that Kellan expects him to play a starring role in this charade.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this one based on the description. I shared some of the same discomfort with the overall situation as show more some of the characters express during the course of the story. And while I would have liked to see a bit more depth to the development of the two main characters, their feelings about the situation, and their relationship, I did enjoy it overall. I'll definitely be giving the next book a read when I get a chance.

Content warning: Dubious consent show less