Anna (Bananas)'s Reviews > The Good Boy

Before... A Madwoman, a Banana, a puppy, and Lisa Henry - why do I feel like someone's going to be injured in this buddy read? Whatever, I'm excited!

And AFTER... Well, this one was a mixed bag. I love me some Lisa Henry, and I did enjoy much of The Good Boy, just not enough of it. I kept waffling between 3 and 4 stars. I've concluded a 3 is usually the more accurate rating in this situation

Here's what worked for me:

1. The characters were a blast at times. Some of their dialogue made me laugh out loud or snicker with glee. That endears me to a book like nothing else.

2. I like Derek. He's a great character - believable, tender, bossy at the right times, manly in that way that just reads HOT, and he's a photographer. What's not to love?

3. The sex was good. Derek and Lane together just worked for me. I like their dynamic. I'd consider reading book 2 for that alone.

4. This is a little thing, but I found Mr. Zimmerman's asides about Dolores to be melancholy and touching in just the right way. They hinted at a sad unknown history and offset, even overshadowed, all those silly lines the parrot spewed incessantly.

On to the bad:

Number 1 with a bullet. Lane's situation, his hard luck story, was BEAT INTO OUR HEADS over and over and over again (see, isn't that repetition annoying?) until I just did not care. Yes, I get how persecuted he is. Yes, I understand how mean people are being to him. Yes, I know he feels all alone and helpless and needs a big, strong man to comfort him - I'll take one too.

My point is, a little goes a long way. Readers are not stupid. You tell us something once or twice, we got it.

2. The first half was too long with way too much setup. Why? See above.

3. Brin was annoying. He's one of those people I would tolerate (read: hate with a passion) in real life. Over the top, unsympathetic, mean, flamboyant in an obnoxious rather than cute way, and yet...I almost liked him by the end of the book. His humor won me over a tiny, tiny bit.

So yeah, a mixed bag.

Okay, the puppy play. Damn but people talk this up, don't they? Yeah, I'm going there too. Having been witness to a small amount of puppy play in real life, I was prepared to also be annoyed by it in this book. It seems so silly. And IT IS.

Isn't all role-playing silly by nature though, by its very design? You're pretending to be something you're not, and being a dog is pretty high up there on the silly meter for me. Right next to acting like you're a giant baby. I honestly don't get how that works for a person, sexually.

End of the day though, it wasn't that weird in the context of the book.

If you're trying to decide if you want to read this, um, good luck. Hopefully something I've said will help you tip the scale either way. As for me, I haven't given up on the authors yet.