Soon, the only upside to the job is that Seth has a painful crush on their painfully straight boss, and Kieran has a front row seat to the drama. But when Seth proves to be as respectful and supportive as he is prickly, Kieran develops an awkward crush of his own—one which Seth is far too prim and proper to ever reciprocate.
Comment: I decided I wanted to read this story because it would feature a opposites attract sort of romance and also a little bit of boss/employee which in real life can be quite tricky but in fiction I'm always interested in seeing how it goes.
In this novella, Kieran is a trans guy (he is physically a girl/woman who identifies as a boy/man) and has quite an opportunity out of college to work in one of the offices of a politician's campaign. His boss is a previous teacher who convinced Kieran of dong this although Kieran is afraid he is only there to prove a point. No one else is aware he is transgender and the buttons which indicate how he should be addresses confuse people who see him resemble much more a girl. The long hair doesn't help either.
In the office, also acting as a superior is Seth, a thirty something man who Kieran immediately recognizes as being attracted to their straight boss. With time and some serious conversations, Kieran and Seth start to become closer but can both of them let go of missed expectations and go for it?
First of all, I must say I'm very ignorant of the transgender proper way of saying things or discuss them. I don't personally know anyone going through it or who identifies as someone of the opposite gender so my little knowledge comes from what I read online. Before this novella I had only read another one featuring a transgender woman, who had already been though the sex change, so it read as an m/f romance for me.
I just want to apologize in advance if something I write/say is not considered proper.
I should also say that the trans issue shouldn't matter to the plot but the reality is that it does. I've read some reviews stating this reads more as an instruction book than a solid romance. Since most of the conflict comes from Kieran's views of himself, I suppose I could agree. This is also first person narrator and again, I think it wasn't a good choice. Yes, it allows us to understand Kieran's ideas, feelings but I must say, gender aside, Kieran's personality isn't one I identify with, he isn't a person I would feel interested in being friends with, he's often moody and too forward, traits I can't seem to deal with well.
Am I thinking too much on these things? I might be, but the story didn't wow me. I'm glad I read it because I could learn stuff (it does instruct you) but the romance side wasn't as brilliant as it could.
Kieran has a chip on his shoulder. He often thinks he should give up, he shouldn't have hopes, he should make other plans for when what he dreams about professionally (actually working in his study field) and personally (being recognized as a worthy person) are crushed. In this regard, I did identify with Kieran. His gender issues play a huge part in his self doubt but I could put myself in his shoes just from that POV. But then he also acts as if proving others he doesn't care, he just lets things go by him, I do get his defense mechanism but this told me he can also be careless. I sort of imagined someone more cautious in all his behavior (including on how to pick up guys) and some scenes proved me wrong. Kieran isn't easy to like, I'd say.
Seth is the love interest. He is older, has a crush on someone unattainable and is too serious.
I don't mind the 12 year age gap between Seth and Kieran although the fact they are both in different points of their lives makes me think they wouldn't be suitable. The work and belonging to the LGBT community doesn't strike me as a common points enough to explain why they are together. In fact, I don't think the sexual chemistry between them was portrayed well. They are great friends, they communicate well in sharing stuff but sexually I don't think so.
I must also say the sexual intimacy they shared, even if well done from the POV of showing how consensual people should be and how they should inquire about how to accept or not limits between them, was not something I really understood. Again, I cannot really talk about this subject but from a romantic POV, the way they were together was so clinically discussed and seemed quite unfair, especially thinking about the biology involved. My ignorance, I can imagine.
All things considered, had this been just a friendship type of story I think it would have worked out. However, thinking about Kieran's attitude, the lack of chemistry between the protagonists, the differences between them in several levels just made me not enjoy this as much. The first person narrator, the short page count didn't help me like it either. I'm glad I could have a different perspective on the gender subject but only thinking about the characters themselves, this wasn't a favorite story at all.
Grade: 5/10
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