Review: Loving Jay ~ Renae Kaye

[nia_kantorka]

Every morning at six o'clock Liam waits at the station for the train to Perth where he is working. Every morning Liam is watching for Jay. He doesn't know Jay's real name but since Jay had worn a T-Shirt with the letter J, he calls him Jay in his mind. Jay is handsome, lithe and fancy. You know just from seeing him that he's gay. Liam envys Jay for being out and proud. Though Liam knows deep down, he is gay too, he doesn't want to admit it. He is afraid of loosing the support of his family, being one of five boys and having a close-minded father. His family helped him through a hard time in his life and Liam does not only love them dearly but think he owes them. But Jay is irresistible. The one day Liam misses his train in the morning, faith is going to surprise him...

Loving Jay was a wonderful and funny read for me. Being in Liam's head was hilarious. Yes, he did have a complex about his sexuality and still suffered from the aftermath of a bad injury. But, and that's the fun about Loving Jay, he had a wonderful sense of humour and an unique way of thinking about life. An example? He described his not-now-but-maybe-soon-outing as a herd of cows. No, I'm not kiddin you, though I admit, this was one of the funniest metaphors I've ever read about. I cried tears of laughter while reading Loving Jay, especially at the beginning. And although he told himself all the time about not being gay at all, the reader and Liam himself couldn't take it seriously. After the fifth or sixth repition it became a running gag.

And Jay. OMG, I loved Jay. He was such a sweetie. Once he started talking there was no escape. He called it 'verbal diarrhoea' and it just was. He was comenting on his babbling all the time and one can't do a thing about it than laugh. Renea Kaye didn't do only fluffy but some serious topics in Loving Jay too. There was gay bashing, PTSD and Liam's problem with coming out. Nonetheless the book was charming and easy to read. This might be a problem for some readers - the combination of the light and fluffy style with a lot of gay clichés (all gathered in Jay's character). I had no problem with the aforementioned clichés but I read the book in a very relaxed mood during holiday. And it helped getting me even more relaxed. I recommend to read Loving Jay during holiday or on some other occasion while you are able to relax. If you do so, you'll fall for Jay as much as Liam did. Promised.

Loving Jay is a book for romantics. I thought it was nearly too perfect in the end. But, as you may know by now, I'm the first complaining about cheesiness. I like some struggle (even at the end) or some imperfections because that's imo just the way life is. Yes, I'm way more realist than romanticist. Sorry about that.
Nonetheless I really liked Loving Jay because of the awesome MCs and therefore I didn't begrudge them their happy ending. I loved Renea Kaye's writing and hope to read more from her. While I worked at the German version of this review I started to re-read the whole story. The second time was as enjoyable as the first.

All in all Loving Jay was a 4,5 stars read for me.

Comments

[candamira.livejournal.com]

I'm so corrupted by the Hunger Games series that at first glance I thought a Loving Jay is a bird, just like a Mocking Jay.

For me, a little cheesiness is fine. Life is strenuous enough, so if someone offers a bit of escapism - wonderful(no, not referring to a CERTAIN fic here ;-) ).

Thanks for the rec. It was a treat to read. I'll devour Loving Jay as soon as I feel relaxed enough to cope with the gay clichés :-).

Btw: The cover is a nice collection of gay clichés, don't you think? The black <3-swans - yay for gay!

[nia_kantorka]

Oh, I don't have a thing against romance and happy endings. But I prefer it to be not 100 percent perfect.
If you are ever going to read In the Company of Shadows (I know nearly 4.000 pages to go are a lot but so worth it;) you'll get what I mean. Fade's ending was perfect for me. Much to think about, more dread to come, but a happy couple that know each other so well they'll fight alone against the world. And they are going to - I'm sure :D

I'm happy you liked Loving Jay as well.

Am so sorry about a CERTAIN fic though. I really like the idea. You do know that, don't you? ♥

[candamira.livejournal.com]

I don't think I ever had a longer list of books/fics I want to read. Desperation spreads, but I soldier on ;-). They're all waiting patiently on my Kindle.

I'm extremely fond of long!books/fics, so In The Company of Shadows is a priority.

CERTAIN fic: I know <3.

[nia_kantorka]

Not only the list of fics is growing longer by the day but the book list too. It's horrible. If someone would just pay me for reading, I would be a gazillionaire ;)

In The Company of Shadows is a priority.
Ha, will remember that, my dear. :D


Good. *hugs*