Family Man Paperback – Picture Book, March 4, 2014

I don't know how I handled "Family Man"--This novel is a bona fide schmoopfest and not even I am immune to it.So we have our narrator, the young Trey Giles, who has a sweet old granny and an alcoholic mother. He has a "no sex" rule even though he is out and proud, and he doesn't feel bad for being a virgin (you go glen coco). He meets the closeted but questioning Vinnie Fierro at a gay bar and they leave together to......slow-dance at a jazz club.To me, that's the sexiest part of the book. The build-up is scorching but the pay-off left me cold because I was more interested in the plot and character development. Oh-ho, look at me, I'm doing romance novels completely wrong.But seriously. Both characters are interesting and multi-faceted. I loved Vinnie's honest talks over cigars and scotch with his sister Rachel and Trey's support from his good-natured put-upon old grandmother. The end was intense and left me scrambling to finish the book.One way this book impressed me was through the discussions of sexual identity and what it means to be a man surrounding Vinnie. He was never homophobic or judgmental towards gay men, which is rare for closeted men in gay romance novels (in the really bad ones, they spend two chapters stewing in internalized homophobia before being miraculously "cured"). In fact, he dealt with his emotions maturely and at a pace he set for himself, confiding in both his sister and his new lover and making sure they understood his apprehensions about coming out after three failed marriages. He had issues with the fact that he craved receptive penetrative sex with another man, questioning traditional gender roles. This novel made it clear that however a man has sex does not change his gender identity, which is an important point to make because so many people pass judgment. In a same-sex relationship, there aren't clear roles and stereotypes set up through a history of patriarchy, and I hope one day all relationships will be based on mutual respect, pleasure, and equality.It was also refreshing to see positive female allies and minor characters like Rachel, Lisa, and Sophia. Many gay erotica or romance novels are incredibly misogynistic, pinning the problems of closeted gay men on their past relationships with women. Vinnie spoke frankly to Trey of his prior marriages and made it clear that his own confusion over his sexual identity was what made his heterosexual relationships fail. It wasn't being spurned by a lover or being cheated on (believe me, this is a very common plot device).The only big problem I had was with the narration style. It was told in first person through Trey, but we also got Vinnie's perspective through third person omniscient. So for awhile it felt like Trey was inside Vinnie's head, which was confusing.This was a cute, fluffy, surprisingly intelligent, quick romance read. It is very Erotica Lite with more plot and romance than sex.

My Review:I wasn't so sure about this book at the beginning. Vince is under a sink doing plumbing for a gay couple when he has the "first thought" that maybe he's gay. He's 40 with 3 divorces under his belt. At first, it truly just seemed like he just wants to belong somewhere, rather than being gay, but as the story evolved, things became clearer as to how he got to this place.Vince is part of a huge Italian family who runs a string of restaurants. He has an MBA in accounting, but does plumbing work instead...just because he needs some separation from his family.The other side of this is Trey. Trey is young....twenty-six and trying to get through school one class at a time, while working two jobs and taking care of his grandmother and drunk mother. Every dime the family ever had went to mom's rehab which never stuck, now Trey is drowning in debt and responsibility and barely keeping his head above water. Unlike Vince, the only family he has is mom and Grandma and they aren't exactly a great support system. He's been out as gay pretty much his whole life, but is shocked when he finds Vince at the local gay club looking extremely uncomfortable. The gay community is all about the sex and Trey isn't into that...in fact, he's a virgin. When he sleeps with a guy, he wants it to be about love, not just the sex.While Vince is floundering with his sexuality and certainly not comfortable with the sex part of it, his relationship with Trey is perfect. Neither one of them wants to go there and they have a great time together, despite their differences. He also doesn't know what to do about his new realization with his family, who don't seem like they will be very accepting of a gay son.I liked how family played so large in this story. Vince and Trey come from such different backgrounds, but I love that Vince's family and how they step up. His relationship with his sister is also huge in this book and I love the bond that they have and how it helps him to understand Trey more.This was just one of those feel-good books to read. It was a good story and definitely entertaining. I liked it!

Of Vincent a in is mid 30s a son of an Italian strong family who just ended is third marriage to a woman thinking why marriage never works out being a Plumber by trade while working on a customer drains soon finds out the customer 's are a gay male couple while listening to them talk thinking how much in love that where together played on is mind while sitting in is family restaurant he see someone he know Tray this is where the story starts getting interesting Tray is gay but waiting for the right man to call in love with cut a long story short they start dating but of course true love never runs smoothly they work hard to sort problems out between them & family true love does find away finally asking Tray to marry him leading to a happy ending a truly great read sad it had to come to an ending .

Vince, a closeted, three-times married, Italian-American, falls for Trey, an openly gay man, ten years younger, who is saving himself for Mr Right. As Vince thaws in Trey's embrace, the only barrier between them is Vince's fear of his homophobic family and Trey's despair at his alcoholic mother. The Italian-American family are straight out of central casting. The portrayal of life with an alcoholic mother is powerful and not in any way simplistic. The book is sweet, tender and sexy but the homophobic Italian-American family turn out to be closeted homophiles and one of them, a budding nurse, gets to look after Trey's mum so that he and Vince can get it together, which they do very satisfactorily.

Throughly enjoyed this book with its Italian family values. Trey has a lot on his palate besides the fact he's gay, and at twenty seven is still looking for and saving himself for Mr. Right, he is also working two jobs while going to college so he can support his elderly grandmother and his alcoholic mother. Vince is from a large close knit Italian family who own the restrauant he's in when he comes across Trey with a group of his college friends. Vince has three failed marriages behind him and has decided to keep to himself, but finds he's looking at Trey with longing. Unsure and scared, he talks to his sister insisting he's not gay. I loved this book with its good story line. Read it, I think you will enjoy it

One of my favourite MM books. I loved the characters, and the story; an old fashioned hero stepping in to give you all the suport you could need. It fell apart a bit with the sex scenes which are a bit girly, and only a little better than the usual eggs, milk and flour, stick in two fingers and stir.I'm saving this to read again.

One or the most loving and touching romantic stories around Yes it was a lot about one mans familybut once he fell in love with someone other than the kind of man his Italian family were hoping for,What followed became a gentle snd touching story as a young man was very much in love and how he becameclose to the family.Ithought it was a lovely story and well worth buying and I will keep it to read again,