Book 757: Screens Apart – Charlie Novak

After finishing Strawberry Kisses rather than do the responsible thing and keep going down my galley list to the next nonfiction book I wanted to get done before the end of 2020, I sought out the book Novak mentions these characters made their first appearance.

SO responsible right? I at least enjoyed it, I’ll just have to remind myself that as I slog through those nonfiction works in the next few weeks.

For the most part I enjoyed this book, it had a lot of the same qualities and dynamics, minus the fake boyfriend aspect. I liked that Novak flipped stereotypes on their head with this one in that the one you might assume would be interested in the more feminine things isn’t the one who is.

I’d been called Daddy by one too many eighteen-year-olds in the past year, so I’d stopped going to bars. I was only twenty-seven for God’s sake! (20)

Novak does a great job of upending stereotypes, but I can see where it could get pretty tiresome pretty quick as a reader. I’ve only read two works by her and the stories were similar enough I’m not as enthusiastic about seeking out other works. That being said she definitely got better with the second book. I think this book was totally lacking in supporting characters and we really only got to see the sex scenes (which came frequently and heavily). There’s nothing wrong with this and I honestly think it has to do with the fact it was a serialized story in her newsletter that she pulled together without editing.

I heard my pulse in my ears as his lips met mine. Fireworks exploded in my chest, and all those ridiculous, cheesy clichés I’d always heard about falling in love—and always dismissed as stupid—suddenly felt so right. (149)

There were of course squeal-worthy moments like the ridiculous line above so that box was definitely checked. There were a couple of times when Taylor did something romantic and his hesitation/nervousness was just adorable.

And then there was the sex positivity! Not only did Novak write a novel with a male character who enjoys dressing in feminine lingerie, she also had him being a sex worker (I think, he wasn’t paid, but he did share images of himself) and when he fell into a relationship they agreed that it was okay to keep doing it because it wasn’t messing with their relationship and really it’s one of the ways they engaged before they officially hooked up.

“I don’t know,” I said. “I just… we’re dating now. I thought you wouldn’t want me putting slutty pictures of myself on the internet.”
“First of all, they’re gorgeous slutty pictures, and I love them. Secondly, it’s your body.” I opened my mouth to object, but Taylor placed his finger against my lips. “Thirdly, I fucking love your blog. If you shut it down, I’ll be the one complaining. Loudly and vociferously, until you give in.” (180)

And this is probably the kinkiest of the non-kink-oriented MM romances I’ve ever read. I’m still giggling about the one author who kept saying every one of his characters had a cum kink, but either I have strange ideas of what qualifies as a kink or that author has no clue what one is.

If there was one thing I wasn’t sure about it was with her characters talking the talk and walking the walk about being versatile. She missed the mark in Strawberry Kisses (talked but didn’t walk), but did ultimately in this book hit the mark. More often than not, female MM romance authors include lines or references to a character being verse, but it is a total throwaway.

I groaned as I bottomed out. I didn’t think I’d ever get bored of being inside him. Although, I was starting to get curious about how it would feel to have him inside me. Simon had said he didn’t top very often, and I was the same about bottoming. Still, I was intrigued about what it would feel like to have him buried deep inside me as I told him exactly how to fuck me. (158)

It’s like oh we should offer that but never follow up on it and after the last book where there was a similar line I thought we were heading that way again, but Novak saved it at the last minute with possibly the hottest scene of the novel. It kept in line with their personalities without switching mental roles but physically they switched it up and it just worked.

Recommendation: I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as Strawberry Kisses, but I could see where Novak grew as an author. The biggest challenge for this book, for me at least, is that it was a serialized piece tied together without any editing. Each chapter was longer than expected and almost all (I think one didn’t) featured a pretty heavy and descriptive sex scene. And that’s not a bad thing, it just fell short for me with the plot and almost total lack of minor characters.

Opening Line: “The prostate massager buried firmly in my ass gave a last half-hearted buzz and died as the batteries finally went flat, and the orgasm that had been barreling through my body receded so quickly I actually went lightheaded.”

Closing Line: “I think you read my mind.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)