In the last issue, I complained about romances with “kiss (or fuck) and make up” happy endings that, like Band-Aids®, ignore the underlying problems, praising the book I was reviewing for not having that flaw. RJ Scott’s Back Home doesn’t have it either. The Addison family faces grave financial difficulties in addition to its emotional baggage. Not all the issues are resolved at the end, but they are finally out in the open and the characters can deal with them.

If the main characters had put their issues behind them in the short time span the novel covers rather than reach a point that promises they can and will, I would not have believed it, for those issues, feeling guilty about wanting your lover’s brother or brother’s lover and getting involved with the man after brother/lover’s untimely death, don’t go away quickly and easily, and the pain of loss will always remain. On top of that, lover’s brother feels guilty about running away to escape temptation when his family needed him most and brother’s lover blames himself for the death. In a case like this, even therapy can do little more than help you cope. By the end, everyone has come clean, and both lovers and the rest of the Addisons have shared information held back out of misguided concern for someone’s feelings. It’s a first step – a big one.

I had better call these characters by their names before the people reading this review find themselves as hopelessly tangled in the relationship web as are Kieran (lover’s brother), Jordan (brother’s lover), and Brad (who died).

Now, the problems I’ve outlined above shouldn’t be insurmountable. Kieran’s parents and sister see the would-be lovers are making mountains out of (admittedly very hefty) molehills, but they also realize that imaginary mountains are harder to cross than real ones. What they say to support them and what the men say to each other or think but keep to themselves provide a multidimensional perspective on the situation that adds depth to the story.

All this carries over into the very effective sex scenes. They do more than tack on the bit of off-color release the reader expects. They round out the characters, showing very clearly the men’s insecurities, hesitations, self-doubt and mutual distrust. Here is a romance that doesn’t pretend that a kiss and a fuck and an “I love you” can set everything right.

In short, there’s a lot more to this story than just the story. In that connection, I would be remiss not mention Ms. Scott’s smoothly flowing, intelligent style. Although British, she writes dialogue that sits well in American mouths. The resolution of the subplot concerning their financial woes is a bit rushed for my taste, but otherwise the novel is nicely paced.

Back Home is not just a damn good read; it’s a damn good book.

Silver Publishing, January 2010

ISBN 978-1461099932 (paperback) https://silverpublishing.info/product_book_info/paperbacks-c-83/back-home-print-p-357

ISBN 9781920484392 (e-book) https://silverpublishing.info/product_book_info/glbt-contemporary-c-53_54/back-home-p-260

All this carries over into the very effective sex scenes. They do more than tack on the bit of off-color release the reader expects. They round out the characters, showing very clearly the men’s insecurities, hesitations, self-doubt and mutual distrust. Here is a romance that doesn’t pretend that a kiss and a fuck and an “I love you” can set everything right.