Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: Button Down 

AUTHOR: Dawn Kimberly Johnson 

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press 

LENGTH: 230 pages 

BLURB: When he finds himself captivated by a movie-star handsome stranger he meets in a bar, lawyer Ford Reilly watches a simple one-night stand develop into a taste of what living honestly might bring him.

Out and proud Gus Hansen has built a small architectural firm from nothing, but could lose it all as he tries to break a contract he signed before knowing about the project’s antigay ties.

After Ford discovers he spent a passionate night with the man on the other side of the dispute he’s handling, he finds himself in more than one quandary. He can either maintain the status quo, enforcing the contract to the letter, or he can defy his overbearing father and break free of the closeted life he’s built for himself in order to be with Gus.

Gus has his own choices to make. He knows the sting of loving a man who hides himself, but the longer he lingers in Ford’s presence, the more difficult it becomes to deny their attraction. 

REVIEW:

“I find it comforting, I guess, knowing what’s expected, planned. It gives me a false sense of control, but I know there aren’t any guarantees in this.” 

This quote from Ford Reilly pretty much sums up his life. He comes from what seems like a storybook family. Wealthy, successful, pillars of their community. His Daddy is the mayor and Ford and his older brother Royce, both lawyers, work with him. Ford is polite, well spoken and is one of those people who seems to be friends with everybody but close to no one. No one but his best friend Cicely. Even the family he adores is unaware of the secret he hides. The fact that he’s gay.

Gus, our second main character was meant to be a one night stand for Ford. The two men felt an instant connection but the next day both agreed to walk away. Gus was still hung up on an ex who had been “cured of gay” by a church group and Ford had no intention of leaving the controlled safety of his closet. When Gus finds himself stuck working as the architect for Eliza Reilly’s (Ford’s mother’s) renovation project, the two men are brought together once more.

I love the romance between these two. In some ways they fit together so perfectly right from the start but they also need to work through the issues they both have before they can commit to an actual relationship.

So yes, the romance was great and all but, for me at least, this book was about more than that.

Religion plays a pretty large role in Button Down. Commonly in M/M romances religion is portrayed as the enemy. To the point where, were I a religious person, I’d probably be offended. And ok, the book does have Family Strong, a group of religious fanatics who believe they can help save these poor misguided homosexuals from their life of sin J. But, they are presented as an extreme example to be compared with the rest of the religious characters in the story. Did that all come out a bit convoluted? What I’m trying to say, what the author is showing, is that religious does not equal homophobic. I’ll mention this again as I gush about the characters.

The Reilly’s will have to go on my list of fictional families I wish were real. At first I took them to be superficial and too image conscious but as the story went on they all revealed more of themselves and I was hooked.

Ford Reilly is perfectly written. He’s the most careful, controlled, buttoned down (hey look at that) character I’ve ever read. It’s as though his whole life is filled with premeditated actions and behavior. He has very strong religious beliefs but, and thank you, he hasn’t been written as another self-doubting, religious gay man. He says at one point that if God made him gay then it’s obviously okay. The only reason he’s not “out” is because he’s concerned about the reaction of his very close family. Once he makes the decision to come out though, he simply does it with no regrets or second-guessing.

My favorite character in this book, and it may not be a popular choice, is Ford’s father. Benjamin Reilly is written as a totally flawed and realistic character. He’s the mayor, a deacon in their church, and he’s use to having complete control over his sons’ lives. He’s been raised to believe homosexuality is a sin and he sees no reason to question that. Until he meets Gus. We can see immediately that his composure is shaken as Gus defends himself against the bigoted beliefs of the Family Strong leader. Gus makes strong, sensible arguments, quoting scripture right back at the man and Benjamin seems to realize that what he believes may be wrong. Of course it’s never that easy to change someone’s beliefs so naturally he reacts badly to his own son coming out as gay. The author balances everything so well, Benjamin’s prejudices, his confusion and his love for his family. While he could easily have become a villain, I ended up seeing him as a rather sympathetic character instead.

I’d describe Button Down as a story about family, sprinkled with humor and with a kickass romance thrown in for good measure.

And since I started with a quote, I think that’s how I’ll end it too. I loved this one.

“Yes, well,” Ford began wistfully, “I use to think you were the best-looking man I’d ever seen, that black hair and those big blue eyes.”

“Yeah?” Andy asked, brightening, his chest puffing up.

“Yeah. But I was a kid then, and over the years, your homophobia has beaten you about the head with a big-ass ugly stick. Excuse me.”

RATING:

BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner  ::  Amazon  ::  Are