Reviewed by Danielle
Title : Last Chance Charlie
Author : Ryan Loveless
Publisher : Dreamspinner Press
Length : 198 pages
Blurb:
Charlie Corcoran is the best thing about twenty-five-year old Zach Prentiss’s life. Sure, they’ve never met.
Charlie’s never seen Zach from the neck up, but because of Charlie, for a few hours Zach can forget about his sick father, his falling grades, and his dwindling clientele who don’t like that he’s a rentboy who ages.
With Charlie, he talks online about comics, cars, and movies. Then a new client arrives.
It’s Charlie wanting sex tips… for a date with Zach. Zach goes through with the appointment, convinced it’s over if Charlie recognizes him. However, he doesn’t have long to nurse his broken heart or worry about Charlie’s before Charlie is back, wanting to take him out, introduce him to Mom, and treat him like he’s decent.
Review:
Where to start on this review. I find it hard as I was looking forward to reading this book after seeing the cover and reading the blurb. It seemed to be right up my alley.
Unfortunately I didn’t get what I was thinking I would.
Yes the blurb is accurate in mentioning facts that happen but it doesn’t entail all the things that occure in this story.
For one I didn’t sign up to read about constant, very openly flat out written encounters between Zach and his clientele (in detail ). I picked up the story because I was interested in the premise of how a relationship between Zach and Charlie came to be and how it went forward.
Instead I got a pretty vague beginning where we find out that Zach and Charlie are talking on the computer and even jerk off together, so I assume they are close?
When we find Charlie coming to Zach for advice and experience before he goes on a date with Z Man (Zach), Zach doesn’t know how to respond because (unlike Charlie) he has seen the other man’s face and recognizes him. Still he continues with the “job” and feels a connection for sure.
The story flips and turns all over, jumping from this to that. We find Zach canceling the appointment, continue to do his work, admitting it all to Charlie and Charlie accepting it all very easily. Zach continues his job because he needs the money to take care of his dad who is in a health institution. When Zach needs more money he takes a risky job and gets sick, Charlie accepts it all (again) but Charlies parents interfere, their lesbian friends help them out, messed up clients cause major trouble, etc!
I just summed it up because there’s so much and there’s no real logic to it. It feels off and to be honest it left me disappointed. Nowhere is there a real love connection shown between Zach and Charlie (which in my personal belief the book should be about).
Instead I got a very detailed story about the life of a hooker who, by accident, finds the love of his life (?)
There are some very nice written scenes in the story. For example the relationship between Zach and his father is intimate and beautifully written by the author. And although we never find out exactly what happened to his dad, it shows the excellent writing ability of author Ryan Loveless that I also found in her prior books. (shout out to Ethan who loved Carter )
RATING: 
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