Reviewed by Carissa
TITLE: Outdated
AUTHOR: Michael War
PUBLISHER: Less Than Three Press
LENGTH: 115 pages
BLURB:
A thirty-six year old IT professional and married for ten years, Greg knows he’s not the young, hot and exciting stud he used to be. But he didn’t think he was so outdated that he would come home to find his husband screwing a younger man on their living room sofa.
Stuck living with his ex, completely lost when it comes to the drastic changes of the dating landscape, it feels like he’s going to be outdated and alone forever. The only bright spot in his life is Kellan, the hunky bear who frequently flirts with him. But even that is dampened by Kellan’s mixed signals, leaving it unclear if he really wants Greg at all.
REVIEW:
I’ve sat and stared at the blinking line of this page for like 15 minutes and I’m still having a hard time putting together what I feel about this book.
Greg–who is apparently auditioning for the roll of ‘world’s best doormat’–found his husband boning a cute, but extremely ditzy, twink, and is understandably put out. So he throws them out. And then he lets them move back in. And then he starts sleeping with his ex. While his ex is still sleeping with the world most adorably clueless man on the planet. And all this is happening while he is mooning over Kellan, a guy from his work–who may be straight, in the closet, or happily boning the entire gay population (on the sly). Who knows. Not, Greg, that’s for sure. But that is ok, because he might get back with ex–who is happy to stick his dick in any man’s hole, as long as that hole is willing to pay his rent and take care of him like the man-child he is. It’s all very complicated.
Except it really isn’t.
This book isn’t bad. It was a very nice read…except that all the characters kept pissing me off. Greg for being such a doormat (seriously, dude, make them pick up their own dog shit), Kellan for this whole ‘let me jump back in the closet’ routine, and Tim for taking advantage of just about everyone so he can act like a teenager and still get laid at the same time. The only one who I actually liked (and it was rather weird that it was him that made me like the book) was Charlie–the ditzy, if caring, twink that Tim is constantly boning in an attempt to retain his youth.
I think I just had a hard time getting past Greg’s willingness to let Tim walk all over him. And the fact that neither of them seemed to think it was a problem to have sex while Tim was dating Charlie, or Greg was trying to date Kellan, just set me on edge. I’ve never been in such a long term relationship, so I guess I don’t understand, really, the impulse to put up with that much shit because you love someone. Especially when they show no intent to return the favor.
And honestly after ten years of Tim’s shit, how did Greg no know that Tim was just using him?
It didn’t help that almost everyone in this book read nearly a decade (or two) younger than their actual age. Just something about the narration and dialogue felt off. It felt way too young for a guy in his thirties. I would have no problem believing that these guys are 25, but it is like their mental growth stuttered to a stop at that age, and then never really bothered to grow past that.
Just…it felt off, a lot of the times. And while it wasn’t something that would make me hate the book, it also made it a bit of a difficult read. And coupled with my desire to beat nearly everyone into the ground with a brick in hopes that they would either grow up, or move the hell on, made it not nearly as enjoyable as it could have been.
RATING: 
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