Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Fate
AUTHOR: Rob Rosen
PUBLISHER: MLR Press
LENGTH: 262 pages
BLURB:
Eddie is in love. The problem is, Eddie’s in love with four men… four men simultaneously, that is. But who does Eddie love more? And can the heart feel for that many men equally? Ah, but it does have four chambers, so four seems the most logical choice… at least, of course, to Eddie.
Paula is Eddie’s famous mom. One by one, each of his lovers comes to work for her, their lives so connected that if one of them itches, another one scratches. But who will wind up with whom in this comedic tale of life and love and friendship? In the end, it’s up to fate to decide what none of them could possibly have seen coming.
REVIEW:
I was in need of a light, easy read. I was concerned, when I read the blurb, that this was some kind of orgy book or something. This was my first book by Rob Rosen and he provided just what I needed, a quirky, fun read.
Sex and sexuality is confusing and challenging for youth. Add in the extra factor of realizing that not only are you gay, but you are attracted to your best friend since birth. And from birth is exactly the proper terminology for this since their mom’s literally shared a maternity ward room.
This coming-of-age romp was funny and light hearted. Going off to college did present some rather interesting situations for Eddie. Not only is his new college roommate gay but wants to become friends with benefits. And that is exactly how life went through out his college experience. Sex seemed to appear on a silver plate, as does his Mom’s sudden rise to fame after her struggling as a stand-up comedian his entire life. Does juggling four lovers present problems? Not as many as I would have thought. Then again, it is college in California. I have to say, being “outed” on stage by your mom was a bit unsettling. I can’t imagine that any mom would do this without, at the minimum, a discussion with her son first. I was please with how supportive that she was as a parent of a gay teen. Let’s face it though, Paula would never win Parent of the Year for her mothering skills, but she did love and support Eddie. I still am not sure how I feel about Brian. Him traipsing in and out of Eddie’s life and his questionable sexuality. I liked both Curtis and Trevor. They were fun friends and lovers. I can’t believe how much I fell for Aaron. I never really connected with the “perfect” William Tell. I was really nervous and scared about Benji. I was content with how things worked out. My only complaint with the ending was that it felt rushed and abrupt. Mr. Rosen spent a considerable amount of time on character and plot development and then the last 10% of the book seemed like he was tired of the story and just tacked on the ending.
As for the sex, like I said in the beginning, I was fearful of a sex fest or orgy, based on the blurb, but surprisingly the sex was either referenced to or pretty low key. Definitely not erotica. That is why I believe that the story worked. It was characters, how they interacted and not just sex, sex and more sex. All in all, a pretty fun story just disappointed in the cut off ending.
RATING: 
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