Reviewed by Dee
TITLE: Masc
SERIES: Femme #2
AUTHOR: Marshall Thornton
PUBLISHER: Kenmore Books
LENGTH: 217 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 28, 2018
BLURB:
Lionel and Dog are back in this follow-up to the Lambda finalist, Femme. Almost six months have passed and, after taking an online quiz, Lionel believes their relationship is doomed because they have nothing in common. To save their future together, the pair joins a gay bowling league and discovers that Lionel is an excellent, if somewhat eccentric, bowler. Meanwhile, Dog gets profiled in a work newsletter. He’s excited that he’s out at work, but doesn’t immediately realize that by fawning over Dog’s masculine nature the writer was also putting down all femme guys. Lionel takes it personally, which leads the to a crisis in their relationship. Attempting to make it up to Lionel, Dog makes a grand gesture—which backfires spectacularly. Will the two manage to put things right? And will a night in jail, a morning of drag bingo, an afternoon of day drinking, and a month of moping make things better or worse?
REVIEW:
Having read the first book in this series, Femme, I jumped at the offer of an advance reader copy of Masc. To me, the title is rather ominous, but as the story unfolds it makes perfect sense.
The story is told in first person and dual point of view. Lionel and Dog are equally likable characters. The book is full of humour, the witty banter laugh-out-loud at times. I was happily reading along with a stupid grin on my face when low and behold the drama-lama strolled in. I found the conflict rather contrived and may have gone, why, oh why?…and then I ate a slice of humble pie when the why, oh why was made clear. Well played.
Bryon causes a lot of drama, and while I had a hard time buying into how far it went, I don’t doubt such things happen.
Carlos, Carlotta, is one of the most engaging side-characters I’ve encountered in a very longtime. I adored every second of page time he was given.
The fact this story is devoid of explicit content was a welcome relief for me. It’s not needed to portray the deep connection between Lionel and Dog.
All in all, this was an extremely enjoyable read and I learned a thing or two about bowling.
Verdict – Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys a light-hearted, well written story.
RATING: 
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