Reviewed by Chris
TITLE: Married Ones 
AUTHOR: Matthew J. Metzger
PUBLISHER: JMS Books
LENGTH: 146 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 21, 2018
BLURB:
It’s the summer break, and for the first time in his life, Mike would rather stay in the bloody classroom.
It’s wedding season, and Mike is doomed to spend all summer sipping cheap champagne and pretending he likes tiny portions of posh food. From the passive-aggressive torment of Mike’s mother-in-law to the insulting incredulity of his colleagues over what his mysterious husband actually looks like, Mike would voluntarily teach sex education to fourteen-year-olds for the rest of his life if it would only get him out of one more wedding. Even his husband in a kilt isn’t going to save this one.
But there’s nothing like watching someone else get hitched to remind him of where he’s come from … and where he’s determined to go from here.
REVIEW:
Set over the course of a summer, this book focuses on the lives of Mike and Stephen as they enjoy their summer vacation (they are both teachers) by attending the many weddings of their friends, family, and relations that they wish they were not actually related to. And in between the ups and downs of said weddings, Mike and Stephen reflect on their own married lives and what might come next for them in the future.
Well, if I thought that Metzger’s last book was sweet and fluffy, this is fucking cotton candy. Mike and Stephen are both grumpy sarcastic gits, but they love each other for it, and I couldn’t help but be utterly sold on them and this story. There is certainly stuff going on under the surface of this story, but it has a very summer feel to it. It goes at its own pace, doesn’t get too angsty or deep, and just pulls you along for the ride. And that deeper stuff adds just enough weight to the story so that you care about these two. You want things to work out for them, whatever form that takes, and when the solution comes by the final chapter you are left feeling satisfied and happy.
I just really enjoyed this, ok? Sometimes I like the stories that dig into life’s darker facets, but with all the ups and downs I’ve gone thru this week, it was nice to have this book to wrap around me and get lost in. It doesn’t ask a lot of the reader, only that they be willing to hear a good story. And a good story is exactly what it is.
It is also a very good companion piece to Metzger’s other recent release, Erik the Pink. They are not related to each other in their story or characters, but in theme they are a very compatible. Two couples with two different looks at pregnancy from opposite ends, they bookend each other very nicely.
There really isn’t much to complain about in this story. It doesn’t set the bar in a lot of ways, but I never felt like that is what it was going after. It is a very good story, with two very engaging characters, utterly comfortable in who and what they are. If you are looking for a book to help you mellow out and relax I can totally recommend you add this one to the list.
RATING: 
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