Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: Design for Loving
AUTHOR: Doug Sanford
PUBLISHER: JMS Books
LENGTH: 257 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 23, 2019
BLURB:
It was a phone-sex call gone wrong. Instead of reaching the guy he’d intended–Chris, a hot-looking clerk at his local post office–Marc, a 29-year-old gay Tucson realtor, finds himself talking to Bart, an 18-year-old straight student at the University of Arizona, with no interest at all in Marc’s sexy come-on. But because of a chance remark from Bart, Marc hangs on instead of hanging up, thus beginning a conversation with far-reaching consequences that would change both their lives.
REVIEW:
Something new I’ve never read, a true ménage á trios.
Definition:
mé·nage à trois
/māˈnäZH ä ˈt(r)wä,mə-/
noun
noun: ménage à trois; plural noun: ménages à trois
an arrangement in which three people share a sexual relationship, typically a domestic situation involving a married couple and the lover of one of them.
Marc is a horny 29 year old gay man that only wants hookups. His game is to call guys and pretend to get the wrong number and lure them into a night of no strings sex or, at the minimum, phone sex. When he truly gets a wrong number with Bart, an 18 year old straight college student, he figures it’s a bust. Little did he know that that call would change his life forever.
This book starts in 1987 and proceeds through to 1998 with glimpses of the future. It is written kind of like a storytelling autobiography. The story is entirely told from Marc with a c’s point of view. It was nice to be reminded of all the changes that have happen in our lives since then.
Marc is gay. Bart says he’s straight and wants the all American life, wife and kids. But Marc and Bart fall in love and begin a life together including sex. Bart also falls for Leslie, a girl at his college. When she moves away he figures that’s done. Bart was too afraid to tell her about his life, even when he accidentally finds her later. Although Bart and Marc never are able to label Bart it seems, in literary terms, that Bart is gay-for you. He is only attracted to Marc and has no desire for any other man. Bart and Marc love each other and want to be together forever but Bart needs a woman to love, marry and have kids with too. And that is the point of their problem, Marc believes deep down it will be over for them when Bart meets that special lady. Little did he know that Bart already had.
Marc is a former HS English teacher and there are a lot of references to English grammar and plays and novels. This got a bit repetitious and old for me. When Leslie got to be part of the mix it got even more so because she was a College professor in the English department.
I found it creative that they solved the sleeping dilemma with Bart’s snoring and Leslie’s desire to sleep alone. Adjoining bedrooms worked for them all. Bart could go to bed with Leslie and make love then get up and go to bed with Marc to snuggle/have sex and then sleep.
This was a unique book with unique circumstances set in the late 20th century. There is no on page sex between Bart and Leslie because it is all from Marc’s point-of-view but it is referenced. Although Marc and Bart have sex it’s not graphic. I got bored with some of the repetitive English/literature references. I did really like the ending. Marc states that this is where a movie usually ends but he always wants more so he gives us a quick rundown where their lives went from there. A very nice touch and made me up my rating a bit. I wish more writers would follow suit with that style.
RATING: 
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