Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Late Night Poetry
AUTHOR: Nell Iris
PUBLISHER: JMS Books LLC
LENGTH: 41 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 28, 2020
BLURB:
A love story told in answering machine messages.
Saying “I love you” to someone who says it first, isn’t supposed to lead to a break-up, but that’s what happens to Sully and Lou. Sully is out and proud while Lou is in the closet, so when their relationship deepens, Lou runs.
But then Lou starts leaving emotional messages of remorse on Sully’s answering machine. Sully is torn between his love for Lou and his attempts to get over him. With each message, Lou’s regrets deepen. With each message, it becomes more difficult for Sully to forget him. With each message, Sully finds it harder to want to move on.
Can old love poems and heartbreaking honesty help Sully and Lou find their way back to each other?
REVIEW:
You are going to need tissues with this one. My word. Nell Iris never fails to pack a punch in the short stories she writes, and this one is no different.
Sully is an out and proud gay man and Lou is not. When the words I Love you are whispered one night by Lou, he never expected Sully to hear him, much less answer. And because of Lou’s family and not being able to come out, he knew he had to leave and stay gone. But both are miserable. And Lou keeps making late night phone calls leaving messages that are filled with poetry Sully loves so much and it’s killing Sully so bad. And Lou keeps trying to not call but he can’t not. He loves Sully so much. Even when Sully tells him not to call anymore, he tries not to but an anniversary comes up and he can’t not call him. Which leads Lou to finally do what he’s needed to do all along. And when he gets the reaction expected, he knows he needs the positivity of Sully to get him through, even if that makes him selfish.
I hate homophobia so bad. I’m so sick to death of it. No parent or family member especially should ever treat their own blood like dirt beneath their feet because their different. But add the outside world to it, and it becomes overwhelming. I feel for Lou. I hate that he did what he did and I hate that he kept breaking Sully’s heart, but I understand it. It’s hard to go against your family when all you ever want is for them to love and accept you. But then you have to remember, family isn’t always blood, but who you make it to be. You have to make the decision for yourself to decide what is more important. People who truly love you for who and what you are, or people who are going to judge you and treat you like crap. To me, it’s an easy decision, but for most, it’s not. And I get that. But I’m glad Lou finally found what he needed to make a stand. And in spite of all that happened between Lou and Sully, I’m glad Sully was at least willing to be the friend Lou needed in the worst time of his life. Because whether or not they made it more again, Lou needed someone who would support him as a friend and not judge. And that’s what he got.
RATING: 
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