Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Getaway
SERIES: Escape Book 1
AUTHOR: Casey Cox
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 361 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2021
BLURB:
Ever woken up and realized you’re in love with your childhood best friend?
I’ve got three big problems.
One, I’m in love with my childhood best friend.
Two, he hates any kind of change with a capital H.
Three, he thinks I’m straight.
To be honest, up until recently, I thought I was straight, too. But something’s shifting in me. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I can feel it. We tell each other everything, so I want to tell Cassius this.
I figure a tropical weekend getaway is the perfect time to do it. I mean, what could possibly happen that would change our lives forever?
GETAWAY is a best friends-to-lovers/gay-for-you rom-com style MM romance.
It features two childhood best friends, a luxury (clothing optional) resort, beach bonfire kisses, newly invented dance moves, dubious dietary claims, and some creatively named cocktails. You can expect more than a few gasps, giggles, and OMG moments on the way to a satisfying happily ever after that will make you feel like you’ve just returned from the best vacation ever.
(Suntan lotion and beach towels sold separately.)
REVIEW:
Getaway, the first book in a new series by new-to-me author Casey Cox, doesn’t get away from the expected in this lighthearted romp in tropical paradise. Chronicling how Cassius and Spencer go from best friends to lovers over the course of a weekend getaway at an exclusive gay male resort, the story leans heavily on this oft-used MM romance trope, as well as some GFY and opposites attract for good measure. Getaway does not provide a fresh take on this premise, nor any novelty in its execution.
That being said, this is not the first or likely last time an MM romance will rely on these three tropes and play them out in the expected way. So perhaps we should simply measure Getaway by whether it’s an enjoyable read. And I suspect many of you will very much enjoy this story, despite it treading over well worn ground.
Cassius and Spencer are about as opposite as can be. They remind me a bit of the Odd Couple. (Throwback reference there. Google the TV show if you aren’t familiar with it.) Spencer is fastidious, borderline OCD, with an obsession for spreadsheets and planning everything within an inch of its life. Spencer is a self-proclaimed time freak, neat freak and “every other kind of organized freak you could be.” No doubt, Spencer measures his value, at least in part, by being structured. He thinks it makes him dependable and ergo, trustworthy.
In contrast, Cassius doesn’t know what the word punctual means. He’s invasively messy and seemingly unaffected by anything … you know, like a drug bust and arrest of his next door neighbor. No biggie. Like water off a duck’s back. Spencer describes Cassius as having the “innate ability to be happy wherever he was”. I’m not sure I actually see that demonstrated by Cassius’ actions though, particularly not at the resort. The unexpectedly clothing-optional resort.
These two besties revel in the natural, easygoing nature of their 17-year friendship. Despite their totally opposite personalities and propensities, and the “minor” detail that Spencer is straight and Cassius is gay, these two are as close as can be. None of these differences cause friction between them. All they needed was a relaxing tropical getaway for two to introduce confusion and conflict.
Throughout Getaway, I found myself questioning the plausibility of many things, including the personalities of the characters themselves. The story demonstrated inherent inconsistencies in the way Spencer and Cassius behaved, and that distracted me. For example, upon arriving at the resort, uptight Spencer seems to transform into this fearless, confident party animal, stripping off his clothes within minutes of arriving at the say-so of two virtual strangers. He rolls around in the sand, sits on pool floats naked and otherwise engages in behavior that should be abhorrent to him based on his obsessive, controlling personality.
“Go with the Flow” is Cassius’ motto, one he wears proudly on his favorite t-shirt. It’s intended to accurately reflect who he is. But the book also describes him as a creature of habit. That confused me. Creatures of habit are by definition people who like schedules and patterns. The opposite of someone who goes with the flow. I guess he could potentially be a blend of the two? Maybe? Adding to my confusion, Cassius and Spencer seem to do a personality swap once they arrive at the resort. Cassius doesn’t seem to go with the flow at all. He seems shocked or confused and resists things that Spencer inexplicably doesn’t even blink an eye at, … you know like the whole partying naked thing.
Ironically, my inability to “go with the flow” while reading is what colored my view of Getaway. Discrepancies and inaccuracies throughout the story bothered me. Not just the big things like the character’s personalities, but inconsequential things like Cassius falling asleep during take off with his tray table down and drink in hand. (Anyone who’s ever flown has heard the tray tables up during takeoff speech.) Admittedly, it may seem petty for me to note that kind of detail. I assure you, I’m not doing so for the purpose of pointing out a mistake. Rather, I’m trying to explain my level of distraction and why it prevented me from fully engaging with the story or the romance.
I am sure that many readers will find Getaway to be funny, sexy and sweet. Indeed, Cassius and Spencer are characters who are easy to like. I think the development of their relationship could have been bolstered by tightening up the narrative. Consistent with the words of Mark Twain, “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one”, I felt the story hadn’t been distilled down to what the author intended to say. The narrative contained extraneous details and descriptions which detracted from what the author wanted us to focus on. They diluted the meaning.
Overall, ostensibly, there’s nothing really “wrong” with this story. For me, though, it didn’t work. My expectations undoubtedly were impacted by my having read a lot of books with these same tropes. But if you don’t care so much about novelty and you just want a fun flirty story, you’ll likely enjoy this book. If nothing else, the author does a terrific job describing the setting, easily making you feel like you are in the tropics with the sun, sand and balmy ocean breeze. So you can getaway with Getaway for a vicarious vacation while enjoying a lighthearted, low-angst portrayal of Cassius and Spencer finding their HEA with each other.
RATING: 
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