Fire and Ice

There's an episode of The Golden Girls in which Dorothy tells everyone that she hates dogs. It turns out that she was lying, and she actually loves dogs. The truth is, she once lost a dog, and she doesn't want to open herself up to that pain again. This is similar to the central conflict of this book. Donald has lost everyone in his life, so he holds everyone at arm's length (the “ice” from the title is his unwanted nickname).

But it's also the way I feel about contemporary romances. I don't read them very often, because I really do enjoy them, but so many of them make me angry. It's usually some kind of misogyny in m/m. It was mild in this book: according to Carter, all of the women in his family talk way too much, and he jokes about how it makes sense for the men in the family to avoid them. Why does anyone think that's funny? Oh, those chatty women, talking and caring about others and existing. I'm disappointed, because I was enjoying this author's books, and he had refrained from that kind of humor in the other books of his I read.

There are other major things I disliked about this book, too. I didn't like the way that Carter handled Donald's unwillingness to talk about his past, specifically that Carter eventually brought the conflict up in bed. It seemed disrespectful to me. I also didn't like Carter's reaction to Donald's big revelation. Donald had not talked to anyone about it, ever. Carter's first reaction should have been acceptance and love, and instead, he was somewhat judgmental. I didn't think it was romantic.

Most damningly, I found it very annoying how much Carter lectured Donald. Every time they had any kind of meaningful conversation, Carter started sharing his wisdom. He knew everything about life and felt compelled to tell Donald how best to live. I can't remember the last time I found a main character in a romance novel that off-putting. Usually I'm half in love with all the MCs in romance novels; yes, I am very sappy and bi. But I definitely would've kicked Carter out of bed.

Oh well. The kid was very cute and I liked all the domestic fluff. But this book was not for me.