Title: NEG UB2
Author: Rick R. Reed
Publisher: Amber Allure
Publisher URL: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/
ISBN: 978-1-60272-516-4
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Rating: 5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Mystical Nymph
Ethan Schwartz has just received the scariest possible news for a gay man…he’s been diagnosed with HIV. He loves his job, but his personal life is falling around his ears. He can’t understand how he contracted the disease unless the love of his life, and partner of six months, Brian infected him. The idea his lover was already infected, or cheated are the only thing that makes sense to Ethan, since he’s been celibate most of his life.
Without a family to turn to for support, Ethan does what so many individuals do in today’s electronic society. He starts his own blog, Off to See the Wizard of Poz, giving him the venue to express his thoughts, ideas and fears about the unexpected turn in his life; except he gets much more. He also gets unconditional love, support and hope from total strangers. And if Ethan will give him a chance, one of his blog readers might be the key to his future, and his happily ever after.
NEG UB2 is the sequel to Rick Reed’s recent release VGL Male Seeks Same and it takes up a few months later, on an eventful day, guaranteed to change Ethan’s life forever.
I admit that I’ve read very little where one of the main characters was struggling with a diagnosis of HIV, but it caused me to remember all the gay friends and co-workers I’ve lost track of through the years of job and location changes. What happened to those men who I used to see every day? Are they healthy and HIV free? Are they ill and infected? Are they dead? Or are they alive, well and happy? It also made me glad for the advances in medication that now allows most HIV+ persons to live long and productive lives. Is the diagnosis any less frightening than it was years ago? No, but now, at least there is hope. Thank God.
We follow Ethan, from the second his world falls apart at his doctor’s office, and watch as he struggles to come to grips with a disease which could potentially take his life. He goes through disbelief and fear very quickly as he tries to make sense of what has happened to his life, and what being infected means to his continued existence. Mr. Reed does a great job expressing the confusion Ethan and so many others when faced by such a fearful life scenario. What does T-cell and viral load mean? What are the drugs, Viramune and Truvada, and how could he pay for those life saving medications without insurance?
All these thought provoking concepts are touched on in this well-written, sincere and heart-wrenching M/M romantic sequel. While this novella is on the surface filled with Ethan’s bleak hopelessness; underneath everything, it gives hope for the future. So, if you haven’t gotten it just yet, let me say it so there isn’t any misunderstanding. I loved this story and can’t wait to see where the lives of Ethan and Brian go, so Mr. Reed, take my kudos for a job well done, and get to writing the next release.
Author: Rick R. Reed
Publisher: Amber Allure
Publisher URL: http://www.amberquill.com/AmberAllure/
ISBN: 978-1-60272-516-4
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Rating: 5 Nymphs
Literary Nymphs Reviewer: Mystical Nymph
Ethan Schwartz has just received the scariest possible news for a gay man…he’s been diagnosed with HIV. He loves his job, but his personal life is falling around his ears. He can’t understand how he contracted the disease unless the love of his life, and partner of six months, Brian infected him. The idea his lover was already infected, or cheated are the only thing that makes sense to Ethan, since he’s been celibate most of his life.
Without a family to turn to for support, Ethan does what so many individuals do in today’s electronic society. He starts his own blog, Off to See the Wizard of Poz, giving him the venue to express his thoughts, ideas and fears about the unexpected turn in his life; except he gets much more. He also gets unconditional love, support and hope from total strangers. And if Ethan will give him a chance, one of his blog readers might be the key to his future, and his happily ever after.
NEG UB2 is the sequel to Rick Reed’s recent release VGL Male Seeks Same and it takes up a few months later, on an eventful day, guaranteed to change Ethan’s life forever.
I admit that I’ve read very little where one of the main characters was struggling with a diagnosis of HIV, but it caused me to remember all the gay friends and co-workers I’ve lost track of through the years of job and location changes. What happened to those men who I used to see every day? Are they healthy and HIV free? Are they ill and infected? Are they dead? Or are they alive, well and happy? It also made me glad for the advances in medication that now allows most HIV+ persons to live long and productive lives. Is the diagnosis any less frightening than it was years ago? No, but now, at least there is hope. Thank God.
We follow Ethan, from the second his world falls apart at his doctor’s office, and watch as he struggles to come to grips with a disease which could potentially take his life. He goes through disbelief and fear very quickly as he tries to make sense of what has happened to his life, and what being infected means to his continued existence. Mr. Reed does a great job expressing the confusion Ethan and so many others when faced by such a fearful life scenario. What does T-cell and viral load mean? What are the drugs, Viramune and Truvada, and how could he pay for those life saving medications without insurance?
All these thought provoking concepts are touched on in this well-written, sincere and heart-wrenching M/M romantic sequel. While this novella is on the surface filled with Ethan’s bleak hopelessness; underneath everything, it gives hope for the future. So, if you haven’t gotten it just yet, let me say it so there isn’t any misunderstanding. I loved this story and can’t wait to see where the lives of Ethan and Brian go, so Mr. Reed, take my kudos for a job well done, and get to writing the next release.
No comments:
Post a Comment