Can't Buy Me Love [Paperback]

Chris Kenry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002

Thanks to his wealthy, doting lover, Jack Erikson's biggest daily challenges are working out and deciding which magazine to read. But when his benefactor suddenly dies, Jack is tossed out on the street, with no way of supporting the lifestyle he has become accustomed to. Jack's half-hearted stints at minimum wage jobs barely cover the minimum payments on his credit cards, let alone his Sunday brunches with the boys. Slipping into what he does best, Jack stumbles his way into a career running Harden Up, a male escort service, along with Ray, a professional hustler and aspiring artist. With business booming, Jack is back on top again, not to mention falling hard for his new business partner. But with everything going his way at last, Jack can't help wondering...Can a pair of entrepreneurial escorts really live happily ever after?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jack Thompson, the 26-year-old, unemployed, spoiled brat protagonist of Kenry's rollicking debut receives a rude awakening when Paul, his lover (and unlimited source of income), dies suddenly, leaving his entire estate to Wendy, his homophobic sister. Banished from Paul's house, penniless and clutching a blank r‚sum‚, Jack halfheartedly follows the advice of his parents and numerous credit agencies and pursues a variety of minimum-wage jobs. He repeatedly and predictably gets fired, ultimately succumbing to the lure of easy money by becoming an "independent hustler," a trade at which he is uncannily adept. As the cash begins to roll in, he and fellow sex worker/aspiring artist Ray pool their clientele into an agency: "Harden Up, Inc." Ray wants to get out of the business eventually and open an art gallery; in the meantime, the recruitment of new hustlers and the excitement of a growing client roster puts Jack back on top, but just how long can his luck last? Thankfully, Kenry infuses the narrative with a healthy dose of reality as a violently aggressive customer beats one of Jack's employees, his sister Carey starts to suspect something's amiss, a client dies in flagrante delicto and the Denver police close in. The author's talent for catchy, catty dialogue and innovative (and often quite humorous) sexual interplay buoys a prolonged story line that occasionally bites off more than it can chew. Still, Kenry shows promise with this first effort, and his moxie shines through in moments when Jack and Ray are allowed to be fully developed characters, instead of the hyper-stereotyped caricatures so popular in contemporary gay fiction. While seasoned readers will see the inevitable, saccharine-sweet conclusion (and sequel?) coming a mile away, that won't diminish the charms of this satisfying confection.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Were it not for the writer's bold humor and witty asides, this debut novel could have been just another hustling-for-love-and-money yarn with a gay setting. When Jack Erickson's wealthy lover is killed, leaving nothing to Jack in his will, Jack finds himself homeless with a useless degree in the arts, no talents (save for body-building), and little drive to do much more than rack up charges on his credit cards and sponge off his friends by doing sexual favors. Then he meets a dashing young man named Ray who teaches him a few things about hustling. Ray uses his time and money for his controversial artwork. Together, they orchestrate an escort service for men with clients ranging from old porno kings to wealthy but lonely and unattractive souls. In the meantime, they fall in love and get into all kinds of trouble. This book is well written but does include graphic language and descriptions. For large libraries seeking gay fiction. Shirley Gibson Coleman, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Books (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575668467
• ISBN-13: 978-1575668468
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,525,449 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Don't judge this book by its cover, August 7, 2001

By 

ILuvFilm (Reisterstown, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Can't Buy Me Love (Hardcover)

OK... I saw the cover art and immediately though "REALY lightweight gay-themed beach read..." (And the guys on the dust jacket are really cute, and it's about hustling, so the cover's fantasy quotient is high...)

As far as summer reading goes, it's not going to be making your high school's required reading list anytime soon, but this is a remarkably tight, well put together, fun read.

To avoid spoiling the plot (and there is one), let's just say that this novel ISN'T the bodice-ripper it's made out to be on the cover (it's just not that steamy). Instead, it's a well-crafted little story. Chris Kenry's writing flows really well. The plot's hardly byzantine, but it does hold the reader's interest. The characters are memorable (and even more rare, likeable), and the novel's themes are well developed.

One complaint: There's some non-essential historical detail that doesn't seem to always fit the chronology correctly, which an editor probably should have caught or cut.

This is a good, fun read... HIGHLY recommended as a fun fiction treat.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful, Delovely, Delicious, January 15, 2003

By 

J. Shaver (Hot Springs, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Can't Buy Me Love (Paperback)

Ah, what a great business prostitution is! You've got it. You sell it. You've still got it. Chris Kenry has it, too. What an incredible first novel. The clever plot, the memorable characters, and the witty tone would seem to be the work of an established professional writer. Poor Jack, our narrator who has always depended on others take care of him, suddenly finds himself with no visable means of support and an enormous credit card debt. Not only does he find the solution to his financial problems in the world's oldest profession, but he finds love along the way. More importantly, Jack grows into an admirable character. This is a book that will have you laughing one minute and worrying about characters that you have come to love the next. When one hates to have a book end and wonders about the future of the characters, one has found a really good book. Chris Kearny has vaulted onto my list of favorite living writers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Delightful first novel, August 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Can't Buy Me Love (Hardcover)

Gay fiction desperately needs more books written in this lighter genre and style. Romance. Intrigue. Fascinating characters. Gay fiction tends to fall between two extremes: highly literary and extremely x-rated erotica. Robert Rodi, Doug Guinan, and Chris Kenry all work in this fun fiction tradition and I just can't get enough of these kind of novels. I read the erotic stuff and the literary stuff but these fun 'beach books' are the kind of escape that a hard working gay professional NEEDS from time to time.

Chris Kenry's book is a great read! The characters are unique, the story is solid, the premise is intriguing (what gay man hasn't dreamed of being a hustler in fantasy alone?), and I could certainly empathize with Jack and his rug-pulled-out life. Congratulations to a welcome new author. Just keep it well written and fast paced and I'll buy and read them all.