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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A FASCINATING LOOK AT CELEBRITY AND BEING GAY, November 2, 2007
This review is from: The Kiss (Paperback)
Should a gay celebrity come out of the closet, or stay in? It's a controversial question, that's received quite a bit of attention lately. G. A. Hauser's THE KISS approaches this issue in a remarkably refreshing way, providing candid insight both pro and con. As progressive as society may seem, prejudice remains, and the microscope that accompanies fame can be very destructive when its subject is sexuality.
The novel features three primary characters, Ian Sullivan, a frisky head turning 21 year old Englishman, Scott Epstein, a well built 25 year old former college quarterback, and Claire Sullivan, Scotts older sister and co-owner of Manhattan's top male modeling agency. Scott and Ian are models and aspiring actors and Claire represents them both.
Scott's been trying to catch his big break for awhile, but his rugged masculine looks aren't what advertisers are currently looking for, and Claire has a difficult time finding him work. They share an apartment and Claire basically supports him. Ian, on the other hand, has just moved to New York and has an almost androgynous beauty that Claire is certain will sell in a market starved for pretty boys.
Claire worries about Scott. His career is stalled and his love life isn't much better. He's had a string of dumb blonde girlfriends that haven't lasted long. When Scott displays an uncharacteristic interest in a head shot of Ian that Claire brings home from work one evening, it piques Claire's curiosity about Scott's sexuality. When her agency gets a call for two models for a new gum commercial featuring a same sex kiss, Claire sends Scott and Ian to be interviewed and they are hired on the spot. The commercial's kiss is an advertising first, and will be aired during the coming Super bowl. The ad is certain to garner the two men quite a bit of media attention.
At the beginning of this whirlwind story Scott and Ian consider themselves to be straight. Neither one has ever been consciously attracted to another man. But Scott and Ian have never really been in love either. When the two men discover that they're falling hard for each other, they are shocked, but incredibly excited. The situation is new for them and they don't even know what two men do together sexually, but they're very quick learners. Both, however, are extremely career driven and determined to keep their relationship a deep secret, even from domineering Claire. Well established celebrities can risk coming out of the closet, but young wannabes dare not take the chance.
Through Scott's and Ian's budding relationship, Hauser cleverly explores not only the internal and societal pressures faced when a man discovers he's gay and in love with another man, but also the ramifications that discovery can have on a man's path towards stardom. Both Ian and Scott want to be famous and they want to be together. Will the truth set them free, or will it bring their world crumbling down around them? It's a difficult question, and Hauser leaves no stone unturned answering it.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amusing, delightful, sexy and engaging., September 8, 2007
This review is from: The Kiss (Paperback)
I enjoy "The Physician and the Actor", was less impressed with "For Love and Money" but "The Kiss" and the writer's latest release, "The Naked Dragon" definitely rock.
In "The Kiss", we have a romance between an American, Scott, and an Englishman, Ian. As in "For Love and Money", Ian too is the adorable young Englishman trying to make it in the States. While the couple in "For Love and Money" leave me sometimes frustrated, Scott and Ian have me rooting for them till the end. These 2 young men who have been straights throughout their lives have their very foundations uprooted when they find themselves falling in love with each other after "The Kiss" in a commercial they starred together in. Thereon their romance is engaging, heartfelt and delightful, as these 2 very likable young men struggle to hide their love from the public including one bitchy and manipulative Claire (Scott's high flying corporate sister). I do not favor female leads in a gay romance but Claire's role in this story is essential as this dominating yet credible character more or less dictate the direction of the couple's lives. She is overbearing and even a little jealous of Ian when she discovers her little brother falling for Ian. But underneath she is still the caring and supportive big sister. The writer's prose in this delightful romance is very engaging, and there are some pretty amusing moments which have me chuckling aloud. As for Scott and Ian they are a most endearing pair, and I certainly like the idea of Ian's androgynous beauty.
I highly recommend "The Kiss" and of course the writer's latest gay cop/FBI agent thriller romance, "The Naked Dragon" which have me at the edge of my seat until the end. I hope this latest is available in print too!
I look forward to more M/M romance from this highly prolific writer. Plots take precedence over sex in her M/M romance erotica which I appreciate.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Kiss by G.A. Hauser, August 22, 2007
This review is from: The Kiss (Paperback)
This is the second book I read by G.A. Hauser and it's a confirmation of her ability to enthral me. I really try to finish it in one night but it's impossible, fortunately you have a lot to read and I have to put down the book at 2.00 a.m. but as soon as I can I finish it.
This is the story of Scott, 25 years old unsuccessful model and actor: it's the typical american male, muscalar and tanned, with a boy next door face. He is an average guy in a world where you have plenty of average guys who try to find their way to the stardom. But Scott have something more: he has an old sister, who happens to be the owner of one of the most important agency model of New York. And so Scott, one time or two, gets a job and meanwhile he lives behind his sister's shoulders. The next job will be an ad commercial for a gum: he has to kiss a male. No problem, he is an actor... but it's not so simple cause Ian, the other model, is a beautiful androginous guy who draws Scott like a magnet. And the interest seems mutual.
But when Scott and Ian finally let the passion drive them, they discover that none of the two has never neither kiss a man. They wrongly believe the other gay, and now they have this passion between them and... they want to share it. And so begins a clandestine relationship but nor Scott or Ian are the usual perfect characters of novels. Scott is insecure and has a deeply feeling of failure; and he is also jelously of the instant success of Ian, the new guy in the city. Ian, 21 years old, is for the first time far away from home and from his parents. He is like a child who suffers the lontanance from his mother. He is a simple guy and he is open with his feeling, but he is like a teenager with his first crush: everyone around him can demolish his certainty.
And then there is Claire, Scott's sister. She has a main role in the novel, she is the instigator of all what happen to Scott and Ian, but she is not like a fairy godmother... She is a bitchy woman who amuses herself playing the role of God in the other life, and like the Greek Gods, when humans don't play according to her rules, she became a fiery beast.
And so here again the magic of Hauser, who manages to write a perfect story with imperfect characters. Some of the novelty from the first novel (For Love and Money) is again played in this second book, the English young guy who has to live among the stranger american people, and the fascination of this people for the naiveté of him, but all right, if a trick works a time, can works also a second, doesn't it? So all right, Hauser has hit a certain button, who can blame her? Not certain me, that after reading this story have spent 25 dollars ship costs to buy the prequel of For Love and Money, only available as print book!
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