When The Stars Come Out [Hardcover]

Rob Byrnes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

...someone's going to take a fall! Noah Abrahams is back in New York tending to his ailing father while dealing with his writer's block. Handsome Bart Gustafson is just the diversion Noah needs - he's also the personal assistant to former 50's heart-throb Quinn Scott. Quinn has lived in exile ever since he ran away with one of his ex-wife's backup dancers, and he's got plenty of dish on Hollywood, especially its very deep closets. Suddenly Noah's writer's block is cured, but helping Quinn with his sizzling memoirs won't be easy now that Quinn's wife is a powerful movie mogul...This is a sexy, outrageous and wickedly witty take on life in La-La land.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Byrnes (Trust Fund Boys) plumbs the depths of variously closeted men in this sly charmer that's less niche than the goofy cover art suggests. Though Noah Abraham is attractive and successful, he hasn't dated in the year since his relationship with Harry ended; his life revolves around the book about closeted congressional staffers ("The Project," he ruefully calls it) he's been contracted to write, but his subjects are less than willing to go on the record. While on vacation in New York City, Noah meets Bart Gustafson, the handsome personal assistant to cantankerous former movie star Quinn Scott and his companion, Jimmy, a former dancer. Noah is astounded to learn Quinn is gay and decides that this—not the bland exposé of sexually reluctant bureaucrats—is the real story. Now all he has to do is convince Quinn to break decades of silence, something much easier said than done, as Noah finds himself up against not only Quinn's reluctance, but the fearsome ire of Quinn's ex-wife, a powerful Hollywood player bent on quashing Quinn's would-be tell-all. The romance between Noah and Bart has its intensely cheesy moments, but clever dialogue and an astute rendering of the prices people pay to keep secrets buried add crossover appeal. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Smart, wealthy, and good-looking, Noah Abraham should have no trouble meeting someone new. Still, there's the ennui laced with desperation he feels when faced with the brick wall of his longtime project: interviewing closeted people in D.C. politics for a book he fears will never happen. In New York to see his post-heart-attack dad--famous attorney Max Abraham--he agrees to take dad's trophy wife, Tricia, to a gay bar. There she establishes herself as Miss Popularity with the smokers outside, while Noah mopes inside until a handsome stranger makes contact while ordering a drink. Turns out Bart is the personal assistant to former star Quinn Scott, who needs a writer to help craft his tell-all memoirs. Ex-wife Kitty, now a Hollywood force, wants to sabotage this laundering of dirty linen, so the plot thickens delightfully. Byrnes turns out another deftly written and enticingly complex gay romance. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 331 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758213247
• ISBN-13: 978-0758213242
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,262,765 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rob Byrnes is a native of Upstate New York (specifically, Rochester; with briefer residencies in Schenectady and Albany) who moved to Manhattan in 1997 to make his fortune... but ended up writing novels and short stories instead. Byrnes's third novel, "When the Stars Come Out," won the 1996 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance. He currently lives in West New York -- deceptively located in New Jersey -- with his partner, Brady Allen.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful tale of love and being openly gay in Hollywood, September 13, 2006

By 

Bob Lind "camelwest" (Phoenix, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: When The Stars Come Out (Hardcover)

When Noah Abraham came back to NYC after his father's heart attack, he was also seeking an escape from his growing frustration about a book he had promised to write about closeted gay congressional staffers, none of whom would cooperate with an interview. He wasn't expecting to meet Bart Gustafson, a personable hunk also visiting Manhattan on holiday from his job as personal assistant to a rich gay couple in the Hamptons. Noah and Bart "clicked" immediately, and Noah was invited out to Southhampton to meet Bart's employers, one of whom was Quinn Scott, a popular movie star of the 50's and 60's. Noah learned the story of how Quinn met the lover of more than 30 years, Jimmy, a dancer who had a small part in one of his films. They exchanged "the glance" between them, and have been together ever since. Unfortunately, at the time Quinn was married to Kitty Randolph, a domineering screen star and movie industry tyrant, who found out his previously hidden sexual orientation, bannishing both he and Jimmy from Hollywood ever since. Noah thought the story of Quinn and Jimmy's romance, together with the juicy tidbits about Kitty Randolph's less-than-stellar personal life, would be a best seller, and tried to convince Quinn to let him ghost write a "tell all" autobiography. However, Quinn was very happy in his present life, and didn't see the need to revisit those difficult times, or what purpose "outing" himself could possibly serve. With Bart and Jimmy's help, Noah tried to convince Quinn otherwise. Ironically, it was a subsequent action by Kitty Randolph herself that would directly impact on Quinn's decision.

A absolutely delightful, charming and witty novel, believeably written in fastitious detail, and illustrating some excellent points about the implications of a Hollywood "leading man" revealing his homosexuality. The characterizations, not just the main players but the supporting ones (such as Noah's high profile lawyer father, Quinn and Kitty's son "Q.J." and Noah's high strung literary agent, David), are written vividly and realistically, and the unpredictable story keeps building additional layers until the final chapter. Definitely the author's best work to date, and recommended to all.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, entertaining read!, January 7, 2007

By 

Jess B. "Jess B." (New York, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When The Stars Come Out (Hardcover)

The early pages of the book revolved around character development, as we got to know the key players. As things progressed, it really took off. I tend to read several books at once, a little of each at a time. So I rarely read huge amounts of any book at once. This was an exception. I enjoyed the first 80 pages, but then it really hit its stride; and then I couldn't put it down. The remaining 200+ pages I finished in less than a day.

It's a rare book that pulls me in like that, and this is one of those wonderful rare ones. Don't miss this book! It's terrific!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful and engaging read, December 19, 2006

By 

David Pasteelnick (New York, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When The Stars Come Out (Hardcover)

When The Stars Come Out is enjoyable on a variety of levels. Through its fictionalized tale, it addresses the coming-out process from a variety of angles, past and present, as well as from different cultural backgrounds. It also looks at the creative process, what it means to be an artist, and the effort of relationships. All these various themes are blended seamlessly.

The writing is crisp and effortless and the story moves along at a brisk clip. Characters are enjoyable whether they are protagonists, antagonists or just background scenery. Humor is balanced with serious episodes, chapters don't get bogged down in overdone details, and there is just enough sex to pique the interest without becoming salacious. A great vacation or travel read, or a fun bedstand novel.