Family Man by Heidi Cullinan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I loved everything about this book.
It was just so close to me, my family. I know exactly how Vinnie feels every-time the family gets together, and Rachel for that matter. Italian families work in a funny way, we might not all get along all the time, but if one is hurting, we are all hurting.
That used to creep me out a bit, getting a phone call from a second cousin about this or that, that was going on in my life. As I grew older I learn to take that as family concern and welcome it, need it sometimes, just like Vinnie.
And nothing prepared me to read my RL cousin story in this book. It´s amazing when fiction and reality come together sometimes. And the reading experience turned into a more personal one.
I was trying to pin-point my family members among Vinnie´s LOL
We all reacted differently, that first time we meet my cousin BF, and I know that he had conversations like "do you want me to move away?" with his military brother, or "I thought about ending my life" with his parents. So seeing everything in the form of a book, that turmoil of emotions for Vinnie, that fear of facing the family and be able to live his life fully, had me texting my cousin last night just to say ILY.
A few other things I really liked about this book:
*That even tho they point out the issues with Church, and the catholic upbringing, they don't take it as a political statement, is just the way Vinnie is brought up and doesn´t define him.
*Sex is about love! YES, reading a gay boy who values sex as a connection, intimacy and love. Was sweet and perfect.
*The fight against stereotypes. Vinnie was the macho man, the Italian stallion and he was also a bottom. He never doubt it.
This book brings out the best from these two authors. They are amazing on their own and nothing below that could come out of their collab.
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