Un romance molto più lento e “rilassato” del solito: prima che inizi la storia tra i due protagonisti abbiamo una sorta di preambolo diviso in due parti. La prima parte ci racconta di come Ben e Adrian si conoscono ed è narrata dal punto di vista del primo. La seconda parte, invece, è narrata dal punto di vista di Adrian, ma racconta gli stessi fatti della prima. Onore al merito, A.B. Gayle fa smutandare il lettore dalla noia: è riuscita a non raccontare le stesse cose, ma a dosare dettagli diversi nelle due parti, in modo da non narrare in modo noiosamente speculare una stessa vicenda.

Dopo il “preambolo”, abbiamo la terza parte, dove i punti di vista di Adrian e Ben si avvicendano e ha inizio la loro storia – o perlomeno l'interesse reciproco. Essendo una serie basata sul principio che gli opposti si attraggono, Ben è allegro, gioviale e pieno di vita, mentre Adrian si sente vecchio e disinteressato alla vita. Almeno fino a quando questo ragazzone dai capelli rossi non disturba il suo voto di castità e gli porta alla luce brutti ricordi.

A. B. Gayle sembra amare i personaggi colpiti dalla perdita di un compagno (in Caught era accaduta la stessa cosa). Questo aspetto non mi ha colpito così tanto... forse perché ero troppo impegnata a interessarmi a Jason, che è sembrato un personaggio più interessante dei due protagonisti... ( )

Relationships at work, between boss and employee, no less, are always difficult, frowned upon, and usually there is some rule against them. That seems to make them all the more interesting for some people; the ones who like the lure of the forbidden, live on adrenaline – or just cannot resist the other person. While Adrian isn’t Ben’s direct boss in this story, he is the company owner’s son so the conflict may be less direct, but it is there nevertheless.

Ben is not a hard worker to start with, but when he suddenly has to take over much of his sick boss’s responsibilities and gets to work with the owner’s son, he has to clean up his act. Losing his job is not an option he wants to think about, and since he has the mental ability to pass the actuary tests and get all his qualifications, he knuckles down and gets them. The romance with Adrian builds very slowly, but the passion is undeniable. Ben never expects anything permanent, but the longer they are together, the more tempting that becomes.

Adrian doesn’t want to take over the company, doesn’t like many of his father’s decisions, and isn’t out. His past, the five years of freedom he had traveling through Europe, haunts him and he is sure he can never be that happy again. In short, he is frustration personified, but controls all of it with an iron fist. The only one who seems to be able to get under his skin and make him feel anything is Ben. Adrian’s inner battle to be honest with himself and others is long and hard, but was interesting to watch.

The twists and turns in this book are as interesting, and some of the drops as sudden, as the up and down of a share price graph. Watching Ben and Adrian as they get to know each other, find out about mutual friends, their ambitions, and struggle through a tough period at work are very realistic. Fighting a nasty female manager Ben thinks is Adrian’s girlfriend and her money-grabbing ideas is a good side story that makes the novel even more complex. If you’re looking for an interesting story set against the background of company policies and the insurance industry, if a slow-building romance between work colleagues is your thing, and if you like some underlying suspense around the economic future of the company as well as the two main characters, you may like this book.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )

Red+Blue wasn’t at all what I was expecting from the first pages, actually, I didn’t like much nor Jason or Red/Ben at the beginning, and Adrian was so far that I didn’t feel him like a main character. The first two parts of the story are told in first point of view, first from Ben and then from Adrian. It’s not an alternate telling, it’s exactly the same part of the story, but first we read it “with” Ben and then Adrian will give you his side. It’s not since the “common” telling is starting that I felt the cohesion between Ben and Adrian, like in a relationship when it’s time to start a life together.

Another good point is how the author managed to have the characters adhere to their supposed age, so much that, even if there are little more than 10 years of difference between Ben and Adrian, you could say they were from different generations, above all on the perception of the potential threat represented by AIDS.

The book is pretty long, and the only fault I can find is that I wasn’t able to finish it in one day, I had, regretfully, to stop and finish it the day after: my enrapture pushed me to forget and continue reading, the very likely chance that I was to spend a night awake, and I cannot afford it at my age, forced me to stop.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613725205/?tag=elimyrevandra-20

This was the perfect amount of angsty romance in a book. I was able to say "screw you!" with one of the leads, but we did not have to wallow in self hate.

I also liked the way the author handled the topic of HIV, which most romance authors (no matter what genre) tend to avoid. So hats off to the author.


I will be checking out what other work is available. ( )

Nice read, but not very original. ( )