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reviews_and_ramblings
Blink by Rick R. ReedGay Contemporary General Fiction
Paperback: 200 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (January 23, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1632165856
ISBN-13: 978-1632165855
Amazon: Blink
Amazon Kindle: Blink
Life can change in the blink of an eye. That's a truth Andy Slater learns as a young man in 1982, taking the Chicago 'L' to work every morning. Andy's life is laid out before him: a good job, marriage to his female college sweetheart, and the white picket fence existence he believes in. But when he sees Carlos Castillo for the first time, Carlos’s dark eyes and Latin appeal mesmerize him. Fate continues to throw them together until the two finally agree to meet up. At Andy’s apartment, the pent-up passion of both young men is ignited, but is snuffed out by an inopportune and poorly-timed phone call.
Flash forward to present day. Andy is alone, having married, divorced, and become the father of a gay son. He’s comfortable but alone and has never forgotten the powerful pull of Carlos’s gaze on the 'L' train. He vows to find him once more, hoping for a second chance. If life can change in the blink of an eye, what will the passage of thirty years do? To find out, Andy begins a search that might lead to heartache and disappointment or a love that will last forever….
The book is written from both Carlos' and Andy's first person point if view. It works very well, since we get the same scenes described by both of the main characters. The plot is romantic, without being cheesy and a pleasure to read. The characters are alive and likable. You are rooting for them throughout the labyrinth that is the life that will finally bring them back together. Being a Catholic gay man, I identified with Andy right from the start. I too fought being gay, I was engaged to be married, but luckily, I did not carry it through - my girlfriend caught me at a gay bar and broke up with me. I felt such a relief that I knew i had to be myself. Ultimately: "being with a man was my rightful place. It was nothing to be ashamed of but something to be celebrated, because it was about love."
