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Zen And Sex (2013)

by Dermot Davis(Favorite Author)

3.49 of 5 Votes: 4

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Expression Unleashed Publishing

review 1: First in the Frances series, a refreshingly honest and revealing sojourn in the mind of a romantically-inclined young man trying to sort out the great mystery of how to relate to women. At twenty-four, Martin is still relatively inexperienced in matters of the heart. He's had a few girlfriends but his latest one, Roxanne, the one he was desperately in love with, has left him … claiming that she is not ready to settle down. Imagine Martin's surprise when, a few months later, and still hoping for a reconciliation, he instead receives an invitation to Roxanne's wedding! Not only does this come as a shock, he now has to decide whether to stay away and confirm his bereft state, or show up and brave the sight of his beloved entering married bliss with another man. His bes... moret mate, Mike, advises him to go “with a hot chick who's all over you” and so begins a search for the perfect candidate (or candid date) via an internet dating service, something Martin dislikes profoundly. After yet another prospective instant girlfriend fails to click, Frances and Martin meet and their story begins.The set-up is not altogether original, but what Dermot Davis does with it is rather special. A mirror image to the storyline from his other book “The Younger Man”, this is the male perspective of the same events. For me, a female, it was fascinating to be allowed inside Martin's head, although he does sound a little immature for his age. Frances (in her own narrative a depressed victim of men's bad behaviour) here emerges as cool, controlling and somewhat calculating. Despite being needy and unpredictable, she seems to have a magic effect on Martin and, while her spell holds, he is powerless to resist her, whims and all.With “The Younger Man” still fresh in my mind, I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the events I had just followed from Frances' point of view and trying to remember how things were. Martin, although a less complicated personality, seems equally inclined to mull things over and lives a lot inside his own head but he does not carry quite as much baggage as Frances. At least his relationships are working reasonably well and his effect on Frances is just as powerful. She just can't resist his cuteness.As always with this author, the story unfolds with great timing and I found myself fully invested in the main characters, imperfect as they are. Davis has a knack for creating a very interesting supporting cast who contribute both background and vibrant interaction with the protagonists. In fact, my favourite is Steve, a relatively minor player. If you have ever been curious about what men think in romantic situations, this charming, humorous but tender insight into a man's psyche will entertain and enlighten you.
review 2: This book is told from Martin's point of view. He is a some time photographer. His roommate Mike and best beer drinking bud has a girlfriend Gloria who has basically moved in with them. The love of Martin's life just sent him her wedding invitation. Should he go or not? He decides he'll go if he can find a "hot" date to bring with him. So he enters the internet dating scene. He crashes and burns 3 times in a row at the same restaurant. Worse, an older woman is there eating alone and sees each failure. As he leaves the third date before he even gets a chance to eat, he asks the woman if he can join her. She is Frances and 14 years older than he is. At first the age difference puts him off, but then he likes the way they can talk and talk. She invites him to a party. They become sexually involved. She brings him to meet her very dysfunctional family. Some times he wonders why he is with her and other times he is so into her it scares him. Then she starts reading relationship books, wants them to try tantric sex, attend a relationship seminar. They have a misunderstanding and he returns to his apartment to find Mike drinking away his sorrows, Gloria dumped him. They decide to go to Roxanne's wedding together. But Frances is there as well. Why? Because Martin had invited her and she always keeps her dates/promises. They decide to show off for Roxanne's benefit and they dirty dance the night away. Then off for some Tantric Sex.Reading "romance" from a male perspective was interesting. But I'm not sure Martin was a typical male. At the beginning of the book he was taking photos (on his own time) of couples in love. After his break up with Frances he started taking photos of sunsets. Martin seemed like he was just drifting through life. Took jobs when they were offered, didn't really seem career oriented. Mike was his best friend, but he really had no one with Gloria on the scene. After Roxanne he was too busy missing her/their relationship to get out there and date. And then when he wanted a date, the whole dating scene wasn't working for him. Frances was needy, but she was also older and seemed to lead Martin around, maybe he was at the place where he needed a leader to his follower, or maybe he was never meant to be a strong, career oriented, leader, mate - all the things most romance books say a male needs to be.As I rated it, the book was OK, some interest for me, but I wasn't that into Martin or his relationships. He and they were all kind of shallow. less

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