Title: The Impossible Boy
Author: Anna Martin
Page count: 204 pages
Genre: M/M Romance, Contemporary
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Blurb:
This is not your average love story.
Ben Easton is not your average romantic hero. He’s a tattooed, badass, wannabe rock star, working in a perfectly horrible dive bar in Camden Town. His life is good, and he’s totally unprepared for how one man will turn it upside down.
Stan isn’t your average heroine. As a gender-fluid man, he proudly wears his blond hair long, his heels sky-high, and his makeup perfectly executed. A fashion industry prodigy, Stan is in London after stints working in Italy and New York City, and he quickly falls for Ben’s devil-may-care attitude and the warm, soft heart Ben hides behind it.
Beneath the perfect, elegant exterior, Stan has plenty of scars from teenage battles with anorexia. And it only takes the slightest slip for his demons to rush back in while Ben is away touring with his band. With the band on the brink of a breakthrough, Ben is forced to find a way to balance the opportunity of a lifetime with caring for his beautiful boyfriend.
So I was in a book slump for the past week, I tried reading a few books, but couldn’t really get into them. I was pretty frustrated, but I wasn’t going to give up! So I picked up this book, didn’t really read anything about it (except for it’s blurb) and started it.
I’m so glad I did! This book is just fabulous and I love it to pieces.
I’m kind of suprised that I liked it so much actually, because this book is so simple and real. I mean that it’s not dramatic, not overly funny, not that angsty, and there’s no major conflict. This is a simple story about two people falling in love, and usually I live for the drama and angst. But still, this story just worked for me. The progression of the relationship felt so natural and real, I felt like I was there. It was a pleasure to read.
Stan is originally from Russia, he currently lives in London and works for a fashion magazine. He’s a little different from most people, he looks like a girl, and love to dress like girl, but he’s not transgender. He’s a girl, but he’s also a boy. He’s gender-fluid, and doesn’t hide it, so sometimes people find him weird and confusing. But he doesn’t really care, he lives the way he wants to live.
Ben in a bartender, musician and a tutor. He first meets Stan when he serves him drinks, and is awed by his beauty. When Stan leaves him his number, he obviously calls, and they start a slow-paced relationship. Ben doesn’t care that Stan is gender-fluid, he just likes him for who he is. Stan is not used to such acceptance, and can’t help but slowly fall in love with the kind and gorgeous man.
As I said, their relationship is slow-paced, but that’s why it felt so real. You can feel the awkwardness and the excitement of the first dates, and the deeper emotions that develop from there. There’s no relationship angst, but their love is so strong that even the little things they do can make you feel all emotional. For example: when Stan bought Ben a bunny doll so he’ll have something to hold at night while he’s on tour, I nearly cried. For real.
The second part is the more emotional part. Stan in an ex-anorexic, and he relapses again. Ben has to deal with the outcome, and we get to see how it affects their relationship. But even though it was sad, it wasn’t too angsty, and I appreciated it. Dealing with this issue only made them stronger, and I loved it.
Also, a shout out to the secondary characters, they were awesome! Especially Tone. He’s the best bff EVER.
Overall, this is a lovely story about love and acceptance and I adore it. It goes straight to my favorites shelf, and I will definitely read it again. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
