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Tigri E Diavoli (2014)

by Sean Kennedy(Favorite Author)

3.53 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Dreamspinner Press

series

Tigers and Devils

review 1: Simon Murry is the manager of a film festival in Melbourne, he and his best friend Roger are avid football supporters, Australian Rules football that is, although they now support different teams; that and his work are what matter to Simon. Somewhat settled in his ways as a single and openly gay young man, Roger and his wife Fran look to ways to bring him out of himself, and it is on one such occasion that they persuade him to attend a party that he meets Declan Tyler, handsome supposedly heterosexual star football player. Although in typical Simon fashion their first meeting is not what one might call ideal, not helped as Declan does not play for Simon's chosen team, such that when Declan later singles him out the last thing on Simon's mind is a burgeoning romance, but th... moreat is exactly what soon follows.Simon narrates the story of their meeting and subsequent romance, and we follow the couple through their first awkward days as they try to share their lives while maintaining Declan's secret, not an easy task given Declan's fame and instantly recognisable face. While they have the support of Roger and Fran, and it soon appears one or two others, often the biggest problem is Simon himself. Independent, never easy on himself, with quick and acerbic wit he is frequently the cause of his own downfall, and when the inevitable happens and Declan's gay life is publicly revealed along with all its implications, the last thing they need is Simon's fast temperament.Tigers and Devils is a charming M/M love story. Sean Kennedy has created two memorable characters in sometimes recalcitrant Simon and the delightful Declan, along with their well drawn and individual friends and colleagues. He tells the story with considerable humour yet without diminishing the human side. He succeeds in producing a most touching love story, one that is never in danger of being mawkish; much of the time it requires nothing more than the interaction of the two lovers to maintain interest, but that is not to say there is no drama here either. Kennedy's consistent misuse of the personal pronoun does tend to grate, along with other occasional errors, but that aside this is a most appealing read. I hope we can look forward to more from Sean Kennedy, especially if he can sort out his pronouns.
review 2: This is a bit tough to write because I feel somewhat mixed about this book. I liked the characters, the story line, and the writing--I think it earned four stars--but I also had to take a break from the book at about 70% through because some things, like both Simon's and Declan's lack of development for most of the book (they always reverted to the same behavior when they had troubles or disagreements, either running away, not talking, or blaming each other, over and over and over again), or like the fact that the story began to skip chunks of time and then would go back and explain some of what went on instead of letting us experience the scenes, got to be annoying by the last 40 or 30%. (E.g. even though the book spanned over a year, it didn't feel like I experienced all of that time with them.)But other than those bits, I enjoyed the plot, especially how they met and how their relationship grew; I enjoyed their friends and had quite a few laughs delivered via the bickering (and a fair bit of wisdom too); and even though I sometimes didn't see the love, I still always liked Dec and Simon together. They were a complicated couple, both stuck in old behavioral patterns that caused a lot of (unnecessary) trouble and took a long time to work out. But they kept coming back for more after being stubborn bullheads off by themselves for a while, and learned how to actually talk to each their partner at the end, so I was happy about all that.It's a good book despite its faults, and I'm still going to eventually read the sequel, just not for a while ;)I recommend this book if you like sports, some angst, bullheaded men, and/or great friends. It was actually a much more fun read than this has made it sound, sorry 'bout that(!), but it ain't the best either. See the middle ground I'm on? Mixed feelings, I told ya a few lines back. Love the cover though, all the way. less

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