An Imitation of Life

Title: An Imitation of Life
Author: Karma Eastwick
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (59k words)
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

A Guest Review by Aunt Lynn

THE BLURB

In New York City, Broadway actor Mars Manchester faces two dilemmas, one professional, the other personal…

Although the handsome and talented thespian is discreet yet openly gay when it comes to his family, friends, and agent, he knows his sexual orientation could have a negative impact on landing roles in other mediums. Now that he’s starting to branch off into movie and television work, he worries some producers might hesitate to hire a gay man as a romantic lead if word ever got out. So when Mars lands the role of Wave Benson, a new gay character on the long-running daytime soap opera Destiny’s Storm, a controversial role that could prove challenging and rewarding and shift his career into high gear, he remains fearful that he could get typecast like so many other actors in the business.

And when it comes to his personal life, Mars battles to hold his feelings in check when he falls hopelessly in love with his roommate, another actor by the name of Reed Keeting. Unfortunately, there’s one major stumbling block…Reed is straight. And to make matters even worse, the man has an annoying girlfriend who not only senses Mars’s secret crush on her boyfriend, but delights in making his life miserable at every opportunity. Yet when conversations lead Mars to believe his sexy roommate is perhaps not as straight as he appears, he can’t help recalling his last relationship, one with another “straight man,” that ended in utter disaster.

Will Mars ever find the courage to follow his heart and explore the possibilities of a fulfilling relationship with Reed, or will he remain miserable, allowing one bad love affair to dictate his future? Or will his storyline on Destiny’s Storm, which often seems an imitation of his personal life, give him added encouragement to seek happiness once and for all, especially when Reed also snags a coveted role on the soap…to play his gay lover?

THE REVIEW

An Imitation of Life is the first book by this author that I’ve read (I believe this is her second m/m book), and one that I was conflicted about. There were parts of this relatively light, well-written, humor-laced, not-quite-GFY story that I liked a lot and others that bordered on ruining it for me. I thought that the characterizations, plot and pacing were done well, and without the issues I had, I would have rated this story higher.

The lengthy blurb does cover pretty much what the story is about, so I won’t repeat it. Note that the story is successfully narrated first-person by Mars.

What worked for me:

The protags. I thought both characters were likable, realistic and sympathetic. Burned before by being in a disastrous relationship with a straight man, I got a good sense of worrywart Mars’s internal struggle in wanting Reed, suspecting Reed may be a “straight macho-man with repressed homosexual proclivities” with all of his mixed signals, and not wanting a repeat of his previous experience.

Damn, I felt the tiger inside me preparing to pounce, but I had to leash my desire more than ever right now. I didn’t want to scare him or freak him out, especially since I wasn’t sure what he expected, or just how emotionally prepared he was should something actually happen between us. In my experience with “curious” straight guys, their mouths sometimes said things that their hearts didn’t always mean, and once the playtime ended, then the guilt and regret could set in to destroy friendships. Plus, after my disastrous relationship with Warren, I knew I probably shouldn’t risk participating in what might end up becoming another royal mess that would leave me homeless.

For Reed, I thought the author did a good job letting us get to know this charismatic and genial character with a big heart and bigger…er, tool. His thoughtfulness, kindness, humor, passion all come through, and I had no doubts of his feelings for Mars.

There are few secondary characters, but a standout is Mars’s friend Delia, a chain-smoking, forty-something actress with a potty mouth that doesn’t quit. For the most part, I found her to be a funny, tell-it-like-it-is confidant and advisor to Mars. There is one scene, however, where she goes on a rant and tirade about Mars and a possible relationship with Reed that left me a bit confused as to the necessity for her strong reaction, though in this scene is a very humorous discussion about Pluto.

I thought the plot was believable, and even though Mars has turmoil over his lustful feelings for his supposedly straight friend and roommate, it never ventured too far into angstlandia.

What didn’t:

The minute that Reed’s current girlfriend was introduced late in the first chapter I knew she would be a big problem for me, thus impacting my review. In fact, had I not been reading it for review, I possibly would have put it down right then. Once again we have a m/m book with a problematic female character. Niki, Reed’s jealous, shrill, nasty, harpy of a girlfriend is one of those stereotypical female characters we’ve discussed here on this blog. She is so over-the-top that I was seething by the time our first interaction with her ended, and in my opinion, the story both suffered because of her and could have easily been just fine without her. There are some readers who will disagree with me, think that perhaps she is funny, that that author parodied soap characterss in her inclusion, but for me, the character prevented me from rating this book higher.

Some smaller issues: I had some mixed feelings about the parallels Mars and Reed had with the characters/plotline on the soap, which felt to me a bit contrived and convenient, though I suspect others may not feel the same. There is a lot of description about being an actor — the difficulty finding jobs, getting into character, auditioning, practicing, etc. — that, while I didn’t have much problem with, some readers may find the details unnecessary. Lastly, I found a few editing errors that while not bothersome, were noticeable.

OVERALL

If you can deal with an over-the-top harpy as a secondary character in an otherwise good story, I would recommend this book to those interested in the genre. As usual, mine is just one opinion in a sea of many, and I welcome differing views.