Review- A Man Like Mac

A Man Like Mac
by Fay Robinson

This book is frequently found on lists about disabled heroes, particularly on positively rendered disabled heroes. It was published in 2000 and is not actually released as an eBook nor is it currently in print. While there are plenty of used copies for very cheap, isn't it better to be able to get things for free? So, I found a copy of this on OpenLibrary. It's available to anyone for check out with a free OpenLibrary account. There is only one copy so if you are looking for it, you may have a bit of a wait, but still, free is free.

So first, practical considerations. This is a scanned copy of an older book, so you will definitely want to read in browser or download the PDF version. It's well scanned and clear to read, but the color if the pages and some slight text fading is likely to make OCR text recognition for the epub version rather dodgy.

As for the story itself, it's pretty good. Mac agrees to train Keely following a devastating accident despite the fact that he knows she'll never run professionally again. Keely isn't a particularly sympathetic character, so that balances out the rather heart breaking situation so this isn't an overly saccharine book. Mac isn't perfect either, he's a little too irritatingly self-sacrificing and a bit too manipulative with Keely. He also has some of the worst timing known to man. I enjoyed how prosaically their respective disabilities were treated both in general life and in their intimate lives. It's discussed very frankly and in fact, there's one extremely humorous situation where Keely does something completely crazy to make Mac feel better when something embarrassing happens. There's also no magic cure for either of them. They certainly get their happily ever after, and their own version of miracles (It is a Harlequin Superromance after all), but they're practical and plausible sorry if miracle, which is refreshing in a romance novel.

If I were strictly rating this based on writing style and characterization I'd probably rate this 3 stars, but the deft handling of the disability gives added depth to what would otherwise be a somewhat mediocre book so I'm giving it a solid 4 stars.

Review-Beyond Repair

Beyond Repair
by Charlotte Stein

I picked this up after reading this blog post.

I'm not going to say much about the plot because honestly that's not the important thing here. It's the dialogue and Alice's inner monologue. It's the most fantastically comical surrealistic thing I've read in quite some time.

“Can you blame me? Your face is what magic would look like, if it were real. Harry Potter could probably use your jaw to destroy Voldemort.”

“Just ignore my voice. There’s a frightened nun living in my throat.”

“Is it weird if I find that weird?” “I think it’d be weird if you didn’t. I’m some stranger, soaking himself in your bathtub while you’re passed out on the bed. Sounds like the start of a horrible Lifetime movie about a crazed hobo.”

“Well, okay. Maybe not perfectly normal. You know in that movie Shame when he’s wandering around with it dangling away and everyone did a collective gasp? It’s kind of like that. I have a lot of excessive dangle. And you just can’t show excessive dangle in a romantic drama. Arthouse only, for sudden shocking penis.”

“I swear, I only do that if you don’t put the lotion on your skin.” She paused, pretending to consider. “Or is that when you get the hose again?”

(OK, maybe I'm the only creepy geeky one around here?)

Yes, yes, I know. There's a ton of angst, emotions all over the place, phobias, and suicidal ideation. There's also a rather real and gripping look through the eyes of a disable heroine, including what seems to me, a realistic depiction of a sexual relationship that actual includes the disability. While that's all well done, it's not what did it for me with this story. It was as if a big bag of sex got dumped right on top of an enormous pile of angsty nerddom. I didn't even have to spare any concentration on willful suspension of disbelief over the completely ridiculous plot device/story line that got them together and kept them together. I just didn't even care, and that's unusual for me when it comes to contemporaries. I hate to gush, especially when most everyone else is gushing, (I'm contrary that way) but I really enjoyed this book.

So a solid 4 stars, a new author I'll be checking out, and a thank you to Dear Author for putting this book out there.