Thursday, November 29, 2012

Book Review: Loving Samuel by Martin Delacroix

2.5 stars

Nick leads a pretty solitary life in Florida, but he chooses to live that way. He's witnessed such skewed and warped examples of love and commitment that he wants none of it, content with one-night stands and never getting too close. Even though loneliness often gets to him, he'd rather have that than a broken heart, a bruised face or a jealous stalker waiting in the wings. While on a surfing trip in Costa Rica, Nick meets Samuel, a gorgeous guy who makes him feel and want things he's never wanted before. After a passionate and life-changing night together, Samuel disappears, leaving Nick heartbroken and even more determined to never give his heart to another.

Although quite short, this novella is filled with angst, drama and a little romance. I occasionally found it difficult to follow the story because of typos, and became a little frustrated with the repetitiveness of the sex scenes. The same terms, phrases and descriptions were used over and over.

I also found it very difficult to sympathize Samuel's situation. Domestic violence is a very difficult thing to overcome, but I think Samuel substituted one unhealthy relationship with another. The only difference was that there was no violence involved with Nick. Samuel was very needy, dependent and at times very selfish. At one point he seemed to be progressing and the next he regressed and was falling back into the same patterns. I truly believe he thought that having Nick nearby would solve all his problems; instead it only created new ones for Nick. It was weird how Nick ended up being involved with someone who embodied everything he didn't want in a relationship, which is very sad.

~ M

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