Out by Cara Dee: Quick Review

“I guess I always figured coming out was something you did for friends and family, and maybe it is, but it’s personal too, you know? The person I was last night is new. I wanna get to know him.”

I had two things on my list when I arrived in Los Angeles. One, track down Henry Bennington, the uncle and guardian of my little brother’s best friend, and tell him to get his ass back to Washington. He needed to do something about his nephew, who was turning into a douchebag. And two, figure out just how non-straight I was. For the past two years, I’d had all these fantasies, and now was the time to explore them, far away from my sleepy little town.

Nowhere on this list did it say, “Get Ty’s uncle into bed and fall for him.” I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with another city either. But between brunch, making new friends, and discovering the man I was meant to be, I lost sight of the future that had once seemed pretty damn vivid. How the hell was I supposed to merge my old life and who I used to be with the new dreams Los Angeles and Henry had awakened in me?

(Standalone.)

Amazon

Kobo Books

 

One thing I love about the Camassia Cove novels is they truly can standalone. Yes, that’s a common claim, but Cara Dee somehow manages to tie the novels together just enough that you need to keep reading them without losing readers who jump in out of order.

There were times during Out when I wondered why Zach was so invested in finding Tyler’s uncle. I’m still not sure I completely understand why he went to such great lengths to find the guardian of his brother’s best friend, but I’m glad he did.

Henry and his friend/neighbor Martin are definitely characters. If they were older, they could easily be the old men sitting on the front porch, complaining about the things kids get up to these days. At times, Martin felt a bit overdone and camp, but even that worked. He was Zach’s guide through this new, gay world he was finally exploring.

Tyler, oh Tyler… I wanted to slap him. Often. He was a pretentious little jerk, but he had his reasons. I promise, there were reasons there. And in the end, I was pleasantly surprised by his attitude adjustment.

I will admit I felt as if the book ended abruptly, but there’s a note from Cara at the end explaining why as well as what she’s going to do about it. But I promise you, you will finish the last page knowing Henry and Zach have found their place in the world and everything is going to be okay.

4 pieces of eye candy