Try by Ella Frank

Try by Ella Frank is … well, gay porn. I’t’s masquerading as a love story though, so it’s kind of great that way.

Anyway, this is not a book where the plot is what matters. However, it could have been. It’s about the sizzling, instant attraction between the bisexual Logan and the, up until now, straight Tate. Tate, trying to get back on his feet after a messy marriage finds himself inexplicably distracted by the handsome, cocky as hell, lawyer Logan who frequents the bar where Tate just started working as a bartender. And Logan seems to have set his eyes on Tate.

The plot development could have been awesome. Tate’s family is rather religious and old-fashioned. Logan has quite the troubled past and is a notorious man-whore with a fear of relationships. And finally, Tate’s soon-to-be ex-wife has engaged Logan’s firm to handle her’s and Tate’s divorce. So, clearly it’s the perfect setting for some juicy, shit-meet-fan drama. But even though the story touches on these issues, it’s only in the very end of the book and in a very unresolved way.

Instead, most of the story describes Logan’s pursuit of Tate and boatloads of sexual encounters. This wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing, but the overly aggressive way that Logan tries to convince Tate to give him a try is rather disturbing. To me at least. There are lots of manhandling, capturing and pressing into walls. There’s physical intimidation and lots of unwanted advances that Tate rejects over and over. So about the first third of the book has a sort of rapey feel to it. Don’t get me wrong, Tate is truly attracted to Logan, but that’s hardly the point. And if Tate had been a woman and not a big, strong guy, it would have been stalking and assault. But since it’s a man that’s being chased, it’s suppose to be okay? Well. I don’t really think so.

But this is fiction so it’s quite alright. It’s just safe to say that I’m obviously not the target reader for this story. I guess many people enjoy that stuff even if I think it’s creepy as heck.

Anyway, when Logan succeeds in his pursuit some serious sexing begins. All the time. All over the place. Over and over again.

Granted, it’s really steamy. But I was expecting a story. Also, I had higher expectations of the character development. Tate’s road to self-discovery is quite beautifully described, but Logan’s character was more or less at a standstill. I mean, he did start as a self-absorbed, relationship-phobic and agreed towards the end to an exclusive relationship, but that’s just external. The descriptions of the inner workings of his mind didn’t really stray from douche-mode very often.

In conclusion, this is a well-written, super sexy read. For the right target audience, a great read even. That audience just isn’t me. There is a sequel to Try, which might be the reason so few of the potential plots were expanded upon. But I don’t think I’ll be reading that sequel.