New York Heat by Cameron D. JamesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
3.5 Stars
There were so many facets to this book, it's difficult to know where to begin. For me, it was really awe inspiring the way that the story took place around five distinct couples, plus a myriad of other characters in relation to the New York Club 21.
The story starts with Dan taking over as the new owner of the club. He's kept most of the staff and hires a few more, which includes 3 go-go boys, 2 bartenders, DJ Heat and Gabriel, the bouncer.
Each person has their own story and each story revolves around love, loss, tragedy, overcoming obstacles and becoming a family. It also mirrors a tragedy that happened in our own history, with the shooting of a gay club.
Honestly, this was really well done. It was easy to keep track of the characters, even though there were so many of them. I really enjoyed the background and individuality between them all. They really banded and took care of each other, which was impressive.
There were some things, though, that made it miss the mark of perfection, at least for me. One thing that went a bit overboard for me was the sex. To the point where I was skimming to get through the scenes. There was just so much of it.
Also, the plot seemed to get lost as the book progressed. I felt like yes, it was great to get to know each character, but at one point I had no idea what the book was trying to accomplish.
I loved the scene at the end after the shooting when the entire community rallied together to support LGBTQ rights and Dan was able to rebuild. It was a great way to finish the story off and was humbling to feel the love.
*Galley copy generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. Cross posted to http://gaybook.reviews/ *
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