Blog Tour ~ Midlife Crisis by Rob Rosen ~ (Review, Giveaway + Excerpt)

Blog Tour ~ Midlife Crisis by Rob Rosen ~ (Review, Giveaway + Excerpt)

Title: Midlife Crisis

Author: Rob Rosen

Release Date: August 20th 2016

Genre: Gay fiction, romance, comedy

BLURB

Jack is thirty-five and single once again. He is not, as he as quick to point out, going through a midlife crisis. Still, it would be nice to have a partner, and so he sets out on an adventure to find the one-time love of his life, Bing, a man he hasn’t seen in more than fifteen years, a man who has seemingly vanished off the face of the planet. With the help of his family and friends, not to mention the family dog and his high school bully, he goes searching for Bing, only to unearth an ages-old mystery that puts them all in grave danger. In this hysterically funny tale, the question remains right on up to the surprise ending: can we return to our past in order to better our future?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30992218-midlife-crisis?ac=1&from_search=true

Buy Links: Amazon | B&N

Reviews:

"If you're looking for a humorous and intelligent book to read, Rob Rosen's Midlife Crisis should be on the top of your list. A tale of going back to move forward, as told by Jack, the story's main character, is full of youthful and gay witty repartee balanced with the poignancy that comes with adult life. It will make you laugh out loud one minute and get teary the next. Oh, and if you like a good murder mystery, there's that too. Kudos to Rosen for creating some very memorable characters." - Julian G, Simmons, Narrator,Widdershins audiobook series

"Rob Rosen does madcap gay humor better than anyone else writing today. Midlife Crisis is no exception." - Neil Plakcy, author of The Mahu Investigations

"Can you go home again? Rob Rosen explores the perils and promises of renewing a steamy boyhood affair in this witty romance wrapped in a murder mystery, seasoned with a dash of mature but spicy sex. The answer for his hero Jack seems to be "Yes," but watch out: there may be more "there" there than you think." - Louis Flint Ceci, author of Comfort Me

EXCERPT

“Parsnips?” Greg asked me.

I looked over at him from the living room couch as he in turn poked his head out from the kitchen. “Um, huh?” I said, wondering if this was some new pet name he’d thought of for me, as he was forever coming up with new ones. Last I checked, I was being referred to as Professor.

FYI, I teach business at a local college. My students call me Jack or Mister Nelson. Professor makes me sound a.) old and b.) like a character in a television show. Also FYI, I am neither, though if he had to come up with anything from the latter category, I was rooting for Pepper, a la Angie Dickinson in Police Woman.

“Parsnips,” he repeated, already looking peeved with me, which was, sad to say, par for the course as of late. Par, bogie and eagle, in fact. Heck, let’s just toss in the entire golfing green and call it a day.

In any case, it wasn’t a question or a comment anyone had ever thrown my way. I squinted my eyes as I pondered this. In truth, I hadn’t a clue what a parsnip even was. Had I ever eaten one before? Would I still seem professorial if I asked what the hell one was? Did I even want to ask and risk his wrath, which consisted of him ignoring me the rest of the evening? Greg, you see, hated confrontation―though he loved being a world-class bitch.

“Just to be clear,” I asked, forcing a smile so as to divert the inevitable kerfuffle, “are you asking me if I want some with dinner?”

He matched my squint with a scowl. He started to say something, realized a fight of some kind would probably ensue, took his nine-iron and golf ball, and promptly left that aforementioned course. In other words, Professor zero, kerfuffle one. And yes, we had parsnips with our entirely silent dinner. Yuck.

It started as a hunt for his high school love but quickly became a murder mystery. With the help of his parents and his old high school bully, Jack searches for the truth. 

"So one dead woman, a missing husband, a missing son, a vacant plot of land, and a possible murder cover-up," he reeled off. "That about cover it?" 

"Yep."

Jack is funny!  I wasn't quite sure at first if I liked him, his snarky and sometimes self-deprecating humor was a bit hit or miss in the beginning. There was a lot of that dry and sarcastic banter between the characters. And while I may be in the minority by saying this, it reminded me a little of The Gilmore Girls meets Seinfeld and I was not a fan of The Gilmore Girls. However, 10% in and I found myself chuckling out loud and then I had to admit to myself that I was enjoying it, that I did in fact really like Jack. 

As for Jack's parents, we should all be so lucky. He's got great parents.  Supportive, loyal, fun and a little crazy. Them and their gassy dog Chompers. It wouldn't have been as funny if they were not part of the story. 

I don't want to give anything away because it would kind of ruin the reading experience but I will say that I definitely recommend Midlife Crisis. If you like comedy, mystery and romance you'll like it. There are a few twists and turns and some complete absurdity. But there are also some very relatable moments as well.  If Rob Rosen's other books are this fun to read I am definitely making him a one click author. 

5 Stars!

***A copy of this book was provided by the author/publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review***

About the Author

Rob Rosen is the author of the critically acclaimed novels, Sparkle: The Queerest Book You'll Ever Love, the Lambda Literary Award Nominated Divas Las Vegas, which was the winner of the 2010 TLA Gaybies for Best Gay Fiction, Hot Lava, Southern Fried, the Lambda Literary Award Nominated Queerwolf, Vamp, Queens of the Apocalypse, Creature Comfort, and Fate, winner of the 2016 TRR Readers' Choice Award for Best Gay Romantic Comedy. His short stories have appeared in more than 200 anthologies. You can find 20 of them in his erotic romance anthology, Good & Hot. He is also the editor of Lust in Time: Erotic Romance Through the Ages, Men of the Manor, Best Gay Erotica 2015 and Best Gay Erotica of the Year, Volumes 1 and 2.

Links: Website | Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway:

PDF Copy of Midlife Crisis. 
To Enter: Leave a comment of the blog with your contact information i.e.. Name and email address where you would like the book delivered. We will pick a winner on Sunday Sept 4th.