Release Day Review ~Slim Chance by Jeff Erno
Title: Slim Chance
Author: Jeff Erno
Release Date: June 26, 2017
Category: Contemporary
Pages: 200
Can a man improve his appearance without losing everything good inside him?
Oliver has always been obese and suffered from a negative body image. He’s tried diets before, failing time after time, but he vows this time will be different. As he begins an exercise program, his confidence increases—and so does his interest in his friend and coworker Benjy. Though they bonded long ago over a love of online gaming, it takes a lot of courage for Oliver to share his new body and be intimate with another man.
A passionate romance blooms, but as Oliver nears his goal, it seems he doesn’t need Benjy—with his chronic anxiety and troubled past—now that he’s made attractive new friends at the gym. But not all relationships are equal, and Oliver realizes that Benjy, who loved and supported him when no one else did, is more than a reminder of his old life.
A pleasing appearance means nothing when it hides a lonely, empty heart, and if Oliver cannot decide what’s truly important, he’ll lose what he cherishes most.
4 Stars!
Oliver almost suffers a meltdown when he is trying out a tux for his best friend's wedding. He's always had trouble with his weight and suffers from a negative body image and while he's tried diets and exercise before, seeing how bad it's gotten, he decides to try one more time.
Benjy, his new coworker and friend, is there to support him all the way and slowly, but surely, their relationship changes from friends to lovers. However, as Oliver sheds off the pounds and makes new friends at the gym, he starts seeing Benjy in another not as favorable light, forgetting who was there for him when Oliver needed someone the most.
Frankly, I didn't like Oliver at all. He was, to borrow one of my coblogger's (Tracy) words, a twatwaffle and he didn't deserve a friend or lover like Benjy. There's a scene where he belittles Benjy in which I literally wanted to climb into my kindle and punch him a few times. Grrrr! He made me so angry! I can understand that he didn't like himself, actually hated himself, but he didn't need to be such a jerk to someone who had only loved and supported him from the start. As someone who has suffered through ups and downs with their weight most of the last twenty years of my life, I can understand his depression, his self-deprecation and self-hatred. It still doesn't make me like him or connect with him, or even empathize with him, unfortunately. I actually cheered a bit when he realized how wrong he'd been about his new 'friends', because karma is a bitch and Oliver deserved it.
I loved Benjy, though. He was such a great friend, really encouraging, despite his anxiety problems. I liked that even if he'd been a bit of a doormat with Oliver, he stood his ground when it really counted. I would've liked Oliver to have to put a bit more of an effort to win him back, though.
Overall, the book is well written and I liked seeing Oliver's journey, I would've liked it more if I'd liked Oliver, but others might like him better than I did. Recommendable.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
No comments:
Post a Comment