Title: Reflections
Author: Barry Brennessel
Length: 18,000 words
Publisher: MLR Press
Genre: m/m contemporary romance
Rating: B-
Blurb:
Brian Caleb made a lot of mistakes chasing his first love. A fleeting, confusing love that disappeared forever. He wishes it were a lifetime ago, but the pain is fresh and raw. Now he’s running away from love. And everything else in his life.
Then a chance encounter takes an unexpected turn: Brian finds himself falling for someone after something falls on someone!
They say true love comes when you’re not looking for it. That’s precisely what scares Brian. Can he find the courage to follow his heart again?
Review:
This was a most unusual story with a main character who trod the line between sympathetic and unsympathetic. It was only the knowledge that he had no idea how his behaviour could be seen as negative that saved him as a character in my eyes.
Brian is an American who is living in France to study the language. He meets a Czech man with whom he has a whirlwind affair and falls in love. When things fall apart it leaves Brian very hurt inside and very broke from a foolish attempt to chase down his lover. Back in the USA he meets an old classmate, Jason, but is so wary of love and so emotionally bruised that things are not plain sailing for the pair.
From the blurb and from my description above you would think that Brian is a very delicate person emotionally. Actually that’s not the case at all. His problems are all of his own making due to being brought up in an emotionally cold environment. In some ways this makes him emotionally stunted and he doesn’t understand the need to open up and tell people how he is feeling. Instead he’s so afraid of pushing people away by being too keen and enthusiastic, he clams up and thus ends up doing just what he’s trying to avoid. I felt very sorry for Brian whilst also being annoyed with him over his behaviour. Brian also has a tendency to avoid problems by running away, and it was nice to see this change as the story progresses.
Brian captivated me as a character and yet he also annoyed me. I didn’t like him for much of the book, wanting to shake him and tell him to stop being so foolish and self involved, but I also wished him well and wanted him to find love and heal.
I had some problems with the story, especially the plot which moved about all over the place and contained a few pointless scenes – the whole section in Tokyo for example, was a bit baffling to me. I also found the characters of Brian’s sister and aunt grated on my nerves.
Having said that, the character of Brian, despite his many problems, stayed with me long after I finished the story which doesn’t happen all that often. This means that I’d happily recommend this story for those who are not necessarily looking for an easy read but would like something a little different with an anti-hero character.
Brief Encounters 
Thanks Jen! I’m excited to read this story now 🙂 I may have been on the fence from the review, since I’m not sure how much I’ll like the story. But, I’ve enjoyed Barry Brennessel’s writing in the past, so I’ll definitely read this one. Thanks again!
I’ve enjoyed books by this author and this story is definitely worth reading. You’re welcome, Cole :).
Hmm. Sounds interesting. Sometimes different is good and as you said, when you find yourself thinking about a character well after you’ve closed the file, you know it had an impact. I might have to check it out.
It was quite interesting, Tam. I read so many books that sometimes I’m hard pressed to remember most of what I’ve read! This book was an exception.
Maybe! 🙂
LOL, Chris! Well, I hope you like it, if you decide to take a chance.
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