Good Question, Dawn Kimberly Johnson

 

 

A romantic M/M that is essentially a sweet read.

- Review by Kazza K



A lovely cover.

Good Question is an interesting book. It is the development of a relationship between Jamison Coburn, a blue collar tradie, and Lonnie Bellerose, a university masters student in fine art. Jamison is a quiet and almost scary looking guy and Lonnie is unsure and klutzy. Both have some reasons to doubt themselves. But Lonnie sees more to Jamison than a tough exterior and Jamison sees a nice soul in Lonnie.


What I liked -

I liked that the MC's were not white and there was no stereotyping. I want to put it on record that I loathe it when authors think a dark skinned person = ghetto or hood speak. I feel that there is this kind of profiling that takes place, which I personally find offensive. Not the case with Good Question. Jamison Coburn is an African-American and Lonnie Bellerose is the son of an interracial couple. Both men spoke well and appropriately for who/what they were. Lonnie a university masters student in art, from a more middle income family, and Jamison a man who works with his hands from a working class family that has lost its major breadwinner.

I liked that there was something that the men had in common, they both created things - Lonnie through his art and Jamison through building furniture on the side.

The relationship was sweet, and if you like romance-based M/M reading over sex then this book should appeal as the sex is off page, except for one very short description of a blowjob.

Technically I can't fault the writing. It is well edited, the grammar sound.

The MC's were nice enough, although not quite three dimensional for me.

The secondary characters were good. The university professor that Lonnie spoke to was practical and kind. Amber, Lonnie's twin sister and his brother-in-law, Claude, were nice family to have. Jamison had a bit more of a difficult time coming out, which, to me, would make sense. His best friend has his, er, moments. His mum quite religious.


What didn't work so much for me -

The "L" word got thrown out there way too soon. I know it is a short ebook but after a weekend, and Jamison is not even out of the closet, he is declaring his love for Lonnie. That didn't work for me.

I wanted something more. There was no sex, to speak of, there was no drama, there was no murder/ mystery or psychological issues. There was nothing to really hook me and invest me emotionally in the book. It didn't stand out in any way. There was not enough character development to drive what is, essentially, a character driven story.

The characters, whilst nice, were lacking that extra dimension to make me feel their relationship. Was it nice? Sure. But nothing stood out. It blends with many others in the market, apart from the fact that the MC's were not white, which is often the case, sadly.

The backstory for both men was not fully developed - Lonnie with his grandfather and past partner.  Jamison with his father, and even his mother to a certain extent.

Overall -

If you are looking for a nice, sweet romance, where there is no drama, no screaming caricatures of women, no real homophobes - Jamison's best friend used the word 'fag,' but he came around very quickly - that has a HEA and is nicely written, then I recommend Good Question to you.

This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press in return for an honest review.