Domestic Relations by K-Lee Klein
Less Than Three Press
Novella: 137pgs
3.25 Pants Off
Blurb:
Life has thrown a lot at Riley, most of it bad. But Riley is nothing if not stubborn, and though it left scars, he's managed to overcome the worst parts of his life. Not all of his problems are gone, but life is certainly better than it's ever been. Most of his strength and happiness is due to his boyfriend Josh, the best thing that life has given him, and Riley will do anything to keep him at his side.
But when past and present collide, and the problems become too much for Riley to contain or control, Josh is the very thing he stands most to lose
Review:
It all begins with a court scene and there’s not a lot of stories featuring two gay lawyers, so I was looking forward to this one! The characters were interesting and the story flow was good, but it's a tad much sugar for me, with just a bit of angst. I was prepared to like this story; I liked the blurb and the setting, two lovers having problems with their relationship because one is keeping secrets sounded promising, at least to me.
Riley, does not like his boss, he is harassed in his job and the stress is killing him, or at least harming his health. His lover Josh is very caring and of course, he is worried about Riley, especially because of Riley's strange behaviour as of late, which Josh attributes to his job.
There is a big build up about Riley's secret, which I do not understand, it's nothing that should be kept away from a lover especially, since it has the potential to harm said lover. For all the secrecy and the build up, the whole issue was solved easily and with a minimum of drama, which I found disappointing and a let down. Also, I did not understand Riley’s reasons for the secrecy.
On the plus side, the relationship was very sweet, as were their interactions with each other, there was some chemistry and well the ending did fit in with the sweet theme. Another good point was that Riley did manage to stand up to his boss.
Oh but I did say a bit to saccharine for my taste, right? There is such a thing as too much of a good thing: Riley has a trust fund, his father goes to jail (still don’t really understand that one and why it would be so easy at the end). His boss is exposed for his misdeeds and they open their own law-firm, which is doing well, a marriage proposal and even the one gay client they had, who was fired works for them. I missed some sort of reality.
It’s a nice story to read, mostly sweet without a lot of angst but with a bit of drama in the middle, good writing but the story does miss the bang I was expecting.
