Scan barcode
A review by ariadna
The Imperfection of Swans by Brandon Witt
4.0
Actual rating is 4.7
This story is about Kevin, a man in his late 30s who has always dreamed of having a bridal dress shop.
This story is also about Casper who is currently the head pastry chef of a fancy restaurant and whose main goal in life is to one day own a bakery.
After a chance meeting, Kevin and Casper partner up to open a bridal dress shop/bakery. Together, they feel ready to handle all the obstacles in their way (such as financial hiccups and slow building contractors). The toughest one to overcome will be Kevin's inner demons...
You know that feeling when you're reading a book that's SO GOOD you're grinning and basically doing the emotional version of curling up because you're filled with all kinds of sparkly emotions? Because that's EXACTLY what happened when I read this wonderful novel.
Aaaaaah! *_______*
What I liked
+ That cover!
I knew that I just HAD to read this as soon as I saw that beautiful cover art. Interesting side note: the man on the cover is the author's BFF. His name is Kevin and his story was the main inspiration for this book.
+ The plot
This is a slow burning romance. More than that, however, it's Kevin's story. Even though there's dual POV, we learn a lot about who the real Kevin is. And Witt does that without sacrificing characterization (meaning that everyone is portrayed as a real human being), romance (I dare you not to get all starry-eyed at Kevin and Casper), and humour (I love snarky characters).
I truly appreciated that Witt chose not to make Scott (Kevin's ex-husband) a villain. People can love each other and yet end up breaking up a relationship because they want different things. It would've been easy to make Scott a despicable character, but the author knew that wouldn't help the story.
Another thing that I totes give this book thumbs up for was that Witt showed how normal same-sex marriages are without making a big deal about them. Not only are Kevin's mothers married to each other, but Kevin himself was once married to a guy. It was neat to see that, regardless of sexual orientation or gender, marriage is work.
+ The female characters are AWESOME
There's Noelle and Renata (Kevin's moms), Devina Malloy (an African-American designer), Annie (whose main scene could've gone stereotypically bad ONLY IT DIDN'T. #THANKYOUBRANDONWITT), and Charu (Casper's BFF who is--are you ready for this?--another woman of color)
All of them were great in their own ways and, once again, had real life behaviours that added to my overall love for this novel.
+ Kevin's mental illness
Witt did a superb job in depicting Kevin's ongoing struggle with both anxiety and an eating disorder. None of it was sensationalized and that's what made me cheer Kevin on as he took steps toward getting help.
Kevin's suffering intensified in the latter part of the book to such a point that I began to fear for his life.
I've read other reviewers commenting on their suspicions that someone like Kevin could've hidden his eating disorder for so long. To me, it seemed plausible.
+ The romance
So much flirting and banter! Kevin and Casper had an "adorable yet sexy" vibe that gave me ten kinds of feels.
It was interesting to see them together after seeing them with other people. ;)
Two things worth noting:
1. It takes a while for Kevin and Casper to get together.
I didn't mind because there's a lot of plot to wade through. Once they do become a couple, things kinda speed up. This is something that's brought up a few times in the last 1/3 of the book. I feel that it made sense for who Kevin and Casper were (although I might be a tad more skeptical about people getting so serious that fast in real life/offline life).
2. There are a handful of foreplay but all of the sex scenes are fade to black.
Personally, it didn't bother me that all the sex happened "in between paragraphs" as it were. It's true that it would've been nice (based on the glimpses we got, Kevin and Casper have hella enthusiastic sex). OTOH, I didn't exactly it miss it.
Was there ANYTHING I didn't like about this book?
- I wasn't a fan of Renata (Kevin's mom). Her personality was a tad too abrasive for me. It was neat that we got to see a more vulnerable side to her later in the novel, but she kinda raised my hackles more than a few times.
- Casper's family (or, the lack of)
With the exception of one brief and tense phone conversation, Casper's parents don't appear in the book. We do learn that Casper is estranged from them (and I know that happens in real life).
- The sushi restaurant's contempt for Kevin and Casper's business
I'm not sure what exactly was the purpose of having Mr. Russo complaining about Bella Dolce. In a way, I kinda thought it was a set-up for a scene with some kind of homophobic violence.
But then, after a brief mention of the sushi restaurant trying to block Bella Dolce, we get that super random moment when the owner shows up all pissed off and basically checks out that a bakery won't be serving sushi. It was bizarre, I'm saying.
- The pacing at the beginning.
The premise was good. IMHO, the story didn't take off until the 20% mark. So, it was a tad of a bumpy ride until I was like "OK, I'M IN!"
TL;DR: This is a great book. One filled with realistic characters, a neat balance of angst and fluff, and a premise that is explored in a thoughtful way. The lack of on-screen sexy times might be a dealbreaker to some. I think they'd be missing out on one of the best reads this year.
This story is about Kevin, a man in his late 30s who has always dreamed of having a bridal dress shop.
This story is also about Casper who is currently the head pastry chef of a fancy restaurant and whose main goal in life is to one day own a bakery.
After a chance meeting, Kevin and Casper partner up to open a bridal dress shop/bakery. Together, they feel ready to handle all the obstacles in their way (such as financial hiccups and slow building contractors). The toughest one to overcome will be Kevin's inner demons...
You know that feeling when you're reading a book that's SO GOOD you're grinning and basically doing the emotional version of curling up because you're filled with all kinds of sparkly emotions? Because that's EXACTLY what happened when I read this wonderful novel.
Aaaaaah! *_______*
What I liked
+ That cover!
I knew that I just HAD to read this as soon as I saw that beautiful cover art. Interesting side note: the man on the cover is the author's BFF. His name is Kevin and his story was the main inspiration for this book.
+ The plot
This is a slow burning romance. More than that, however, it's Kevin's story. Even though there's dual POV, we learn a lot about who the real Kevin is. And Witt does that without sacrificing characterization (meaning that everyone is portrayed as a real human being), romance (I dare you not to get all starry-eyed at Kevin and Casper), and humour (I love snarky characters).
I truly appreciated that Witt chose not to make Scott (Kevin's ex-husband) a villain. People can love each other and yet end up breaking up a relationship because they want different things. It would've been easy to make Scott a despicable character, but the author knew that wouldn't help the story.
Another thing that I totes give this book thumbs up for was that Witt showed how normal same-sex marriages are without making a big deal about them. Not only are Kevin's mothers married to each other, but Kevin himself was once married to a guy. It was neat to see that, regardless of sexual orientation or gender, marriage is work.
+ The female characters are AWESOME
There's Noelle and Renata (Kevin's moms), Devina Malloy (an African-American designer), Annie (whose main scene could've gone stereotypically bad ONLY IT DIDN'T. #THANKYOUBRANDONWITT), and Charu (Casper's BFF who is--are you ready for this?--another woman of color)
All of them were great in their own ways and, once again, had real life behaviours that added to my overall love for this novel.
+ Kevin's mental illness
Witt did a superb job in depicting Kevin's ongoing struggle with both anxiety and an eating disorder. None of it was sensationalized and that's what made me cheer Kevin on as he took steps toward getting help.
Kevin's suffering intensified in the latter part of the book to such a point that I began to fear for his life.
I've read other reviewers commenting on their suspicions that someone like Kevin could've hidden his eating disorder for so long. To me, it seemed plausible.
+ The romance
So much flirting and banter! Kevin and Casper had an "adorable yet sexy" vibe that gave me ten kinds of feels.
It was interesting to see them together after seeing them with other people. ;)
Two things worth noting:
1. It takes a while for Kevin and Casper to get together.
I didn't mind because there's a lot of plot to wade through. Once they do become a couple, things kinda speed up. This is something that's brought up a few times in the last 1/3 of the book. I feel that it made sense for who Kevin and Casper were (although I might be a tad more skeptical about people getting so serious that fast in real life/offline life).
2. There are a handful of foreplay but all of the sex scenes are fade to black.
Personally, it didn't bother me that all the sex happened "in between paragraphs" as it were. It's true that it would've been nice (based on the glimpses we got, Kevin and Casper have hella enthusiastic sex). OTOH, I didn't exactly it miss it.
Was there ANYTHING I didn't like about this book?
- I wasn't a fan of Renata (Kevin's mom). Her personality was a tad too abrasive for me. It was neat that we got to see a more vulnerable side to her later in the novel, but she kinda raised my hackles more than a few times.
- Casper's family (or, the lack of)
With the exception of one brief and tense phone conversation, Casper's parents don't appear in the book. We do learn that Casper is estranged from them (and I know that happens in real life).
- The sushi restaurant's contempt for Kevin and Casper's business
But then, after a brief mention of the sushi restaurant trying to block Bella Dolce, we get that super random moment when the owner shows up all pissed off and basically checks out that a bakery won't be serving sushi. It was bizarre, I'm saying.
- The pacing at the beginning.
The premise was good. IMHO, the story didn't take off until the 20% mark. So, it was a tad of a bumpy ride until I was like "OK, I'M IN!"
TL;DR: This is a great book. One filled with realistic characters, a neat balance of angst and fluff, and a premise that is explored in a thoughtful way. The lack of on-screen sexy times might be a dealbreaker to some. I think they'd be missing out on one of the best reads this year.