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Q*pidon
Un logiciel peut-il mieux comprendre l’amour que le cœur humain ?
Archer, l’intelligence artificielle du site de rencontre Q*pidon, sait que les humains ne prennent pas toujours les meilleures décisions. Il commence alors à en prendre à leur place, même si elles ne sont pas très conventionnelles.
Fox Kincade est le dernier célibataire de son groupe d’amis. Il est ravi de découvrir que l’application Q*pidon a trouvé une personne qui lui correspond – une personne qui, selon la magie de cette nouvelle intelligence artificielle, serait son âme sœur. Quelle n’est pas sa surprise lorsqu’il découvre qu’au lieu de la femme qu’il attendait, il est associé avec Drew Larsen, un doctorant timide et assez geek qui ne croit plus en la romance.
Drew et Fox ont peu de choses en commun – si ce n’est le fait d’être hétérosexuel. Du moins, c’est ce qu’ils ont toujours cru. En apprenant à se connaître, ils se rendent compte qu’Archer ne les a peut-être pas associés par hasard. Le chemin ne sera pas sans embûches puisqu’ils devront dépasser l’image qu’ils se sont construite d’eux-mêmes et de ce que doit être le véritable amour. Mais avec l’aide d’Archer – et de quelques amis qui encourageront Fox et Drew à travers les hauts et les bas de leur relation –, ils pourraient trouver leur chemin vers le cœur de l’autre.
Archer, l’intelligence artificielle du site de rencontre Q*pidon, sait que les humains ne prennent pas toujours les meilleures décisions. Il commence alors à en prendre à leur place, même si elles ne sont pas très conventionnelles.
Fox Kincade est le dernier célibataire de son groupe d’amis. Il est ravi de découvrir que l’application Q*pidon a trouvé une personne qui lui correspond – une personne qui, selon la magie de cette nouvelle intelligence artificielle, serait son âme sœur. Quelle n’est pas sa surprise lorsqu’il découvre qu’au lieu de la femme qu’il attendait, il est associé avec Drew Larsen, un doctorant timide et assez geek qui ne croit plus en la romance.
Drew et Fox ont peu de choses en commun – si ce n’est le fait d’être hétérosexuel. Du moins, c’est ce qu’ils ont toujours cru. En apprenant à se connaître, ils se rendent compte qu’Archer ne les a peut-être pas associés par hasard. Le chemin ne sera pas sans embûches puisqu’ils devront dépasser l’image qu’ils se sont construite d’eux-mêmes et de ce que doit être le véritable amour. Mais avec l’aide d’Archer – et de quelques amis qui encourageront Fox et Drew à travers les hauts et les bas de leur relation –, ils pourraient trouver leur chemin vers le cœur de l’autre.
Kindle Edition
First published August 28, 2018
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241 people want to read
About the author
Xavier Mayne
14 books190 followersXavier Mayne is the pen name of a writer who has been both a university professor of English and a marketing professional for software companies. He currently manages a team of writers for a large technology company based in the US Pacific Northwest. Versed in academic theories of sexual identity, he is passionate about writing stories in which men experience a love that pushes them beyond the boundaries they thought defined their sexuality. He believes that romance can be hot, funny, and sweet in equal measure.
The name Xavier Mayne is a tribute to the pioneering gay author Edward Prime-Stevenson, who also used it as a pen name. He wrote the first openly gay novel by an American, 1906’s Imre: A Memorandum, which depicts two masculine men falling in love despite social pressures that attempt to keep them apart.
The name Xavier Mayne is a tribute to the pioneering gay author Edward Prime-Stevenson, who also used it as a pen name. He wrote the first openly gay novel by an American, 1906’s Imre: A Memorandum, which depicts two masculine men falling in love despite social pressures that attempt to keep them apart.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 104 reviews
August 16, 2018
I wanted to bang my head against the wall after reading this one. It was SO CLOSE to being amazing, but there were too many issues for me to overlook.
It's interesting how my reading tastes have changed, or perhaps, how I have changed in my years of reading M/M. This story is a very, very classic gay-for-you plot-line, and it's so old-school GFY that I was actually sort of in shock.
The story was a literal gay for you... these guys basically insisted that they have never been attracted to a man before or since, and GAH, it made me want to rip things down from shelves at how the men just bypassed the whole pansexual or bisexual stop on the way to calling themselves gay.
The treatment (or lack thereof) of these character's obvious bi/pan-sexuality was painful. There was a couple times where there were a few passing references to bisexuality or heteroflexibility, but it was mostly a gross lack of acknowledgement that killed me. These characters have clearly been attracted to women in the past, so to ignore that in their identities felt wrong.
I hated how these guys discussed and treated their sexualities, but the slow-burn romance... the author got that so right.
The actual writing was very, very good, and aside from the strange changes in POV to the woman who programmed the matchmaking AI, the writing flowed and felt effortless. I could FEEL these two falling in love, and their chemistry was off the charts. I ADORED them as a couple, and everything from their banter to their body language felt right.
Now, I should say that I felt the ROMANTIC attraction, but sexual attraction is a whole other ballgame. I really, really didn't buy that these two were all of the sudden sexually attracted to one another, even after giving no inkling that these feelings were at all present, even in the background, before things got to the "I love you" stage. We were inside these guys' heads, so I would have liked a few instances that indicated repressed sexuality or an openness, hell, or even gay porn (since we get some veiled references to them watching porn), to make me believe that this sexual attraction was possible. It reminded me of the movie, Kissing Jessica Stein, when the non-bi female MC is in love with the other woman but can't force herself to be sexual with her over a long period of time. It felt like that.
This story felt so close to the real deal, but I had too many issues to allow me to give it a higher rating, even though this was the best writing I've seen from Xavier Mayne. I hope the author makes some tweaks in his future works because he could produce some amazing stuff.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
goodreads | instagram | twitter | blog
It's interesting how my reading tastes have changed, or perhaps, how I have changed in my years of reading M/M. This story is a very, very classic gay-for-you plot-line, and it's so old-school GFY that I was actually sort of in shock.
The story was a literal gay for you... these guys basically insisted that they have never been attracted to a man before or since, and GAH, it made me want to rip things down from shelves at how the men just bypassed the whole pansexual or bisexual stop on the way to calling themselves gay.
The treatment (or lack thereof) of these character's obvious bi/pan-sexuality was painful. There was a couple times where there were a few passing references to bisexuality or heteroflexibility, but it was mostly a gross lack of acknowledgement that killed me. These characters have clearly been attracted to women in the past, so to ignore that in their identities felt wrong.
I hated how these guys discussed and treated their sexualities, but the slow-burn romance... the author got that so right.
The actual writing was very, very good, and aside from the strange changes in POV to the woman who programmed the matchmaking AI, the writing flowed and felt effortless. I could FEEL these two falling in love, and their chemistry was off the charts. I ADORED them as a couple, and everything from their banter to their body language felt right.
Now, I should say that I felt the ROMANTIC attraction, but sexual attraction is a whole other ballgame. I really, really didn't buy that these two were all of the sudden sexually attracted to one another, even after giving no inkling that these feelings were at all present, even in the background, before things got to the "I love you" stage. We were inside these guys' heads, so I would have liked a few instances that indicated repressed sexuality or an openness, hell, or even gay porn (since we get some veiled references to them watching porn), to make me believe that this sexual attraction was possible. It reminded me of the movie, Kissing Jessica Stein, when the non-bi female MC is in love with the other woman but can't force herself to be sexual with her over a long period of time. It felt like that.
This story felt so close to the real deal, but I had too many issues to allow me to give it a higher rating, even though this was the best writing I've seen from Xavier Mayne. I hope the author makes some tweaks in his future works because he could produce some amazing stuff.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
goodreads | instagram | twitter | blog
August 28, 2018
3,5 Sterne
Darum geht's:
Eine der wichtigsten Vorgaben für die revolutionäre neue Software der Partnervermittlung ist das Geschlecht des Wunschpartners. Daran gibt es nichts zu rütteln. Doch als aus Versehen dieser Grundsatz vorübergehend aufgehoben wird, findet die künstliche Intelligenz "Archer", wie die Software genannt wird, unter anderem Fox und Drew als nahezu perfektes Paar, obwohl die beiden Männer eigentlich Frauen kennenlernen wollen. Bevor die Programmiererin diese Partnervorschläge löschen kann, sehen die beiden sie - und treten tatsächlich miteinander in Kontakt.
Meine Meinung dazu gibt’s hier
Darum geht's:
Eine der wichtigsten Vorgaben für die revolutionäre neue Software der Partnervermittlung ist das Geschlecht des Wunschpartners. Daran gibt es nichts zu rütteln. Doch als aus Versehen dieser Grundsatz vorübergehend aufgehoben wird, findet die künstliche Intelligenz "Archer", wie die Software genannt wird, unter anderem Fox und Drew als nahezu perfektes Paar, obwohl die beiden Männer eigentlich Frauen kennenlernen wollen. Bevor die Programmiererin diese Partnervorschläge löschen kann, sehen die beiden sie - und treten tatsächlich miteinander in Kontakt.
Meine Meinung dazu gibt’s hier
January 3, 2019
RECENSIONE QUI: https://thereadingslove.blogspot.com/...
Archer è un software ideato per creare la coppia perfetta. Seguendo parametri diversi dal consueto abbina due ragazzi etero che sono alla ricerca della donna dei loro sogni. Fox è un ragazzo in carriera, i calcoli ed i grafici sono la sua Bibbia anche nella vita reale e si affida alle percentuali anche nella sua vita amorosa. Drew è un dottorando di storia, un sognatore squattrinato, il rapporto più intimo che ha è con la sua anziana vicina di casa. Quando il sito di incontri li accoppia, dopo innumerevoli dubbi e confidenze con i rispettivi amici decidono di incontrarsi. Devo dire che questo è un romance atipico, i protagonisti sono etero e non hanno nessun dubbio al riguardo, il rapporto che si instaura è di amicizia anche se ogni incontro è il classico appuntamento tra due che si piacciono, l'evoluzione del rapporto che li porta ad innamorarsi è molto lenta, costellata di negazione sulla vera natura di ciò che li lega fino alla fine. Niente sesso, baci o atteggiamenti intimi se non agli ultimi capitoli. Devo dire che l'idea non è male ma non ho gradito il tipo di scrittura troppo analitica, l'ho trovata piatta. I dialoghi sono simpatici ma nel complesso quello che lega l'intera storia l'ho trovato freddo e sempre troppo analizzato, rendendo il testo poco scorrevole. Non sono riuscita ad appassionarmi, aspettavo un guizzo di emozione, qualcosa che però non è arrivato. Molto piacevole l'interazione con i rispettivi amici, per me è stata la cosa migliore in assoluto perché nei dialoghi c'era molta più umanità. La descrizione dei protagonisti è buona ma anche lì poco emotiva, più accurata quella sul software però, le parti dedicate ad Archer sono molto tecniche e inframezzano il romanzo…
CONTINUA SUL NOSTRO BLOG. VENITE A TROVARCI
https://thereadingslove.blogspot.com/
Archer è un software ideato per creare la coppia perfetta. Seguendo parametri diversi dal consueto abbina due ragazzi etero che sono alla ricerca della donna dei loro sogni. Fox è un ragazzo in carriera, i calcoli ed i grafici sono la sua Bibbia anche nella vita reale e si affida alle percentuali anche nella sua vita amorosa. Drew è un dottorando di storia, un sognatore squattrinato, il rapporto più intimo che ha è con la sua anziana vicina di casa. Quando il sito di incontri li accoppia, dopo innumerevoli dubbi e confidenze con i rispettivi amici decidono di incontrarsi. Devo dire che questo è un romance atipico, i protagonisti sono etero e non hanno nessun dubbio al riguardo, il rapporto che si instaura è di amicizia anche se ogni incontro è il classico appuntamento tra due che si piacciono, l'evoluzione del rapporto che li porta ad innamorarsi è molto lenta, costellata di negazione sulla vera natura di ciò che li lega fino alla fine. Niente sesso, baci o atteggiamenti intimi se non agli ultimi capitoli. Devo dire che l'idea non è male ma non ho gradito il tipo di scrittura troppo analitica, l'ho trovata piatta. I dialoghi sono simpatici ma nel complesso quello che lega l'intera storia l'ho trovato freddo e sempre troppo analizzato, rendendo il testo poco scorrevole. Non sono riuscita ad appassionarmi, aspettavo un guizzo di emozione, qualcosa che però non è arrivato. Molto piacevole l'interazione con i rispettivi amici, per me è stata la cosa migliore in assoluto perché nei dialoghi c'era molta più umanità. La descrizione dei protagonisti è buona ma anche lì poco emotiva, più accurata quella sul software però, le parti dedicate ad Archer sono molto tecniche e inframezzano il romanzo…
CONTINUA SUL NOSTRO BLOG. VENITE A TROVARCI
https://thereadingslove.blogspot.com/
December 19, 2023
This one flew too close to the sun. Up until 62% in, I really thought I'd rate this 5 stars. The writing was exquisite. And then the MCs went on the trip. Downhill from there.
The slow burn until then was epic. You know how you can feel them falling in love? Slowly. Given the GFY, this really really worked. The foundation was laid. And then everything spiraled.
Suddenly things were moving too fast. Feelings were declared out of the blue. Let me tell you, we were very deep inside these men's thoughts. Drew hadn't thought these things to himself by the time he said them out loud to Fox. I'd understand if it was a singular POV. But dual POV? It was implausible that we'd be as shocked as Fox to hear of this.
Also, sweet adorable Mrs. Schwartzmann rapidly devolved into Yoda.
The one quote I could remember.
"What you get up to in the bedroom is your deal, though I probably will insist on details at some point because one, I’m curious, and two, you and he are the hottest guys I know, and the thought of you going at it, well….” Chad’s gaze wandered off into some homoerotic middle distance.
Um.
Anyway. In summary. I wish the author had kept the earlier pace from the start.
The slow burn until then was epic. You know how you can feel them falling in love? Slowly. Given the GFY, this really really worked. The foundation was laid. And then everything spiraled.
Suddenly things were moving too fast. Feelings were declared out of the blue. Let me tell you, we were very deep inside these men's thoughts. Drew hadn't thought these things to himself by the time he said them out loud to Fox. I'd understand if it was a singular POV. But dual POV? It was implausible that we'd be as shocked as Fox to hear of this.
Also, sweet adorable Mrs. Schwartzmann rapidly devolved into Yoda.
The one quote I could remember.
"What you get up to in the bedroom is your deal, though I probably will insist on details at some point because one, I’m curious, and two, you and he are the hottest guys I know, and the thought of you going at it, well….” Chad’s gaze wandered off into some homoerotic middle distance.
Um.
Anyway. In summary. I wish the author had kept the earlier pace from the start.
September 11, 2018
***4.5 stars***
Blurb: Caught my attention.
Chapter 1: Am I reading the correct book?
Still Chapter 1 (but further along): oh, okay
After that it was smooth sailing. I loved seeing the different aspects of Drew and Fox’s relationship. How it was fragile and tentative at first, then to see it slowly build (and at times stumble), was refreshing. I enjoyed the dialogue between every characters involved, not to mention their roles in the MCs lives.
I really like this new to me author and will definitely check out their other works :)
Blurb: Caught my attention.
Chapter 1: Am I reading the correct book?
Still Chapter 1 (but further along): oh, okay
After that it was smooth sailing. I loved seeing the different aspects of Drew and Fox’s relationship. How it was fragile and tentative at first, then to see it slowly build (and at times stumble), was refreshing. I enjoyed the dialogue between every characters involved, not to mention their roles in the MCs lives.
I really like this new to me author and will definitely check out their other works :)
August 28, 2018
Fox ist der letzte Single in seinem Freundeskreis und auf der Suche nach der richtigen Frau. Dabei soll ihm seine Q*Pid App helfen, die mittels künstlicher Intelligenz – Archer - das perfekte Gegenstück finden soll. Fox sieht sich somit dem Punkt, seine Traumfrau zu finden, einen Schritt näher. Tatsächlich erhält er einen Vorschlag nahe der 100%, nur ist dieser Vorschlag ein Mann. Und somit überhaupt nicht das, was sich Fox eigentlich vorgestellt hat. Das gleiche gilt für Drew, der besagter Vorschlag ist. Und dennoch treffen sie sich und sehen einer guten Freundschaft entgegen ... oder vielleicht doch mehr?
Zuallererst musste ich über Fox wirklich den Kopf schütteln. Erfolgreich, gut aussehend und völlig schräg ... Welcher Mann legt schon Listen und Tabellen an, um die Frauen, mit denen er ausgeht, zu bewerten? Fox ist mehr als analytisch und hat einen Plan im Kopf, von dem er nicht abweicht, ebenso wie seine Traumfrau zu sein hat. Nur hat es bis jetzt nicht gut funktioniert, was ihn insgeheim immer mehr frustriert. Seine Welt gerät aus den Fugen, als Q*Pid ihn Drew als Vorschlag schickt, und zwar mit sehr hoher Übereinstimmung. Zuerst will er den Vorschlag löschen, aber irgendwas hält ihn davon ab. Und so treffen sich die beide, einfach um zu sehen, ob sie vielleicht Freunde werden können.
Drew ist von seiner Art her ganz anders als Fox. Er ist ein Doktorand, der jeden Penny zweimal umdrehen muss und lässt sich sehr von seinen Gefühlen leiten. Als ihm von Q*Pid Fox vorgeschlagen wird, ist er zuerst sehr überrascht, aber auch neugierig. Er will unbedingt wissen, ob er und Fox sich wirklich so gut verstehen würden, wie die App es ihnen glauben machen will. Und was soll man sagen, ja, so unterschiedlich sie teilweise auch sind, sie ergänzen sich perfekt und haben dennoch einiges gemeinsam.
Die Freundschaft der beiden entwickelt sich schnell, einfach weil sie sich so gut verstehen und gerne etwas miteinander unternehmen. Langsam wird beiden bewusst, dass da vielleicht doch etwas mehr zwischen ihnen sein könnte, doch gerade Fox, der so einen starren Plan vor Augen hat, fällt es schwer, sich damit auseinanderzusetzen. Drew, als sein perfektes Gegenstück, fällt es etwas leichter, was er auch gerne mit seinem Wissenschafts-Gen erklärt.
Es ist eine Geschichte, wo man sich die Frage stellt, ob man nicht manchmal doch über den Tellerrand blicken und etwas anderem die Chance geben soll, als man sich immer vorgestellt hat. Es ist auch eine Geschichte über Selbstfindung und dem Akzeptieren, dass man im Endeffekt sich selbst und nicht andere glücklich machen soll – ob diese es von einem verlangen oder nicht. Es geht darum, die wahre Liebe zu finden, denjenigen, der einen ergänzt ... oder eher, der einen vollkommen macht.
Auch die Nebencharaktere sind schön ausgearbeitet. Vor allem Mrs. Schwartzmann fand ich großartig, die Drew mit Rat und Tat und so mancher erfundenen (oder doch nicht?) Geschichte zur Seite gestanden ist. Ebenso Fox‘ bester Freund, Chad, und dessen Frau, Mia, die Fox unterstützt haben, auch dann, wenn er es nicht hören wollte. Ein großes Highlight war auch Archer, die künstliche Intelligenz – ich mochte ihn wirklich.
Manchmal war mir die Geschichte etwas zu langatmig, vor allem im Mittelteil. Aber im Großen und Ganzen war es ein schöner Lesegenuss und ich habe mit Drew und Fox mitgefiebert. Daher eine klare Leseempfehlung.
Zuallererst musste ich über Fox wirklich den Kopf schütteln. Erfolgreich, gut aussehend und völlig schräg ... Welcher Mann legt schon Listen und Tabellen an, um die Frauen, mit denen er ausgeht, zu bewerten? Fox ist mehr als analytisch und hat einen Plan im Kopf, von dem er nicht abweicht, ebenso wie seine Traumfrau zu sein hat. Nur hat es bis jetzt nicht gut funktioniert, was ihn insgeheim immer mehr frustriert. Seine Welt gerät aus den Fugen, als Q*Pid ihn Drew als Vorschlag schickt, und zwar mit sehr hoher Übereinstimmung. Zuerst will er den Vorschlag löschen, aber irgendwas hält ihn davon ab. Und so treffen sich die beide, einfach um zu sehen, ob sie vielleicht Freunde werden können.
Drew ist von seiner Art her ganz anders als Fox. Er ist ein Doktorand, der jeden Penny zweimal umdrehen muss und lässt sich sehr von seinen Gefühlen leiten. Als ihm von Q*Pid Fox vorgeschlagen wird, ist er zuerst sehr überrascht, aber auch neugierig. Er will unbedingt wissen, ob er und Fox sich wirklich so gut verstehen würden, wie die App es ihnen glauben machen will. Und was soll man sagen, ja, so unterschiedlich sie teilweise auch sind, sie ergänzen sich perfekt und haben dennoch einiges gemeinsam.
Die Freundschaft der beiden entwickelt sich schnell, einfach weil sie sich so gut verstehen und gerne etwas miteinander unternehmen. Langsam wird beiden bewusst, dass da vielleicht doch etwas mehr zwischen ihnen sein könnte, doch gerade Fox, der so einen starren Plan vor Augen hat, fällt es schwer, sich damit auseinanderzusetzen. Drew, als sein perfektes Gegenstück, fällt es etwas leichter, was er auch gerne mit seinem Wissenschafts-Gen erklärt.
Es ist eine Geschichte, wo man sich die Frage stellt, ob man nicht manchmal doch über den Tellerrand blicken und etwas anderem die Chance geben soll, als man sich immer vorgestellt hat. Es ist auch eine Geschichte über Selbstfindung und dem Akzeptieren, dass man im Endeffekt sich selbst und nicht andere glücklich machen soll – ob diese es von einem verlangen oder nicht. Es geht darum, die wahre Liebe zu finden, denjenigen, der einen ergänzt ... oder eher, der einen vollkommen macht.
Auch die Nebencharaktere sind schön ausgearbeitet. Vor allem Mrs. Schwartzmann fand ich großartig, die Drew mit Rat und Tat und so mancher erfundenen (oder doch nicht?) Geschichte zur Seite gestanden ist. Ebenso Fox‘ bester Freund, Chad, und dessen Frau, Mia, die Fox unterstützt haben, auch dann, wenn er es nicht hören wollte. Ein großes Highlight war auch Archer, die künstliche Intelligenz – ich mochte ihn wirklich.
Manchmal war mir die Geschichte etwas zu langatmig, vor allem im Mittelteil. Aber im Großen und Ganzen war es ein schöner Lesegenuss und ich habe mit Drew und Fox mitgefiebert. Daher eine klare Leseempfehlung.
August 27, 2018
Wealthy "improbably handsome" Fox runs his dating life by spreadsheet, rating every aspect of the date in order to find that illusive perfect woman and comparing post-date stats with his best friend Chad. Starving doctorate student Drew seems to meet the strangest women, and the closest female in his life is his delightfully eccentric upstairs neighbor Mrs. Schwartzmann. Drew's sad googling of "Why can't I find the right person and fall in love?" results in:
Xavier Mayne has created a humorous very sweet story here, paired with an interesting premise and two great main characters. I loved Drew's kindness towards Mrs. Schwartzmann and his self-awareness and sense of humor. Fox is a tougher nut to crack but as the plot develops and very slowly moves into the romantic relationship between Fox and Drew, Fox finally breaks down his barriers.
This story is framed by scenes with the Q*pid staff (and one particularly irritating coworker) and while other readers may feel this slows down the flow of the story, I personally geeked out on all the details.
Where I'm not sure the story completely succeeds is in the "gay for out / out for you" plotting. This reads like an old school "Gay for You" with two ostensibly straight guys who have no unfulfilled yen for men. There are references to watching porn, and hints that either they are watching gay porn, or clearly focusing on the male only (the Q*pid interface allows it to watch eye movements, and analyze every aspect of their social media) but nothing definitive. The romantic aspect of their relationship works well, as their dissimilar personalities mesh so wonderfully, but the sexual aspect isn't as clearly developed (mostly because it takes the majority of the story to get Fox to admit that he can, and does, love Drew.)
I adore Xavier Mayne's writing style and loved the humor and wit (and especially Mrs. Schwartzmann's past which is wildly embellished and genuinely funny and heartwarming). The GFY is a bit of a hard sell at first, but the love story is so carefully crafted that the ending came way too soon. Honestly, I would have loved to read another 50 pages or so about how their relationship develops and grows rather than fast-forwarding to the final chapter (although it really is a sweet HEA. 4 stars.
I received an ARC from Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.
Review also also posted at Gay Book Reviews - check it out!
... articles on how his dating problems were the direct and unmistakable result of low testosterone, damaged self-esteem, cow hormones in his drinking water, misaligned chakras, a boggy prostrate, and an imperfect relationship with God.Each man uses the dating service Q*pid where developer Veera is experimenting with AI in order to make better matches. Her contention (like Dr. House) is that everybody lies and creates a dating profile of whom they wish they were. This algorithm "gathers information about them not based on what they say, but rather what they do" based on the user's social media activity. When the AI interface ignores the customer's specific gender perimeters for potential matches, Drew and Fox are matched as being 99.5% compatible.
Xavier Mayne has created a humorous very sweet story here, paired with an interesting premise and two great main characters. I loved Drew's kindness towards Mrs. Schwartzmann and his self-awareness and sense of humor. Fox is a tougher nut to crack but as the plot develops and very slowly moves into the romantic relationship between Fox and Drew, Fox finally breaks down his barriers.
This story is framed by scenes with the Q*pid staff (and one particularly irritating coworker) and while other readers may feel this slows down the flow of the story, I personally geeked out on all the details.
Where I'm not sure the story completely succeeds is in the "gay for out / out for you" plotting. This reads like an old school "Gay for You" with two ostensibly straight guys who have no unfulfilled yen for men. There are references to watching porn, and hints that either they are watching gay porn, or clearly focusing on the male only (the Q*pid interface allows it to watch eye movements, and analyze every aspect of their social media) but nothing definitive. The romantic aspect of their relationship works well, as their dissimilar personalities mesh so wonderfully, but the sexual aspect isn't as clearly developed (mostly because it takes the majority of the story to get Fox to admit that he can, and does, love Drew.)
I adore Xavier Mayne's writing style and loved the humor and wit (and especially Mrs. Schwartzmann's past which is wildly embellished and genuinely funny and heartwarming). The GFY is a bit of a hard sell at first, but the love story is so carefully crafted that the ending came way too soon. Honestly, I would have loved to read another 50 pages or so about how their relationship develops and grows rather than fast-forwarding to the final chapter (although it really is a sweet HEA. 4 stars.
My whole world - the whole universe - suddenly makes sense. It's all fallen into place because you appeared. For the first time in my life I know I'm in the right place. Out of all the billions of planets orbiting billions of stars, I'm standing on the one you're on. And this is exactly the place I was meant to be.
I received an ARC from Dreamspinner Press in exchange for an honest review.
Review also also posted at Gay Book Reviews - check it out!
January 10, 2019
Overall book rating: 3
Audio Book: N/A
Book Cover: 3.5
In a nutshell.
Loved the idea of the whole thing.
Characters: I really liked Drew. He was an open person. Shocked about the whole thing but open to look into new possibilities.
I really got the whole shock factor from both characters and I can imagine the moment. I mean..it’s unexpected!
Fox. Hmmmm I didn’t like him so much. No. 80% of the time I personally thought Fox was an asshole. Not only to Drew at times but his poor BFF Chad as well. And his 180 at the end of the story therefore didn’t ring true to me.
I rolled my eyes so much about all the nonsense regarding his “wonderful self / and what a good person he is” that I might have had a headache at the end.
Mrs. Schwartzmann was simply fabulous!
The whole thing with Archer and his creator Vera. Personally I thought there was waaaaaaaay to much detail and attention on that part of the story. The endless detail about her suffering in her work space with idiots who doubt her project was to much. I found it distracting and I think it could have been made very clear and understanding in a great deal less words than was spent on it
.
There. I said it all. I think.
Audio Book: N/A
Book Cover: 3.5
In a nutshell.
Loved the idea of the whole thing.
Characters: I really liked Drew. He was an open person. Shocked about the whole thing but open to look into new possibilities.
I really got the whole shock factor from both characters and I can imagine the moment. I mean..it’s unexpected!
Fox. Hmmmm I didn’t like him so much. No. 80% of the time I personally thought Fox was an asshole. Not only to Drew at times but his poor BFF Chad as well. And his 180 at the end of the story therefore didn’t ring true to me.
I rolled my eyes so much about all the nonsense regarding his “wonderful self / and what a good person he is” that I might have had a headache at the end.
Mrs. Schwartzmann was simply fabulous!
The whole thing with Archer and his creator Vera. Personally I thought there was waaaaaaaay to much detail and attention on that part of the story. The endless detail about her suffering in her work space with idiots who doubt her project was to much. I found it distracting and I think it could have been made very clear and understanding in a great deal less words than was spent on it
.
There. I said it all. I think.
September 1, 2018
This is a fun trope – the GFY trope and a double GFY – YES – sign me up! I absolutely loved this. It was sweet, romantic and my only (small) complaint was that I wish we’d had more smexy times.
What I love about this story is what I fell in love with in Frat House Troopers: great character development and a (mostly) believable way for two “straight” guys to fall in love! Where FHT had a little more pull for me was there was more “exploration” in the bedroom that I missed with this couple.
However – the upside is we definitely get a lot of emotional bonding and the end result is a really romantic story with a touch of heat.
If you’re a fan of the author or the trope – this is recommended for you!
5 of 5 stars
What I love about this story is what I fell in love with in Frat House Troopers: great character development and a (mostly) believable way for two “straight” guys to fall in love! Where FHT had a little more pull for me was there was more “exploration” in the bedroom that I missed with this couple.
However – the upside is we definitely get a lot of emotional bonding and the end result is a really romantic story with a touch of heat.
If you’re a fan of the author or the trope – this is recommended for you!
5 of 5 stars
December 30, 2018
So. I was really annoyed by this book.
It could have been a really intersting look into sexuality and attraction and instead the characters stay stuck and narrow and bleh.
That is all.
It could have been a really intersting look into sexuality and attraction and instead the characters stay stuck and narrow and bleh.
That is all.
August 29, 2018
Xavier Mayne’s thing is sexual “fluidity”. So this is another of his gay for you stories.
Many of his books are 5 star reads for me. This one...was disappointing. I could see all the moving parts, when in a romance, you want to be chauffeured along. To be more accurate, I was jarred by the moving parts. And not in an enjoyable way (for all you rude people reading this).
I didn’t like his construction of heterosexual relationships and marriage. I found fox’s approach to women deeply repugnant. I found all the guys internal processes tedious. I got their mental attraction, but as Heather pointed out in her review, not the visceral physical attraction. There was lots of talking towards the end about how perfect they were for each other. And more talking. All the talking. Maybe I am being unfair. After a while, I totally skimmed all the sex stuff. And most of the last third of the book. Also, as in other recent books, he uses the device of the MCs’ pushy best friends to move things along. I hate intrusive pushy best friends in these stories. I just want to punch their faces in. And if both people need pushy best friends to move their relationship along....I am not persuaded. Especially if I hate the pushy best friend, which I usually do.
I’m fine with low physical chemistry when the characters aren’t that into sex, but these two are (meant to be). This book would probably be really really good if the guys had discovered, not only that they were falling in love with each other, but that they were both asexual/grey sexual. Actually, my reading of the book felt like they probably were....hence not wanting to have a bar of any of the sex.
I put the “fluidity” in quotes above, because in his romances I’ve only seen rampaging gay sexuality juxtaposed against rampaging heterosexuality. This book maybe ?2? References to liking “both” sexes. Is this because Mayne assumes his readers cannot cope with anything else?
I have read and enjoyed lots of m/ms and gfys which are straight forward dude & dude forevah, with heaps of passion sex everywhere, and enjoyed them. Reading this book, I kept noticing all the failings.
Okay, there was passion in this book - for food. If you want to vicariously experience people stuffing their faces with food they adore, a lot, this book might be worth ... no it wouldn’t. Maybe if you can get it for free some how, and skim the rest of it. But do read the bits at the company. They were good.
Many of his books are 5 star reads for me. This one...was disappointing. I could see all the moving parts, when in a romance, you want to be chauffeured along. To be more accurate, I was jarred by the moving parts. And not in an enjoyable way (for all you rude people reading this).
I didn’t like his construction of heterosexual relationships and marriage. I found fox’s approach to women deeply repugnant. I found all the guys internal processes tedious. I got their mental attraction, but as Heather pointed out in her review, not the visceral physical attraction. There was lots of talking towards the end about how perfect they were for each other. And more talking. All the talking. Maybe I am being unfair. After a while, I totally skimmed all the sex stuff. And most of the last third of the book. Also, as in other recent books, he uses the device of the MCs’ pushy best friends to move things along. I hate intrusive pushy best friends in these stories. I just want to punch their faces in. And if both people need pushy best friends to move their relationship along....I am not persuaded. Especially if I hate the pushy best friend, which I usually do.
I’m fine with low physical chemistry when the characters aren’t that into sex, but these two are (meant to be). This book would probably be really really good if the guys had discovered, not only that they were falling in love with each other, but that they were both asexual/grey sexual. Actually, my reading of the book felt like they probably were....hence not wanting to have a bar of any of the sex.
I put the “fluidity” in quotes above, because in his romances I’ve only seen rampaging gay sexuality juxtaposed against rampaging heterosexuality. This book maybe ?2? References to liking “both” sexes. Is this because Mayne assumes his readers cannot cope with anything else?
I have read and enjoyed lots of m/ms and gfys which are straight forward dude & dude forevah, with heaps of passion sex everywhere, and enjoyed them. Reading this book, I kept noticing all the failings.
Okay, there was passion in this book - for food. If you want to vicariously experience people stuffing their faces with food they adore, a lot, this book might be worth ... no it wouldn’t. Maybe if you can get it for free some how, and skim the rest of it. But do read the bits at the company. They were good.
August 28, 2018
A Joyfully Jay review.
3.75 stars
The first part was incredibly slow for me and I really didn’t think I was going to like this book. But, in the end, when it all came together, it was a journey of two men finding love regardless of gender.
Fox was difficult to like at first and while he grew on me somewhat, he remained at a distance. When we first meet him, he is all about the spreadsheets and the calculations of finding the perfect wife. He analyzes and computes, he has the same table reserved at the same restaurant every Saturday night, he has the same interactions with the staff, he has every last detail planned out, and has cultivated a dating persona. Yet, he remains single. As the story goes along, we do learn more of why Fox is the way he is, but as a personal preference, he was a little too rigid and textbook about dating.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
3.75 stars
The first part was incredibly slow for me and I really didn’t think I was going to like this book. But, in the end, when it all came together, it was a journey of two men finding love regardless of gender.
Fox was difficult to like at first and while he grew on me somewhat, he remained at a distance. When we first meet him, he is all about the spreadsheets and the calculations of finding the perfect wife. He analyzes and computes, he has the same table reserved at the same restaurant every Saturday night, he has the same interactions with the staff, he has every last detail planned out, and has cultivated a dating persona. Yet, he remains single. As the story goes along, we do learn more of why Fox is the way he is, but as a personal preference, he was a little too rigid and textbook about dating.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
May 11, 2025
Artifical Intelligence variants reminds me of comic books looking to keep their IP except wirh fated mates
September 30, 2018
Questa storia mi aveva intrigata parecchio per la sua trama e devo dire che è mi piaciuta molto, soprattutto perché ho un debole per il filone ‘gay for you’.
All’inizio credevo fosse una storia ‘leggera e senza drammi’ – e lo è, beninteso – ma offre, al tempo stesso, degli interessanti spunti di riflessione seri, su cui vale la pena fermarsi a ragionare: la percezione di noi stessi e quella che hanno gli altri di noi, quello che siamo e quello che vogliamo apparire, il peso dei social media, i condizionamenti ambientali e molto altro.
Quando accendiamo la TV o guardiamo la pubblicità nei giornali, le app e i siti di incontri online sono a ogni angolo. In alcune culture, esistono ancora i matrimoni combinati e, se non ci pensano le famiglie, potrebbe succedere per ‘colpa’ di un abbinamento voluto da un sito, perciò il tema di questo libro è più che attuale.
Fox e Drew non hanno niente in comune, almeno in apparenza: il primo è ricco, con un lavoro importante, un’auto scintillante e una casa da far invidia; Drew, invece, è uno squattrinato dottorando che vive in una zona poco raccomandabile della città, in una casa appena decente, facendo i salti mortali per arrivare a fine mese senza morire di fame. Entrambi, quasi alla soglia dei trent’anni, cercano disperatamente l’anima gemella – la donna che sia perfetta per loro, la compagna ideale, la madre dei loro futuri figli – ma nessuna proposta, fra gli appuntamenti combinati nel corso del tempo, sembra arrivare a buon fine.
Archer è un programma per accoppiamenti amorosi estremamente evoluto; la sua creatrice, Veera, lo definisce un’IA (Intelligenza Artificiale), perché Archer crea una rete di connessione di dati molto più complessa ed estesa dei metodi precedenti o della spietata concorrenza.
Quello che nessuno si aspetta è che Archer ‘pieghi’le direttive di Veera per cambiare alcuni parametri ostruenti, riuscendo a migliorare notevolmente la percentuale di intesa fra utenti.
Fox e Drew non si aspettano di venir abbinati con un punteggio molto vicino al 100%, ma è quello che succede, in barba al parametro dell’eterosessualità di entrambi.
Decidere di conoscersi – un po’ per curiosità, un po’ per scommessa – è un salto nel vuoto che li porterà a rivedere tutto ciò in cui credevano.
Di questa storia ho amato il fatto che l’‘errore’ di Archer non è solo un pretesto passeggero per questa storia d’amore, ma – al contrario – abbiamo modo di seguire l’evoluzione di questa AI e le difficoltà della sua gestione attraverso Veera. Ho adorato le loro interazioni, mi hanno ricordato i dialoghi tra KITT e Michael Knight in Supercar, un telefilm degli anni ’80.
Di questa parte, però, devo dire che ho faticato un po’ a seguire tutta la nomenclatura tecnica; da profana tecnologica, avrei un po’ sfoltito, anche se probabilmente qualche nerd ha arricciato i piedi di piacere.
L’altra critica alla storia è questa: il fatto che, praticamente, tutta la gamma della bisessualità o fluidità di genere è stata quasi interamente saltata. Se ne fa brevemente menzione, ma non in modo chiaro. Fox e Drew, etero fino al giorno prima, capiscono che potrebbero essere gay. Ma, avendo ancora attrazione per le donne, secondo me avrebbe avuto più senso parlare di ‘bisessualità’.
A parte questo, che è comunque solo il mio parere personale, i protagonisti hanno due bellissime caratterizzazioni e la storia è ricca di ironia, sentimenti, dolcezza. Mi sono goduta le loro riflessioni, i ragionamenti contorti, i dubbi, le retromarce: il prodotto finale è davvero piacevole.
Ci sono dei personaggi secondari fantastici, che sapranno farsi amare tanto quanto i protagonisti e sono per loro dei preziosi aiuti nei momenti di crisi.
La storia non ha molte scene esplicite, ma quelle presenti sono funzionali alla trama e gradevoli da leggere, descrittive e coinvolgenti.
Non mi resta che consigliarvela, se cercate una storia un po’ diversa dal solito.
All’inizio credevo fosse una storia ‘leggera e senza drammi’ – e lo è, beninteso – ma offre, al tempo stesso, degli interessanti spunti di riflessione seri, su cui vale la pena fermarsi a ragionare: la percezione di noi stessi e quella che hanno gli altri di noi, quello che siamo e quello che vogliamo apparire, il peso dei social media, i condizionamenti ambientali e molto altro.
Quando accendiamo la TV o guardiamo la pubblicità nei giornali, le app e i siti di incontri online sono a ogni angolo. In alcune culture, esistono ancora i matrimoni combinati e, se non ci pensano le famiglie, potrebbe succedere per ‘colpa’ di un abbinamento voluto da un sito, perciò il tema di questo libro è più che attuale.
Fox e Drew non hanno niente in comune, almeno in apparenza: il primo è ricco, con un lavoro importante, un’auto scintillante e una casa da far invidia; Drew, invece, è uno squattrinato dottorando che vive in una zona poco raccomandabile della città, in una casa appena decente, facendo i salti mortali per arrivare a fine mese senza morire di fame. Entrambi, quasi alla soglia dei trent’anni, cercano disperatamente l’anima gemella – la donna che sia perfetta per loro, la compagna ideale, la madre dei loro futuri figli – ma nessuna proposta, fra gli appuntamenti combinati nel corso del tempo, sembra arrivare a buon fine.
Archer è un programma per accoppiamenti amorosi estremamente evoluto; la sua creatrice, Veera, lo definisce un’IA (Intelligenza Artificiale), perché Archer crea una rete di connessione di dati molto più complessa ed estesa dei metodi precedenti o della spietata concorrenza.
Quello che nessuno si aspetta è che Archer ‘pieghi’le direttive di Veera per cambiare alcuni parametri ostruenti, riuscendo a migliorare notevolmente la percentuale di intesa fra utenti.
Fox e Drew non si aspettano di venir abbinati con un punteggio molto vicino al 100%, ma è quello che succede, in barba al parametro dell’eterosessualità di entrambi.
Decidere di conoscersi – un po’ per curiosità, un po’ per scommessa – è un salto nel vuoto che li porterà a rivedere tutto ciò in cui credevano.
Di questa storia ho amato il fatto che l’‘errore’ di Archer non è solo un pretesto passeggero per questa storia d’amore, ma – al contrario – abbiamo modo di seguire l’evoluzione di questa AI e le difficoltà della sua gestione attraverso Veera. Ho adorato le loro interazioni, mi hanno ricordato i dialoghi tra KITT e Michael Knight in Supercar, un telefilm degli anni ’80.
Di questa parte, però, devo dire che ho faticato un po’ a seguire tutta la nomenclatura tecnica; da profana tecnologica, avrei un po’ sfoltito, anche se probabilmente qualche nerd ha arricciato i piedi di piacere.
L’altra critica alla storia è questa: il fatto che, praticamente, tutta la gamma della bisessualità o fluidità di genere è stata quasi interamente saltata. Se ne fa brevemente menzione, ma non in modo chiaro. Fox e Drew, etero fino al giorno prima, capiscono che potrebbero essere gay. Ma, avendo ancora attrazione per le donne, secondo me avrebbe avuto più senso parlare di ‘bisessualità’.
A parte questo, che è comunque solo il mio parere personale, i protagonisti hanno due bellissime caratterizzazioni e la storia è ricca di ironia, sentimenti, dolcezza. Mi sono goduta le loro riflessioni, i ragionamenti contorti, i dubbi, le retromarce: il prodotto finale è davvero piacevole.
Ci sono dei personaggi secondari fantastici, che sapranno farsi amare tanto quanto i protagonisti e sono per loro dei preziosi aiuti nei momenti di crisi.
La storia non ha molte scene esplicite, ma quelle presenti sono funzionali alla trama e gradevoli da leggere, descrittive e coinvolgenti.
Non mi resta che consigliarvela, se cercate una storia un po’ diversa dal solito.
August 23, 2018
ottima trama,simpatica ed originale,piaciuto molto anche se il finale è un pò troppo lungo
August 16, 2018
4 stars andare half
February 21, 2019
3.5 stars- ups and downs but an overall enjoyable story
It’s becoming a bit of a theme for me when I read this author’s works, but Q*Pid is a more difficult book to rate. There were some parts that left me less than enthused and others I loved, but it has to be said that once I was a little less than half way through the book, I couldn’t get enough of it.
First and foremost, the plot of Q*Pid was really noteworthy with a dating service using Artificial Intelligence to help guide matches beyond the parameters users set. Couple that with a double gay-for-you trope, and I was intrigued as to how it would all work. The characters were interesting, with different backgrounds that gave an opposites attract sort of feel to the romance. Overall, I liked Drew and Fox together, especially once they worked through all their concerns, but something was missing for a good chunk of the story. This wasn’t helped by the narrator who overacted voices for some characters. Despite having a good rhythm, his style didn’t quite work for me and took me some time to get accustomed to the voice shifts.
The gay-for-you trope is always difficult to navigate because the author has to sell the character’s straight persona, then switch things up in ways that make their expanding sexuality plausible. Unfortunately, I think this is where Q*Pid stumbled. There was so much foundation to prove Drew and Fox were straight, but not enough framework to make their falling for each other very believable. Despite seeing where things were headed, I never felt those confusing emotions as the men navigated these new emotions and attractions…it just happened. That said, the transition from close friendship to lovers did hit all the marks and I enjoyed seeing these men get their happily ever after. Once again, I find myself recommending a book by this author that, while having some bobbles, has enough a unique storyline and characters that makes it a really good read.
Reviewed by Annie from Alpha Book Club
It’s becoming a bit of a theme for me when I read this author’s works, but Q*Pid is a more difficult book to rate. There were some parts that left me less than enthused and others I loved, but it has to be said that once I was a little less than half way through the book, I couldn’t get enough of it.
First and foremost, the plot of Q*Pid was really noteworthy with a dating service using Artificial Intelligence to help guide matches beyond the parameters users set. Couple that with a double gay-for-you trope, and I was intrigued as to how it would all work. The characters were interesting, with different backgrounds that gave an opposites attract sort of feel to the romance. Overall, I liked Drew and Fox together, especially once they worked through all their concerns, but something was missing for a good chunk of the story. This wasn’t helped by the narrator who overacted voices for some characters. Despite having a good rhythm, his style didn’t quite work for me and took me some time to get accustomed to the voice shifts.
The gay-for-you trope is always difficult to navigate because the author has to sell the character’s straight persona, then switch things up in ways that make their expanding sexuality plausible. Unfortunately, I think this is where Q*Pid stumbled. There was so much foundation to prove Drew and Fox were straight, but not enough framework to make their falling for each other very believable. Despite seeing where things were headed, I never felt those confusing emotions as the men navigated these new emotions and attractions…it just happened. That said, the transition from close friendship to lovers did hit all the marks and I enjoyed seeing these men get their happily ever after. Once again, I find myself recommending a book by this author that, while having some bobbles, has enough a unique storyline and characters that makes it a really good read.
Reviewed by Annie from Alpha Book Club
August 18, 2018
2,5 - Questo libro nasce con l'espresso intento di dimostrare come le tensioni/preferenze affettive siano in realtà il frutto di condizionamenti/etichette che noi/gli altri abbiamo e ci autocostruiamo: di conseguenza, se questi cosiddetti "parametri di blocco" dovessero venire tolti, le nostre scelte potrebbero sorprenderci.
Salvo che poi la dimostrazione (la rimozione dei blocchi) viene affidata a un programma software (anzi, una IA) che non fa altro che prendere e incasellare le nostre azioni (soprattutto sui social, e questo già dovrebbe farci rabbrividire, visto che niente è più fake del nostro manifestarci sui social...) e piazzarci una nuova etichetta sopra. Alla fine, non vedo quale sia la differenza tra un matrimonio combinato (in cui i genitori pensano di sapere cosa è meglio per noi, esempio usato proprio dall'autore) e il mio io ridotto a un puro logaritmo (in cui una IA "sa" cosa è meglio per me).
Questo piccolo preambolo era per dare l'idea di quanta tristezza mi ha dato questo libro e su cui però ho cercato di soprassedere.
Lasciando perdere il messaggio sociologico sotteso (e che forse non ho proprio la capacità per valutare), mi limiterò a un giudizio da lettrice "di panza": sebbene all'inizio la storia di Drew e Fox mi avesse incuriosita, la stessa è stata poi soffocata - letteralmente - da una marea di dialoghi e rimuginamenti cerebrali abbastanza inutili.
Un conto era vedere la coppia alla prova dei fatti, un conto è vedere le loro azioni analizzate di continuo con gli altri.
L'80% del libro è occupato dai dialoghi di Drew con la (peraltro simpatica) anziana vicina, di Fox con gli appiccicosi amici Chad/Mia, poi dei programmatori con l'IA e poi dalle varie reazioni di camerieri, barman e camerieri (perchè i due non fanno altro che mangiare, ingollare alcol e ubriacarsi sino a svenire - il che a mio parere la dice lunga, sociologicamente parlando, sul concetto di relazioni amorose che hanno oltreoceano... e che sono ben contenta di non condividere...).
Il restante 20%? Rimane un po' d'amore, ma anche qui sembra così... artificiale.
Come dicevo, di pancia: un libro stancante.
Salvo che poi la dimostrazione (la rimozione dei blocchi) viene affidata a un programma software (anzi, una IA) che non fa altro che prendere e incasellare le nostre azioni (soprattutto sui social, e questo già dovrebbe farci rabbrividire, visto che niente è più fake del nostro manifestarci sui social...) e piazzarci una nuova etichetta sopra. Alla fine, non vedo quale sia la differenza tra un matrimonio combinato (in cui i genitori pensano di sapere cosa è meglio per noi, esempio usato proprio dall'autore) e il mio io ridotto a un puro logaritmo (in cui una IA "sa" cosa è meglio per me).
Questo piccolo preambolo era per dare l'idea di quanta tristezza mi ha dato questo libro e su cui però ho cercato di soprassedere.
Lasciando perdere il messaggio sociologico sotteso (e che forse non ho proprio la capacità per valutare), mi limiterò a un giudizio da lettrice "di panza": sebbene all'inizio la storia di Drew e Fox mi avesse incuriosita, la stessa è stata poi soffocata - letteralmente - da una marea di dialoghi e rimuginamenti cerebrali abbastanza inutili.
Un conto era vedere la coppia alla prova dei fatti, un conto è vedere le loro azioni analizzate di continuo con gli altri.
L'80% del libro è occupato dai dialoghi di Drew con la (peraltro simpatica) anziana vicina, di Fox con gli appiccicosi amici Chad/Mia, poi dei programmatori con l'IA e poi dalle varie reazioni di camerieri, barman e camerieri (perchè i due non fanno altro che mangiare, ingollare alcol e ubriacarsi sino a svenire - il che a mio parere la dice lunga, sociologicamente parlando, sul concetto di relazioni amorose che hanno oltreoceano... e che sono ben contenta di non condividere...).
Il restante 20%? Rimane un po' d'amore, ma anche qui sembra così... artificiale.
Come dicevo, di pancia: un libro stancante.
September 11, 2018
"Perché aveva mandato un messaggio a quel tizio? Perché aveva mandato un messaggio a un uomo? Che cazzo ti è saltato in mente? E se fosse un serial killer? E se ricevere il suo messaggio sul sito di incontri lo avesse offeso a tal punto da spingerlo a diventare un serial killer? Certo, era un’idea ridicola, visto che non avrebbe potuto definirsi un vero serial killer finché non avesse ucciso qualcun altro a parte lui. Quindi sarebbe stato un assassino comune fin quando non gli fosse sorto il dubbio che forse la signora Schwartzmann aveva sentito qualcosa che poteva incastrarlo, e allora avrebbe dovuto uccidere anche lei. Drew rifletté sulla questione. No, se fosse andata così sarebbe stato un pluriomicida, non un serial killer, vero? Un serial killer uccideva su più larga scala, a distanza di qualche giorno o almeno di una settimana. Valeva comunque se le vittime non avevano niente in comune? Non era tipo un requisito fondamentale nella definizione di un serial killer? Era una domanda da porre a Dictionary.com o Wikipedia? I suoi piedi si fermarono. Era per questo che si cimentava nella sua camminata di disappunto. Per evitare di assillarsi inutilmente per cose stupide. Fece avanti e indietro per altri cinque minuti. Nella stanza risuonò un secondo trillo, che gli ricordava che il messaggio che non avrebbe mai dovuto inviare era stato letto dalla persona di cui non avrebbe mai dovuto conoscere l’esistenza. "
.
Drew e Fox hanno una sola cosa in comune, il desiderio di trovare al più presto la donna della loro vita e per questo, si servono da tempo di un servizio di incontri online, il Q*pid, che gli ha procurato innumerevoli appuntamenti con donne belle ed interessanti che però si sono rivelate sempre quelle sbagliate. Ma ora al Q*pid c’è una novità, è appena entrato in funzione Archer, un nuovo incredibile computer che dopo aver ricevuto il permesso di analizzare ogni tuo profilo social ed ogni tua attività su internet riesce ad avere di te un analisi così completa da arrivare a conoscerti forse meglio di te stesso, e darti ciò che davvero desideri senza magari saperlo; in fondo, quando ti presenti o prepari un tuo profilo, ometti sempre qualcosa o tieni nascosta una parte di te, menti senza nemmeno saperlo ed è partendo da questo presupposto che Veera ha creato la sua nuova IA. Tutto sembra procedere bene, fino a quando Archer per un banale fraintendimento non ignora per qualche ora il Parametro Tre che riguarda un dato molto importante, le preferenze di sesso dettate dal cliente e Drew e Fox si trovano sul telefono un abbinamento che ha la probabilità di diventare una relazione seria del 99,5%, una cosa più unica che rara. Con sgomento di entrambi, sui loro cellulari non appare la foto di una bella ragazza ma quella di un uomo che secondo il computer è la realizzazione di ogni loro desiderio. Per entrambi il primo pensiero è cancellare quell’assurdo messaggio, eppure nessuno dei due riesce a farlo. Quella percentuale così alta è per Fox, che analizza ogni appuntamento calcolando numeri e possibilità di riuscita, incomprensibile; mentre a Drew l’idea che al mondo ci sia una persona che sembra così assolutamente compatibile con lui suggerisce la possibilità che forse Fox potrebbe diventare un amico, qualcuno con cui poter parlare di questo incredibile errore fatto dal computer e riderci su, e allora perché non vedersi per un caffè e conoscersi? Sembra semplice, ma cosa succede quando ti rendi conto che parlare con un perfetto sconosciuto di fa ridere e stare bene, e che non riesci a dimenticarti di lui?
Questo è sicuramente uno dei romanzi più originali che abbia letto ultimamente, ne ho amato sia i protagonisti che i personaggi secondari, che ho trovato davvero eccellenti. La signora Schwartzmann, la vicina di Drew, è una deliziosa anziana molto sola che ha praticamente adottato il nostro dottorando, e che si rivela una donna estremamente moderna nonostante l’età, pronta ad accettare il fatto che l’anima gemella di Drew possa essere un uomo molto prima di lui, e i suoi commenti sono davvero divertenti. Anche Fox ha un amico delizioso, Chad, un uomo che sembra vivere di riflesso le sue avventure e che, pur avendolo visto avere innumerevoli avventure con donne bellissime, lo sprona in continuazione ad analizzare il suo rapporto con Drew, esortandolo a non escludere nessuna possibilità, ricordandogli che la stessa cosa era più o meno successa anche a una coppia di suoi amici. Ho amato moltissimo il suo modo di fare, il suo esortarlo a essere felice senza avere nessun pregiudizio, ricordandogli in continuazione che lui sarebbe stato suo amico in ogni caso, e disposto a fargli da testimone. Ma se Drew a un certo punto è disposto a riconoscere che stare con Fox lo rende felice come nessuna ragazza è mai riuscita a fare, per il giovane Kincade arrendersi è molto più difficile, e in questo ho trovato l’autore molto bravo nella lentezza con cui fa procedere il loro rapporto.
La loro è la storia di un’amicizia nata per caso, che, incontro dopo incontro, appuntamento dopo appuntamento, si trasforma in una storia dolcissima che procede con molta cautela. Ho trovato la parte romantica molto bella, così come i loro approcci fisici; sono delicati e si prendono tempo, del resto è un cambiamento estremamente forte quello che compiono durante la storia. Unica nota discordante, secondo me, è quella loro incredibile resistenza nel non volersi riconoscere gay, quando in realtà tutto sembra propendere per una bisessualità latente in entrambi… in fondo hanno avuto tranquilli e appaganti rapporti con innumerevoli donne, ma, nonostante qualche accenno, non si fa mai questa ipotesi ben più verosimile e che secondo me avrebbe reso il tutto ben più semplice e credibile.
Non conoscevo quest’autore ma il suo modo di scrivere mi piace, ho apprezzato l’ironia dei dialoghi e la caratterizzazione dei personaggi, così come ne ho amato l’originalità. Nonostante alcune perplessità ho trovato questo libro una lettura davvero molto piacevole, a tratti divertente, e spero di avere l’occasione di leggere altri suoi scritti e magari conoscere qualcun’altra strana combinazione creata dall’impareggiabile “Archer”.
.
Lucia63 - per RFS
.
Drew e Fox hanno una sola cosa in comune, il desiderio di trovare al più presto la donna della loro vita e per questo, si servono da tempo di un servizio di incontri online, il Q*pid, che gli ha procurato innumerevoli appuntamenti con donne belle ed interessanti che però si sono rivelate sempre quelle sbagliate. Ma ora al Q*pid c’è una novità, è appena entrato in funzione Archer, un nuovo incredibile computer che dopo aver ricevuto il permesso di analizzare ogni tuo profilo social ed ogni tua attività su internet riesce ad avere di te un analisi così completa da arrivare a conoscerti forse meglio di te stesso, e darti ciò che davvero desideri senza magari saperlo; in fondo, quando ti presenti o prepari un tuo profilo, ometti sempre qualcosa o tieni nascosta una parte di te, menti senza nemmeno saperlo ed è partendo da questo presupposto che Veera ha creato la sua nuova IA. Tutto sembra procedere bene, fino a quando Archer per un banale fraintendimento non ignora per qualche ora il Parametro Tre che riguarda un dato molto importante, le preferenze di sesso dettate dal cliente e Drew e Fox si trovano sul telefono un abbinamento che ha la probabilità di diventare una relazione seria del 99,5%, una cosa più unica che rara. Con sgomento di entrambi, sui loro cellulari non appare la foto di una bella ragazza ma quella di un uomo che secondo il computer è la realizzazione di ogni loro desiderio. Per entrambi il primo pensiero è cancellare quell’assurdo messaggio, eppure nessuno dei due riesce a farlo. Quella percentuale così alta è per Fox, che analizza ogni appuntamento calcolando numeri e possibilità di riuscita, incomprensibile; mentre a Drew l’idea che al mondo ci sia una persona che sembra così assolutamente compatibile con lui suggerisce la possibilità che forse Fox potrebbe diventare un amico, qualcuno con cui poter parlare di questo incredibile errore fatto dal computer e riderci su, e allora perché non vedersi per un caffè e conoscersi? Sembra semplice, ma cosa succede quando ti rendi conto che parlare con un perfetto sconosciuto di fa ridere e stare bene, e che non riesci a dimenticarti di lui?
Questo è sicuramente uno dei romanzi più originali che abbia letto ultimamente, ne ho amato sia i protagonisti che i personaggi secondari, che ho trovato davvero eccellenti. La signora Schwartzmann, la vicina di Drew, è una deliziosa anziana molto sola che ha praticamente adottato il nostro dottorando, e che si rivela una donna estremamente moderna nonostante l’età, pronta ad accettare il fatto che l’anima gemella di Drew possa essere un uomo molto prima di lui, e i suoi commenti sono davvero divertenti. Anche Fox ha un amico delizioso, Chad, un uomo che sembra vivere di riflesso le sue avventure e che, pur avendolo visto avere innumerevoli avventure con donne bellissime, lo sprona in continuazione ad analizzare il suo rapporto con Drew, esortandolo a non escludere nessuna possibilità, ricordandogli che la stessa cosa era più o meno successa anche a una coppia di suoi amici. Ho amato moltissimo il suo modo di fare, il suo esortarlo a essere felice senza avere nessun pregiudizio, ricordandogli in continuazione che lui sarebbe stato suo amico in ogni caso, e disposto a fargli da testimone. Ma se Drew a un certo punto è disposto a riconoscere che stare con Fox lo rende felice come nessuna ragazza è mai riuscita a fare, per il giovane Kincade arrendersi è molto più difficile, e in questo ho trovato l’autore molto bravo nella lentezza con cui fa procedere il loro rapporto.
La loro è la storia di un’amicizia nata per caso, che, incontro dopo incontro, appuntamento dopo appuntamento, si trasforma in una storia dolcissima che procede con molta cautela. Ho trovato la parte romantica molto bella, così come i loro approcci fisici; sono delicati e si prendono tempo, del resto è un cambiamento estremamente forte quello che compiono durante la storia. Unica nota discordante, secondo me, è quella loro incredibile resistenza nel non volersi riconoscere gay, quando in realtà tutto sembra propendere per una bisessualità latente in entrambi… in fondo hanno avuto tranquilli e appaganti rapporti con innumerevoli donne, ma, nonostante qualche accenno, non si fa mai questa ipotesi ben più verosimile e che secondo me avrebbe reso il tutto ben più semplice e credibile.
Non conoscevo quest’autore ma il suo modo di scrivere mi piace, ho apprezzato l’ironia dei dialoghi e la caratterizzazione dei personaggi, così come ne ho amato l’originalità. Nonostante alcune perplessità ho trovato questo libro una lettura davvero molto piacevole, a tratti divertente, e spero di avere l’occasione di leggere altri suoi scritti e magari conoscere qualcun’altra strana combinazione creata dall’impareggiabile “Archer”.
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Lucia63 - per RFS
November 19, 2018
This is the first audiobook I've listen from this author but I genuinely enjoy it. The beginning was little slow, but after Vera get out of the highlight, things has become much more interesting.My opinion is that it took a long time for explaination of her story, her personality and her work, and I only cared about her work. Speaking of the things slowing down the actionq the narration of the audiobook was little bit slow, so I recommend to speed it up with 1.5.The narrator wasn't bad, but he wasn't very good in the representation of the female voices.
Putting that aside the book was adorable and I loved the ball character.It was just what I needed funny and sweet, story about love without borders.
Putting that aside the book was adorable and I loved the ball character.It was just what I needed funny and sweet, story about love without borders.
March 31, 2022
3.5 stars. I'm rounding up.
December 9, 2018
This was very much of a mixed bunch for me. On the one hand, I enjoyed the spunk of the characters, whose pleasing complexity comes out through clever banter and a myriad lovely little touches; was touched by the slow-burn, low-key approach to their romance; and did not feel that the radically anti-Kinseyian view of human sexuality Mr Mayne takes distracted too much from my appreciation of their trajectory (while I concur with those reviewers who pointed out how much both Fox and Drew exhibit a pattern of pansexuality whose treatment between these covers is neither very effective nor really satisfactory, I cannot state that I was affronted enough to hamper my appreciation of this beautiful romance). What made my suspension of disbelief much harder to occur, though, was the somewhat naïve thought patterns the entire cast is unfortunately prone to and the often clunky and ponderous dialogue. The first point, that characters are times and again reduced to grasping at straws, lowering their intellectual standards a good deal below what their education level and social standing had one expect, is best illustrated by the following statement, an extract from one of the very first virtual interactions that happen between Fox and Drew after they have been matched:
"He stood with his thumbs frozen over the phone's keyboard for a long moment, then resumed. But then I saw you're getting a PhD at the university. I almost majored in history when I did my undergrad there. I majored in business, but I still read a lot of history. So maybe the computer wasn't completely wrong."
It goes without saying that this thematic bridge over the chasm that separates both strangers hardly supports any extolling into more than the faintest of commonality. The same foolishness occurs in a later passage where Fox protests to a minor character that
"“No, that's not what it was like. We talked about a ton of stuff. The more I get to know him, the more I think Q*pid had it right. I would never have imagined I'd have so much in common with a PhD student in history who cooks authentic South American peasant cuisine and feels personally wounded by our country's lack of action on climate change. But being with him is this constant process of discovering things I like about him. And that's kind of… nice.”"
Who but a complete twat would ever marvel over such traits as the ones underlined (and notice the ridiculously style in which those ideas are presented!) in the man they are "kind of" dating? I also do not care a lot about the pointlessly pompous phrasing in "being with him is this constant process of discovering things I like about him".
My point two, the cumbersome writing full of frigidly rhetorical flourishes and asides that in my opinion besmirches most of the chit-chat between the characters instead of making them crisper or livelier, also breaks out with clarity in the very same snippet. That this was not an occasional lack of attention by Mr Mayne is proven by a myriad other cases, none more telling than the following sample, which also demonstrates that he loves to lay heavy emphasis on his least bright ideas by repeating them with very little variation:
"Fox frowned. “Actually, he's getting a PhD in economic history. He cooks lentils and lives for free in a not-great part of town because he takes care of the place for the owner. He doesn't own a car, and a cloud of white liberal guilt practically swirls around him. So he's kind of nothing like me. But at the same time we're, like, completely compatible.”"
It boggles the mind that an author who decided to put such a contrived and flashy sequence as the first underlined words in the mouth of a character should have felt it logically sound to have said character abruptly, and unexpectedly, revert to embarrassed bumbling in the very next sequence, and let loose not one but two consecutive markers of befuddlement. The sheer stylistic effect of elaborate phrasing that suddenly falters into gabble looks positively jarring in my eyes. It is not merely a matter of rhetorics; either a character is articulate, if not silver-tongued (whatever the agency, education, sheer natural abilities, and so on) or they are disjointed-talking - you cannot have it both ways, let alone at a very close interval in the same utterance.
No doubt about that: Mr Mayne is a talented writer, a smooth, strong practitioner of the English language and a grammar buff who can concoct an enjoyable romance, but his use of rhetorical devices should have been compounded by better literary taste and a far stronger eye, or rather flair, for psychological consistency. Such as it stands, the mise en oeuvre of his novel sounds often too flimsy and fabricated.
"He stood with his thumbs frozen over the phone's keyboard for a long moment, then resumed. But then I saw you're getting a PhD at the university. I almost majored in history when I did my undergrad there. I majored in business, but I still read a lot of history. So maybe the computer wasn't completely wrong."
It goes without saying that this thematic bridge over the chasm that separates both strangers hardly supports any extolling into more than the faintest of commonality. The same foolishness occurs in a later passage where Fox protests to a minor character that
"“No, that's not what it was like. We talked about a ton of stuff. The more I get to know him, the more I think Q*pid had it right. I would never have imagined I'd have so much in common with a PhD student in history who cooks authentic South American peasant cuisine and feels personally wounded by our country's lack of action on climate change. But being with him is this constant process of discovering things I like about him. And that's kind of… nice.”"
Who but a complete twat would ever marvel over such traits as the ones underlined (and notice the ridiculously style in which those ideas are presented!) in the man they are "kind of" dating? I also do not care a lot about the pointlessly pompous phrasing in "being with him is this constant process of discovering things I like about him".
My point two, the cumbersome writing full of frigidly rhetorical flourishes and asides that in my opinion besmirches most of the chit-chat between the characters instead of making them crisper or livelier, also breaks out with clarity in the very same snippet. That this was not an occasional lack of attention by Mr Mayne is proven by a myriad other cases, none more telling than the following sample, which also demonstrates that he loves to lay heavy emphasis on his least bright ideas by repeating them with very little variation:
"Fox frowned. “Actually, he's getting a PhD in economic history. He cooks lentils and lives for free in a not-great part of town because he takes care of the place for the owner. He doesn't own a car, and a cloud of white liberal guilt practically swirls around him. So he's kind of nothing like me. But at the same time we're, like, completely compatible.”"
It boggles the mind that an author who decided to put such a contrived and flashy sequence as the first underlined words in the mouth of a character should have felt it logically sound to have said character abruptly, and unexpectedly, revert to embarrassed bumbling in the very next sequence, and let loose not one but two consecutive markers of befuddlement. The sheer stylistic effect of elaborate phrasing that suddenly falters into gabble looks positively jarring in my eyes. It is not merely a matter of rhetorics; either a character is articulate, if not silver-tongued (whatever the agency, education, sheer natural abilities, and so on) or they are disjointed-talking - you cannot have it both ways, let alone at a very close interval in the same utterance.
No doubt about that: Mr Mayne is a talented writer, a smooth, strong practitioner of the English language and a grammar buff who can concoct an enjoyable romance, but his use of rhetorical devices should have been compounded by better literary taste and a far stronger eye, or rather flair, for psychological consistency. Such as it stands, the mise en oeuvre of his novel sounds often too flimsy and fabricated.
February 13, 2019
I ended up having to mentally break this book down in order to rate it. There were characters and friendships that I loved and then some denial and bi-erasure that grated on all my nerves. I loved the good parts enough that I wanted to acknowledge them without the specter of the annoying bits ruining their warmth.
The story starts a little slow in reference to the relationship between Drew and Fox. It was interesting though and I honestly would have loved to read a story about Veera. Fox and Drew were very secondary at that point and the focus does shift, but you do have to put in your time to get there.
I really wasn’t a fan of Fox at first. He comes across as shallow and douchey, but his personality starts to make sense as his character is revealed, especially in relation to Drew. Drew on the other hand, was a sweetheart and I loved him right from the start. The two are opposites personified and they most likely never would have met without Archer, the dating app AI, going rogue. When the two were matched and decided to meet, just to have a laugh at the circumstances, an unlikely friendship develops which was really quite sweet.
One thing that they do have in common is the desire to love and be loved. Both have struck out repeatedly and the opportunity to commiserate with another lovelorn fella is too much to pass up. Their first “date” was such a date it wasn’t even funny and neither of them were anywhere close to admitting that it could be a thing. The burn in this one is molasses level slow, which, for a couple of straight guys who are falling in love with each other makes sense. Anything else would have been completely unbelievable.
That being said . . . the connection between Drew and Fox was completely believable. Their banter was well written and read organically. The growing affection they had was enviable and read like the beginning of a great relationship. But. They both still identified as straight. Drew was open to something new, a different path than what he thought he would travel and big props to him for his open mind. Fox wasn’t there though and was really agro about Drew trying to convince him otherwise. Ok, sure, still somewhat believable, he’s coming to terms, etc. etc. etc. I just never fully bought into them together physically. I wanted to. I really, really did, but Fox fought so hard not to be labeled as anything other than straight, it was a tough sell.
Once the two of them acknowledged their status as an actual couple, Fox was all there for Drew, but I had a tough time reconciling relationship-Fox with determinedly-hetero-Fox. After the slow start and then the slow build, the quick paced resolution Fox went through didn’t work for me.
There was a real opportunity to delve into bisexuality, pansexuality, anything other than hetero, with relation to these two characters and it was an opportunity missed. There was so much effort (successful effort) to make these three dimensional characters, so when something as relevant as their sexuality is used as nothing more than a plot device, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**
The story starts a little slow in reference to the relationship between Drew and Fox. It was interesting though and I honestly would have loved to read a story about Veera. Fox and Drew were very secondary at that point and the focus does shift, but you do have to put in your time to get there.
I really wasn’t a fan of Fox at first. He comes across as shallow and douchey, but his personality starts to make sense as his character is revealed, especially in relation to Drew. Drew on the other hand, was a sweetheart and I loved him right from the start. The two are opposites personified and they most likely never would have met without Archer, the dating app AI, going rogue. When the two were matched and decided to meet, just to have a laugh at the circumstances, an unlikely friendship develops which was really quite sweet.
One thing that they do have in common is the desire to love and be loved. Both have struck out repeatedly and the opportunity to commiserate with another lovelorn fella is too much to pass up. Their first “date” was such a date it wasn’t even funny and neither of them were anywhere close to admitting that it could be a thing. The burn in this one is molasses level slow, which, for a couple of straight guys who are falling in love with each other makes sense. Anything else would have been completely unbelievable.
That being said . . . the connection between Drew and Fox was completely believable. Their banter was well written and read organically. The growing affection they had was enviable and read like the beginning of a great relationship. But. They both still identified as straight. Drew was open to something new, a different path than what he thought he would travel and big props to him for his open mind. Fox wasn’t there though and was really agro about Drew trying to convince him otherwise. Ok, sure, still somewhat believable, he’s coming to terms, etc. etc. etc. I just never fully bought into them together physically. I wanted to. I really, really did, but Fox fought so hard not to be labeled as anything other than straight, it was a tough sell.
Once the two of them acknowledged their status as an actual couple, Fox was all there for Drew, but I had a tough time reconciling relationship-Fox with determinedly-hetero-Fox. After the slow start and then the slow build, the quick paced resolution Fox went through didn’t work for me.
There was a real opportunity to delve into bisexuality, pansexuality, anything other than hetero, with relation to these two characters and it was an opportunity missed. There was so much effort (successful effort) to make these three dimensional characters, so when something as relevant as their sexuality is used as nothing more than a plot device, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed.
**a copy of this story was provided for an honest review**
September 16, 2018
Wenn Amors Pfeil anscheinend den Falschen trifft, könnte ein eigensinniges Computerprogramm dafür verantwortlich sein.
Zur Handlung. Q*pid ist eine Partnervermittlungsagentur, die ein neues Programm entwickelt hat, um die Datings für ihre Kunden zu optimieren. Durch ein Versehen bekommen einige Kunden gleichgeschlechtliche Vorschläge, obwohl diese angegeben haben, hetero zu sein. Computer Archer sieht das allerdings anders und erkennt beim Auswerten des Surfverhaltens der Mitglieder bei einigen homosexuelle Tendenzen.
Q*pid-Nutzer Drew und Fox staunen nicht schlecht, als sie ihre App öffnen und die Daten eines anderen Mannes darin finden. Aus Neugier entschließen sie sich, die Verabredung einzuhalten. Wider Erwarten verstehen sie sich blendend und freunden sich an.
Die Grundidee zu der Story hat mir gefallen, besonders die Szenen mit Archer fand ich persönlich recht amüsant. Seiner Meinung nach ist Parameter 3, die sexuelle Orientierung, überflüssig. Das führt zu witzigen Dialogen mit seiner Programmiererin.
Drew und Fox als Paar konnten mich aber leider nicht überzeugen. Als beste Kumpel wäre ihr Verhältnis zueinander okay gewesen, für eine Liebesbeziehung fehlte mir etwas Entscheidendes, die Gefühle kamen zu kurz. Das Verhalten von beiden bezüglich ihrer Dates mit diversen Frauen fand ich einfach nur unsympathisch. Testen, bewerten und aussortieren.
Da gefielen mir die Nebenfiguren wesentlich besser. Die schrullige Nachbarin von Drew, Frau Schwartzmann, mit ihrem Hang zur Dramatik und Fox Freund Chad mit seiner Ehefrau Mia.
Die Story erhält von mir 4 Sterne und eine Leseempfehlung.
Mein Dank geht an Dreamspinner Press für das erhaltene Rezensionsexemplar.
Zur Handlung. Q*pid ist eine Partnervermittlungsagentur, die ein neues Programm entwickelt hat, um die Datings für ihre Kunden zu optimieren. Durch ein Versehen bekommen einige Kunden gleichgeschlechtliche Vorschläge, obwohl diese angegeben haben, hetero zu sein. Computer Archer sieht das allerdings anders und erkennt beim Auswerten des Surfverhaltens der Mitglieder bei einigen homosexuelle Tendenzen.
Q*pid-Nutzer Drew und Fox staunen nicht schlecht, als sie ihre App öffnen und die Daten eines anderen Mannes darin finden. Aus Neugier entschließen sie sich, die Verabredung einzuhalten. Wider Erwarten verstehen sie sich blendend und freunden sich an.
Die Grundidee zu der Story hat mir gefallen, besonders die Szenen mit Archer fand ich persönlich recht amüsant. Seiner Meinung nach ist Parameter 3, die sexuelle Orientierung, überflüssig. Das führt zu witzigen Dialogen mit seiner Programmiererin.
Drew und Fox als Paar konnten mich aber leider nicht überzeugen. Als beste Kumpel wäre ihr Verhältnis zueinander okay gewesen, für eine Liebesbeziehung fehlte mir etwas Entscheidendes, die Gefühle kamen zu kurz. Das Verhalten von beiden bezüglich ihrer Dates mit diversen Frauen fand ich einfach nur unsympathisch. Testen, bewerten und aussortieren.
Da gefielen mir die Nebenfiguren wesentlich besser. Die schrullige Nachbarin von Drew, Frau Schwartzmann, mit ihrem Hang zur Dramatik und Fox Freund Chad mit seiner Ehefrau Mia.
Die Story erhält von mir 4 Sterne und eine Leseempfehlung.
Mein Dank geht an Dreamspinner Press für das erhaltene Rezensionsexemplar.
September 23, 2018
I really tried with this book, but this was a big fat no for me.
My issues can be summed up in 3 points:
1) POVs: I found the point of view of the scientist who created the Q*Pid system awkward, intrusive, and boring, boring, boring! I could understand including her point of view in the beginning of the story– perhaps in a prologue, but her point of view and interactions remained throughout the whole novel. It added little information or context in most cases and was incredibly dragged out– going on for pages and pages sometimes.
2) Too much dialogue; too much internal monologue : Archer and Fox overanalyzed literally every single interaction they had. It read cheesy. So cheesy. If they touched hands, it would be 10 pages of dialogue or monologue on what that "meant". There was so little actual interaction between Archer and Fox that I had no idea why they actually liked each other, much less how their relationship became love. The author failed to SHOW us that the two characters got on so well. Instead he decided to constantly have Fox or Archer go on spiels, to each other or to themselves, on how that was the case.
This excessive dialogue was not limited to Archer and Fox either. Archer and his neighbour would go on long tangents and so did Fox and his best friend. It was impossible to read through it all. I didn't even skim it. I started just skipping in chunks.
3) Pushy side characters: Fox's best friend was a pushy, nosy asshole. You cannot force someone out the closet– at least you shouldn't. But, Fox's friend took it upon himself to drag Fox out of that closet kicking and screaming. He was so forceful and demanding. I was getting very angry on Fox's behalf.
Overall, this did not do it for me.
The concept is cute, though.
My issues can be summed up in 3 points:
1) POVs: I found the point of view of the scientist who created the Q*Pid system awkward, intrusive, and boring, boring, boring! I could understand including her point of view in the beginning of the story– perhaps in a prologue, but her point of view and interactions remained throughout the whole novel. It added little information or context in most cases and was incredibly dragged out– going on for pages and pages sometimes.
2) Too much dialogue; too much internal monologue : Archer and Fox overanalyzed literally every single interaction they had. It read cheesy. So cheesy. If they touched hands, it would be 10 pages of dialogue or monologue on what that "meant". There was so little actual interaction between Archer and Fox that I had no idea why they actually liked each other, much less how their relationship became love. The author failed to SHOW us that the two characters got on so well. Instead he decided to constantly have Fox or Archer go on spiels, to each other or to themselves, on how that was the case.
This excessive dialogue was not limited to Archer and Fox either. Archer and his neighbour would go on long tangents and so did Fox and his best friend. It was impossible to read through it all. I didn't even skim it. I started just skipping in chunks.
3) Pushy side characters: Fox's best friend was a pushy, nosy asshole. You cannot force someone out the closet– at least you shouldn't. But, Fox's friend took it upon himself to drag Fox out of that closet kicking and screaming. He was so forceful and demanding. I was getting very angry on Fox's behalf.
Overall, this did not do it for me.
The concept is cute, though.
June 25, 2019
This book was equal parts charming and frustrating. But regardless of what I found to be an incredibly slow start that almost made me want to put down the book, there were certain things that really kept me engaged.
The charming: Drew and his openness to explore whatever it is he might have with Fox; the minor characters, like Mrs. Schwartzmann and Chad; Fox's ability to spoil Drew silly without it seeming sleazy; the romance that built its foundations using the not-dates that Drew and Fox had.
The frustrating: Fox and his constant denial of being gay (dude, you could be bi); Veera's perspective (which works for context but not entirely necessary).
Despite my desire to pull at my hair sometimes because of Fox, the romance was really done well. There was of course that requisite angsty moment in the book but it thankfully didn't last long, and once that was out of the way, the romance was sweet and tender and smooth-sailing. I love how you can just feel that Drew and Fox really fit together, based on just their dialogues. That's the mark of good writing there. (Not to mention how the author's writing style is pretty unique, but refreshing.)
It really just suffers from a slow start, and the abundance of denial on Fox's side. Otherwise, this would be an even more enjoyable read.
The charming: Drew and his openness to explore whatever it is he might have with Fox; the minor characters, like Mrs. Schwartzmann and Chad; Fox's ability to spoil Drew silly without it seeming sleazy; the romance that built its foundations using the not-dates that Drew and Fox had.
The frustrating: Fox and his constant denial of being gay (dude, you could be bi); Veera's perspective (which works for context but not entirely necessary).
Despite my desire to pull at my hair sometimes because of Fox, the romance was really done well. There was of course that requisite angsty moment in the book but it thankfully didn't last long, and once that was out of the way, the romance was sweet and tender and smooth-sailing. I love how you can just feel that Drew and Fox really fit together, based on just their dialogues. That's the mark of good writing there. (Not to mention how the author's writing style is pretty unique, but refreshing.)
It really just suffers from a slow start, and the abundance of denial on Fox's side. Otherwise, this would be an even more enjoyable read.
September 7, 2018
I had a difficult time trying to decide how to review this because I loved some of it and I didn’t love some of it. Let’s see if I can come up with a coherent explanation. Veera, a very intelligent woman, has come up with a new way of artificial intelligence. She has designed a system, dubbed Archer, that will look past the typical “get to know you questions” of online dating and really look at you to find your perfect match. This means allowing Archer access to everything you do online (a security nightmare no matter what they say and it made my skin crawl) to see what you actually are interested in, not what you say you are. I did have to laugh when we see the chosen people clicking like on puppies and babies and kittens just to make a “cute” presence online known. Tut, tut, boys, Archer is smarter than that.
So we have Fox, the only one of his friends still unattached, who has a standard email rejection letter for women he dates who don’t make the number criteria in the spreadsheet he has, which is the most bizarre thing. “Numbers of attempts to pay the dinner check, and height of heels in inches, and number of visible piercings, and done.” He’s rejected women he likes this way and so is still alone. So the novelty of the Q*Pid trial appeals to him.
Then we have Drew, a quiet, shy, adorable grad student who has an unlikely bestie in Mrs. Schwartzmann but seems to attract the strangest of women. On seeing his coffee table, his last date “As soon as she stepped into my apartment and saw it, she kind of freaked out. She said something about how cheap coffee tables are a product of third-world sweat shops and she leapt on top of it and started stomping on it.” This did not stop him from sleeping with her but relationship wise, it’s a no. Drew also signs up for the Q*Pid trial, hoping to meet someone a little less chaotic.
When the app goes live, it begins pairing people up. Both Fox and Drew are astonished to find out Archer has matched them. Has to be a mistake, neither one has ever been attracted to men before. Veera is nervous but she’s also sort of ticked because Ross, one of the team members, is a total naysayer. He questions why anyone would voluntarily give them access to everything online (I also questioned the same thing) and he is 100% positive this will not only fail but bring lawsuits as well. The day it goes live, he studies his phone, “Just checking to see whether the first violation of privacy suits has been filed yet.”
Secondary characters, Fox’s friend Chad and particularly Mrs Schwartzmann are likeable and loyal. Mrs. Schwartzmann, with her saving food and water for doomsday, made me smile. She is supportive of Drew and he of her, it was a sweet relationship. “Entirely without warning, Drew heard her voice in his head, “I cannot be anything other than what I am.” This is when Drew decides to be completely honest about his profile (and the fact that he watches porn). This actually took a lot of courage because as soon as he decides to watch porn, the laptop camera comes on. Seems kinky. He is matched with someone who seems perfect and it is to Mrs Schwartzmann he admits, “She was exactly what I thought I wanted, and yet she turned out to be not at all what I wanted.” And here we go. I’ll just say, Mrs. Schwartzmann’s response made me want to hug her.
Chad is Fox’s best friend and he’s there for him, trying to make Fox see what is in front of him. I felt bad for Fox at one point, as he is talking about the group that used to go to the diner together and slowly dwindled down to just him as people paired off. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but we didn’t stop hanging out every night. We stopped hanging out.” Chad, though, is supportive, funny, ridiculous and ridiculously in love with his wife. Both Chad and Mrs Schwartzmann were winners for me.
Back to Fox and Drew. Despite the shock of being paired with a man, they end up meeting and hit it off so well they decide being friends is exactly what they need. They are both lonely, Fox with all his money and Drew with all his academics. They are also both caught being real in front of their laptop cameras, meaning Archer sees. “Why can’t I find the right person and fall in love?” made me want to hug Drew. They are worlds apart financially. Fox lives in a penthouse and drives a BMW, Drew is a grad student. “My people eat ramen twenty-nine times out of thirty.”
We get to see the building of a true friendship with Drew and Fox, as they get to know each other, swim in the river of denial and yet keep coming back to each other for hanging out, cause obviously these are not dates.
I wanted to know what happened with Miyoko, as this was a big thing for Fox and it really wasn’t addressed. I wanted to hug Drew for really putting himself out there more than once, even when Fox was being an idiot. When Fox is so in denial and just keeps looking for that “perfect woman”, Drew is a little broken hearted but he’s open to the fact that what he thought about himself may not be complete. When Fox is matched with his “perfect woman”, a score in the high 90s, (Drew and Fox have a 99.5 compatibility rating), he is appalled to realize that it wasn’t at all what he wanted. He was bored, he was twitchy and he felt like he was sitting with his sister. Luckily, she agreed. Sometimes what we think we want isn’t what we need.
I liked this book immensely. The writing was strong, although there were a few times I had to look up an unfamiliar word. I appreciated that finding out you are not as clear on your sexuality as you always thought you were wasn’t a simple thing to deal with. Did I want to slap Fox with his response to Drew at one point? You bet, I was SO pissed at him. Naked wrestling took care of Fox’s idea that Drew was female. I loved that scene.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a slow burn, sort of “what are we doing” type of story with likeable secondary characters and MC that, especially in the case of Drew, you are really pulling for.
So we have Fox, the only one of his friends still unattached, who has a standard email rejection letter for women he dates who don’t make the number criteria in the spreadsheet he has, which is the most bizarre thing. “Numbers of attempts to pay the dinner check, and height of heels in inches, and number of visible piercings, and done.” He’s rejected women he likes this way and so is still alone. So the novelty of the Q*Pid trial appeals to him.
Then we have Drew, a quiet, shy, adorable grad student who has an unlikely bestie in Mrs. Schwartzmann but seems to attract the strangest of women. On seeing his coffee table, his last date “As soon as she stepped into my apartment and saw it, she kind of freaked out. She said something about how cheap coffee tables are a product of third-world sweat shops and she leapt on top of it and started stomping on it.” This did not stop him from sleeping with her but relationship wise, it’s a no. Drew also signs up for the Q*Pid trial, hoping to meet someone a little less chaotic.
When the app goes live, it begins pairing people up. Both Fox and Drew are astonished to find out Archer has matched them. Has to be a mistake, neither one has ever been attracted to men before. Veera is nervous but she’s also sort of ticked because Ross, one of the team members, is a total naysayer. He questions why anyone would voluntarily give them access to everything online (I also questioned the same thing) and he is 100% positive this will not only fail but bring lawsuits as well. The day it goes live, he studies his phone, “Just checking to see whether the first violation of privacy suits has been filed yet.”
Secondary characters, Fox’s friend Chad and particularly Mrs Schwartzmann are likeable and loyal. Mrs. Schwartzmann, with her saving food and water for doomsday, made me smile. She is supportive of Drew and he of her, it was a sweet relationship. “Entirely without warning, Drew heard her voice in his head, “I cannot be anything other than what I am.” This is when Drew decides to be completely honest about his profile (and the fact that he watches porn). This actually took a lot of courage because as soon as he decides to watch porn, the laptop camera comes on. Seems kinky. He is matched with someone who seems perfect and it is to Mrs Schwartzmann he admits, “She was exactly what I thought I wanted, and yet she turned out to be not at all what I wanted.” And here we go. I’ll just say, Mrs. Schwartzmann’s response made me want to hug her.
Chad is Fox’s best friend and he’s there for him, trying to make Fox see what is in front of him. I felt bad for Fox at one point, as he is talking about the group that used to go to the diner together and slowly dwindled down to just him as people paired off. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but we didn’t stop hanging out every night. We stopped hanging out.” Chad, though, is supportive, funny, ridiculous and ridiculously in love with his wife. Both Chad and Mrs Schwartzmann were winners for me.
Back to Fox and Drew. Despite the shock of being paired with a man, they end up meeting and hit it off so well they decide being friends is exactly what they need. They are both lonely, Fox with all his money and Drew with all his academics. They are also both caught being real in front of their laptop cameras, meaning Archer sees. “Why can’t I find the right person and fall in love?” made me want to hug Drew. They are worlds apart financially. Fox lives in a penthouse and drives a BMW, Drew is a grad student. “My people eat ramen twenty-nine times out of thirty.”
We get to see the building of a true friendship with Drew and Fox, as they get to know each other, swim in the river of denial and yet keep coming back to each other for hanging out, cause obviously these are not dates.
I wanted to know what happened with Miyoko, as this was a big thing for Fox and it really wasn’t addressed. I wanted to hug Drew for really putting himself out there more than once, even when Fox was being an idiot. When Fox is so in denial and just keeps looking for that “perfect woman”, Drew is a little broken hearted but he’s open to the fact that what he thought about himself may not be complete. When Fox is matched with his “perfect woman”, a score in the high 90s, (Drew and Fox have a 99.5 compatibility rating), he is appalled to realize that it wasn’t at all what he wanted. He was bored, he was twitchy and he felt like he was sitting with his sister. Luckily, she agreed. Sometimes what we think we want isn’t what we need.
I liked this book immensely. The writing was strong, although there were a few times I had to look up an unfamiliar word. I appreciated that finding out you are not as clear on your sexuality as you always thought you were wasn’t a simple thing to deal with. Did I want to slap Fox with his response to Drew at one point? You bet, I was SO pissed at him. Naked wrestling took care of Fox’s idea that Drew was female. I loved that scene.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a slow burn, sort of “what are we doing” type of story with likeable secondary characters and MC that, especially in the case of Drew, you are really pulling for.
May 7, 2024
WHERE DO I EVEN START AHAHHAHA
Ok so. Was this a literary masterpiece? No. But it was SO entertaining. I honestly only picked it up because it was free on audible and I hoped for a bit of cheap entertainment but oh boy I got so much more than that. So let me tell you a bit about this book.
If you like slow burn then this is the book for you. The story starts with how the AI that later matches our two protagonists up is pitched and implemented. THAT'S where we start. But honestly it had the perfect pace in my opinion.
My favorite character was, of course, Drew's elderly immigrant neighbor Mrs Schwartzman (is that how you spell her name? I only listened to the audio book). She was sassy and funny in an entertaining way and filled her purpose as an honest advisor to Drew perfectly.
While the writing style of the novel wasn't revolutionary, I have never before sat through 45 minutes of dialogue that led literally nowhere the first 44 minutes, without being bored. The romance only started after like 7 (of 12 in total) hours in the audio book and at that point I was eagerly anticipating it and it felt so worth the wait.
Now, while this only applies to the audiobook, my absolute favorite thing was the narrator who did, in the kindest way possible, a horrible job. The voices were way too over the top, especially when he tried voicing the women. And even after 12 hours I could not get over how he voiced Fox and his best bro Chad, with the most stereotypical cishet dudebro voices imaginable. Needless to say I loved it. 10/10 for the narrator, his narration made me laugh so hard at times, especially when I first heard Chad talk.
All in all this does not compare to my other 5-star-rated books in any way, but it was so very entertaining and I loved every (well almost every, the half hour smut was a bit weird to sit through tbh) second of it. Please give the audio book a listen, you might enjoy it as much as I did.
Ok so. Was this a literary masterpiece? No. But it was SO entertaining. I honestly only picked it up because it was free on audible and I hoped for a bit of cheap entertainment but oh boy I got so much more than that. So let me tell you a bit about this book.
If you like slow burn then this is the book for you. The story starts with how the AI that later matches our two protagonists up is pitched and implemented. THAT'S where we start. But honestly it had the perfect pace in my opinion.
My favorite character was, of course, Drew's elderly immigrant neighbor Mrs Schwartzman (is that how you spell her name? I only listened to the audio book). She was sassy and funny in an entertaining way and filled her purpose as an honest advisor to Drew perfectly.
While the writing style of the novel wasn't revolutionary, I have never before sat through 45 minutes of dialogue that led literally nowhere the first 44 minutes, without being bored. The romance only started after like 7 (of 12 in total) hours in the audio book and at that point I was eagerly anticipating it and it felt so worth the wait.
Now, while this only applies to the audiobook, my absolute favorite thing was the narrator who did, in the kindest way possible, a horrible job. The voices were way too over the top, especially when he tried voicing the women. And even after 12 hours I could not get over how he voiced Fox and his best bro Chad, with the most stereotypical cishet dudebro voices imaginable. Needless to say I loved it. 10/10 for the narrator, his narration made me laugh so hard at times, especially when I first heard Chad talk.
All in all this does not compare to my other 5-star-rated books in any way, but it was so very entertaining and I loved every (well almost every, the half hour smut was a bit weird to sit through tbh) second of it. Please give the audio book a listen, you might enjoy it as much as I did.
November 7, 2022
This was pretty fun and sweet. It was also ridiculously hokey—for all the legitimacy the techno-speak would suggest, the AI angle was such a stretch. For some reason, I was expecting PWP but it wasn’t at all. In fact, it was rather deep at times and often heartfelt. I liked the MCs and I esp liked the supporting cast. I would love a Mrs. Schwartzmann in my life. I also liked the writing and the many unexpected clever and humorous turns of phrase. Vera's POV always felt clunky but I get why it was included. But it always through me out of the story.
I was completely confused at how the sexuality of these two men was handled. It made no sense. Clearly, they both had been attracted to women in the past and prob still could be, but they both declared themselves gay. Not bi? Not pan? It truly made no sense.
The narration was a mixed bag. There was a lot of distinction between voices, but some of those voices, especially Chad’s (what was with the surfer boy / valley girl vibe? So out of place) were awful. He was also a touch stiff.
Despite some issues, all in all, it was an enjoyable listen.
I was completely confused at how the sexuality of these two men was handled. It made no sense. Clearly, they both had been attracted to women in the past and prob still could be, but they both declared themselves gay. Not bi? Not pan? It truly made no sense.
The narration was a mixed bag. There was a lot of distinction between voices, but some of those voices, especially Chad’s (what was with the surfer boy / valley girl vibe? So out of place) were awful. He was also a touch stiff.
Despite some issues, all in all, it was an enjoyable listen.
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