REVIEW: 50 Shades of Gay by Jeffery Self

50 Shades of Gay by Jeffery Self
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The romance surprised me. I expected a BDSM PWP, and while I did get my smut, the romance also presented relationship shit one would normally see in a serious romance. Unfortunately, one issue stopped me from enjoying the book.

+ the protagonist

Alex narrated the story in 1st person POV, and I didn’t like it initially. The dude had too many thoughts going on his head. No, it was not a stream of consciousness (thank hell); he simply had many thoughts going on. Alex’s narration impeded the plot to the extent that it took several pages before the plot finally started and Alex met Grayson (in chapter 3). Afterward, Alex kept extolling how hot Grayson was. Yes, I get it, Alex. You’re horny and hot for Grayson, can we please move the plot along?

Eventually, the plot did move along. The narration rewarded me for my patience with character growth. Slowly but surely, Alex grew as he demanded more from Grayson and entertained the idea that maybe he (Alex) shouldn’t have to settle. Alex started off as naive but he grew out of it by the end.

I liked the fact that just because he was naive it didn’t mean he was stupid. In spite of his horniness, Alex recognized that Grayson was a mental case.

+ the love interest

I found Grayson lacking as a character. I never really understood his issues. For example, I learned how he got into the BDSM lifestyle but not why he liked BDSM or why he chose to be a dom instead of staying as a sub because he entered the BDSM lifestyle as a sub. The book focused so much on Alex that it forgot about developing Grayson as a dimensional character. Grayson came off like an unfinished sculpture, the Greek marble kind where a piece of block remained on the person.

I didn’t like Grayson. I liked his sexy, kinky times with Alex, but not Grayson as a person. Not until the end when Grayson changed and chose love that I finally (and mildly) liked Grayson.

+ the romance

The smut was hot and plenty to my satisfaction. While the smut did breach dub-con territory a few times, the sexual practice remained tamed. The BDSM consisted of nothing more than rough sex, spanking and whipping, and restraint of movement. I really liked that Alex sensibly researched BDSM once he learned about Grayson’s kink.

The romance was surprisingly decent. Alex and Grayson did more than fuck, they actually talked about their desires and what they desired from each other. Contracts were waved around. Consent was discussed. Relationship shit was happening.

One thing I didn’t like was how the story tried to introduce Josh, a nice and free-of-issues guy in contrast to not-that-nice and full-of issues Grayson, as a rival for Alex’s love. Poor Josh. He never had a chance. The Josh thing didn’t add anything to the story overall. It also made Alex looked a bit like a Gary Stu because I found it hard to believe someone who had no dating or sexual experience whatsoever would suddenly have the attention of two hot guys.

+ the issue

The biggest issue I had with the story was how near the end in the last sex scene, Alex and Grayson switched roles in the middle of sex. Alex became the dom and Grayson became the sub. It didn’t make sense to me; it came out of nowhere. Grayson may have entered the BDSM lifestyle as a sub, but afterward he established himself as dom. He made that very clear upon the start of his relationship with Alex and continued to make it clear throughout their relationship. So how come he allowed Alex to take charge and what compelled to Alex to take charge?

Alex and Grayson broke character for no reason, and it left me flabbergasted.

In Conclusion

I rate 50 Shades of Gay 2-stars for it was okay. The book had smut and a believable HFN, but when the couple broke character, it ruined the tepid enjoyment I got from the book. That said, the book was not bad as I half-expected for a 50 Shades knockoff.

If you’re looking to pass the time and want to jump on the 50 Shades bandwagon but prefer mm smut, 50 Shades of Gay is a good fit.

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