Blue, Ally. Easy. Albion: MLR Press, LLC, 2008. 201p. paperback. $14.99. ISBN: 9781934531624.

Easy tells the story of Dan Corazon and Stevie Sanger, how they meet and fall in love. Dan lives a quiet life as an employee in a landscaping business. He struggles with the idea of coming out to his best friend and coworker, Carlos. Having been raised by a strict father, and then orphaned as a young man, Dan is independent and protective of his feelings and private life.

Dan meets Stevie when he rescues him from a dangerous encounter, and the two are immediately drawn to each other. Stevie is a high-demand sex worker, but he decides to give it up once he meets Dan. But because of his “pimp,” this isn’t easy, and once again Stevie needs Dan’s help.

Unfortunately, Easy, has several issues that make it impossible to recommend. This book contains many stereotypes that distract from the story. Dan and Carlos’ Latino ethnicity is stereotyped in both the dialogue and character development (“Hola” and “Amigo” at the beginning and end of every sentence, for example). Additionally, Stevie’s life as a sex worker is simplified as a life consumed by violence and abuse.

A second aspect of this book that rankles is that it contains racy scenes that, rather than being sexy or exciting, fall short of the mark. When reading erotica, one expects to tolerate a inadequately written or simplified story line for the sake of a good scene, but in the case of Easy, the sex scenes fall frustratingly flat due to the writing style.

Reviewed by, Jesse Nachem
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