Brian Cohen wants a new challenge in his life. Unemployed and recently single, he’s looking for love and a new job in South Beach during the “dot com” boom of the early 2000s. Through the connections of his best friend Stella, he lands a job running the office at GayLife.com, a new Internet start-up offering a taste of the good life online to its GLBT clientele. Brian holds out little hope in finding love or contentment at GayLife.com, until he meets his new boss, the handsome and affable Nick Petrangelis.
Brian falls head over heels for Nick, but Nick is happily partnered with a supermodel and the two of them are the “gay supercouple” at the center of GayLife.com. Nick is everything Brian has ever looked for in a man, and he senses that there is real chemistry between them, but does not want to jeopardize everything by pursuing it further. The novel takes a few twists and turns, and it looks like Brian may never find true love, but the reader is given a happy ending that is both sweet and steamy.
GayLife.com is Neil Plakcy’s first venture into male-male romantic fiction, and the story has the right blend of traditional romantic themes and sultry sexuality, with a good dose of humor thrown in for good measure. His previous works have been gay-themed mysteries, and Plakcy brings some elements of surprise and suspense into the novel as well. The characters are well-developed and I found myself wanting the story to continue on after its end. It’s a good first attempt at writing in a genre that has started to really come into its own in the last few years.
Recommended for all libraries, especially those with GLBT collections or romance collections.
Reviewed by, Matthew P. Ciszek
Lartz Memorial Library
