REVIEW: 'The Complications of T' by Bey Deckard
Title: The Complications of T
Series: The Actor’s Circle Book One
Author: Bey Deckard
Published: August 18, 2015
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Erotic Romance; Contemporary Romance
Length: 81 Pages
Tags: Gay; M/M; Transgender; GFY; HFN; Novelette
BLURB: A bite-sized trans love story: Stuart Leandro knows he’s washed up, both on the big screen, and in his marriage. Then, when things take an even bigger turn for the worse one night, he winds up blind drunk and lost in a foreign city. Thankfully, someone’s there to rescue him before his face ends up plastered all over the tabloids. Wary of the motives of the reclusive stranger who brings the fading star into the quiet shelter of a hip but isolated loft, Stuart nonetheless can't deny his curiosity… Or his attraction. Tim is unlike anyone the actor has ever met, but underneath the mystery and quiet attempts at invisibility, Stuart discovers someone whose life has been intertwined with his own for years. Neither could have predicted that Tim's act of kindness would lead to one of the most intense encounters of their lives—but, are they willing to weather the media storm their extraordinary relationship will cause?
5 HEART READ
REVIEW: NOTE: Originally reviewed for QUEERcentric Books Blog October 5, 2015.
What is there not to like about Bey Deckard’s The Complications of T, the first book in his The Actor’s Circle series?
More accurately, what is there not to like about Bey Deckard?
From the first paragraph he immediately had my attention. His expressive detail makes the imagery so crisp I felt as if I were in every scene.
It has been quite some time since I could immerse myself within the confines of the pages of a book without even thinking twice about the specifics of the movie playing in my head.
I could imagine myself as Stuart, drowning my sorrow and stumbling to the curb in a drunken stupor. I could see myself allowing a complete stranger to be my knight in shining armor. I could even believe that I might find myself bemused and attracted to someone who I did not know by name—nor was I even sure of their gender.
I’ve grown accustomed to how quickly people meet up—and hook up—in novelettes, but Bey Deckard took the un-believability I typically experience with that and turned it on its head.
There was a beauty and ease in the way Deckard walked Stuart and Tim through discussions about Tim’s transition. I cannot even imagine the struggle transgender individuals must go through when they know who they are deep inside and they do everything to make their body match—but cannot take that last physical step due to justified fears associated with the risk and complications involved.
Bey Deckard addresses these issues with compassion. He wove a compelling tale of how transgender individuals might feel while taking such a leap; to fully reveal themselves for the first time to a sexual partner as well as the risk they take to their confidence and their being by just wanting to fully express their true self.
In a short eighty-one pages, Deckard takes Stuart and Tim on a five-day journey of discovery.
They have true and frank discussions surrounding their beliefs, their fears, their attraction, their openness, their desire—and then Deckard immerses them in a ninety day “warranty period” of internal exploration that makes all they feel for one another solid reality!
The Complications of T is a testament to the fact that sexual desires and the physical bits we use to express them are independent.
They are even free of who we are as a person. After all, these are just “tiny details…that don’t actually matter”
In the end, “the trick is not to overthink it.” I certainly hope that Stuart and Tim have more tricks to teach us! Even if you struggle with short stories, you will absolutely love this one.
The Complications of T was originally reviewed by Kimmers in connection with now exited QUEERcentric Books blog. The book was provided free of charge to QCB, by the author, in exchange for our fair and honest opinion.
Artist, Writer, Dog Lover Born and raised in a small coastal town in northern Québec, Bey spent his early summers on his uncle’s boat and running wild on the beaches of the surrounding islands, lighting fires and building huts out of driftwood and fishermen’s nets. As an adult, he eventually made his way to university and earned a degree in Art History with a strong focus on Anthropology. Primarily a portrait painter and graphic artist, Bey sat down one day and decided to start writing. Bey currently lives in the wilds of Montréal with his best buddy, a ridiculous, spotty pit bull named Murphy. +++ The less formal version goes a little like this: Educated in Art, History, and Anthropology. Worked mostly in the software industry. Currently an author and freelance graphic designer. Painter. Proud pit bull owner. I'm told I'm one helluva cook. Started to write in 2014. Love it. Will keep doing it until I stop. I mainly read KGB/CIA thrillers, science fiction, fantasy, horror, graphic novels, medical texts, nautical history
