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December 1, 2016
Gideon and Alex overcome family and job stresses as well as their own biases and insecurities to find their way to a happy-ever-after. Alex Henning, who's African-American, has had a crush on his sister's white roommate, Gideon, for years, but to Alex, the brilliant computer geek is "way out of his league." When they meet again under less-than-perfect circumstances, Gideon doesn't even recognize him, then proves himself to be a supercilious jerk. Probably a good thing, since Alex doesn't have time for a social life anyway. With his father suffering from dementia, he's had to work practically every minute he's not helping his mother care for his dad. Usually Gideon is a web designer, so when he winds up working as a hands-on contractor for a computer system build-out on a construction project, he's a little out of his element. Alex, an electrician, turns out to be working on the same project, and Gideon is impressed and chastened when the man he was incredibly rude to goes out of his way to help him. The two are attracted to each other, but before they can move forward, Gideon has to confront his judgmental attitudes. In addition to being African-American, Alex is blue-collar and also a big bear of a man, something Gideon is afraid of because of a painful experience with a former lover. Step by step, Alex shows patience and understanding as Gideon overcomes prejudices he never knew he had, but just as he's realizing that Alex may be his unexpected but perfect life partner, pressure from Alex's family situation may draw them apart. Russell explores expectations and preconceived notions from a variety of angles in this sexy and satisfying M/M romance, and the full cast of characters offers Gideon a variety of racial and class biases and stereotypes to overcome--a welcome addition to the narrative but not always subtle. A poignant, thought-provoking love story on many levels.

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