Covet

August 14, 2017
Less a romance than an exploration of a pornography trope, Kleinn’s debut novel examines the desires of three men, two of whom are identical twins. Jack Mason is a playboy marketing professional who haunts and eventually seduces professor Colin Sloan, loudly declaring that they are no-strings friends with benefits. Jack’s twin, Peter, snubs this as an “unorthodox arrangement,” though he dreams erotically about Colin himself. After his own romantic relationship falls apart, Peter then decides to pursue Colin, too, much to Jack’s displeasure. Most of the loosely linked episodes can be categorized one of three ways: obsessive but silent analysis of social interactions, refusal to speak about emotional issues, and repetitive sex scenes featuring the word “slotted” (many of them unsettlingly heteronormative dominance scenes, à la 1980s bodice rippers, in which Colin is “yielding” and “docile”). The few attempts to characterize the men beyond their erotic desires are often ridiculous—Colin, a language arts instructor, hates Shakespeare because of “too many rhyming words”—and the ending is far from happy. This effort is flimsy and forgettable.

September 15, 2017
Newly single English professor Colin Sloan has given up on love, so he considers the offer of a no-strings-attached affair from handsome artist Jack Mason to be a good compromise. Then Colin meets Jack's identical twin brother, Peter. Peter has a girlfriend, but as he and Colin spend more time together, that relationship falls apart. Then Peter spends the night with Colin, which was supposed to be a one-and-done, and they think it won't be a big deal to Jack, but Jack has done the unthinkable: he's fallen in love with Colin. And Peter can't stay away from him. If the twins don't figure out a way to share, they both risk losing Colin for good.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)