Short Review: And Call Me in the Morning by Willa Okati

I picked up this book because everyone raved on about it on GRs and I read several great reviews on other blogs.  I was also attracted by the fact that the heroes are in their 40s which is quite unusual for an m/m book.  This meant I had high hopes for this one as I sat down to read.  In the end, I wasn't as enthused by it as many other readers have been, but it was still a pretty good read.

Plot: Doctors and best buddies Eli and Zane are such close friends that everyone assumes that they are in a gay relationship together.  In order for them to put the whole thing to rest, Zane suggested they kiss one another.  This turns out to have the opposite effect when sparks fly and the two men tumble into a sexual relation which Eli never saw coming.  Along the way they have to cope with interfering friends, stress in their jobs and working out how they are going to slot into each other's lives.

Characters: As I said earlier, one thing which I liked was that the two men were both mature.  this is reflected in the book as they both have careers which makes it difficult to always fit each other in.  The book is written from Eli's point of view and he's a very sympathetic narrator.  My one complaint is that he was, well, a little bland.  There was nothing which really made him stand out as a character.  This was a shame because he had such an interesting background - he used to be a cop and then after retiring from the force, he re-trained as a doctor - and I felt more could have been made of this to add interest to his character.  Instead it's just a 'thing' about him that happened in the past, and which he's now put behind him.  In fact both of the main heroes were likeable but uninspiring.  They had the usual doctor characteristics - relaible, hardworking, self-sacrificing - and even Zane's frustrations with the hospital administration were in keeping with that overall image of the perfect doctor who only cares about his patients.  This meant that although I liked reading about the two men and were glad for their happy ending, there was nothing which struck me or held my interest after I finished the final page.

Overall:  This would be the ideal book to read after reading something which might have been stressful or difficult to read.  It was a gentle, easy romance without much angst.  The heroes actually talk to one another and discuss their problems like sensible adults.  They also take their time exploring their new-found sexual attraction which I found very appealing, although the sexual tension wasn't as strong as I was hoping.  Their solid friendship with each other meant that they were considerate when things moved into a sexual relationship and any hurts or misunderstandings were quickly resolved.  If you're looking for a decent romance between two older, likeable guys which contains a touch of GFY, then you can't go wrong with this book.  Grade: Good.

Buy this book HERE.