A-Z Challenge Review: More Fun with Dick and Shane by Gillibran Brown

I know the idea of this challenge was not only to read books beginning with the right letter of the alphabet but also to choose the oldest book on my TBR pile with that letter.  However, I've been itching to read this ever since I finished the last book and this provided me with the perfect excuse.

Why I bought the book:  I read the previous book Fun With Dick and Shane - review here - and enjoyed it so much that I bought this book as soon as I'd finished reading.

Plot: This book continues where the last book finished and chronicles the life of houseboy Gilli from January to December 2007.  Some parts are just a blog-like diary written in snatches of time, and some are longer, more carefully constructed narratives of events which have caused particular upset or are dramatic.  During both occasions he relates various incidents in his m/m/m domestic discipline relationship as well as the trials and tribulations of living with two Doms.  Much of this is amusing, but there are occasional touches of sadness - as is the case with everyone's life.  If possible this book was even funnier than the last one with Gilli's droll sense of humour shining through the narrative.  There were at least two or three points where I was completely helpless with laughter, and several more where I chuckled out loud.  After one particular related mishap, I don't think I could ever look at a piece of ginger the same way again.

Characters: As this is Gilli's diary/authobiography the book is dominated by Gilli's thoughts and personality.  This doesn't always make him the most reliable of narrators because often incidents are bent out of shape by his stubborn determination to always be seen as the injured party.  However, once you are aware of that, the fun is in trying to filter out some of Gilli's over-the-top statements and see past Gilli and onto how his behaviour is affecting Shane and Dick.  Sometimes my feelings are firmly on Gilli's side, and sometimes I'm more sympathetic towards the other two men who have to deal with some of Gilli's more outrageously selfish behaviour.  Either way, the whole experience is a great deal of fun.  Gilli himself, for all that we find out about him, is an unusual mix of personalities.  He's a bit of a Northern lad with a wicked temper, who likes going out and getting drunk, but he's also a very sensitive young man who quotes Shakespeare and goes to pieces over the death of a friend's pet.  He's wild and impetuous at times but fiercely house-proud and lives to please his men.  I liked him a great deal.

Overall:  One of the greatest benefits to reading this book is the understanding it gave me of the domestic discipline lifestyle.  This type of relationship is something I could never enter into, and yet Gilli describes his thoughts and feelings about it so concisely and with such great thought that I could see why it works for him.  Gilli stresses again and again that it's not abuse, and nor is it strictly BDSM (at least for him, Dick & Shane relationship with each other is another matter entirely), but I can see how it settles him and the benefits he gains from being with his men.  If I have any niggles it's of my own making as I sometimes felt a little like a voyeur but I suppose reading any autobiography can, in theory, bring on those feelings so I tried not to let it bother me too much.

This book was a such a great read. I raced through it and when I'd finished I went off to buy book 3.  Unfortunately that book isn't out yet, and although I can read the diaries from 2009 & 2010 online, the OCD in me shudders at the thought of reading stuff out of order so I'll have to wait.  Grade: Excellent.

Buy this book HERE.