Almost Like Being in Love: A Novel

I usually read the bad book reviews first, because the good ones tend to just gush endlessly rather than critique. And when I write a review, I want to dispassionately provide some useful information about a book to help you reach an informed decision about purchasing, or not.I simply cannot be dispassionate here. Buy the book. Write the author a weepy, flattering, grateful email when you are done. You know, if you're inclined. I'm not saying I did that. I kind of did. Maybe.A few things you need to know. This is not a traditional narrative, and instead it is told through a series of letters, memos, blog posts, emails, and so on. So a little bit of mental gear-shifting is necessary to follow and enjoy the book. So shift gears already.I wonder if having had an all-consuming first love, and having your heart broken over it, is a prerequisite for enjoying the novel on some higher plane. Can't tell you, because I'm in this group, so I don't know how the book reads to those who haven't lived it. For me, the novel conjured all that history. All the best of it. All the loss. All the hope for reconciliation. So if you have lived this, be prepared to have that scab ripped away once again. It probably won't happen right away, but once the characters start to worm their way into your heart ...But this makes the book sound really heavy. It isn't like that at all. Most of the time. The heart of this book is joy. Great joy. Joy of spirit. We learn about these people not by editorial summations (e.g. "A loved B with all his heart"), but by their own interactions and by the unfolding of events through their eyes. But I don't mean this to imply that the course of the tale is a fait accompli at all. There are struggles, and there is a major monkey wrench in there too.There is something achingly transcendent in Chapter 9 - it is, frankly, the most beautiful, human sentiment I have ever read, bar none. (The classics, contemporary writing, all of it.) Don't know if others even notice it, but it makes me weep. Trying to find this bit prior to reading what comes before won't work - you won't understand. I read this book the first time, what, a year ago? And I just flipped pages to find this quote so I could tell you approximately where it was, and having found it, I'm crying. Again. Good tears. And I haven't skipped my meds or anything.The characters are quirky and delightful and thorny and stubborn and brave and loving. And I loved them all right back, which made the approaching climax that much harder to suss out, and amped up the tension a few orders of magnitude. Everyone in this book was on his/her own yet interconnected journey. There were so many touching moments - teacher/student, attorney/client, father/son, friend/friend, a long-distance courting couple, and of course lover/lover. And there were some moments of true farce. Much of the dialogue had me laughing out loud (sometimes while alone at the local cafe, so, you know - crazy guy near the window with the latte and the scone).This was a really smooth read - I encountered none of the usual editing mistakes that so much M/M fiction suffers from. Naturally, the flawless flow of the writing just lets the reader focus on the story and the characters.So yeah, this is a pretty random review. I want to say more, but it would spoil things. I can only add that I have over 100 M/M books now, and this one is one of a select group of 6 "winners" that I think are the best of the genre. This should also be a movie.And if you end up researching a certain Lerner and Loewe musical as a result of reading ALBIL, maybe even streaming it or buying the DVD, so much the better. It counts toward CEUs for renewing your Gay Card.

Steve Kluger has won my heart--too bad I'm female! This is real writing. The characters are lovely, with their sweet hearts on their sleeves. We know all the most intimate things about how they behave together and alone, but there is no sex on screen. It takes a real writer to make us feel the sexual tension without any body parts beyond lips and pecs on stage and plenty of descriptions to others about men in general. Craig and Travis are the stars, but Gordo, A.J., Clayton, Noah, Charleen, Jody, and even Craig's mother come alive.Then we have Travis trekking across the country to find Craig. A perfect Travis thing to do! His sneaking into mom's office was priceless! Travis just has to KNOW, and we love him for it.I bought the paperback second-hand; the Kindle edition is expensive. But now I have it to keep and read again when I get tired of the commonplace.

GR Buddy Read – March 20204 Stars ⭐️I did enjoy this one. It has a narration style that is not going to be for everyone, but once I got used to it really enjoyed it.It started slow, and I honestly didn’t enjoy the first chapter but then like a boulder rolling down a hill picked up momentum as the story progressed. By the time Travis was on his road trip I was thoroughly engrossed and enjoying myself immenselyI liked both Travis and Craig. Both guys were quirky in their own ways and this really shone through via the narration style as they bantered with the secondary characters. The secondary characters were also all a hoot. I loved Gordo and AJ, even Gordo’s dad was funny. Travis was probably my favourite his quirks entertained me big time. Whereas Craig was more funny in his banter with the team at his office.This book is really different in that usually where one of the main characters already has a significant partner that partner is a normally a jerk and acts in a way that the reader wants the MC to move on and get together with the other MC. In this one for the first time ever I was firmly in the camp of Craig staying with Clayton. Clayton took awhile to get to know and it wasn’t until he and Travis were getting to know each other that we really get to see Clayton shine and he was a great guy.I enjoyed that all of the characters got to know each other and became sort like a little family. I also liked that Travis did come to understand that while he had not moved on, Craig actually had, and had moved on for 12 years. When all is said and done he was happy with Clayton and the life they had together until the notion of Travis reinserted itself into his life, but I did like the way this was resolved and how we got the information about all the characters whereabouts and life choices.An interesting read of a book that has been languishing in my TBR pile for years. I believe it will be one of those books that I’ll reread in the future

For roughly the first 100 pages I was a little confused and a lot intrigued. This was mainly down to the writing style of the book as rather than being told through description and dialogue Steve Kluger as told the story of Travis and Craig through letters, attorney notes, diary entries, emails and more. Yet although it was confusing to start with, in the end it became part the books charm. Overall I think it made the reader closer to the characters and the struggles they were facing.The other key feature of this book I had to mention was the humour. Its wacky, zany and seeps into every aspect of the novel. Travis in particular is over-the-top, a tiny bit crazy, a lot neurotic and also completely loveable, but much like the writing style of the book the humour is another aspect people will either love or hate. I personally loved it, although at times it would have been nice for more emotion and less humour.Although this book revolves around the romance between Travis and Craig this isn’t your typical m-m romance. The reader follow Travis and Craig from initial meeting, to first kiss, university, separation and beyond. After all no one falls in love when they’re eighteen, do they? This is the question Travis suddenly asks himself at the age of 39 after another failed relationship. Even after all these years he can’t forget what he had with Craig and the connection they shared.It this thought that begins Travis mad-cap journey across America to track down the love of his life. A person he hasn’t seen in twenty years. Someone who could be married, dead or worse not the Craig he remembers. I loved Travis as a character because he takes the leaps no person would in real life. He’s willing to put it all on the getting arrested isn’t going to stop him from finding Craig.While Travis is travelling across the country Craig is busy making decision of his own. Huge life-changing decisions that could put him out of Travis’s reach forever, but that is a journey your just going to have to experience for yourself!

I quite enjoyed this story. The way it's written is unusual: it's a series of diary entries, emails and online posts rather than a conventional narrative.There is rather too much meaningless detail about American sport (at least for a Brit) but overall the story is a good page turner.

What a lovely book I read it with in 2 days and now my daughter is reading it.

For those of us who recognised true love and are bound by it.

I can't get over how much I enjoyed this book! A little unconventional in style and therefore a bit difficult to fall into in the beginning, but I am so happy I stuck it out. the innovative form made it all that more interesting. Steve Kruger has such a wonderful way with words and phrases without resorting to worn out cliches. I felt thoroughly entertained right up till the very end. The characters are a delight and are costumed with idiosyncrasies that keep you laughing from begging till end. I wish I was a professional critique to give this book all the praise it deserves. Wonderful, brilliant, original, touching and hilarious! Thank you for your efforts, Steve. It was well worth it!