The Complications of TRating: 4.5 stars
Buy Link:
Amazon | All Romance | Amazon UK
Length: Novella


Stuart gave up drinking almost four years ago, but now that his acting career and marriage are both on the rocks, some beers will help drown his sorrows. When Stuart is spotted by the paparazzi, a well meaning admirer takes Stuart home. Tim is not at all what he appears to be to and the morning after has Stuart fraught with confusion.

Not realizing their lives have been connected for years, Stuart is drawn to Tim, who is at first quiet and mysterious. Stuart is intrigued and then aroused and his time with Tim sends him on a new path. But Stuart lives in the public eye and neither of them may be ready for the media coverage that will inevitably follow every move of their unique relationship.

Bey Deckard once again seduces readers with his writing and continues to amaze and deliver. With every book, regardless of the subject matter, he has a clear and authentic voice and provides just the perfect amount of description to achieve a full visual effect.

So much works here starting with the clever title and just one letter encapsulates so many areas of the story itself. Tim’s life has been complicated and while the story could have dwelled on that, it doesn’t. Deckard then takes a timely subject and makes it entirely accessible.

Stuart finds himself attracted to Tim, who is openly transgender, and moves on to a physical relationship with him. Stuart has only dated women in the past, but sees an opportunity and moves forward with little hesitation or stress. Stuart asks the questions that would naturally come to mind and Tim answers with honesty and humor as the author manages to add inflection to his writing that enables the characters to have a voice that comes off of the page.

There is a reasonable amount of character development for the length of the story. There is just enough offered to question how likable Stuart was in the outside world and enough to illustrate Tim as an engaging and complex character. Even more on Tim’s struggles would only have added to the story. The characters grow and take their own journey during the course of the book, but a good portion of that is off page. However, the author may just have something there when Tim offers Stuart a 90-day warranty.

With fewer words, Deckard crafts a tale of finding the one person that works for you regardless of society’s expectations. The ending could be interpreted in more than one way, but there is hope in the air and the end conversation could very well be the background music to the potential of love and a life well lived. The Complications of T is another story that is well worth the read as presented from Deckard’s capable hands.

Cover: Let’s take a moment to gaze upon the gorgeous cover with a photograph by Varian Krylov and the cover design by Bey Deckard.

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