Book Review: The Untold Want by Catt Ford

Title: The Untold Want
Author: Catt Ford
Genre: Contemporary Romance, M/M Romance
Sensuality Rating: Erotic
Source: Review copy provided by publisher
Published: March 30, 2011 by Dreamspinner Press

A professional life hitting all the highs is poor compensation for a personal life hitting all the lows. Myles Winston is divorced, isolated in a cocoon of loneliness when he's not at work, and adrift in a sea of despondency with no idea how to break out of the rut. Then a chance encounter with Davion, an old school friend, brings back such visceral memories of their “experimentation” that Myles finds himself pursuing a secret affair with him. But Myles is still struggling with his fear that he may be a disappointment to his parents, and he must be true to himself before he can step into the light of day and reach out for what he truly wants—Davion in his arms forever.

Reviewed By: J9

In a Nutshell: I was lukewarm about this romance as it seemed lopsided in telling only one lead’s character development and leaving the other a mystery.

The Set Up: Myles feels lonely and unfulfilled even though he’s a wealthy investment manager. He longs for the connection he had with his high school “experiment”, Davion, and is shocked to meet him again. Davion is a respected homoerotic painter and willing to give Myles another try but he’s not willing to be Myles’ secret. Is Myles ready to live his own life now and claim Davion?

Why I Read this Book: Characters of color are too rare in mainstream romance so I read stories that feature them every time I see them on a book cover, like this one.

What I Liked: I liked both Myles and Davion and their reunion romance well enough. Myles is successful at work but lonely and emotionally isolated. Davion is more mysterious (more on that later) but he’s a respected artist living the life of an artist in Manhattan. The sexual tension is strong between these two as they meet again nearly twenty years after their brief high school affair. This leads to lots of sexual exploration and an adequate, though flat, emotional exploration between them.

I also liked that the author included strong female characters, something else rare in MM novellas. Myles’ feisty grandmother, Mimi, who gives Myles encouragement and strength to be himself is a lovely character, though only on page briefly.  Myles has a sassy and warm secretary who is enjoyable too.

What I Didn’t Like: This is told third person so I expected it to be less lopsided than it was and the romance really suffered because of this. Myles is a quasi-selfish jerk and his character development is what this novella is about. Yes, Davion shares his hurt with Myles’ past behavior but it was in the denouement and close to novella’s conclusion. The few things Davion shares with Myles is all I as a reader knew about him, other than he was an artist. I never connected with Davion or the romance much and since Myles’ story is one of growth and redemption, I didn’t much like him for most of the story.

IMO: I wanted to like this romance a lot more than I did. Still, I finished it without difficulty, just with a lukewarm response.

J9’s Rating:

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