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The Night We Met
by Rob Byrnes
| List Price: |
$23.00 |
Unavailable for
purchase at this time |
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Hardcover
Publisher: Kensington
In the tradition of Married to the Mob and The Wedding Banquet, Rob Byrnes' wickedly funny debut novel serves up a deliciously wacky love story about love, family, and singing soprano. . . "We Are Family" Just Took On A Whole New Meaning. . . Andrew Westlake's life is boring him into a coma. After fifteen years in New York, he hasn't met up with the gay Rat Pack, become the literary voice of his generation, or met Mr. Right. Andrew is resigned to a life of anti-fabulousness. . .until the night he meets dark, hunky Frank DiBenedetto. Confident, charming, and sweet, Frank is everything Andrew could ever want, except for one tiny problem-his family. Correction, "THE Family." What can you do when your lover turns out to be the son of the Mafia's top boss, and he's engaged to Anna Franco-daughter of "Crazy Tommy" Franco? Suddenly, Andrew's once-boring life is heating up with enough action to fuel ten novels. In disguise and on the run from "sensitivity-trained" cops, a persistent FBI agent, a scorned Mafia princess, and several guys whose nicknames all have to do with pain, Andrew and Frank are in for a madcap romp of romance, where dating isn't just an adventure-it's a matter of survival. . .
| Customer Reviews: |
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| A Clever, Funny Read |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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Byrnes, Rob. "The Night We Met", Kensington Books, 2003.
A Clever, Funny Read
Amos Lassen
Andrew works in a Manhattan publishing office where he has two goals---to be the next great American author and to find Mr. Right. He meets Frank DeBenedetto, a hunk of a guy who knows the right people and Andrew falls for him at once. Of course, there is a problem--Frank is not only straight but he is engaged to Anna Franco, the daughter of a member of the Mafia. Another issue is that Frank regards Andrew as a woman and somehow they are totally attracted to each other. Eventually they come together as two men and when Anna learns of this she is not pleased to say the least. Add to this that Frank is the son of a Mafia boss as well.
This book can only be described as fun. The characters are built wonderfully and they leave the pages of the book and sit next to you as you read. Andrew is similar to the gay "everyman". He finds himself in situations that he cannot walk away from. He tells his story to anyone who will listen and his dreams of being the next William Faulkner really hit me hard.
One of the great things about the book is that you cannot guess what will happen next. This is wonderful gay fiction that blends comedy and romance and suspense. It is wonderfully written and the characters win you over immediately. Andrew is the kind of guy that does not seem to learn from his past--to him romance is the answer to everything and it is love that gives him the courage and determination to win Frank and to stick around when things got really wild,
There are great characters in the book and the laughs keep coming. The pace of the novel is fast and the romance is great. Sure, this is fluff but so what? Its fun and you will smile as you read.
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| God This Was Good! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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It's been a long time since I've laughed this hard during a book. I almost didn't buy this one because I hadn't heard of the author and the price was so low.(Normally if it's sold on Amazon for less than a dollar it can't be that good.) Thank God I said what the hell! This book had everything a romance should. And normally I don't like books written in the first person because you lose a sense of the other characters, but with Andrew he had so many crazy thoughts and self destructive moments that there really wasn't room for anyone elses point of view. And Andrew was far from perfect as some authors tend to make their characters but you loved him all the more for it. He's an everyday decent guy just looking for his Mr. Right like everyone else. Except he doesn't give up as easily as most any, or sane person in this case, would. Here are just some of the things you'll come across in this book: Car chases, Mofia hit men, psycotic ex-fiances, first time drag experiences, under cover hot FBI agents, crazed authors, annoying twinks, supportive friends, true love, threats of castration, Demi Moore look alikes, 'sensitivity trained' cops, a lust starved Lauren Becall fan. And honestly these thing just scratch the surface. This is a read that will simply leave you feeling good and laughing out loud days after you finish it. I will recomend this book to all and have already loned mine to a friend, with the warning that I want it back. It'll make a great reread down the road when I need a little pick me up.
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| AWESOME READ |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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This book is awesome. You are hooked to the main character of Andrew from the first page. This book is so well written. I could not stopped reading it. By the end of the book I wanted to know where the characters were and how they were. I love these books that you grow with the character and you are almost yelling at the book when the characters do something stupid.
Romance, Humor, Tears, and Hope this book has it all. I hope the author revisits these characters again sometime. I recommend this for a great entertaining read.
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| Some wonderful Laugh of Loud moments- I did! |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
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A VERY nice openning, with some wonderful images and some great wit.
This is the story of a man blinded by rose colored glasses, a romantic who in a relationship is soo happy that he doesn't notice his lover isn't and is getting ready to leave him. Andrew is devastated, with some rye humor including a lol moment while he drowns his califlower in gravy and holds it down while imaging his ex's new lover! Well, Andrew's not a fast learner so the next guy his eyes meet turns out to be a prince of a different kind. But despite the wise-guys, homocidual ex-finances, danger to life and limb and his friends desperate attempts to help him and themselves Andrew refuses to give up his Love with confused, son-of-the-mafia Frank.
I liked it, but you expect a main character to learn and grow. Andrew doesn't seem to. He goes in to his romantic Love and it's little different, accept the for danger for bodily harm or death at the hands of Frank's Family connections, then his "example" relationship with the ex that left him. You can only say that his rose-glasses Love gave him the courage and determination to stay until he got Frank, and then to stick around despite all common sense and actually end up WITH Frank. And safe.
I really loved the beginning. Got tired as I continued to read to the end all in one night (I read it all in one night people, there's something to this book!)- so perhaps I'm a bit jaded on the ending, but I still feel there was no character growth.
Some great characters, like mystery writter Maragret and FBI Paul Waverly and like I said a wonderful openning. Things just went slightly down hill when Frank does the typical Mafia thing and has Andrew's ex beaten- bad. That kind of killed the comedy there and alot of the rye life humor as well as those rose-colored glasses blinded Andrew to his own life. He spends most of the story from that moment desperately trying to bag his man, despite his flaws, Frank needed him! And Frank WAS sweet.
Reading it I would occassionally imagine it as a movie, or even as a yaoi manga.
Read it- you decide!
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| Madness and the Mafia, plus HIGH, HIGH CAMP !! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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What a totally fun book !!! THE NIGHT WE MET is the story of a 30-something editorial assistant - budding author, Andrew, who, through a being forced by his employer to "do drag" (looking like Demi Moore), finds himself in love with a Mafia baby, Frank, who doesn't know he, Frank, is gay. Adding to the mix is Ted; Andrew's EX, and Ted's new twink boyfriend "Nicky"; Denise and David, two of Andrew's friends; a host of Mafia thugs and bigwigs; a Mafia Diva; a formidable mystery writer; as well as some "gum-shoes"; and the FBI. Madness and mayhem ensue in this fast paced, romantic farce. The story is so convoluted and madcap that it reminds one of some of the early Cary Grant comedies of the 1930's. This is a fast-paced easy read, and is, in the words of Andrew's literary critics "fluff". FLUFF is NOT A BAD THING, in fact, it makes for many laughs, a few moments of poignancy, and a genuinely entertaining experience. I loved it!!
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