By Rick R. Reed. $13.49; Dreamspinner Press; 216 pages
Everyone loves a wedding, right? The author doesn't disappoint, but it's not what you think.
Marriage has just been declared legal in Seattle and Duncan Taylor is in the mood. He proposes to the man he loves and gets turned down. That's where the delightful novel Legally Wed begins. Duncan decides married companionship with a straight woman—no sex involved—might be worth a try to end his loneliness and provide the home life he's been itching for. He places an ad in Craigslist for a gay-friendly woman who might consider such an arrangement. "First off, sister," his ad admonishes, "get the word sexual out of your mind. … This is about a marriage of the minds." And hearts, he adds. He wants kids, but only by mixing egg and sperm in a lab. Duncan goes on to cement his argument for such a union by explaining he loves the ladies. He cites his two sisters and the fact he is more relaxed around women.
Enter Marilyn Samples. She's a gay-man—loving straight woman who knows more gay bars inside-out than Duncan. They hit it off and soon hire wedding planner Peter Dalrymple to help them prepare for the nuptials. Complications ensue when Duncan falls for Peter—hard.
Even richer than one's like of the characters and the sweet tale Rick R. Reed spins are the provocative questions raised about the human need for meaningful connection and the lengths to which some of us will go—or at least think about—to achieve that end:
Can it be fulfilling and authentic to marry ( especially if crossing the gay-straight divide ) for reasons other than romantic love? Should one eventually put aside notions of romantic love, after many failed trials, if it hasn't come along? Is there a special someone out there for each of us, or are some of us destined to cultivate our friendships and solitary interests to fill the gap? Can disappointment in love make us contemplate choices ill-suited to our nature?
If you have no need to ponder such questions for your own life, then enjoy Legally Wed for the entertaining story it is. But you may have friends or family for whom these questions resonate. All the more reason to read Reed's newest novel.
The author was once married to a woman and has a son. "My whole life has been guiding me toward accepting myself as a gay man. I hid from myself for most of my early adult life." Reed states he wants young gay people to realize that family and marriage can be a reality for them as well. He has published many novels, novellas and short stories that explore the romantic entanglements of gay men. He has won the eBook Award from The Electronic Industry Publishing Coalition three times, most recently in 2013 for Caregiver. Reed lives in Seattle with his husband and his Boston terrier.
