Art Criticism by Celeste Spettro

Hey everyone,

I thought it had been a while since I'd read and reviewed an male/male romance and when I stumbled across the description for Art Criticism I knew I wanted to both read and review it! The blurb just intrigued me on so many levels; the book revolved around the art world (art history student here) and one of the main characters promised to be snarky and sarcastic. It sounded perfect.

The book:

James has no idea what he's going to do with his art history degree, but for the moment he's managing as a lowly gallery assistant... 

Until he has to deal with an aggravating photographer. Turkish is a lot like his photographs: vapid, popular, and over the top - the perfect target for James’ snarky criticism, but somehow James is unable to reject the man as easily as he rejects his art.

My Thoughts:

From the first sentence of this book I was hooked. James's feelings of loneliness, uncertainy and general what the hell am I suppose to do now are something I can completely relate too; and I'd like to think I'm not the only one out there who does? Having just finished a degree in History of Art he's working away as a gallery assistant, not actually a dream graduate job something he is only too well aware off. I suppose it was his vulnerability that spoke to me. For me it made his character extremely real, and like most of us his vulnerability, and perhaps feelings of inadvacy extended into the more personal aspects of his life.

He's awkward and unsure of himself around men he's attracted too, family members, friends etc. Now before you go getting the wrong idea James doesn't moan about his situation but instead expresses himself through the beautiful medium of sarcasm, maybe even borderline rudeness as James himself worries at one point in Art Criticism. As the blurb would imply the person who irritates James the most is Turkish. A demanding photographer who in front of James intiately comes across as vapid, vain and over-rated. Certainly on the part of James this wasn't love at first sight.

In fact it takes a long time before James can see past the exterior, or personna that Turkish puts up. Much like James uses sarcasm to deflect or detract from his real feelings, I felt like Turkish used his 'popular' pieces as a shield. It allowed him to be creative and artistic without really pushing any boundaries. The reason I felt James and Turkish worked so well as a couple is because they pushed each other past there comfort zones. James called Turkish up on his pieces and although it was difficult read and my god would it be painful in real life it allowed them to look beyond the persona they showed the world.

In much the same way Turkish forced James to start living and made him look past his fear and his social nerves. Although these two accepted each other for who they were I felt like they also made each other better. This was such a sweet book to read and I would reccomend it to anyone who is a fan of the male/male romance genre.

My rating:

Happy reading everyone and see you next time!