ETA: This review is of the original, free online fic Art Criticism by Blue GhostGhost, a pen name of Celeste Spettro.Original review:I really loved this book!!! James is an art gallery assistant, Turkish/Yusef is a photographer. So, just the kind of professions that interest me in a book. The story is told in first person from James' POV (except for the epilogue). But both characters come across very three-dimensional, they are real people with their little flaws, and their emotions are described extremely well.This is a love story, a very emotional one, and one that keeps you glued to the page. There were a couple of things I'm not sure I've seen before in my m/m romance novels. First, when Turkish/Yusef starts to hit on him, James is absolutely dumbfounded, he can't believe what's happening, and that was very exciting to follow. Second, James is a character with very low self-esteem, and he's reluctant to let Turkish close, not so fast anyway, both sexually and otherwise. The book says something about shyness, but I think it's James' need to protect himself.I highly recommend this free book! There are spelling mistakes in the text, but otherwise it is very good writing. And the story is lovely. Lovely, sweet, inspiring, engaging, funny, and all-around enjoyable. A wonderful change of pace from my last read, which left me with a bad taste in my mouth.Even though it suffers from most of the usual online fic's issues, lack of editing most of all, it's surprisingly well-written and not wordy or repetitive. Well paced, concise, lots of show and very little tell, quirky characters, behaving in believable ways. The conflict was brilliant, and brilliantly handled, too. See? It's not fluffy, but it's not horribly angsty, or full of unnecessary drama. And yet, it still made me cry. If you are in the mood to meet interesting, smart young people, who are taking the plunge into true love, by all means, read it and enjoy.
What do You think about Art Criticism (2010)?
Great read. Very easy to get lost in the characters and the story. Definitely recommend it.
—locamp
What great characters. Both of the characters blend well together. So sweet and hot!
—LachanceJ
