Hard Truths

In Whitehall’s adequate contemporary romance, Isaac, a closeted web designer, finds himself attracted to his sister’s fake date, Logan—a pierced, tattooed, and “olive-toned” man who claims to be an ex-con, intended to scandalize Isaac’s bigoted parents—at their family’s Christmas dinner. After Logan hits on Isaac, the men make a date, and Isaac gets to know Logan, who’s actually a fellow graphic designer. Their initial love connection is sweet, culminating in a passionate kiss that eventually leads to hot sex and Isaac’s first motorcycle ride. But their relationship suffers, too, because Isaac is afraid to come out to his parents. Logan doesn’t want to move in with Isaac if their relationship can’t be public, causing additional pressure on their otherwise storybook love affair. Whitehall (Magic Runs Deep) builds up Isaac’s justifiable fears at the expense of failing to sufficiently develop the supporting characters, especially Logan. The drama that ensues—some of it violent—is often contrived. Whitehall makes the salient, albeit expected, point about friends being “family” for LGBTQ folks rejected by their parents, but the central romance isn’t very satisfying. (Oct.)