Too Stupid to Live ~ Book Review ~ @RiptideBooks @AnneTenino

Title: Too Stupid to Live

Author: Anne Tenino

Publisher: Riptide Books

Publication Status: Available

Genre: M/M Romance, Contemporary

Themes: LGBT, Coming Out, Homophobia

ISBN: 9781937551841

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

From the Publisher:

Sam’s a new man. Yes, he’s still too tall, too skinny, too dorky, too gay, and has that unfortunate addiction to romance novels, but he’s wised up. His One True Love is certainly still out there, but he knows now that real life is nothing like fiction. He’s cultivated the necessary fortitude to say “no” to the next Mr. Wrong, no matter how hot, exciting, and/or erotic-novel-worthy he may be.

Until he meets Ian.

Ian’s a new man. He’s pain-free, has escaped the job he hated and the family who stifled him, and is now—possibly—ready to dip his toe into the sea of relationships. He’s going to be cautious, though, maybe start with someone who knows the score and isn’t looking for anything too complicated. Someone with experience and simple needs that largely revolve around the bedroom.

Until he meets Sam.

Sam’s convinced that Ian is no one’s Mr. Right. Ian’s sure that Sam isn’t his type. They can’t both be wrong . . . can they?

My View:

This is not my first Anne Tenino. I keep coming back to her books because they are fun to read. They don't take themselves to seriously, and you don't have to either. Just by the title you would know the Too Stupid To Live, her latest offering, definitely fits into that category.

If you are a romance book reader, especially if you read much in the Contemporary Het Romance (i.e. those without the girly bits) genre, you are familiar the with "TSTL" or "Too Stupid to Live" phenomenon. Even if you haven't heard the phrase, you have read the character... you know the one the ineffectual Heroine that you just want to strangle thanks to all the DUMB thoughts they have and choices they make... yep thought so ;)

TSTL is about the Macho former-firefighter Ian and the geeky, gangly graduate student Sam. Sam loves to read romance novels (both M/M and Het) and so much the this love affair is compared to the "typical" plot devices used throughout the Romance genre. Like I said, it doesn't take itself to seriously. I love a book that can poke fun at itself... but I digress... So Sam and Ian are total opposites and after a brief, awkward encounter, should have no more to do with each other, but of course that wouldn't make for much of a story. Through accident, family, and mutual friends these two opposites are thrown together time an again until they crack (so to speak). The resulting lust turned love romance is fun, hot, and down to earth.

These Characters (as well as the minor characters of Nik and Jurgen) where first introduced in Tenino's Free series Whitetail Rock. Though this is not a sequel to Whitetail Rock and The Fix in the strick sense, reading those two first will give you some good background on the characters you encounter in TSTL (and hey, they are free... You can pick them up here: Whitetail Rock and The Fix (Whitetail Rock #2))

Buy it on Amazon Buy it on All Romance ebooks

I would like to thank Riptide and NetGalley for providing me with the eARC of this title in exchange for my honest opinion.