My Review for The Impossible Boy by Anna Martin.

The Impossible Boy by Anna Martin 4*

BLURB:

This is not your average love story.

Ben Easton is not your average romantic hero. He’s a tattooed, badass, wannabe rock star, working in a perfectly horrible dive bar in Camden Town. His life is good, and he’s totally unprepared for how one man will turn it upside down.

Stan isn’t your average heroine. As a gender-fluid man, he proudly wears his blond hair long, his heels sky-high, and his make-up perfectly executed. A fashion industry prodigy, Stan is in London after stints working in Italy and New York City, and he quickly falls for Ben’s devil-may-care attitude and the warm, soft heart Ben hides behind it.

Beneath the perfect, elegant exterior, Stan has plenty of scars from teenage battles with anorexia. And it only takes the slightest slip for his demons to rush back in while Ben’s away touring with his band. With the band on the brink of a breakthrough, Ben is forced to find a way to balance the opportunity of a lifetime with caring for his beautiful boyfriend.

My Review: I received a copy for reviewing purposes. The blurb has it right as this is definitely not an average romance. It is slow and gentle and has no outside angst, or ex causing trouble, for the main couple to overcome. Instead it's a beautiful love story about a man who is a rock star in the making and the guy he falls in love with. At the same time it's a really gritty look at the problems of anorexia and the constant battle it is to not give in to it.  I liked the way that Anna wrote the book from both points of view, as it gave the reader insights that might otherwise have been missed. I also thought the sex scenes were well written and was clearly more than just sex, it was love in it's physical form.  I recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about a loving relationship that starts with the first look and ends with the living together in all it's gritty normality.

n.b. Check out my other Impossible Boy post for the chance to win a back list e-book from Anna Martin.