Bookish Ames

K.Z. Snow is an author I've always wanted to read and I finally got around to it with The Zero Knot. After reading this, I am definitely going to be reading more of this author's backlist.

Jess Bonner and Dylan 'Mig' Finch are part of the Domino Club, a group of friends who get together from time to time. What draws them all together? They're bisexual. But Jess realizes that he is tired of the face he puts on for the club, he's not being true to himself and he decides to cut ties to the other members. Except Dylan. He can see that Dylan is feeling the same way and after discussing how he feels with Dylan, Jess realizes that Dylan is smoking hot in a subtle way - at least Jess has never really noticed it before!

Jess is all gung-ho to start something with Dylan, but Dylan has a few concerns. First, there's Jess' past with one of the other members of the club (a past that rears it's ugly head soon into their romance). There's also the fact that Jess is going away to college in a few months. And neither man is out - so they would have to be very careful, especially Dylan who comes from a very conservative background.

I enjoy these kind of romances - the blush of first love, especially poignant during that time period between walking away from your childhood and entering into adulthood. There are so many conflicts inherent in this time frame as well, especially when it comes to your character. Do two young men want to embark on a serious relationship before they've really experienced anything? There's also the coming out factor, moving away to college...KZ Snow does a good job of bringing it all together as well as crafting a truly enjoyable romance.

I thought the doubts and fears that Jess and Dylan had were realistic. The experience of coming out for each boy was drastically different and I thought Dylan's character was a bit more mature compared to Jess', he had a more practical perspective on the world. Jess was a fun character that definitely embodied a young, care-free man who has his eyes opened to the ways of the world. Jess and Dylan defnitely balanced each other out. Jess' younger brother was a nice comic touch as well.

The Zero Knot was a solidly written tale about a young man finding himself and falling in love for the first time. I definitely recommend this title.