Review: Texting, AutoCorrect, and a Prius by M.A. Church

Title: Texting, AutoCorrect, and a Prius

Author: M.A. Church

Length: 121 Pages

Category: Contemporary, Humor

At a Glance: While the book was a miss for me, because both characters had flaws that were too big for me to ignore, I’ve heard others who found it funny and pleasurable to read, so dig a little and see if other reviewers have a different opinion than mine.

Reviewed By: Taz

Blurb: Clay McDonald finds the perfect car on Craigslist and is quick to send the seller a text:

Is your penis still for sale?

AutoCorrect strikes again. Damn—he should’ve proofread. How embarrassing.

Luckily Darrell Anderson, a mechanic and the owner of the Prius, is more amused than offended, and the two men agree to meet. When they do, the attraction is instant, and a date is arranged. But a series of mishaps, misunderstandings, and misplaced assumptions sorely test the new relationship.

In a contemporary romantic comedy about the perils of technology and dating in the modern world, a text that went so wrong might just lead to something so right—but only if Clay can refrain from jumping to conclusions and give love the benefit of the doubt.

Review: Texting, Autocorrect, and a Prius by M. A. Church had the promise of being an intriguing book, tapping into the current technological problem of autocorrect when typing on a phone. It all started with the phone substituting “penis” for “prius”. And what’s worse, the prospective buyer, Clay, asked to take the “penis” for a test drive. Of course, the seller, Darrell, found the autocorrect hilarious. Quite a premise for an awkward and noteworthy beginning to meeting someone.

Let’s start with the things that worked for me. When Clay meets Darrell, it’s attraction at first sight for them both. This was fine and they had some heated fun. I mean, who doesn’t like seeing two hotties getting it on, even if they don’t really know each other. They even agree, in a lovely flirtatious interchange, to go on a first date. Of course, this first date was to occur after Clay had already gotten Darrell off, but that was kind of fun too.

The author made an attempt to integrate perceptions about sexual roles: gay men associating topping with being masculine and bottoming as being feminine. It also tackled the concept of tastes that aren’t necessarily standard, meaning two people around the same age, each finding their perfect match in the other. Clay had very specific tastes, and worried that Darrell wouldn’t be able to handle a younger man who liked to take control in all matters sexual. Still, these issues are present and the author does justice to exploring those concepts. Had the author handled the conflict between the men in a different way, I probably would have really enjoyed exploring these topics with the two characters.

Unfortunately, the characters had some serious flaws which I found too difficult to overlook. On the day of their date, Clay jumped to a conclusion, assigning motives and behaviors to Darrell, based on his past relationship, one where he’d been hurt badly. I felt like his reaction was unfounded and a bit childish, and it made him entirely unlikable to me, especially when I saw how he reacted to his misunderstanding. Darrell, then kind of turns into a stalker, calling and leaving several messages and texts. As a man in his mid-forties, I’d think he would see Clay’s behavior as a huge red flag, and thank his good fortune for dodging a bullet. I would suspect that people who’ve reached middle age wouldn’t want to pursue someone who jumped to conclusions about them so quickly.

Because both characters had flaws that were too big for me to ignore, I just couldn’t get behind them as a couple.

While the book was a miss for me, I’ve heard others who found it funny and pleasurable to read, so dig a little and see if other reviewers have a different opinion than mine.

You can buy Texting, AutoCorrect, and a Prius here:
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