Review: Ginger Snaps by John Inman

Title: Ginger Snaps

Series: Belladonna Arms: Book Five

Author: John Inman

Length: 240 Pages

Category: Contemporary

At a Glance: If you are already a fan of this series, run, do not walk to get your copy of Ginger Snaps. It is just a beautiful story. If you have never had the joy of reading Mr. Inman’s work, I recommend you start with this series.

Reviewed By: Sammy

Blurb: Even with a string of earthquakes jarring the tenants of the Belladonna Arms, rattling nerves and smashing dishes, life still manages to plod along as usual. Love pollen continues to fall, romances continue to flourish, and Arthur, the grand Pooh-bah in residence, continues to plan his upcoming wedding extravaganza.

In the midst of all this drama fall Gideon Chase and Reed Kelly, two redheaded losers at love who find themselves regrouping under the auspices of the most incorrigible matchmaker in heels.

Arthur sees hope for the two right away. He leases them adjoining apartments, then continually tweaks their budding friendship in the hope it will slip into love. Just as Arthur’s plans are coming along nicely, Reed’s past shows up to toss a monkey wrench into his and Gideon’s blossoming romance.

With Arthur’s wedding ceremony nigh, and Reed and Gideon on the verge of heartache yet again, Arthur faces one inescapable conclusion.

It will take more than love pollen to sort this mess out.

Review: There is something magical about John Inman’s Belladonna Arms series that keeps me coming back, novel after novel, and dying just a little inside at the thought that there may be an actual ending to the stories. With Ginger Snaps, the fifth installment, I think Mr. Inman has outdone himself. Between the idea of two gingers being attracted to each other (unheard of, for sure) and Arthur’s pending nuptials, we are privy to even more than the normal share of hilarity and insanity fans of this series have come to expect and love.

As usual the apartment complex has welcomed two wounded warriors into her bosom, or Arthur’s bosom, as the case may be. Gideon has just left a lying, cheating ex whose parting gift was to donate everything but the clothes on Gideon’s back to the Salvation Army. Gideon arrives at the Arms with limited cash, his computer and two raggedy t-shirts he had in the back of his car. But as he was soon to find out, Arthur is nothing short of a miracle worker, and the inhabitants of the Belladonna are generous beyond belief. Little by little, Gideon is welcomed into the fold and the sadness that haunted him from a broken heart begins to dissipate.

Next door to our possession-less ginger is another redhead with his own troubling problems. Reed is fresh off a divorce from his wife of four years. While he hoped he was bisexual, it soon became painfully clear to him and his ex that he was gay, and completely miserable. But Reed must have stood in line twice for the guilt he carried about leaving his wife; it weighed him down tremendously. When he meets Gideon via their adjoining windows and offers to help him do some DIY fixes around his apartment, little does either man realize just how potent the love pollen Arthur and the other tenants like to speak about truly is. Before either man realizes it, their swearing off dating (especially a fellow ginger) is thrown to the wind. But guilt is a funny thing—it makes us do things we know we wouldn’t, and endure circumstances that we know to be unhealthy, especially when it comes to affairs of the heart. Trouble is brewing for one of our gentle redheads, and it will change the course of everything—including a love that was never meant to be.

I could tell you that you should read this book just to see if Arthur and Tom actually get married. I could remind you of the hideous, over the top outfits Arthur is wont to wear, and let your imagination fill in the blanks as to just what type of wedding ensemble he might actually choose. I could tell you that every character (read couple) from the previous four books show up in this one, and they are just as insane as they always have been, including our resident kleptos and Little Artie of the dirty diaper (read: cesspool) fame. I should definitely remind you that if you have’nt read this series, please start with the gem Serenading Stanley, and I guarantee you will be hooked from then on. But, what I really want to focus on is this author’s ability to combine pathos, hurt/comfort, and second chances at love with humor, outlandish and quirky characters, and a sweetness that is never cloying but always touching.

After reading one of John Inman’s Belladonna Arms books, the desire to actually meet these characters, the sudden and consuming need to have them actually be real and not just a gorgeous creation from the fertile mind of a comedic genius, is so huge that you are desperate for another installment just to get your fix. These novels are just the right balance of romance and humor, with fascinating men who somehow are able to reach beyond their pain to start fresh and, really, for the first time live a life they never imagined they could. The Belladonna Arms series redefines the happy ever after by making it something we all can believe will happen if we just have a little faith—and, a fairy godmother who sports fake breasts and smokes cigars doesn’t hurt either.

If you are already a fan of this series, run, do not walk to get your copy of Ginger Snaps. It is just a beautiful story. If you have never had the joy of reading Mr. Inman’s work, I recommend you start with this series. I can assure you that you will be buying this author’s entire backlist right after you finish these. Ginger Snaps is a delightfully romantic tale of love lost and love found, all tied up in laughter and friendship. I highly recommend it to you.

You can buy Ginger Snaps here:
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