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Bob Lind, Echo Magazine wrote on 07/28/2009:

Carlos Martin is a 27 year old gay Cuban-American, a teacher who recently relocated from his family's home in Miami to Boston, following the death of his mother, to whom he was very close, leaving behind his sister and father. He never was very close to his father, and felt almost like an intruder when his mother was no longer there, so he thought it best to make a "fresh start" in a new city, even though it is very different in many ways. Thankfully, he quickly met Tommy Perez, a 29 year old Cuban who is also from Miami, and Tommy was able to show him around his new city, including the gay nightlife. Tommy is very sensitive to Carlos' family situation, and doesn't try to joke Carlos out of his belief that his mother still visits him regularly in his dreams. But it is clear that there are some unresolved issues with his family, which will need to be addressed before Carlos can really build a new life in Boston. Meanwhile, Tommy is dealing with the reemergence of his ex, Mikey, whom he broke up with because of his alcohol abuse. The question is whether Tommy can deal with being the supportive friend Mikey needs as he rehabs, without falling back into a lover relationship that may not be good for either one of them.

The character of Tommy was introduced in Diaz' first book, "Boston Boys Club," and it is nice to get acquainted with him again. The author has a definite talent in featuring realistic, emotionally fully-developed characters in his stories, with whom most readers can easily identify and want to know better. Also love the way he shows his gay characters reconciling with family members. In my opinion, this is the best of his three novels thus far, and I give it four spicy stars out of four.