Armor of Glass by R. M. A. Spears is a so-so novel that reads like an autobiography.

"A lieutenant colonel once warned me I was brutally honest. I considered myself a realist, not a skeptic or cynic. What I thought to be brash and bold, many took as ass and a hole. I think not, therefore I am not. I settled on my first nickname, Brick..." Brick is a hard-working every-man. He has been a husband, father, soldier, Marine. Brick feels beleaguered and put upon by almost everyone in his life. He is skilled at making poor decisions and life choices that he subsequently blames on other people. He blames everyone for his mistakes except the one woman he loves and never married - Cameo.

Armor of Glass features a disagreeable main character who feels sorry for himself and throws blame at everyone else even though he brings many of his problems as an adult on himself. The abuse by a coach when he is young is unforgivable. He should have had some kind of counseling for this since it is implied that this determined the course of his whole life. However, his affairs and throwing blame toward his wife who he portrays as treating him wrong is untenable. If you are sleeping around and so is your wife, it is not evil of her but okay for you because you feel your lover is your long-lost love. And this guy really doesn't like women; or he likes them, but it's all about what he wants out of them and them meeting his every need. There is no question of his even thinking about meeting a woman's needs, because it's all about him. Someone needs therapy here, even though they don't believe in it.

Although the cover says it is a novel, the description says it is based on a true story. After finishing reading Armor of Glass, I felt repulsed and regretted the time spent reading it when I thought it was a poorly organized memoir. Then, when I thought perhaps it might be a novel, it was still not good, but not as bad. Wade into this one at your own risk and decide what you think; 2 stars if it's really a novel.

Disclosure: My advanced reading copy was courtesy of the publisher/author. ( )