Richard Rossi, an HR professional at a software company in Boston, seems to be doing well in life. His job is stable - and he's being considered for a promotion - and things are going well with him and his partner, Conrad. But when Richard discovers a text message on Conrad's phone just prior to another of Conrad's business trips to Ohio, he finds himself wondering if things are quite as 'together' as they appear. But does Conrad have what Richard refers to as an 'Insignificant Other'? And, as Richard examines the choices he's made and the truth of his own life, what does it mean to him if his suspicions are true.

McCauley's first-person narrative is definitely an interesting read. There's a definite reality to Richard that I found easy to relate to (even his distaste for President George W. Bush, which comes up more than once) and an interesting development in Richard's character over the course of the book that seems natural and not forced at all. The writing is broken down into small sections (I wouldn't say chapters because some are as short as a page or less and others are a few pages long) which make it easier to follow the shifts in Richard's thoughts and feelings. This format did throw me just a bit at first as I was unclear on timelines, but after I was few pages in, I had little trouble following along.

It's definitely an interesting commentary on doing what's expected versus what we want and finding a way, no matter where you are in life, to be true to yourself. A recommended read. ( )

For me none of the characters in this book were very likeable. This might be why it took me such a long time to read. The main character is an aging exercise obsessed gay man who has had a lover for a number of years. That being said he also has an "insignificant other" who's a married man with children. Part way through the book we learn that his long term lover is thinking of leaving him for someone out of town. There's also some crises at work for the main character. Things do get better towards the end of the book. But on a whole the main character is not very likeable and seems to lament the way his life is going although he's the one who has engineered all of the problems that he's facing. ( )

I liked this contemporary mm romance. More literary than most. ( )

This is definitely an entertaining reading, without a lot of depth though. Actually, I was more interested in the part that takes place at the narrator's workplace (he is a HR manager in a new technologies company) than the relationships with both his partner and married lover, which I find pretty conventionnal and with secondary characters that lack substance. Easy and fun to read. ( )

The narrator, Richard, is a 50 something gay man in a long term relationship with Conrad, who is several years younger. He is also having an affair with a married man, Ben, who is struggling with his homosexuality. Richard's well ordered life starts to unravel when he learns that Conrad may leave him and move from Boston to Columbus, Ohio to live with a much older and richer man. The story is all about Richard, it is told solely from his point of view and there is little development of the other characters, except maybe for Ben. At the end readers know nothing about Conrad, which seems to be a major flaw. The way the book ends leaves things open for a follow up novel, which may close some of the gaps in this one. ( )