A Younger Man Paperback – July 4, 2013

Except for the gratuitous, demeaning, unnecessary and extremely lengthy and frequent pornographic gay sex scenes, "A Younger Man" by Cameron Dane is quite a good story.It's a kind of thoughtful manifesto, advocating the rights and privileges of gay men to have, raise and protect children. The main gay characters, Zane (the younger man) and Noah (the 40-something other gay man) are role models for gay people everywhere in their conduct and beliefs about not only love for one another but for rearing their own children (that would be Noah) and/or their young siblings (that would be Zane).As to the pornography: It is exceptionally graphic; it is not artful; it goes on for page-after-page, endlessly; each episode (somewhat monotonously repetitious) takes as long to read as it would to engage in the acts yourself! I'd estimate that a good 25% of the pages of this book are devoted to these episodes of uber-graphic m/m sex. If the story itself were not so strong and if the two primary characters were not so well-written and well-developed, the pornography would easily have totally ruined the entire book and rendered it mere trash. The actual consequence, however, is to diminish the literary value of the book and, in my estimation, reduce its value by at least 2 stars on Amazon's rating scale.Zane (25 years old) is the better man of the 2 main characters. He is hard-working, a good provider, and empathic, though naïve to an extreme. Noah, older, and recently divorced rescues Zane in a sense, and the two (who are both rather inexperienced in the ways of gay life and gay mating) form a loving relationship. At issue are the custody of Zane's young siblings (ages 14 and 9) and the nearly-ruined relationship between Noah and his father. Noah, equally hard working and earnest, has 2 sons, age about 14 and 19. The melding of their families is part of the hard-fought resolution to the serious interpersonal, psychological and sociological problems each man has. Noah's Achilles heel is his quick need to resort to physical power, revealing a barely hidden streak of violence beneath his masculinity. His near-violence shows even in the porno scenes.Zane's problems are his tendency to trust others too much and to get into financial trouble without realizing the consequences clearly. Yet, Zane emerges as the more adult of the two, time and time again, always being responsible for the care and upbringing of his sibs and generally putting life priorities in the right place. Noah over-worries that the 20 year difference in their age is somehow an issue for anyone. (Duh!)The book takes you through all their trials and tribulations and through the development of their relationship, despite all odds and against all formidable obstacles. As mentioned, the story itself is very good, even a tear-jerker from time to time. It is, however, seriously "over-written" in the sense that the conversations are too long, the psychological torture is made too self-aware, and the pornography is simply and overwhelmingly unnecessary. Holding my nose, I just skimmed page after page after page of it.For including the over-the-top sex scenes, I give the book a -1.0. For creative story it's a 4+. For advocacy of gay rights it's a 5. For general writing it's a 2.75. For character development it's a 4. Thus, on average, feeling generous, I give it an over-all 3.25. Just skip the porno. It isn't titillating, and you won't learn anything new unless you've lived in a cave most of your life.

While I wouldn't actually call this a May/December romance, maybe a May/October, I do like the dynamic of the older man and the younger man who has had to deal with so much responsibility he is older than his years.Noah recently came out to his wife and started divorce proceedings so they could both be free to find actual happiness. Wonderfully, they managed to remain actual friends and not just for the sake of their sons, but because they do actually care for each other. So that's great, but Noah isn't having any much on the dating front. Noah is not a clubbing, get off in the bathroom with a random man sort of guy. He's monogamous and commitment-centric. A few of his dates have gone ok, but something just isn't there for him.Zane is a young man in his mid-20's that has been handed way too much responsibility. He wouldn't have it any other way, though, and he will do nearly anything to keep his aunt from taking his brother and sister from him. He is young, though, and hasn't always had the luxury of having good choices to make. Combine that with getting laid off from one job when the business folded and you have a recipe for homelessness.In fact, that is exactly what Noah rescues Zane from. Noah sees someone that needs help and doesn't think twice about offering it. As they get to know one another, their attraction to one another gets stronger. Zane didn't actually know he was gay. He has had exactly zero free time to explore anything sexual since he was a young teen. So he hasn't really thought about sex at all. But when Noah comes along, Zane is suddenly not only thinking about sex -- but he is thinking about sex with Noah. Steamy!Watching Noah and Zane circle each other was fun. They both wanted so much, but they also had their reasons why they thought it was a bad idea. Zane was convinced that if his aunt found out he was gay, that she could take the kids and Noah was stuck in the 'he's too young for me' place.Let me tell you, though, when they do finally break, Oh. My. Word. is it hot. Zane has a really good imagination, it turns out and when he is comfortable, he is mighty creative. Holy Mackerel, playing with your food never sounded so fun.So, yeah, I loved this book. Even more than the previous one

If you want endless sex with a minimum of story this is for you. I enjoy sex as part of a book but not endless, repetitive,descriptions in mind numbing detail. i will not be buying anymore of this author.I have now given this book an extra star after trying it again. It has greatly increased my understanding of the uses of carrots.

This book is one of my favourite books. Amazing writer who covers the age gap between the 2 main characters. The realisation of sexuality. Dealing with family opposition. Have read this book 6 times and every time is like the first. Will read this again and again. Brilliant

I really enjoyed this book, loved the characters and thought the price of the book was reasonable I would definitely recommend it.

I loved this book, the characters were likeable and the story was well written.

I can't find anything to fault this book, so 5 star it is, carrot and all. The characters, both main and secondary, the feelings, the sexual tension, the hotness, the feelings, the love, the... everything!