Yes, I realize right off the bat that I’m in the tiny minority by being divided about Melanie Harlow’s first foray into M/M romance, Strong Enough, co-authored with David Romanov. In spite of it being a well-written and quick-paced read, one which I did like, a couple of the plot decisions kept this from living up to the lofty expectations I had after noticing the overall sentiment of those who had read the book before me.

While the details forming Strong Enough’s plot are unique in my reading experience, the plot itself boils down to something simple. A young man named Maxim impulsively leaves his homeland of Russia to chase his version of the American dream, a dream that includes being able to live as an openly gay man. Circumstances force him to accept charity on his first day in America, including a place to stay with Derek, to whom Maxim feels a quick and undeniable attraction. But because he was raised in a religious home that vilified homosexuality, Derek’s dream doesn’t involve falling for a man, no matter what his darkest desires have always been. Maxim triggers that desire to the point of irresistibility, and the night of passion goes beyond anything either has felt for anyone in their lives, leaving Derek torn between what he wants and what he always thought he needed to do, and leaving Maxim forced to choose between his newfound need for Derek and his desire to be open.

While the story line follows a rather predictable path, the writing is the real star of Strong Enough. Right from the start, I was grabbed by the engaging prose and by the clearly distinguishable central characters. When I picked it up the first night, I kept telling myself “one more chapter” because there was literally nothing that kept me from enjoying the story. Derek’s character, in particular, resonated with me because I understand the struggle of growing up in a home where being anything other than straight was frowned upon. While circumstances pushed me out of the closet long before the midthirties age of Derek, I could easily picture myself facing the same sort of dilemmas he did upon meeting Maxim and yet wanting to be “normal.” It is worth noting that this is not a gay-for-you story. Derek is definitely in denial, but deep down, he knows and always has known that he’s not straight.

Eventually, I had to force myself to stop halfway through the book because I had to work the next day. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book started to unravel not long after I picked it up again. The writing continues to shine, but a couple of tropes the book uses are things that can leave me displeased if they aren’t done in a believable way. The first of these is insta-love. Granted, these two didn’t fall in love anywhere in the first half of the book, though they started to develop feelings quickly. For a lot of readers, that means there’s no way this could be insta-love. The problem, though, is that the entirety of the feelings development in the book happens over the course of three days, followed by a little gap and a few more days, making the big conflict/break-up scene happen a grand total of two weeks after the start of the story. That’s insta-love in my book.

But insta-love wasn’t the real culprit here. Since it’s strongly suggested in the blurb, it’s not a spoiler to state that Maxim eventually gives Derek the ultimatum that ranks as the worst possible in my book that a character in a queer romance can do: come out of the closet and be public or there is no “us.” Depending on the circumstances, I can understand it. And the authors here try their best to make Maxim’s rationale legitimate. So what’s my problem? Maxim clearly states throughout the book that he’s not looking for a relationship, that he’s never had more than hookups in his life. And yet, after only two weeks in the presence of Derek, he not only falls in love but decides he has to be “strong enough” to walk away from Derek because he’s convinced in that very short two weeks of being with a closeted man, a man who is clearly questioning that decision and has made huge steps toward realizing how badly he wants to be what Maxim wants and needs, that Derek will never be able to be out with him. I’m sorry, but love is about being “strong enough” to support and help the person you love deal with their struggles. If it had been two years (or even a handful of months) of dealing with it, then maybe I could understand Maxim’s need to push, but two weeks? Why was it a deal-breaker after two weeks when it wasn't after the first few days, during which Derek's closeted status because apparent? As it stands, I just wasn't convinced with Maxim's motivation because the authors failed to provide a new and compelling reason for the sudden change, so all that did was paint Maxim as being selfish and petulant in my eyes.

Perhaps it is part of my being from the generation I am, when it was much more difficult to gain acceptance upon coming out than it is now some twenty-odd years later. Regardless, I was ultimately disappointed with Strong Enough because of that plot element. There are also a couple of smaller issues with the way some things were tied up (or weren’t tied up) at the end, but talking about them would be spoilery, and neither of them were as troublesome for me as the problem I had with Maxim’s character. In any case, I still liked the book enough to be able to recommend it, as I know my problem leans toward the it’s-me-not-you variety. And I do look forward to reading more of either of these authors’ M/M novels if they choose to write more either individually or collaboratively because their writing is so good that all it would take is a story without a trope that bothers me and they would likely have something in contention for best-of-year honors from me.

The authors and/or publisher generously provided me a complimentary copy of Strong Enough in exchange for this fair and honest review.

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For David Romanov, Strong Enough is to a great extent autobiographical. Born in Russia and raised in Europe, he landed in the United States at the age of 24, where he learned a lot about cultural differences between East and West. David firmly believes in ‘The One’ and learning through love. When he isn’t traveling or educating Melanie in Russian culture, he enjoys books and the company of his husband and dog in Los Angeles.