Why I read it: I received a review copy from the author.
What it's about: (from Goodreads) Life's a gamble--and
lately David Schwartz's partner has been losing so much that David must
close their restaurant, the hippest little place in Portland. He sells
everything and moves back home, but at thirty-five, he's not eager to
sleep alone in his childhood bedroom or to be supported by his father
for the second time in his adult life.
David's had enough. He needs to start over, maybe with someone like the elusive man he's been seeing in his dreams. An old friend offers him a job catering a movie set in Puerto Vallarta. It's been years since David's alcoholism spun out of control along the highways of Mexico. Determined to experience Mexico sober, he stuffs his few remaining possessions in a backpack and takes the next flight down.
As Mexico prepares for Christmas, David lights Hanukkah candles, celebrating the return of the sun and wishing for true love. On the first night of Hanukkah, David meets a tall, dark stranger who rocks his world in a secluded moonlit cove. Is this the mystery man of his dreams--the answer to David's prayers? And what must David sacrifice to make his dreams come true?
David's had enough. He needs to start over, maybe with someone like the elusive man he's been seeing in his dreams. An old friend offers him a job catering a movie set in Puerto Vallarta. It's been years since David's alcoholism spun out of control along the highways of Mexico. Determined to experience Mexico sober, he stuffs his few remaining possessions in a backpack and takes the next flight down.
As Mexico prepares for Christmas, David lights Hanukkah candles, celebrating the return of the sun and wishing for true love. On the first night of Hanukkah, David meets a tall, dark stranger who rocks his world in a secluded moonlit cove. Is this the mystery man of his dreams--the answer to David's prayers? And what must David sacrifice to make his dreams come true?
What worked for me (and what didn't): I liked David very much and, over the course of the book, felt I got to know him fairly well. David is a recovering alcoholic and as he deals with his breakup with Rick and the demise of his restaurant because of Rick's actions, as he travels for work to Mexico and deals with old trauma, I very much admired how he clung to his sobriety. How he found AA meetings and went to them, how he reached out and throught through his actions to keep him from drinking, no matter the significant temptations. There was a clarity to David's breakup with Rick and even though he lost virtually everything, it came across as freeing rather than a complete failure.
