Review: A Summer of Guiltless Sex by Dan Skinner

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Author: Dan Skinner

Pages/Word Count: 113 Pages

At a Glance: While the cute title and cover are enticing, this is a beautifully written story about honesty, friendship and being true to yourself.

Reviewed By: Sadonna

Blurb: Two very different men, from two walks of life find common ground for an exciting and unique adventure. It’d not been a great beginning of the summer season for either Bill, a young bridal store clerk, or Ted, a college student working as a lifeguard at the apartment complex’s pool. They’d both been dumped in their respective relationships and were still looking for “the one.” Their chance meeting at this low ebb in their lives and an off-the-cuff remark about what they both needed as a temporary solution to their physical needs, lead to a unique and adventuresome pact between the two. They agree to be what’s lacking in each other’s lives. They begin a journey of self-discovery. One that will only last the length of the summer and will forever change their lives and ideas about love and friendship. One season of guiltless sex.

Review: I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect with this book, but the premise sounded cute and fluffy—which could not be further from the truth. The Summer of Guiltless Sex is actually quite emotional and very heartfelt. I absolutely loved the characters and the story and, most importantly, the lessons learned.

Bill is a bridal store clerk who has been dumped yet again. In all his relationships, he keeps trying to be exactly what he thinks the other guy wants. Instead, he always seems to end up alone within weeks, beating himself up for why he couldn’t make the other person stay or love him. Obviously he’s deficient somehow, but he doesn’t know how to fix it or how to “be” what someone wants.

Ted is one of the lifeguards at the apartment complex where both guys live. He’s a college student on a swimming scholarship, but he really wants to be an actor and nobody else seems to want to support him in that venture. He has an unsatisfying relationship with his girlfriend, and he gets dumped as well. He laughingly suggests that it would be great if he could just have a relationship that was just sex—no strings attached—for the summer, without the hassle of trying to fit into some sort of “relationship” mold that he doesn’t really want.

So Bill and Ted decide to have an excellent adventure of sex only for the summer, but the deal ends when school starts again in the fall. They agree and fun and frolicking ensue. They have pizza and beer night, and sex “dates,” and Bill show Ted the ropes, so to speak, of sex with another guy.

Ted is an adventurous type, though, who really wants to experience everything that life has to offer and who gets Bill to do things (other than sex) that he never would have done. But more than that, Ted really listens to Bill and coaxes out of him his real dreams. Ted doesn’t need a lot of coaxing, but he shares his dreams with Bill too. Their friendship takes on a unique quality for both of them. They aren’t trying to “impress” each other. They aren’t trying to “snag” a partner. They support each other’s goals and desires without any ulterior or self-serving motivations. It’s probably the most genuine relationship either of them has ever experienced.

Wow wow wow! I’m embarrassed to say that this is the first Dan Skinner book that I have read, despite owning a number of his other titles for some time now. I’ve decided that I really need to move those books up the TBR list, pronto. I cannot say enough how much I loved this book. I wanted to just reread it immediately after I finished it.

Highly recommended for an emotionally satisfying, if quite unconventional, love story.

You can buy A Summer of Guiltless Sex here:
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