 Jak Klinikowskireviews Male Model by Dave Benbow |
| Male
Model by Dave Benbow Hardcover: 304 pages, $23.00 Kensington Pub Corp; (July 2004) ISBN: 0758206291 Cameron “Cam” Fuller, strikingly handsome, high profile designer and C.E.O. for Cameron Fuller USA, a fashion dynasty on a par with Ralph Lauren, and Blake Jackson, an equally gorgeous hunk, and member of the artistic design team at Cam’s Beverly Hills mega-store are the heroes of Dave Benbow’s delicious new novel, MALE MODEL. Cam literally sees Blake in a window (of the mega-store) and has to have him. They meet, and the attraction is mutual and immediate. Unfortunately, there are two, not-so-little, problems to overcome; Suzette, an ultra-bitch who just happens to be Cam’s wife of twenty five years, and her devious, blue-blood father, Silas Cabbott, to whom Cam is financially indebted. Blake and Cam attempt to keep their relationship discreet. They are, after all, established, successful, career oriented men, not a couple of twenty-something bar twinks, but when Cam chooses Blake to be the spokes-model for ‘PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY,’ his company’s new men’s fragrance, it doesn’t take long for their secret to be discovered, and all hell breaks loose. As he did with his previous effort DAYTIME DRAMA, Benbow, serves up an incredibly tasty dish of a novel full of clever twists, exotic locals, and passionate romance. This is the realm of super-wealth and haute couture, where the beautiful people, and those who prey upon them, flock. Here, an opportunistic underling backstabbing his way to job security seems the norm, and blackmail is just another business option. Trust-worthy friends are few and far between and everyone has a hidden agenda, some more deadly than others. How can true love possibly survive in this glamorous but cutthroat environment? John Q (Queer) Public enjoys reading about this fast-lane, designer-living world, especially when the author knows what he’s talking about. Benbow’s expertise in high-end, fashion retail serves him extremely well in this novel. He delivers professionally developed, charismatic characters involved in a well thought out, beautifully detailed plot. The result is pure enjoyment from cover to cover. I read fiction to be entertained, and that's the bottom line. This tale of Cameron’s and Blake’s budding relationship, and the treachery that surrounds it, certainly satisfied that bottom line. MALE MODEL made me want to grin like the Cheshire cat when all went well for the heroes, and scream like a banshee when the dastardly villains screwed with their lives. This novel, made me want to laugh, it made me want to cry, but most of all it made me want to run squeeze my husband, and tell him how much I love him, and it's been way too long since a novel has had that effect on me. I wish every book I read left me feeling this way…so does my husband…LOL! |
Jak Klinikowski  |