His Convenient Husband is more than a romance, as the story shows how difficult it can be to be in the spotlight. How queer people get dragged into fights they need to fight not just for themselves, but for others as well.
Story:
I enjoyed His Convenient Husband a lot! There was both sports, art and romance, and I felt a deep connection to Isiah. He had been existing more than living since his husband's death, and meeting Victor woke something deep inside of him. Raising a son on his own, while playing ball and keeping the team director and sponsors happy was hard already. Once he met Victor, things just became harder.
As I said in my grabber, His Convenient Husband is more than a romance. And I think being in the spotlight is even harder for people who can be classified as 'different'. Isiah had never hidden that he was gay, but his deceased husband was a quiet man, never in the spotlight, so neither the fans nor the sponsors had really thought about this before. Victor, however, was very outspoken about being gay. And he was flamboyant. And he was seeking asylum in the US so he wouldn't have to go back to Russia after criticising the government's treatment of LGBT+ people in his home country.
Needless to say, there was quite a bit of conflict in His Convenient Husband, both internal and external. Isiah thought he was forgetting about his first husband by being with someone else. As if he didn't deserve to be happy again. Thankfully, both his mother, his son, and Victor had other plans.
Characters:
Isiah was a very loyal person, not only to his first husband's memory, but also to his son, to his family, and to his team. He wanted to do things right, only he wasn't sure he could allow himself to be happy again.
Evan, Isiah's son, is much more open-minded and fearless than Isiah. But he sometimes has to pay the price for that, as his fellow students aren't always accommodating.
Victor was a strong character, but he could only take so much rejection. Meeting Isiah changed something in him, but Isiah wanted to stay a bit distant, and he made Victor feel out of place more than once.
Writing style :
His Convenient Husband is written in third person point of view, past tense, following Victor and Isiah closely to share their inner thoughts and feelings with the readers.
Feels :
I felt pretty helpless at times, and I wanted to hug Isiah and tell him things would work out - even if I had no idea whether they would or not. I also felt a lot of hope, and very strong love.
His stage makeup was gone, but he still wore black eyeliner and a slight gloss on his lips while a god stud pierced one ear. He wasn't feminine exactly, but he didn't fit into a purely masculine mold, either.
His mother led the charge, with Evan, Ian, Mick, and his attorney in tow. It looked like a firing squad coming straight for him, and he had the fleeting thought to cut and run.