Alternative Treatment

Title: Alternative Treatment
Author: Claire Thompson
Publisher: Amber Allure
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (58k words)
Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5

A Guest Review by Aunt Lynn

THE BLURB

Mark Harrison has exactly what Nolan Daniels wants—his signature on a sign-in sheet. Even better that Mark is gay and seriously good-looking. Nolan’s got these one hundred hours of community service nailed, just as soon as he nails the handsome doctor. It’s his pride that takes a hit when Mark rejects his advances in no uncertain terms. What else did Nolan expect from a man of privilege? Certainly not that Nolan would want Mark more than he wanted Mark’s signature.

Mark’s the good boy who always plays by the rules, always does what’s expected of him…and secretly chafes at the restrictions of his straight-laced life. Now he’s faced with the leather-jacketed bad boy who arouses the closeted Mark more than he wants to admit. A man he can’t resist. A man who helps him admit other things about his not-so-perfect life.

It’s time to take a stand. Time to burst the protective bubble each has built around himself in his own way. Little do they realize that moving forward could also cause them to lose each other and the love that has grown between them.

THE REVIEW

Alternative Treatment is the second book from Claire Thompson that I’ve read and enjoyed (Handyman, reviewed here, was the first). Well-written and plotted with fleshed-out characters, this is a tale of taking chances and making positive changes.

Paramedic Nolan is slapped with one hundred hours of community service for a DUI that he blames his ex for, the time to be spent at a local nursing home as a volunteer orderly. Seeing the handsome facility administrator across the desk — a man he strongly suspects is gay — he can’t help but try to seduce Dr. Harrison into exchanging “favors” for a signature on his sheet. But Mark is on to him and shoots him down, not willing to begin any type of relationship with the bad boy who sets his pulse to racing while under his supervision. But all bets are off once that hundredth hour is over and the two attempt to get past assumptions about each other and their own defense mechanisms to try and make a relationship work. But when changes in Mark’s life challenge the fragile nature of their new relationship, they hope they have what it takes to stay the course.

I thought both protags to be sympathetic, believable, complex and well-developed, though I admit that I had problems with Nolan at first. It took a second reading to get past it, realizing that this book is very much a journey of self-discovery and personal growth, and that he is flawed. He has some infuriating and frustrating habits: he’s a pro at the blame game; he’s a manipulator; he’s selfish; he easily lies. Living his life means shift work on the ambulance, drinking perhaps a bit too much, casual sex and no real relationships; he is a loner by choice and prefers to keep emotionally distant from pretty much everyone. But his past has been fairly difficult; growing up with an abusive, alcoholic stepfather, a mother who took it, and a sister with extreme emotional problems, it’s no wonder he is as he is. Entering into a relationship with Mark means putting aside assumptions as well as challenging himself to change, though first he needs to decide if he even wants to.

I liked Mark very much. The youngest son of a well-to-do family that expects much of him, he is unhappily living the life others have planned while remaining in the closet. Tired of the paperwork and the bureaucracy associated with running the family’s nursing home, it was never his intent to get stuck behind a desk. He desperately wants to get out and do good work in the community, using his medical degree to the fullest. Standing up to his family and breaking free of the expectations and responsibility is a hurdle he didn’t think he’d have the courage to jump, but with the right encouragement, it is a reachable goal. That encouragement comes in the unlikely form of Nolan, of whom Mark must also put aside some assumptions.

The conflict in the story is both internal and external, and while the external conflicts — mostly with Mark’s family — contribute to the whole, the majority of the drama is around Nolan and his personality issues, and Mark getting the courage to make some much desired career shifts. Around this, I liked watching the changes in the heroes. Though both men grow emotionally throughout the course of the story, Nolan’s is palpable. Learning to be happy, to trust someone else, and to not throw up his defenses nor blame others for problems he created himself all made for a satisfying journey as a reader.

There are several secondary cast members, including various members of both protags’ families, a few people they both work with, a couple of guys Nolan with whom is involved, and the standout character of Mabel Johnston, a nursing home resident to whom Nolan becomes very close.

OVERALL

I recommend Alternative Treatment to anyone looking for a romantic tale of putting aside assumptions, taking chances and making changes for the better.