Hi there! Today I’m sharing a Throwback Thursday review for a sweet M/M trans romance from Matthew Metzger. COFFEE is the second book in his Cup of John series and features a big, burly, self-conscious laborer and the beautiful, blind transman he absolutely adores. I adored TEA, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.
About the book:
When Chris’s stepfather passes away and leaves Chris a house and a wedding ring, it seems like the perfect opportunity to take the next step in his relationship with John.
So, they’re both in for a nasty shock when Chris’s mother is vehemently opposed to the idea. Despite three years of history to prove otherwise, she insists that John is only a temporary feature in Chris’s life, and a man like him can’t be expected to stay with someone like Chris in the long run.
Can Chris persuade her that she’s wrong in time for the wedding—or will there be an empty space in the photographs?
My Review:
John and Chris have been together more than three years at the start of this story. I advise readers to begin by reading TEA, their meet-cute falling in love story, but COFFEE is still enjoyable on its own, too.
John is a big, burly electrician. He’d been accused of forcing himself on a former lover–by the former lover who was hiding his cheating ways. So, he was real skittish about starting a relationship with Chris–who is blind and a severe epileptic. This story is told from Chris’ perspective and Chris is definitely more anxious than John, but also more cynical. Both John and Chris are pretty far gone over one another, but conflict arrives in unexpected ways.
Chris inherits the crumbling estate of his late stepfather, along with his beloved stepfather’s wedding band. The hint being that Chris should propose to John–something Chris’ mother whole-heartedly disagrees with. She’s sure that John will tire of caring after Chris’ many maladies and Chris will be divorced and despondent. And Chris proposes anyway. Because he knows John isn’t a man who’d ever disappoint him. John is taking immense pains to restore the derelict home and help plan their wedding.
This is a heartwarming read and a lovely story of perseverance for a couple dealing with family drama. Chris is pained that his mum won’t take back her hurtful sentiments, and John is definitely invested in making amend before their big day comes. It felt real, in that people often have strong opinions that they stand behind, despite all evidence to the contrary. It’s a story high on emotion, even though Chris had seemed to be a rather even-keeled character in the previous story. By being inside his head we got toreally plumb the depths of his emotional struggles in a way that we couldn’t before–on account of Chris hiding his insecurities. The rest of the family is a bit helter-skelter, but they are 100% behind this union, so it’s only more joyous when mum makes the necessary steps to put things right.
I loved both TEA and COFFEE as stories–even though I can’t take the actual beverages–and would absolutely read on if LATTE, or CAPPUCCINO, ever becomes a tale. Any Cup of John story is one I want to read.
Interested? You can find COFFEE on Goodreads, NineStar Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books.
About the Author:
Matthew J. Metzger is an ace, trans author posing as a functional human being in the wilds of Yorkshire, England. Although mainly a writer of contemporary, working-class romance, he also strays into fantasy when the mood strikes. Whatever the genre, the focus is inevitably on queer characters and their relationships, be they familial, platonic, sexual, or romantic.
When not crunching numbers at his day job, or writing books by night, Matthew can be found tweeting from the gym, being used as a pillow by his cat, or trying to keep his website in some semblance of order.
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