Book Talk Review; Diary Of A Gay Porn Star

A Seth King book that didn't make me cry

I guess you could say I was just like any other straight guy in his twenties: booze, bars, pumping iron, chasing girls – you know the deal.

Until I became a gay porn star.

This is how I got here.

The Instagram message came out of nowhere: “Hey, I’m Mike from Broke Straight Bros. We’re a gay porn site, but we specialize in finding unknown straight guys like you. We came across your profile and really like your look. We’d love to explore your interest in doing a shoot with us! PS: the $$$ would be substantial.”

Of course I laughed it off and moved on. I mean, I’m straight – why would I ever do that? But fate had other plans. When my mom’s health issues took a turn, her doctors said she needed life-saving surgery – and her insurance wouldn’t entirely cover it. So since I was already broker than broke, I swallowed my pride, crawled back to Mike, and made an offer: one solo video. No sex. No other guys. Just me, my hand, and some lube, all in the name of helping my mom.

My first shoot went surprisingly well – so well, in fact, that it went viral. So Mike came back with an even more shocking offer: $10,000 for a shoot with a guy. And with my mom’s bills mounting, I pushed the anxiety out of my mind, watched some gay porn for research, and then had dinner with my potential costar, Justin Kane, just to feel things out. But that created the biggest problem of all: Justin turned out to be funny, kind, charismatic, and has a bubble butt sent from the gods…

And against all odds, I think I might like him. According to Mike, though, the #1 rule in porn is never to fall for your costar. Ever. If I catch feelings and make things weird, I could get fired on the spot and lose my only shot at saving my mom. But the clock is ticking, the shoot is tomorrow, it’s too late to back out now…

And Justin’s gooey brown eyes are getting no less mesmerizing.

* 

This isn't the first time I've read a book about a porn star, I liked the idea then and I like it even more now. Not just because it's a Seth King book and he can do no wrong, but because the premise is so intriguing. It's not something you see in everyday romance and for that reason alone it needs to be snatched up and devoured. 

Diary Of A Gay Porn Star is such a fun book. It's light and sexy and has that tell-tale beautiful writing that you expect from a Seth King book. 

Jon is a straight guy who's trying to get through each day and failing miserably. It's not his fault entirely. He's a good person who was dealt a shitty hand and now he has to somehow keep from losing all his pieces. My heart hurt for him and I just wanted to hug him and make everything better. His storyline is why I love reading Seth's books. Because it's real. Jon might be a fictional character, but what he has to go through is what so many other people go through more or less. Not everyone is able to become a porn star over night, of course, but they know what it's like to be so desperate and lost. I really felt that. The hopelessness is so real and he deals with everything really well despite everything. John is a really well-done character and I cannot wait to see more because I need him to be okay.

The whole porn star aspect of the book was done really well. It could have been cheesy or superficial but it wasn't. It was written so that the reader could feel and understand why he made the decisions he did. Seth King paints the porn industry in a light that helps destigmatize it. It's sex and there's nothing wrong with sex. Anyone who works in the industry in any aspect isn't doing anything wrong and I'm so glad that it's highlighted in this book. 

I need the next book as soon as possible. I need to know what happens when Justin and Jon meet. I need to know that Jon is going to be okay. I can't wait to see how these two make it work, they not only come from two different worlds, but you're not supposed to fall for your costar. Yeah, we'll see how that works out for them.