Joe Lechene, $2.99, ISBN 978-0463605325
Contemporary Romance, 2019
Once upon a time in a land of poor judgment and eyebrow-raising plot decisions, a man named Ian saw two homeless teens, Tristan and Erik, and decided to take them in.
Aww, sweet, right? A bit of found-family wholesomeness to warm the heart?
Hold onto your emotional support beverage.
Over the next two years, Tristan and Erik become lovers while Ian plays the benevolent dad/big brother/guardian angel.
Tragedy strikes when Erik dies in a hate crime — because apparently, the story needed a reminder that gay love must suffer™.
In the middle of all the grief and trauma, Ian decides… he’s in love with Tristan.
Sir. What.
Let’s be real: this story doesn’t just step into the uncanny valley of ick — it cannonballs into it wearing cement shoes.
Even if Tristan is technically over 18 by the time things get romantic, the power imbalance is doing gymnastics. Ian raised these kids. Watched them fall in love. Grieved with Tristan. And then pivoted to “Hey, maybe now’s a good time to shoot my shot.” Romantic? No. That’s a Lifetime movie villain origin story.
Look, I’ll give the author a sliver of credit. Maybe this was written with good intentions: a heartfelt tale of healing and LGBTQIA+ visibility. But noble intent doesn’t excuse tone-deaf execution. This dynamic reads less like romance and more like emotional opportunism. It carries the faint but unmistakable aroma of grooming, whether that was the goal or not.
The optics is absolutely rancid. In a world where queer folks still battle dangerous stereotypes about predation, this book said, “You know what we need? A guardian-turned-lover storyline!”
Spoiler: we do not need that. There are ways to handle age-gap and trauma-bonded relationships that don’t make readers want to crawl into a vat of hand sanitizer. This just isn’t one of them.
Written Into Love wants to be tender and redemptive. Instead, it feels like someone tried to write Call Me by Your Name but accidentally crossed it with My Two Dads and a cautionary tale from Tumblr.
Not beating the allegations. Not even trying.
