Jeffrey's breezy debut is a modest effort that follows four young, image-conscious New York gay men as they attempt to recalibrate their out-of-whack love lives while looking their best in the latest designer fashions. Carson St. John, editor-in-chief of trendy Throb
magazine (the "gay guy's Cosmo"), has just returned from bedding a hustler in Los Angeles in time for brunch with his three best friends—entertainment lawyer Danny Kimura, aspiring gallery owner Nathan Williams and high school teacher Rob Cahill. Each friend has an urgent romantic dilemma. Rob is foolishly dating the father of one of his students; Danny initiates an affair with Leo, a client who happens to be lead singer of the hot boy-band "Four Deep"; and Nathan falls for a druggie thug/artist named Panther. Not to be outdone, Carson dumps his boyfriend, Rocco, for a married consultant hired to revamp the magazine's image. Each romantic misstep spells over-the-top drama, leaving Carson musing aloud about what it is that gay men really want in a potential partner. Jeffrey opts for implausible saccharine endings for the quartet, but it hardly matters since these characters are paper-thin and virtually indistinguishable. Jeffrey's rapid-fire one-liners, pop culture references and simplistic plot will go down easy as long as readers don't expect any literary nourishment. (Nov.)
