Covet

Less a romance than an exploration of a pornography trope, Kleinn’s debut novel examines the desires of three men, two of whom are identical twins. Jack Mason is a playboy marketing professional who haunts and eventually seduces professor Colin Sloan, loudly declaring that they are no-strings friends with benefits. Jack’s twin, Peter, snubs this as an “unorthodox arrangement,” though he dreams erotically about Colin himself. After his own romantic relationship falls apart, Peter then decides to pursue Colin, too, much to Jack’s displeasure. Most of the loosely linked episodes can be categorized one of three ways: obsessive but silent analysis of social interactions, refusal to speak about emotional issues, and repetitive sex scenes featuring the word “slotted” (many of them unsettlingly heteronormative dominance scenes, à la 1980s bodice rippers, in which Colin is “yielding” and “docile”). The few attempts to characterize the men beyond their erotic desires are often ridiculous—Colin, a language arts instructor, hates Shakespeare because of “too many rhyming words”—and the ending is far from happy. This effort is flimsy and forgettable. (Sept.)