I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I had a difficult time connecting with the characters in this book and did not get very far into it before I decided to put it down.

Very good book. Loved the characters and world building! There were a few moments where I found the story to be moving a long a little slow, but they definitely didn't last very long. Definitely a to-buy!

I didn't finish this book. I couldn't make it beyond the first chapter. I felt that there was so much description that was at once overwhelming and totally empty. The author told us about their clothes, the weather, the dorm room, yet nothing about what the characters were thinking, nothing to make them three-dimensional... and I felt as though they were not allowing the readers to use their imaginations on their own. Personally, the over-description made this impossible to read.

Some stories make your heart sing with swooney romance and some others leave you feel wanting. For me, this book was the latter. 

Listed as historical fiction, this book comes across more like a memoir and while the story itself seems a genuine reflection of the era and the stigmatism that plagued the LGBT+ community, I couldn’t really warm to any of the characters and found it difficult to engage with the writing. It just didn’t grab me. 

Thank you Jere’ M. Fishback, NineStar Press LLC, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book made me feel weirdly uncomfortable. A lot of the word choices were awkward and distracted from the story.   The characters weren't very likable, and some of Johnny's actions were off-putting.

I can appreciate the author's inclusion of current events of the time, but the way they were introduced was almost clinical. 

I wanted to like this story but, unfortunately, it didn't work for me on several different levels.

good story. nice and touching story from Jere. Can feel the emotion, how live was for gays back then.

Great storyline. Being gay myself, it was interesting to read a male homosexual story. I have read LGTB novels in the past, but were mainly lesbian story lines. 
At first I Loved Johnny and then slowly liked him a little less! No spoilers though. 
This story will grip your heart.  Thank you NetGalley for this chance to review.

<spoiler>"I knew I'd feel guilty as hell if I got intimate with Steve, but then I looked at Steve and how could I say no?" - Johnny throughout the fecking whole book.</spoiler>

I absolutely LOVED the attention to detail and world building in this book! The writing style is amazing as well. And it is a quick and easy read! Also, I got really emotional at times which is something I appreciate in a writer. A writer should be able to make people love characters, hate them or dislike them. They sould never feel indifferent to what happens, so this was a really well written book.

Man this book...I have gotten frustrated with Johnny more times than I can remember. In the beginning he seems like a sad introvert who doesn't dare doing stuff, but after the drunken night in the dorm with Ben he suddenly gets over confident or something? UGH.

And that in the 70's being gay was punishable be doing jail time?! What the actual feck, that is messed up. I do love Mrs Darling and Will and Sarah so much. They are so understanding and sweet. Even though Will and Sarah are dealing with the worst thing that can happen to a parent; the loss of a child, they still seem happy and loving enough to others. 

And then everything happened and I disliked Johnny VERY much. All the events leading up to all the angst was to be expected of course. BUT THE ENDING MADE ME CRY IT WAS REALLY GOOD.

I really enjoyed I Love You, Johnny Darling. It's a bit like a bittersweet memory now laced with wisdom and a little regret.

 Back in the 70's I was a preteen/early teen and I have some pretty vivid memories of those times. I also grew up in Florida so Johnny's world was essentially my world-- he was just a few years older. Today, the world is a completely different place.

Jere M. Fishback take on an interesting writing style with I Love You, Johnny Darling. The narrative is from Johnny's perspective but at the same time, Fishback seems to incorporate a somewhat disconnected point of view in this telling. I don't mean that it is sterile but the narrative does not take the overwrought emotional point of view. Maybe better stated, though told in 'present tense' it has the feel of a reflective memory. This is historical fiction but it sure feels autobiographical.

I think going in to this you have to remember the time period and the somewhat fickle age of adolescence. Doing the right thing isn't always the most obvious; sometimes making mistakes doesn't come with the foresight of the cost. 

Johnny, Ben and Steve are all likable teens, coming of age in a world that won't readily accept them. Their coming out with their secret lives receives similar responses as they would today, but I think a higher personal toll. Fishback carefully reveals the boys' characters in a measured tone, not necessarily sympathetic but also non-judgemental. Fishback reminds us that we see things (and experience them) much differently as adults than we did in our youth. What matters is how things look in the end.

I received an ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

***  Spoiler Alert  ***

1 1/2 Stars

Received a free copy from NetGalley

I finished this book about an hour ago and I’ve been sitting here trying to figure out what the author intended to do with it and how he wanted his readers to feel.  The book has an autobiographical feel to it but if the author acted like one of the three characters at any time, I can’t say my opinion of him is very high.

The book takes place in the early 1970’s but it’s easy to forget the time setting.  It’s a story that is definitely character driven but since I didn’t like the characters, I didn’t like the story either.  Johnny is an average guy starting college, he becomes friends with his roommate Ben, who is from a rich family and recently lost his twin brother in a boating accident (for which he feels responsible).  Ben and Johnny become lovers and they build their own love nest in their dorm room, putting their beds together every night and separating them in the morning and living as a couple behind closed doors.

The problem arises when Johnny goes home to visit and he spends time with his best friend Steve, on whom he’s always had a crush.  Johnny tells Steve he’s now together with Ben but to his surprise, it turns out Steve is not only gay but has been having an affair with their old high school track coach.  

My problem with this book is that somehow the author tries to pain Johnny as a super nice guy who’s “just confused,” who keeps telling his audience how much he loves Ben, how much he can’t live without him, how he cannot let him down, but as soon as Steve is in front of him and waves his bum Johnny cannot drop his briefs fast enough to have sex with him.  Eventually things come to a huge conflict and the author makes it sound like Johnny has made some kind of huge decision for everybody’s good and will stay with Ben.  As I read the book I kept having this image of Honey Boo Boo having a spoonful of chocolate ice cream and declaring it the best ever, the most delicious, the one she will eat forever and ever, but then she tries the strawberry one and she says it’s really good and how can anybody blame her for wanting to have more, but in order to make a decision she will have another spoonful of the chocolate one.  And then she has another taste of the strawberry one, and so on until both ice cream containers are empty, Honey Boo Boo is full, with chocolate and strawberry ice cream dried up on her mouth and chin (pun intended), and only when there is absolutely no other possible alternative she has to make a choice.  This is a case of Johnny having his cake and eating it too and desperately wanting to continue eating it and getting away with it for as long as possible using whatever rationalization is necessary.

Add to Johnny’s lack of character the fact that Steve knows that Johnny is dating Ben and still tries to seduce Johnny and then Ben learns of Johnny’s cheating and he acts like a wet rag and puts up with it time and time again (it was not once, it was not twice, it was not three times.  Johnny was sleeping with Steve for months while supposedly being faithful to Ben).  The sum of all this made for a very disappointing and distasteful book

Johnny Darling is leaving his mom and sister behind and starting his single life at UF in Gainesville. When his new roommate Ben arrives, he's delighted by him and they quickly become best friends. But when Ben tells Johnny his secret, Johnny shares one as well and it leads them down a very different path. 

Okay, so I really liked the writing. I liked the inclusion of music that was always playing when they were in the car because it brought me back to the relevant times and how different they are from today. It was fun to hear about Ben's GTO and Steve's VW.

I loved Ben's character. He had depth and pain and grief and a maturity that was so sweet. And he was just an all around nice nice guy. I wanted so much more for him. I was agonizing over Johnny and his treatment of Ben. Every single time he had an opportunity to do the right thing, he caved and was selfish and heartbreaking and I just couldn't stand him by the end. I almost hoped for a different ending just because I feel like Ben was so much more deserving of someone with integrity and respect.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review by NineStar Press, Inc via NetGalley.