Years after his divorce, Charlie Labrecque is ready to finally come clean to his best friend, Bryce Hanson. Being gay isn’t an easy thing to be in Charlie’s conservative Colorado neighborhood. Bryce seems to manage being openly gay pretty well, which gives Charlie the inspiration to finally come out of the closet. With Bryce’s help Charlie tries to adapt to the gay lifestyle, but dating isn’t as easy as it may seem, especially when all Charlie really wants is his best friend. Is Charlie ready for everything being openly gay may mean?

A Simple Truth is easily my favorite in the Calendar Boys series. Charlie is an almost middle-aged man just opening up to the truth about himself. He’s lucky to have a friend like Bryce who sort of holds his hand through the whole dating thing, even when Bryce is really in love with Charlie. Of course Charlie just wants to embrace the lifestyle before he commits to anything permanent, not just with Bryce but with anyone. Jamie Craig creates a sort of coming out of the closet story with a slight twist. The romance between two best friends turned lovers was especially touching, with the overall theme of the story carefully woven in. The Calendar Boys series just keeps getting better.

Reviewed by: April