Ery

The Nothingness of Ben was a decent story about a successful lawyer from New York City who comes home to take care of his three brothers after his parents death. Ben, significantly older than his siblings, struggles to connect with them and learn how to be a guardian all while readjusting to life in Texas. He struggles with his old relationships, friends and the man he was dating, while discovering a new life in Texas.

Overall it's a sweet story with some trials and tribulations. The author at times acknowledges common romance tropes included within his own story. Some parts were goofy and difficult to identify with, but some parts were very poignant and sweet.

There were also several parts that didn't work very well for me. I don't want to nitpick them so I will just provide the two areas in which I thought there could be improvement.
1). Personally, I am a sucker for emotional depth and characterization. While the author writes fairly realistic characters, I was unable to live in their skin and I really searched for a deeper emotional connection that never really came to fruition.
2) The dialogue between the characters, while often humorous and very realistic, frequently laughed romance. I struggle with this one, as it provided the author with a unique voice that isn't often seen similar stories. However the word choices sometimes diminished the emotional connection between the characters add pulled me out of the story.

All in all, it's a solid effort for a first book. I will likely read future works from this author and I am looking forward to see him grow.