Rating: 3 stars out of 5
Peyton Stone, former star quarterback, is now an offensive line college football coach. And he’s totally in love with his quarterback, Brady Winter. Brady is older than the other students, having completed a tour of duty with the Army, and Peyton knows that even though he worships the ground Brady walks on, it’s inappropriate to start something with a student, and to top it all off, he’s not even sure Brady is gay.
An accidental locker room conversation nixes the latter worry and the two head out to demonstrate how much they want each other. Of course, things like that can’t be kept quiet, and Peyton eventually is outed, shamed, and kicked off the coaching squad. But it’s when Brady turns his back on him that he’s really rocked out of his complacent world.
Is there any chance for them at all? And what happens when Peyton finally stops running away from his problems and decides to stand and face them like a man?
I eventually liked the story itself because it follows Peyton’s path to self-discovery and subsequent maturity, but I didn’t care for the writing style. Sentences were short and choppy and the whole story was told from Peyton’s POV, whereas I would have liked to get Brady’s perspective on some things. Peyton was a bit of an “ass hat” and not a likeable character, IMHO. The world as he knew it revolved around him so he was constantly questioning why things weren’t going his way.
After a while, I started to think the story may have been written to come across as a satirical look at a bumbling, indecisive, egocentric, gay college coach and his lover—a strong, brave, and decisive Iraq war vet. Add to that the fact that the situations and secondary characters were not realistic or likeable and the story appeared to be a farcical poke at campus football, its players, and coaches, so I concluded that maybe that’s what the author intended. I really don’t know. It’s just not a style I normally enjoy.
In this case, I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt. If you are looking for something fluffy that pokes fun at college football, its players and coaches, this would be a good choice. Just don’t plan to take it seriously.
Cover art by Inkspiral Design features a very large, imposing football player—shirtless, pants slung low on his hips, but wearing his shoulder pads. It’s attention-getting due to the colors and the model used.
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Book Details:
Kindle Edition, 234 pages
Published June 14th 2016 by Lethe Press
Original TitleThe Second Half: A Gay American Football Story
ASINB01H4232J2
Edition LanguageEnglish
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 