Review of Second Hand (Tucker Springs #2) by Marie Sexton and Heidi Cullinan

Rating: 4.75 stars

Paul Hammond’s girl friend has just left him after he moved to Tucker Springs to further her art career while he put his on hold. Now he is left living in a rental house she picked out and a front yard full of her awful oversized metal sculptures. Paul looks around him at a house he hates but has a 3 year lease he can barely afford, a job as a receptionist for a local vet, and a engagement ring he never gave to Stacy because she moved out before he could propose. When a flyer for a neighborhood yard contest and a $500 prize is shoved in his mailbox, Paul decides to enter and use the money to pay his bills. But how to get the money to buy the plants for the yard? And that’s when Paul remembers meeting El Rozal at his Pawn shop when Paul was buying a necklace for Stacy. Armed with kitchen appliances he never wanted to buy in the first place, Paul heads off to El’s shop and changes his life forever.

El Rozel’s life is stuck in one gear, that of family and work. El deals with family matters including a mother who hoards, he does laundry with his best friend at the Laundromat on Friday’s and the rest of the time is spent at his pawn shop. El realizes he is stuck in a pattern but doesn’t know how to change it. Then Paul Hammond, adorable, confused, freckle-faced Paul Hammond enters his shop and his world tilts on its axis. He knows Paul is straight because he has listened to Paul when he was buying the necklace. But that doesn’t seem to matter, everything about Paul draws El closer. Paul is kind, naive, generous and easily hurt. He is also incredibly sexy even if he doesn’t know it. El wants him in his life in any way possible.

Paul wants to come first in someone’s life, to stop being everyone’s second choice. El knows first hand that someone else’s seconds can be the treasure another has always wanted and Paul is that one person El has been waiting for. Now all he has to do is persuade the man to give him the chance to change both of their lives forever.

I loved this story. Under the definition of warmhearted in the dictionary you will find the cover of this book and deservedly so. Take two well-known authors whose books are beloved by many, throw in Sexton and Cullinan’s talent for giving us characters who are both quirky and unusual and we have Second Hand, a novel of two men trying to deal with life’s disappointments and finding love in unexpected places. I read this book twice for the good feelings and happy thoughts it left me with after putting it down. What’s even more remarkable is that Second Hand is an effortless read considering all the themes involved in the plot. Tucker Springs, Colorado acts as the location for the series and it’s the perfect choice as its richness of history, Light District, and other characteristics match up brilliantly with the characters living there.

And what charming, affecting characters they are. Paul Hammond is that one who is oblivious to the way he affects others. He has grown up feeling less successful than his siblings, his one girlfriend has just left him for someone who has achieved more materially, and he left college without meeting his goal of being a veterinarian. But he doesn’t see what other people do when they look at him. Someone who is kind, cute, tenderhearted, great with animals and people alike. Some who happens to be absolutely adorable. Paul is so likable, so genuine that you root for him to succeed from the very first page. El Rozel is a wonderful complementary character for Paul Hammond. El comes from a large family who impacts his life on a daily basis, from his sisters and their kids, to his abuela and mother with their house so stuffed full of objects that just moving down the hallway is a challenge.

El Rozel jumped from the pages of Second Hand with a clarity few characters achieve with their first impressions. As the smoke from his cigarette rises about him, so does his view of life and its disappointments hang around him like a cloud. El watches his sister ignore his advice as she jumps from one bad relationship to the next. And he’s awful when he tries to intervene with his mother Patty’s hoarding to little effect. El wants things to change in the lives of those he loves but feels helpless when it comes to solutions. I love how the authors give us two men stymied by life and disappointments and makes them the catalyst for change in each other’s lives. El starts helping Paul empty his life of meaningless objects that came along with his relationship with Stacy. Paul starts giving El the power to see changes happening in someone’s life. Paul gives El hope that change can happen and then gives him hope that love can happen for them both. And all of this relationship movement, all of this building of self worth is carried out realistically, with nary a wrong touch to the process or misstep in characterization.

Sexton and Cullinan also deal delicately and with sensitivity when it comes to Paul’s feelings about his sexuality. Paul had one disastrous gay encounter in his youth that causes him to put aside his attraction towards men and concentrate on women. That is if you can call a one woman experience a change in sexuality. It comes across, even to Paul, as more a convenient sexuality, one more acceptable to society, than Paul having a true bisexual nature. If Paul had truly been bisexual, Stacy ‘s attraction for him would have gone beyond representing a “normal lifestyle” as she does for him to one of being physically drawn to Stacy which he is not. Because the one person he is truly attracted to? That would be El in every way. El is the person he wants to spend time with, whose Cover conversations he enjoys and is the person Paul wants to take to bed. But it takes time for Paul to realize all this and the authors give it to him and to us. This is not a “gay for you” story but a slow acceptance of one’s true sexuality. Paul has to have time to look at his past history and reexamine his actions before he can accept that he wants El as much as El wants him. The authors handle Paul emotional growth in such a beautiful, realistic manner that I wanted to start handing out gold stars right then and there.

An equally serious issue addressed here is that of hoarding. Hoarding is a disease that affects families everywhere. Both authors show how hoarding is a disease that hurts those affected by it on so many levels, from the day to day reality of living with gargantuan clutter to the embarrassment of not wanting to have outsiders see the living conditions at home. Sexton and Cullinan give us the screaming arguments of the family stressed out by their efforts to deal with the hoarder and the pain of the person in the throes of the disease. I cannot begin to give them enough credit for the sensitive manner in which they handled this problem within the story. Again, it was just so beautifully done.

The Tucker Springs series is interesting in itself as it is being written by different authors. The first in the series is Where Nerves End (Tucker Springs #1) by LA Witt, which I have not read. There is an actual website for this series TuckerSprings.com. Find it here. There will be more books in the series and I for one can’t wait. Pick up Second Hand and become acquainted with a town and characters you will not soon forget. I know I will be going back to visit there often.

What a wonderful cover. Perfection in every way.

Available from Riptide Publishsing, Amazon, and All Romance eBooks.

Review of Inside the Beltway by Ellen Holiday

Rating: 4 stars

Senator Davis Hudson’s life is all about politics. Endless committee meetings, Senate hearings, as well as constituents to attend to, all contribute to an almost 24/7 work day. But Senator Hudson has his eyes on a bigger target these days as several of his senior staff members are urging him to make a run for the Presidency. Davis decides to test the political waters to see what kind of support he might have and that means he needs more publicity. To that end, Senator Davis ends up sitting in the makeup chair at CNN, under the care and skill of makeup artist Kurt Lamb. Davis finds Kurt’s opinions interesting. As they spend the time before the interview chatting, Davis Hudson realizes it’s not just Kurt’s viewpoint he likes, but the man himself.

A return trip to CNN means a chance to reunite with the attractive makeup man, Kurt and things start to progress out of the Senator’s control. Kurt is gay, Davis finds Kurt compelling in a sexual way, and his entire self image shifts in a manner he is not really comfortable with. Kurt is interested back and doesn’t try to hide how he feels about the Senator. As Davis Hudson tries to come to grips with his feelings about Kurt, he realizes he could be jeopardizing everything he has worked for his entire life. Unknown to him, Davis’ ex-wife is watching him being touted as the next presidential candidate and fuming over the fact that she should be standing there with him ready to reap the long denied benefits. Outside forces are aligning against Davis even as he tries to find a future with Kurt. Can David Hudson find the courage to be himself before he is forced to leave Kurt behind?

I picked this book up based on the title alone. OK, I live in the DC metro area and that title is like catnip to a mouse around here. We are so steeped in politics,on county to state to federal levels and everything in between, that I am usually very skeptical of any book purporting to have a view of DC from the inside. Imagine my delight when Ellen Holiday gets it right from almost every aspect. A quick trip to her bio gave me the answer. She lives in DC. No wonder there is not a wrong touch here. From the various locations, to the inner workings of the Senate, and even the local news, Holiday gets it right, again and again. How I loved this as nothing is more grating then reading an author’s attempt to tell me that someone made it from Reagan National to the Mall in 10 minutes, via the Red Line no less. No worries on that front here. She knows DC and depicts it exactly as it should be. Great job as well as a example in writing what you know.

Then there are the characterizations. Here comes my first quibble. Ellen Holiday gave us very believable people to read about. From the ego centric and arrogance of Davis Hudson, smug in his belief that his smooth manner, a good looking face and physique (but not too goodlooking, mind you) will see him into the President’s seat, Holiday gives us a realistic portrait of a politician at the top of his game. Kurt Lamb with his interesting background is typical of the types of people drawn to DC. As for Davis’ staffers, from Matt to Alex, both are such great depiction of the staffers seen every day on the Hill. My favorite? That would be Senator Pierce Randolph. Yes, Senators like him do exist. So if I am all that about Holiday’s characters, why the quibble? I just didn’t like David Hudson very much. He is such a smooth politician that I didn’t buy his conversion. Or the fact that he fell in love with Kurt. Kurt deserves a much better person than Davis, even a lobbyist and that’s saying something. So I never really invested myself in the love affair, that’s my quibble. Holiday did a great job making Senator Hudson a believable Senator, the consummate politician. Those A types don’t throw over their careers, in my opinion unless they are forced to as was Davis. Our newspapers, news casts and TMZ contain no small amount of stories such as these. Do the names Jim McGreevey , Anthony Weiner or Eliot Spitzer ring any bells? That doesn’t make them likable, just realistic.

So I had a great book, full of terrific characters, accurate locations and believable drams. And half a great couple. I can’t wait to see what Ellen Holiday comes up with next. Just no lobbyists please. How about some nice schmo who works for the Smithsonian or a think tank wonk? All good characters for me. We have a great city that just legalized Gay Marriage. I look forward to reading what Ellen Holiday does with that.

Cover by Catt Ford. Great design but that red font color still doesn’t work for me.

Review of Word Play – A Story Orgy Anthology

Rating: 4 stars

Word Play is the first collection by a wonderful group of authors who post serial stories under the collective name Story Orgy. Lee Brazil, Em Woods, J. R. Boyd, Havan Fellows, and Hank Edwards give us novella length stories of love and relationships from the first throes of passion and discovery to an old loves lost and then renewed.

Harper’s Discovery by Em Woods is the story of Harper Evans journey from betrayed boyfriend to a man happy with a new love and new life as Pitt’s sub with some remarkable stops along the way.

Wicked Reflections by Hank Edwards is a supernatural mystery story that will keep you on edge even as our hero finds time for romance.

Harlan’s Ryde by Havan Fellows brings us the story of Ryder and Harlan’s last chance at love after Ryder threw it away in a moment of insecurity and self destruction.

Off The Beaten Path by J. R. Boyd shows us best friends Mitch Sterling and Colby Merritt on a jaunt in the country that brings them revelations about their relationship and their sexuality.

The Park At Sunrise by Lee Brazil is a heart wrenching story of love lost and those left behind. What happens when a threesome is reduced to two? Can a love survive the loss of a partner?

This is a remarkable collection of stories by a group of authors I have come to admire. Their Story Orgy Mondays was my first introduction to all of them. I eagerly awaited for Monday to come around so I could see a new installment on stories I was following from each author as they linked all their stories together. Follow one, follow them all. So imagine my joy when I found out that they were publishing their stories in one volume (now several) so I could have them at my finger tips at a moments notice. And what a diverse group of stories these are. A real smorgasbord of love from every angle and a couple of kinks. And while I enjoyed them all, I will admit to having some favorites.

Harper’s Discovery by Em Woods introduces us to Harper Evans just as he is dumping his cheating boyfriend, a long overdue event as far as Pitt Mullen is concerned. Pitts has been waiting for Harper to get up his resolve and get rid of someone not worthy of him. Of course, Pitt is ready to step in and make Harper his own in every way, including being the submissive to his Dom. As someone not in the lifestyle, I have no idea whether their D/s relationship is accurate but I do know that the men come across as real people trying to find a base upon which to build a mutually satisfactory relationship, one that includes love and respect. Add to this a side story involving a young man in need of a kidney transplant and you have a story you will love even if D/s is not your typical read.

Wicked Reflections by Hank Edwards was one story that should not be read at bedtime. He kept me up all night with nightmares reliving scenes from this book. When Kirk Stanford moves into his new house, the real estate agent had left some things out before selling the house to Kirk, including the fact that the previous owner was murdered upstairs in the master bathroom. Now ghostly warnings appear written on the steamed surface of the mirror in the bathroom. And different men start to enter Kirk’s life from Alan, his new neighbor next door, Lance Hawthorne, a detective looking into the death of the previous owner, and Damon Swain, a local librarian helping Kirk research his new residence. Little by little, scene by scene Hank Edwards starts ramping up the anxiety level of the reader as more facts are revealed about Kirk’s new house, as more warnings are left by the ghost, and everyone becomes a possible suspect. Like Kirk, you have no idea who to trust, and who will turn out to be the bad guy. And those last pages? Had me biting my nails and making sure my doors and windows were locked. Edwards keeps all the balls up in the air as he juggles his thriller scenario with hot sexy scenes between Kirk and his new acquaintenances. Kirk is a bit of a slut which just gives us another dimension to his character. You will love this story, the plot will make you scream. Just read it during the daylight hours, ok?

Harlan’s Ryde by Havan Fellows. OK, I just loved this story. It has it all. Humor, great characterizations and two great sequels. This is the first in the Synchronous Seductions Trilogy. Read my review of all three here.

Off The Beaten Path by J. R. Boyd is a wonderful story of two friends and business partners realizing that they have come to mean much more to each other than they have admitted to. One day Colby Merritt and Mitch Sterling take a drive to scope out new projects/jobs for their landscaping business. Friends for 24 years, a chance dip in a pond on a hot Texas day gives Colby the opportunity to show Mitch how he has always felt about him and what better time than when both are half naked and dripping wet. Boyd’s vivid descriptions makes us feel that hot Texas heat and the delights of a summer pond. Then give us two old friends who have buried their attraction to each other in the name of that friendship and the moment explodes with sexual fireworks and revelations of long hidden sexuality. Did I say hot? Hot on every level. A coming out story done with humor and heat, what’s not to love?

The Park At Sunset by Lee Brazil. Heartbreaking, just heartbreaking, but in a wonderful way. This story will resonate with anyone with a lost love in their past. Thirty two year old Morgan shows up at the bench by the beach and is overwhelmed by memories of a love he had lost. Joining him is Jason, an artist and his former lover. Jason sent Mason a painting that has brought them back together after a long separation. The cause? The death of their lover, Paul. They were once of happy threesome but the loss of one has meant the loss of all. Now sitting on a bench on a beach full of memories, they relive their past, examine their present lives in hopes of finding a way back to each other. Brazil makes their pain palpable, their loss of Paul and each other gut wrenching as their emotions flow and the memories of what was lost comes back. These men touch us in every way. We identify with them and their have our complete empathy. And when the story comes to an end, you will be smiling through tears at a love reclaimed.

Don’t pass this anthology by. If you are unfamiliar with these authors, it is a great introduction. If you love their works, read these stories and remember why.

Cover artist Victoria Miller has created a hot sexy cover for Word Play. Great design with easily read fonts. Great job.

Available through Breathless Press , Amazon, and All Romance eBooks.

Review of A Foreign Range (Range #4) by Andrew Grey

Rating: 5 stars

Country singer Willie Meadows is tired. He is tired of the fame and the lifestyle that comes with it, he is tired of the hangers on and he is tired of living in houses that don’t feel like home. Mostly, he is tired of feeling like a fake, of singing songs about being a cowboy when he can’t even ride a horse. On impulse, Willie buys a small ranch in Wyoming, hoping the change in location will bring him a home, a connection to the land in the songs he wants to write and a return to being Wilson Edwards, his real name.

Steve Peterson is desperate, hungry, out of gas and out of money. After escaping his father and the cult’s attempt to deprogram Steve of his gayness. He arrives at the ranch, expecting to find a job promised to him by the previous owner, unaware the ranch had been sold, and his job gone. Devastated, he sneaks into the barn, hoping just for a warm place to stay for the night.

Wilson finds Steve and sees a young man who is barely hanging on. Steve is shaking from the cold and hunger and when the dilapidated truck he is driving dies at the end of the ranch’s driveway, Wilson decides to give him a job, helping around the ranch, looking after it while Wilson is on the road performing. After the band’s road trip, Wilson returns home to find Steve training horses for his neighboring ranchers and the ranch alive once more. Wilson loves seeing horses on the land, and watching Steve brings up all the feelings he has put aside in the name of fame.

As Steve and Wilson find their mutual attraction leading into a relationship, both men find their past rising up to block their future together. Steve’s father and his followers find him, threatening to pull him away from the home and people he had come to love unless he can stand up to them. Wilson too must make some decisions. He has stayed closeted all these years in fear of losing his fan base and his band. But now he could lose Steve, who won’t be someone’s dirty little secret. Can both men find the strength they need and finally come home to love?

It had been a while since I had read one of Andrew Grey’s books and for the life of me I can’t figure out why I have let this terrific writer’s recent books go unread. I loved A Foreign Range, which is the fourth book in this series, and will now go running back to start at the beginning. But if you are like me and haven’t read the previous books, don’t worry, it isn’t necessary to read those in order to love this one. All the wonderful elements I associate with Mr. Grey’s writing is here. Real characters, locations described with great feeling and depth, and emotional turning points in peoples lives dealt with sensitivity and warmth.

Wilson Edwards and Steve Peterson are two great main characters whose disparate lifestyles highlight their superficial differences while their true natures and similar values pull them together. Mr. Grey does a wonderful job with this dichotomy of status while he is endearing Wilson and Chris to us in scene after heartbreaking scene. Both men seemed so real to me from the very beginning, and their emotional rollercoaster ride to a shared home and love went straight into my heart. Andrew Grey has a deft touch with creating layered, multidimensional characters and Steven and Wilson are prime examples. Secondary characters also stand up to close scrutiny. I loved Maria, Wilson’s housekeeper and her daughter, Alicia, is an adorable young character capable of giving the viewer a change in viewpoint of the events and relationships. Howard, Wilson’s friend and manager, could have easily stayed a one-note villain he appears to be at the beginning of the story but the author shows us that Howard is real person and that his actions, however flawed, are those of a friend and agent who wants the best for Willy the star if not for Wilson the person.

And then there is the setting, Wyoming’s wide open spaces that come complete with tornados as it does with the peace, quiet and sounds of nature that speak to your soul and replenish it. I understood those passages even though it has been years since I set foot on Wyoming soil. Andrew Grey really gets it and then writes it in a manner that lets the reader feel it as well, even if they have never been there.

So, yes, I loved this book. I will go back and now read the others in the series, but no matter what I find there, A Foreign Range will always have a space in my heart. Pick this one up, I think you will find that you will feel the same.

THE RANGE STORIES

A Shared Range

A Troubled Range

An Unsettled Range

A Foreign Range

Cover. Cover Artist is Reese Dante who hits all my buttons with this one. Gorgeous men, palomino horse and beautiful colors. Sigh. Loved this!

Review of Who We Are by TJ Klune

Rating 5 stars (and 5 more for shear awesomeness as Bear would say)

Who We Are picks up right where last pages of Bear, Otter and The Kid left us. Derrick “Bear” McKenna, Bear’s brother,Tyson aka the Kid and Bear’s boyfriend, Oliver “Otter” Thompson have overcome some but not all of the obstacles in their path to becoming a family. Bear and the Kid’s mother has vanished again as has Otter’s ex boyfriend. The three of them are moving into their new house affectionately known as The Green Monstrosity. Bear is going back to school, Otter’s at the photography shop, and the Kid is about to skip ahead a grade at school. The events of last summer still reverberate through their lives as they try and move forward. With Otter’s help, Bear is trying for custody of the Kid, the Kid has to see a therapist and things are still cool between Bear and his best friend, Creed who just happens to be Otter’s younger brother. As usual, the chaos is accompanied by the running dialog in Bear’s brain that threatens to overwhelm him in any given situation. But sometimes the best of families are formed by love and not blood. With Mrs. Paquinn, Anna and more on their side, the family comes together as they all learn that family is “defined by those who make us whole—those who make us who we are”.

I am always a little hesitant when picking up a sequel to a beloved novel. My mind is full of questions to go with the anticipation. Will the characters I came to love retain the same layering, the same quirkiness that captured my heart to begin with? Can the author recreate the magic the first book so beautifully delivered? Will I be happy with the new journey the author takes our heros on? And I am so happy to be able to tell you the answer to all those questions is a resounding “Hell, yes!”. With Who We Are , TJ Klune delivers a knockout punch of a novel that in many ways supersedes the one that went before. Here we still have all the elements that made Bear, Otter and The Kid so special. Bear’s jumbled inner commentary still reigns supreme, erupting in nonsensical sentences to the amusement and bemusement of all. The Kid still produces bad poetry and sage pronouncements on the evils of eating meat and the wisdom of Anderson Cooper. Otter is trying to be the strength and glue for all of them even as their emotions and new trials shake the walls they are building around them. Mrs Paquinn is still her loving eccentric self and her importance to Bear, Tyson and Otter has not diminished. Anna, Bear’s ex girlfriend along with Creed, his childhood best friend are all here. Everyone is here but supersized. It’s as though a patina of copper has been thrown over the characters who now shine more brightly, whose nuances and depth reflect out past the pages and into our hearts. For those who said “Please sir, I want some more.” Here it is. There’s more more here. More emotion, more trials, more complications, more of the realities people face when they come together as a family. And of course, much more love of every type whether it be newly discovered, hard fought, long established, brotherly, and finally fully realized romantic love. Love is here in its many permutations.

TJ Klune demonstrates with authority his gift with characterization as once more Bear, Otter, the Kid, and new characters roar to life within their story. Bear is still Bear, insecure, brave, at once burdened and lifted up by stewardship of his little brother. But now that he has accepted his sexuality and Otter’s place within his heart, the character of Bear seems to expand and strengthen. His inner dialog still runs amuck but wreaks less damage as he talks himself out of one self inflicted panic after another. Tyson is still that most amazing of kids. I have met children with the same frightening degree of intelligence so that has always rung true about his character. But TJ Klune never forgets that Tyson is also a young child with all the fragility of the young. When the emotional earthquakes happen, the impact upon the Kid shake not only his family but the reader with its tremors. Otter has never seemed more human than he does within these pages. Always the strong one, here Otter’s own insecurities and doubts come forward. He must deal with his family’s reaction to his own coming out and his brother’s lack of communication with him before his goal of a family with Bear and Tyson can become a reality. With Otter, a good character became great. Dominic is a new character that reaches out with his damaged background and dares the reader not to love him. And love him you will along with all the denizens of Seafare, past and present. The author never takes the easy out with one dimensional characters or situations. Instead we are given loving families presented with an upheaval of their status quo, and then shown how they overcome past tragedies and feelings to bring everyone back together. These people breathe air and walk with large strides across the pages of this novel with certainty and determination.

In Who We Are, TJ Klune never forgets to maintain his story’s emotional balance as comedy is interwoven with equal amounts of heartbreaking angst. I often found myself laughing and crying together with the characters, as so often both tears of pain and joy mingle as emotions collilde on the same page. The story is also solidly constructed and those annoying questions left over from BOATK are happily resolved here to my complete satisfaction. And that prologue was a thing of geeky beauty! As Bear finished with his tale and said goodbye, I was sad to get the end of Who We Are. Even with the wonderful epilogue, their voices spoke so clearly to me that I will miss them so.

You will find no quibbles here within this review. I loved this book, no ifs ands or buts.This is a book I will come back to when I feel the need to see them all again, especially the Kid and his bad poetry. Here is a sample, trust me it grows on you!

“Bacon is bad! Beef is wrong!

Mad Cow Disease stays with you for a time that’s long!”

For the rest of it, you will just have to buy the book. You will love it.

There is a wonderful short story Word of the Day, where in the Kid first meets Dominic. You can find it here at T.J. Klune’s blog A Fistful of Awesome.

Cover: The cover artist is Paul Richmond. The cover art for both books always looks as though a young adult had crafted it. It does give the books a unique look that immediately identifies them but it comes across as less than polished. Perhaps that is the intent. Hard to argue with the happy family on the front.

Available at Dreamspinner Press, Amazon, and ARe.

Review of Grade-A-Sex Deal (College Fun and Gays, #2) by Erica Pike

Grade-A-Sex Deal (College Fun and Gays #2)

Rating: 5 stars

Daniel Corrigan hates his life. He used to have it all. Affluent lifestyle complete with great paying job, loving wife, two children, great house and even a dog. Now all gone because he simply couldn’t live a lie any longer. With two little words “I’m gay”, he’s lost everything and everyone in his life, with the exception of his brother, a college principal.

Now depressed, penniless and living in a college dorm room, Daniel makes a living teaching macroeconomics at his brother’s university. The only bright spot in his life is Troy Anderson, a sexy student in his class. The deal they made, exchanging sexual favors for a favorable A in his class, is about to come to an end along with the semester and Daniel is not sure he can handle the loss. What will happen when the Grade-A-Sex deal comes to an end?

I love surprises and this short story is all that and a cupcake with dark chocolate sprinkles on top. From the title, I would never guess at the angst, bitterness, and despair that is emerges from the tale of Daniel’s life after he comes out. I am always amazed at the courage it takes for someone to come out of the closet, whether they are a teenager or a middle aged adult. While you hope with all your heart for acceptance and love, the stories you most often hear of those of loss, contempt, and pain. Daniel is no different. His expectations of his family’s reaction might have been naive but the actuality of their disgust and rejection was crushing. Erica Pike got this so right, I often had tears in my eyes as I read the story (and this is a short story mind you).

Daniel’s room is littered with the debris of his life, left over food containers, clothes he can’t be bothered washing, all symptoms of a deeply depressed man just going through the motions. Every detail Erica Pike paints for us is meticulous. There is not a false word or emotion here. Troy Anderson has surprises of his own in store for us. Needless to say, my lips are sealed here. Just know that Troy is no cardboard figure, he too is fully alive and breathing. It just takes a little longer to get to know him. The sex is hot, fast, and overlaid with desperation.

When I first read about the sex for grades issue, it bothered me, but as I got further into the story, it became easier to accept. Daniel had only done it a few times and it fit right in with his poor self esteem and “hitting rock bottom.” If one ignores the depression cycle he is on, his behavior is hard to understand. As it is, he is not a likeable human being at the beginning of the story. However, the deal entered into between the teacher and the student here is a way for the older man to have any type of a relationship with this man he has come to love. It is more a ploy of desperation than something he does with others, and he despises himself for it.

I have not read the first College Fun and Gays story. I really don’t feel its necessary in order to read and appreciate the beauty of this little gem. But you know that I won’t be able to rest until I go back to the beginning of the series. I will let you all know what I find. In the meantime, you will just love this!

Cover: I don’t know if it is just me but any cover color in the red range is hard on my eyes and this is no exception. There are some wonderful graphics in the background that really clue you into the story but they are lost with the highlighted image of the college. I also prefer a stylistically plainer font. IMO, it’s just easier to read. Grade A story, Grade C cover.

Book available from No Boundaries Press, Amazon, and ARe

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