Rush by Nyrae Dawn

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This new adult, male/male romance will capture the audience who fell in love with Nyrae Dawn's Games Trilogy.

For the love of the game.

Brandon Chase has always defined himself by one thing: football. Tough and athletic, he is a great college player who enjoys the hard hits and the sweaty grind of the gridiron. But when Brandon is injured, only one person can help him get back on track-a forbidden love he's desperately tried to put behind him. 

Alec Andrews has never quite forgiven Brandon for walking away when their friendship turned into something more. But he can't deny help to one of his closest friends. As the two spend the long, hot summer working together, their old attraction comes flooding back.

Now as Alec thinks about coming out to his conservative family and Brandon considers revealing he's a gay football player, the two men must be strong to fight for a love that could be the greatest rush of their lives. 

Review:

My love of m/m romance is no secret.  Considering how much I enjoyed Nyrae Dawn’s (and Jolene Perry’s) Out of Play I was pretty excited to see her put her superb romance writing abilities to a story about two young men.  I was NOT disappointed.  I found myself fortunate enough to meet Nyrae Dawn at the Romantic Times Convention this year and when I told her that this fan of m/m romance absolutely loved Brandon and Alec’s story, she admitted that it was her favorite book she has written so far.  I have to say that her love of these two characters is apparent in every page of this book.

Sadly, I have yet to review The Locker Room by Amy Lane for our blog - which is absolutely ridiculous since I’ve read it three times.   But, even though I haven’t reviewed it here yet, I have to compare it to Rush.  Because the world has changed significantly in the 3 years since The Locker Room was published.  The Locker Room is about two NBA stars that have been in love for years and go through ridiculous pain to hide their relationship because coming out would mean the end of their careers.  Since then we have seen professional athletes from so many major sports take a stand and come out to the world.  The most recent being Michael Sam who was drafted to the St. Louis Rams AFTER publicly coming out.

In light of how our world is changing (finally!), Rush was released at a perfect time.  Yes there is angst.  Yes, there is pain.  (Cheese and crackers!  What is wrong with me?  Why do I love so much angst?)  And yes, part of the story is about these two boys deciding if they can handle their reality of coming out.  But the story is mainly about Brandon’s insecurities.  And those insecurities mainly stem from his fear of disappointing his parents.  Football is the only thing he feels he is good at and his parents are the kind of parents that expect their kids to excel on the things they are good at.  If Brandon fails at football (which could happen if he came out), what will be left but his parents’ disappointment?

Then there is Alec.  Brandon and Alec have been best friends since they were teenagers and slowly fell in love.   Brandon allowed his insecurities and fears to get in the way and he broke off their romantic relationship (and in turn their friendship) before it could ever really get off the ground.  One and a half years later, an accident brings Alec to Brandon’s side.  Right at a time that Alec is beginning to seriously consider moving on and letting the world know who he is.   

But before long Alec and Brandon are spending a summer re-discovering what they gave up.  It’s a summer of discovery and change for both of them.  The final test being if they can handle the possible fall out of making their relationship known the rest of the world.   But maybe, just maybe, the fall out won’t be as bad as they are expecting.

Like I said, this was a great m/m romance.  If you enjoy an angsty read with the absolute promise of a happy ever after, I can’t recommend this enough.

Nat