Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Amy Jo Cousins

* * * * 

When friends lose the benefits, can the friendship be saved?

Love Me Like A Rock

With the right art tools, there’s almost nothing Austin can’t make real. Except an official relationship with his best friend, rowing teammate and occasional hookup, Vinnie.

Emotional and sexual frustration fuel a spark between Austin and Sean, the nude model in drawing class. After a quick and very dirty encounter, all the reasons Austin has been waiting for Vinnie go fuzzy in his mind.

But if Austin can’t get his head and his heart on the same page, he could lose both his friend, and his lover.

Hard Candy

Vincent always assumed he and Austin would eventually end up together. But now that Austin’s in love with another man, Vinnie is at a loss.

After the world’s most awkward one-night stand with Bryan, a dance major, Vinnie is drawn to his vibrant spirit and calm center.

Physically, the rowing jock and the glittery dancer can match each other stroke for booty pop. But for the lovers to meet on common ground, they’ll have to find a way to get moving in the same direction. 

Review:

If you have read Level Hands, you will remember that the sexual tension between Rafi’s roommates, Austin and Vinnie, was both intense and dysfunctional.  When Amy Jo Cousins announced that Austin and Vinnie would be getting their own story I was elated.  One, I love this series to death.  Two, Austin and Vinnie were just too fascinating and I wanted to know what’s going on with them.  And three, it wasn’t just one story, it was two.  Double the pleasure and double the fun!

Love Me Like a Rock:

Through Austin’s eyes we find out how he and Vinnie became friends (which was long before they headed off to college together) and why their relationship is sadly stagnant.   After meeting Sean during a drawing session we find out just how much Austin has been missing.  For the first time he feels wanted.  For the first time he is learning that it’s completely normal to want sex regularly and often.  And for the first time he starts questioning the reality of his and Vinnie’s relationship.  I love both Austin and Sean.  Austin is absolutely vibrant and hilarious.  And we can just add Sean to my growing list of Forever Boys.  He’s steady as a rock and that steadiness along with his ability to communicate slow brings Austin into the real world of healthy relationships.

Hard Candy

When Vinnie realizes that Austin is no longer willing to wait around for him he gets a little (a lot) drunk and wakes up in a stranger’s room.  That stranger is Bryan.  Bryan is the kind of guy that KNOWS who he is.  And he’s fought hard to BE who he is.  He expresses himself so loudly and so freely that Vinnie is a little in awe and a lot uncomfortable.  But despite the discomfort, something about Bryan keeps bringing Vinnie back to his room.  It’s not even the sex (although Vinnie isn’t complaining about that).  With Bryan, Vinnie can find peace and respite from the constant control he exerts over himself every day.  As outwardly loud as Bryan can be, he actually quietly and patiently brings Vinnie out of his shell.  Bryan encourages a kind of bravery that Vinnie never had before.  Watching Vinnie slowly and bravely tackle things like conservative parents and campus bullies is both heartbreak and beautiful.

Both Austin and Vinnie find partners that have the ability to communicate and nurture healthy relationships.  A quality that neither Austin nor Vinnie have any personal experience with.   In the end, THIS is the thing that makes both of these stories so satisfying to read.   

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.  Amy Jo Cousins is an amazing author and the Bend or Break series is out of this world.  If you’re already reading them I know you won’t hesitate to pick up Between a Rock and a Hard Place.  If you haven’t read these yet then you must start immediately.  I promise that you won’t be disappointed.

Happy Reading!

Nat

Real World (Bend or Break #5) by Amy Jo Cousins

* * * *

When talking fails, it’s time to break out the big guns.

Five years ago, Tom Worthington busted his ass to overcome the fear and paranoia that led him to withdraw from the world and nearly lose his boyfriend. He never thought he’d find himself right back there, shutting Reese out, keeping secrets again.

Reese Anders is ready to try anything to get Tom to talk: if he can’t seduce his boyfriend with food, he’ll get Tom to open up in bed. But even Tom’s confession that his dad is getting out of prison soon doesn’t clear the air between them. And as the holidays approach, intensive mentoring from a new British boss creates more distractions, until Reese is keeping secrets of his own.

At a company Christmas party, it only takes Tom one look at Reese’s new boss to figure out how much danger their relationship is in. But he’s not about to let the connection that started all those years ago at Carlisle come to an end. It’s time to deal with their problems like adults. Face to face. Or back to front. Starting in the bedroom.


Warning: This book contains two adorable guys with way too many secrets, conciliatory rigatoni, a bedroom lesson on the power of multitasking, and indisputable evidence on what makes the perfect holiday HEA. 

Review:

I don’t think it will surprise anyone that I about lost my business when I found out that Tom and Reese were getting a follow-up story.  I’m pretty transparent about these things. 

It’s been five years between the end of Off-Campus and the beginning of Real World.  Both Tom and Reese are working and supporting themselves while Tom also puts himself through school to earn his MBA.  So, yeah.  Life is good.  Slightly stressful but good.  But sometimes events have the ability to make people regress in their behavior.  And Tom’s dad’s release from prison is one of those things.  Tom will finally have to face the guy that is responsible for the paranoia he worked so hard to beat.  Add that to some unexpected issues at work and the paranoia comes back in full force.   Unfortunately, so does his tendency to clam up and not tell Reese what’s bothering him.

Reese is pretty intuitive.  After five years he knows Tom better than he knows himself so he immediately notices that Tom has withdrawn.  When he finds out from a friend (and not from Tom) that Tom’s dad is being released he decides it’s time to soften up his boyfriend and make him realize that non-communication is not an option in their relationship.  And his campaign to wear Tom down works.  Sort of.  Tom may have come clean about his dad but there are other things he’s not sharing and Reese notices.  Reese needs Tom to be the one to open up and he can only do so much to make that happen.  The rest is on Tom.

A financial investigation at work has Tom more paranoid than ever.  Understandable considering his father’s history.  But when you keep all that stress in and start hiding away emotionally and physically you start to lose the connection to the ones you love most.  And Tom realizes that in a frightening way when he senses the attraction between Reese and Reese’s boss.   And his action is instant and memorable and really makes the story. 

This is a novella so I really can’t say too much more about the story without giving anything away.  I can say that this was a highly satisfying sequel to Tom and Reese’s story.  It is a beautiful and honest romance about relationships – how it’s easy to fall back into old patterns and how it requires constant work to keep a relationship going.  Their issues are real which in turn makes their love story relatable and real too.  If you are a fan of the series you will also enjoy following up with Cash, Steph, Denny and Rafe.  And, if you are fan of contemporary and realistic romance this entire series wins hands down.  

Nat

The Girl Next Door by Amy Jo Cousins

When it comes to love, go big or go home.

Charles “Cash” Carmichael traded his high-rise condo and family-firm career for a job coaching soccer for Chicago’s inner-city kids. He’s adjusting to living on minimum wage when his young cousin, newly out and running away from home, shows up on his less-than-luxurious doorstep.

Angsty teens definitely aren’t Cash’s thing. He needs local backup, and there’s only one name he can think of: Stephany Tyler. Back in the day, the bisexual Steph was the perfect friend with benefits until she fell in love with a woman.

To his relief, his former friend steps up to the plate. Soon, though, Cash finds himself feeling the familiar need to keep her in his bed, and in his life. But Steph, burned by the ex-girlfriend and by the absentee dad she’s been trying to connect with, won’t risk her heart again.

Good thing Cash believes in leaving it all on the field. If he can just convince Steph to get in the game, there’s a chance they can both win.

Warning: This book contains ex-friends with benefits crossing boundaries a second time, several steamy encounters on staircases, copious discussions about gay sex from a “straight” guy, a shout-out to magic buttons, and an especially memorable going away threesome. 

Review:

I had to laugh at the warning for this book.  One, because most of the warnings that come on books published by Samhain make me giggle, and two, because it gives the idea that this book is all sex.  And it’s not.  There are some steamy scenes in it for sure.  And I can’t say that I’ve read a threesome in any other New Adult novel (or adult novel for that matter outside erotic romance). But Amy Jo Cousins fits it in seamlessly without ever making the reader feel like they’ve crossed into something unexpectedly steamier.

If you’ve read Off Campus (by now we all know I’m a huge fan) you are familiar with Cash Carmichael.  The clueless kindhearted friend that insists on staying in Tom’s life and who effortlessly draws Reese in too.   It’s been a few years since graduation and Cash has chosen to ditch his comfy parent provided job for a minimum wage non-profit position bringing sports to inner-city kids in Chicago.   A huge adjustment but Cash adapts easily.  Which is a good quality to have when his 17 year old cousin, Denny, shows up at his apartment looking for a place to stay.  Denny has just come out to his parents and they think he is just looking for attention.  The one person that Denny thought might take him seriously is Cash.  Cash wants to give Denny what he needs but he’s not quite sure what that is. So he brings in the troops.  The troops being his best friends Tom and Reese.  But they are still in Boston and can’t come out to help for a couple weeks.  In the interim, Cash enlists the help of the one person he’s been avoiding since he found out she moved to town.  His bi-sexual friend, Steph.  More memorable to him as his former friend with benefits.  Also the girl that got away.

When Cash meets Steph for dinner he finds the friendship that was so strained before naturally reappears.  Steph doesn’t hesitate to help out and it doesn’t take long before she and Cash are re-instating their friends with benefits relationship.  The difference is that Cash doesn’t want a casual thing.  For him this is the real deal.  But he knows Steph.  And he recognizes her issues with abandonment.  Mix that with Cash’s fear of being cast aside like last time and he decides to slowly work his way into her heart.  He just needs the time to convince her that he’s worth forever.

There are so many things to love about this book.  The biggest thing being Cash himself.  The story is told from his POV (third person) and he is just such a….DUDE.  And when you read it you will understand why that is hilarious.   He’s funny, kind and completely aware of his cluelessness.  This might be my favorite quality of his.  He KNOWS that it sometimes takes him longer to process information.  And he’s so embarrassed by it.  But he has a few tricks up his sleeve to hide that from people and I found it endearing.  His relationship with each of his friends (Denny included) really shows that he’s the glue that holds them all together.  Really there is nothing to dislike about the guy. 

Steph is amazing.  I loved her since the moment she threatened Tom in Off Campus.  She’s feisty and she has a huge heart.   A huge heart that’s been broken a few too many times.  She’s also naughty.  Much like her BFF, Reese, Steph is a bit of an exhibitionist, which allows for some fun steamy scenes.  It definitely helps that Cash is pretty much open to anything and everything.

If you’ve been following this series from the beginning you’ll enjoy the reappearance of Tom and Reese.  And if, like me, you started this series by reading Level Hands (Bend or Break #4), you’ll enjoy seeing how Denny and Rafi meet each other.  It was adorable to witness the start of their relationship through Cash’s eyes.

This series has been a joy to read and The Girl Next Door was the perfect sweet and happy remedy needed after experiencing the angst of the first two books.  Each one of these books have made it to my comfort read shelf.  I am not ashamed to admit I’ve read Off Campus three times in the past three months.  If that’s not a comfort read I don’t know what is.  It just hits the spot.  The best part is that the series isn’t over.  Look out for our review of Real World (Bend or Break #5) which comes out in November.  If you are a Tom/Reese fan you will love reading this novella about them 5 years post-graduation.

Nat

Nothing Like Paris (Bend or Break #2) by Amy Jo Cousins

* * * *

Humble pie wasn’t supposed to taste this sweet.

Jack Tarkington’s life is in the toilet. He was supposed to be spending his junior year studying someplace cool like Paris or Rome. Instead, after taking out his anger on the campus “golden boy”, whose dad ripped off his parents, Jack is facing possible expulsion.

Sure, it’s all his own fault, but coming back to the small Iowa town he thought he’d escaped, after crowing about his admission to a prestigious school, has been a humbling experience.

When he runs into Miguel, Jack braces for backlash over the way he lorded it over his old friend and flame. Instead, Miguel offers him friendship—and a job at his growing farm-to-table store and café.

Against the odds, both guys bond over broken dreams and find common ground in music. But when Jack’s college gives him a second chance, he’s torn between achieving a dream that will take him far from home, and a love that strikes a chord he’ll never find anywhere else.


Warning: This book contains a humbled guy who’s on the brink of losing it all, a determined entrepreneur who seems to have it all together, apologies issued through banjo-picking duets, and two lovers who can play each other’s bodies like virtuosos.

Review:

If you have read Off Campus, the first in the Bend or Break series, you are familiar with Jack Tarkington.  He’s the bully that made it his mission in life to make Tom and Reese’s life a living hell.  I love Tom and Reese so I was happy to see Jack disappear towards the end of the first book.  But when I saw that book two was about Jack, I was intrigued.  Because, as I’ve mentioned many times before, I love when an author takes the hero or heroine I hate and turns them into someone I love.  Take Me On by Katie McGarry being my favorite example.

Jack Tarkington has a huge chip on his shoulder.  A natural self-preservation technique he has perfected through the years.  Add that chip with a tendency to mouth off and cause trouble and you have a recipe for disaster.  His anger over the loss of his father’s investments and savings (and in turn the possible loss of his enrollment at Carlisle) leads him down a path that may very well get him expelled.  After being caught making Tom Worthington’s life a living hell, he is sent home for the rest of the semester until the Dean makes a decision on his acceptance the following school year.

So Jack heads back to the small Iowa town he grew up in.  The town he couldn’t wait to leave and never wanted to see again.  The town that contains not only his highly dysfunctional family but also the best friend and lover he left behind because he had to escape. 

Miguel never thought he’d see Jack again.  And he probably would have been just fine if that had been the case.  Needless to say, when Jack shows up at his farm-to-table café he is more than a little surprised.  He should just turn him away. But Miguel is a nice guy and no matter how angry he might still be at how Jack left him he won’t leave him out in the cold.  He can at least give him a cup of coffee.  In a to-go cup.  Because he sure as hell can’t trust Jack to stick around to use anything more permanent.

But Jack is here to stay.  At least for the short term.  And he needs a lot of things.  A way to avoid the constant reminder of his mother’s alcoholism, a job because he’s broke, and a friend because he’s never really had one since he left Iowa.  Much to Miguel’s surprise, he’s willing to provide all three of those things.  He’ll just have to protect his heart and keep their relationship strictly in the friend-zone.  But as they spend more and more time together the invisible thing that drew them together in the first place becomes harder and harder to resist. 

Miguel is a steady forever guy.  He very obviously stays in Iowa, not because he doesn’t want to go away to school, but because he wants to be close to his family who he believes needs him more than he needs to pursue his own dreams.  And he makes the absolute best of it.  He’s happy with his accomplishments and his success and doesn’t feel the pull of wanting more.  Which makes starting a relationship with Jack all the more difficult.  Because Miguel knows that Jack won’t stay and Miguel has no intentions of following him.  I really loved Miguel as a character.  No surprise there since I love those forever boys.  I found his ability to protect himself endearing but I also found that ability being worn away over time to be believable as well.

Jack’s trip back home is life changing in so many ways.  He’s finally forced to address the things he ran away from.  His relationship with Miguel is the obvious one.  But he is also forced to accept the fact that his mother is an alcoholic and even though he can’t make her get help he can certainly get help for himself.  With an unsure future at Carlisle, Jack finds a community of support in the one place he never thought he’d find it. The small town that never offered him much before he left. Between Miguel and the opportunities he provides Jack, Miguel’s family, the high school kids who look up to him when he volunteers to be their advocate and his old high school counselor, Jack just might have a safe fall back plan if he can’t go back to school out east.  But if the Dean shows some mercy and allows him to attend school in the fall?  Jack will have to decide if he can leave everything he just found behind.   And if he does choose to leave it behind, can he convince Miguel to go with him.

As I mentioned in my review of Off Campus, Amy Jo Cousins writes amazingly realistic characters.  Jack isn’t always likable.  Especially considering his history from book 1.  But the humbling things he experiences coming home helps wear away at that chip on his shoulder so much that you just want to hug him and tell him he’s going to be okay and that he can make it through. 

This is another great m/m new adult title and as you can probably guess, I can’t recommend this series enough.

Nat

Off Campus (Bend or Break #1) by Amy Jo Cousins

* * * *

Everyone’s got secrets. Some are just harder to hide.

With his father’s ponzi scheme assets frozen, Tom Worthington believes finishing college is impossible unless he can pay his own way. After months sleeping in his car and gypsy-cabbing for cash, he’s ready to do just that.

But his new, older-student housing comes with an unapologetically gay roommate. Tom doesn’t ask why Reese Anders has been separated from the rest of the student population. He’s just happy to be sleeping in a bed.

Reese isn’t about to share his brutal story with his gruff new roommate. You’ve seen one homophobic jock, you’ve seen ’em all. He plans to drag every twink on campus into his bed until Tom moves out. But soon it becomes clear Tom isn’t budging.

Tom isn’t going to let some late-night sex noise scare him off, especially when it’s turning him on. But he doesn’t want any drama either. He’ll keep his hands, if not his eyes, to himself. Boundaries have a way of blurring when you start sharing truths, though. And if Tom and Reese cross too many lines, they may need to find out just how far they can bend…before they break.

Warning: This book contains cranky roommates who vacillate between lashing out and licking, some male/male voyeurism, emotional baggage that neither guy wants to unpack, and the definitive proof that sound carries in college housing.

Review:

After more than a summer of sleeping in his car and driving a cab to make cash and save money for school, Tom Worthington is excited to finally have an actual bed to sleep in.  But when he arrives at the off-campus housing he’s been assigned to, he finds his bed has been converted into a couch.  Apparently his new roommate wasn’t expecting company for the school year. 

After a vicious on-campus assault the year before, Reese Anders was promised a private room in the off-campus housing usually reserved for adults.  Needless to say he was unhappy and extremely displeased to find an oversized jock standing in his doorway and expecting to sleep in his room.   

No amount of complaining will help the situation.   There is not enough available housing for Reese to have a single and Tom has nowhere else to go.  So they’ll have to figure out how to live together until the next school year.  Tom is cool with that.  He just wants to keep his head down and get through the next three semesters.  But Reese?  He is determined to have his own space.  His safety and peace of mind depend on it.  So what should scare off an assumedly homophobic jock more than anything?  Purposely bringing guys back to their room for a good time, of course.  But what Reese doesn’t understand is that Tom is not only not homophobic, he’s not all that straight either.   Tom knows what Reese is doing but he’s too desperate for a room and a bed to be scared off.  Plus, listening in is kind of hot.  Not that the very reserved Tom is going to admit that to anyone but himself. 

This book is told through Tom’s POV (third person).  Because of this, the reader becomes intimately aware of the kind of person Tom used to be and the young man he’s become thanks to the criminal actions of his father.  A once overly privileged and careless young man has become so careful and overly focused that his paranoia uncomfortably leaps off the page.  But that same watchfulness allows him to be super aware that his roommate is negatively reacting to their room situation because he’s afraid of Tom.  Mostly Tom’s size in comparison to Reese’s smaller stature.  And because Tom has become so much more conscious of others, he does everything he can to alleviate that fear.  Even to the extent of making himself physically smaller when he’s in the same room as Reese.  Reese is just as watchful as Tom in some ways.  And as he becomes more comfortable with Tom he also sees more of things that Tom doesn’t want anyone to see.  At one point Tom finds out that Reese had been purposely leaving apples on his desk because he saw that Tom was financially struggling and couldn’t always afford or fit in a healthy snack or meal.  It was a very short but sweet moment that said a lot about both of these characters.  As Tom and Reese get to know each other and eventually begin a relationship, it’s amazing and beautiful to see the lengths they will go to make the other feel safe.

Sweet moments aside, there has to be a conflict in every romance.  No relationship can survive the PTSD that both of these men are experiencing without some professional help.  The problem is that they are both resistant to that help. Tom especially since he is convinced reaching out will make him vulnerable to the press that hounded him after his father was arrested.  Tom’s acceptance of his issues and his fear of seeking help is more than a little frustrating.  Especially since Reese shows more willingness to face his fears and try.  The conflict in this story is honest and messy and sometimes unflattering.  Tom’s and Reese’s issues are the kind that they will be working on for a lifetime.  But, in the end, their willingness to do so is what makes their story so beautiful and so relatable. 

I’ve read this entire series (more reviews to come!) and I have found that Amy Jo Cousins has an amazing knack for writing characters with frightening realistic personality traits that will drive you nuts.  And yet you fall in love with those characters because they are so ridiculously human it’s impossible not to.  Off Campus is a great contemporary New Adult romance featuring two young men that are determined to make a relationship work in spite of and because of their individual traumatic experiences. 

Nat

Family Man by Heidi Cullinan and Marie Sexton

* * * *

Sometimes family chooses you.

How does a man get to be forty without knowing whether he’s gay? That’s a question Vince Fierro is almost afraid to answer. If he is gay, it’ll be a problem for his big, fat Italian family. Still, after three failed marriages, he can’t help but wonder if he’s been playing for the wrong team.

There’s only one way to settle it, once and for all—head for Chicago’s Boystown bars, far from anyone who knows him. Naturally, he runs smack into someone from the neighborhood.

Between working two jobs, going to school, taking care of his grandmother, and dealing with his mother’s ongoing substance abuse, Trey Giles has little time for fun, let alone dating someone who swears he’s straight. Yet after one night of dancing cheek-to-cheek to the sultry strains of Coltrane, Trey finds himself wanting to help Vinnie figure things out—no promises, and no sex.

It seems like a simple plan, until their “no-sex” night turns into the best date of their lives and forges a connection that complicates everything.

Warning:  This book deals with alcoholism, broken promises, and overbearing little sisters.

Review: 

I’ve read a string of crappy books lately.  It was getting so frustrating that I actually decided to not finish one.  I rarely do that.  Then after not finishing a book, I went on to experience the supreme downer of reading a craptastic book  that was recommended to me and that had over 1000 5* reviews on GoodReads.  I needed some sort of palate cleanser after that piece of drivel.  Something to remind me how amazing gay romances can truly be.  How to do that?  Hmmmm…Oh, I know! Maybe look on my TBR shelf...  And that’s where I found Family Man.

Let me tell you.  This book was the saving grace of my August reads.  I think it actually started an amazing upward climb in good reading karma because I read two more books after this and I loved them as well.

While working on a plumbing job for a gay couple in Lakeview, Vince Fierro realizes that the loving relationship these two men have with each other might be what’s wrong with his love life.   Vinnie experimented with a guy in college but never went any farther than that.  Because what would his family think?  And if he’s cool with girls why take the risk losing his big close Italian family’s acceptance?  But Vinnie is starting to have an idea of what’s been missing in his life and he makes the decision to slowly explore the possibilities. 

So many gay romances revolve around the struggle of familial acceptance.  And Family Man is no different.  What was different from other m/m romances I have read was Vinnie’s family dynamic.  He comes from a large Italian family.  The kind that is all up in each other’s business every minute of every day.  It reminded me greatly of My Big Fat Greek Wedding.  I was waiting any minute for Vinnie’s grandfather to pull out a bottle of Windex. 

One of the most important people in this family is Vinnie’s sister.  She is the one he goes to when he needs to talk and she is the one he first comes out to.  What I found fascinating was how in the beginning his sister yells at him for buying into gay stereotypes; forcing Vinnie to realize that being gay only means that he likes men and doesn’t necessarily mean he has to fit into a mold.   But as Vinnie slowly explores his sexuality and educates himself, his sister is the one that is challenged with reconciling her gay brother with her inherent expectation of macho Italian men. 

Then there is Trey.  Trey is busting his ass; working two jobs, going to school part time, helping his aging grandmother and tolerating/helping his substance amusing mother.  With everything he has going on, Trey doesn’t have time for pursuing a relationship.  But sometimes life doesn’t give us a choice.  Like when you see Vince Fierri sitting alone at a gay bar in Boystown.  After an unexpectedly romantic evening of dancing at a nearby jazz club, Trey’s plans for avoiding a relationship are completely thrown out the window. 

I felt that Trey was not only dangerously close to being a forever boy but he was also an emotionally complicated character.  Which is no surprise when you are dealing with a 25 year old man that has been dealing with his mother’s addiction for at least the past 15 years of his life.  I really appreciated the authors’ portrayal of Trey and his feelings towards his mom.  His mother is an alcoholic that has gone through multiple programs (programs that cost Trey his college fund and forced his grandmother to take a 2^nd mortgage on her home) but has never been sober for more than a few months.  Trey has a lot of anger and frustration and I liked how no punches were pulled when he was internalizing his feelings when his mom fell off the wagon yet again.

Trey has his grandmother and a small family of close friends.  But even though he is close to them he often feels he is isolated.   So when Vinnie offers the hope of more family, Trey isn’t sure if he should stay hidden in his bubble or embrace the gift of family that Vinnie is giving him.  Seeing Vinnie’s quiet and unobtrusive persistence when it comes to giving Trey the family he needs is wonderfully sweet. 

I highly recommend Family Man if you like a little bit of angst and whole lot of sweetness and romance.  It hit the spot for me and I hope it will for you too.

Nat

Love Lessons by Heidi Cullinan - Blog Tour and Giveaway

Love Lessons
By Heidi Cullinan

Blurb: 
Love doesn't come with a syllabus.

Kelly Davidson has waited what seems like forever to graduate high school and get out of his small-minded, small town. But when he arrives at Hope University, he quickly realizes finding his Prince Charming isn't so easy. Everyone here is already out. In fact, Kelly could be the only virgin on campus.

Worst of all, he’s landed the charming, handsome, gay campus Casanova as a roommate, whose bed might as well be equipped with a revolving door.

Walter Lucas doesn't believe in storybook love. Everyone is better off having as much fun as possible with as many people as possible…except his shy, sad little sack of a roommate is seriously screwing up his world view.

As Walter sets out to lure Kelly out of his shell, staying just friends is harder than he anticipated. He discovers love is a crash course in determination. To make the grade, he’ll have to finally show up for class…and overcome his own private fear that love was never meant to last.

Warning: This story contains lingering glances, milder than usual sexual content for this author, and a steamy dance-floor kiss. Story has no dairy or egg content, but may contain almonds.

Available to purchase at

         

Review:

* * * *

This is classic romance at its best.  Nora Roberts once said about the romance genre, “The books are about the celebration of falling in love and emotion and commitment, and all of those things we really want.”  Love Lessons is exactly that.  Kelly Davidson is so traditional it hurts.  When he starts his freshmen year at Hope University he hopes not to only get a great education but possibly meet the man of his dreams.  He isn’t looking for some guys to fool around with. That’s not his style.  No, he is looking for romance.  Disney-style romance.  Love with a capital L.  His Happy Ever After.

Walter Lucas is the exact opposite.  Relationships are confining and ridiculous and never work out.  Walter would much rather check out the new freshmen and figure out his one-night stands for the school year.  But fate has other plans for him.  When the Dean informs Walter; “Hey, you are required to live on campus.  I found the perfect room for you.  It’s a single.  In a house full of homophobic frat boys.  Oh and you get to share that single with a allergy-ridden freshmen“*; Walter’s reaction isn’t filled with glee.  And can you blame him?  But then Walter meets Kelly and even though all the other stuff is true, Kelly is not the frustrating roommate Walter first envisioned.  Not to mention, he’s super cute.

Although the mutual attraction is instant, both of them recognize that Kelly wants more than Walter is willing to give.  So instead they become instant best friends while each trying to hide their crush from the other.  Let’s just say Walter is a bit more successful than the inexperienced Kelly - which makes for some adorably uncomfortable scenes.  But, of course, you can’t hide your feelings forever.  Especially when you live in close proximity with the object of your affection.  Before long Kelly is insisting that even he and Walter can have a Happy Ever After together.  And Walter finds Kelly’s hope and dreams so endearing that maybe even a skeptic like him can be convinced.

I am crazy about this story.  I loved Walter because, as you know, I love my emotionally broken boys. I love the hot and steamy scenes that Heidi wrote for these guys - *fans self vigorously and swoons*.  But what I was wild about most was Kelly.  He absolutely stole my heart.  I adored his unashamed and unwavering desire and insistence on having his traditional romance.  He was so stinkin’ adorable that I can even forgive his choice in Pride and Prejudice film versions.  Come on now, Kelly.  The Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle is top notch!   And if I can forgive him that, then he must be quite loveable, indeed.

If you are looking for a new m/m romance to devour, I urge you to pick this one up.  You will be happy you did.


*Not a real quote.  I’m just paraphrasing.

Love Lessons by Heidi Cullinana - Promo Spotlight

Love Lessons

Love doesn’t come with a syllabus.

Kelly Davidson has waited what seems like forever to graduate high school and get out of his small-minded, small town. But when he arrives at Hope University, he quickly realizes finding his Prince Charming isn’t so easy. Everyone here is already out. In fact, Kelly could be the only virgin on campus.

Worst of all, he’s landed the charming, handsome, gay campus Casanova as a roommate, whose bed might as well be equipped with a revolving door.

Walter Lucas doesn’t believe in storybook love. Everyone is better off having as much fun as possible with as many people as possible…except his shy, sad little sack of a roommate is seriously screwing up his world view.

As Walter sets out to lure Kelly out of his shell, staying just friends is harder than he anticipated. He discovers love is a crash course in determination. To make the grade, he’ll have to finally show up for class…and overcome his own private fear that love was never meant to last.

Warning: This story contains lingering glances, milder than usual sexual content for this author, and a steamy dance-floor kiss. Story has no dairy or egg content, but may contain almonds.

Expected publication: October 1st 2013 by Samhain

Love Lessons is available for pre-order through Amazon, BN and Kobo.

About the Author

Heidi Cullinan has always loved a good love story, provided it has a happy ending. She enjoys writing across many genres but loves above all to write happy, romantic endings for LGBT characters because there just aren't enough of those stories out there. When Heidi isn't writing, she enjoys cooking, reading, knitting, listening to music, and watching television with her husband and ten-year-old daughter. Heidi also volunteers frequently for her state's LGBT rights group, One Iowa, and is proud to be from the first midwestern state to legalize same-sex marriage. Find out more about Heidi, including her social networks, at www.heidicullinan.com.

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