Rush by Nyrae Dawn

* * * * 

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

Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

* * * *

What girl doesn't want to be surrounded by gorgeous jocks day in and day out? Jordan Woods isn't just surrounded by hot guys, though - she leads them as the captain and quarterback on her high school football team. They all see her as one of the guys, and that's just fine. As long as she gets her athletic scholarship to a powerhouse university. But now there's a new guy in town who threatens her starring position on the team... and has her suddenly wishing to be seen as more than just a teammate.


I’ve always wondered about the inner workings of the male mind. In Catching Jordan, Miranda Kenneally proved what I have always believed. Most boys just plain don’t talk about feeeelings. They are creatures of few words and they are content as can be with that. Having my theory proven correct, I began imagining conversations they have when discussing major events in their lives…

At some point, while dating the Executive Officer, he decided that he was going to ask me to marry him. I imagine the conversation with his best friend went a little something like this:

Executive Officer: I think I’m going to ask Nat to marry me. *shoots some bad guys on his video game*


Best Friend: Ok. Cool. *shoots more bad guys then drinks his Dr. Pepper*


Executive Officer: Yep. *eats some Doritos and takes a swig from his beer*


Or better yet, here is the conversation between the Executive Officer and Bel’s husband.

Executive Officer: I’m going to ask Nat to marry me.


Bel’s Husband: *punches Nat’s XO in the face*


That second one is an honest to goodness true story. Now in Bel’s husband’s defense, he warned my XO that he would punch him the face if he asked me to marry him before dating me at least a year (we had only dated nine months). And Bel’s husband can always be counted on to carry out a promise.

But that isn’t all I learned from Catching Jordan. I also learned that tomboys don’t necessarily want you to forget that they are a girl. I learned that a good team protects and supports one another. And I learned that girls can play some kick ass football. And that is saying a lot as I really am not a big fan of American Football. Alright, I am sure that I learned more than that but that is what first came to mind.

There were a lot of things to love about this story. The camaraderie between Jordan and her teammates was wonderful and made me feel all warm and fuzzy with the naturalness of it. The relationship between Jordan and Henry, her best friend since forever, was very sweet. But what I loved most of all was watching Jordan struggle and grow as she learns to deal with boys and new girlfriends and then in turn learns to balance her relationship issues with school, football, and college hunting. She grew considerably throughout the book. Starting out a tough but insecure girl and eventually coming out as a strong woman with a lot of self respect.

This was a fun, romantic fast-paced read. I finished it in one day which doesn’t happen very often and I have already gone back twice to re-read my favorite parts. I always enjoy a romance that makes me smile and Catching Jordan did just that. I have added this book to the “Cheer Me Up” shelf - right next to Anna and the French Kiss.



Nat