Book Review: "Himbo Takes It All" by CD Rachels

Having an unrequited crush on a friend is difficult to deal with. It’s even worse when you’re gay and you have a crush on your straight best friend. That’s the situation with Andres. He’s been best friends with Hamadi since college, they live together, and they’re very affectionate with each other, but Hamadi still dates women. Lots of them.

“Hamadi, even on his worst days, is so damn lovable. He’s a hulking mass of brown skin, chiseled abs, three brain cells, and a heart of gold.”

Andres has put dating on hold because he keeps hoping Hamadi’s feelings might change. But his friends convince him to try speed dating, and even Hamadi supports it—but he tags along to make sure no one takes advantage of Andres, which causes quite a bit of chaos. In the end, though, Andres meets Hector, and they hit it off.

Suddenly, with Andres in a relationship, Hamadi feels left out. He loves Andres, but not like that. Right? But the more alone he feels, the more he starts to realize his feelings are more than just friendship. He wants to be with Andres.

When Andres gets an opportunity to intern for a famous chef, Hamadi worries that he’s too much of a himbo to be a good partner. And as they continue “experimenting,” neither wants to admit their true feelings. Will that cause them to lose out on everything?

This is the second book in CD Rachels’ Single Gamers’ Society series. I found this to be sweet, super steamy, and fun, and I just really enjoy these characters and their camaraderie.

Book Review: "Failing a Bluff Check" by CD Rachels

I was looking for a fun romance and when I saw CD Rachels’ author blurb, I knew I’d found it: “In 2020 during quarantine, he read more romances than he ever had in the previous 29 years combined. But, he noticed a distinct lack of BIPOC voices, and now he’s on a mission to change that.”

When they were in high school, Firass had a huge crush on his best friend Nate’s older brother. Johnny Shiba was sexy, confident, and the object of everyone’s desire. But after he graduated, he left their Connecticut town for college and rarely returned.

Fifteen years later, Firass and Nate live together, and Firass is more a part of the Shiba family than Johnny. But when Johnny returns, the old feelings for Johnny return for Firass. He can’t help but stammer and flush anytime he’s in Johnny’s proximity, and he’s even moved into their house!

When Firass needs a date for his cousin Omar’s wedding, he wants someone that he can pass off as his boyfriend, which rules out his close friends. Johnny volunteers, and although Firass can’t believe he’d be willing, he takes him up on his offer. Right away, the chemistry between them is intense. No one has cared about Johnny the way Firass does. But although Nate has made it clear that the two must remain platonic friends since he and Firass are close like brothers, what happens on the road doesn’t count, right?

As Firass gets a chance at his dream job, he wishes he could be open about his feelings for Johnny. But Johnny has said before how much he hates their small town, so should Firass risk his heart?

This is the start to a series and I’m absolutely going to keep reading. The characters are much more complex than I first thought, the steam is quite hot, and the relationships made my heart melt.

Book Review: "The Bridge Club" by Patricia Sands

If you like stories of strong female friendships, Patricia Sands' The Bridge Club is one for you!

“The Bridge Club: eight women, close to hitting their sixty-five-year speed bump. They were never anything remotely resembling Desperate Housewives or Ya-Ya candidates but simply great friends since their footloose days of finding the way through their early twenties.”

Eight women—Bonnie, Cass, Danielle, Dee, Jane, Lynn, Marti, and Pam—have been friends for more than five decades. What started out as a monthly bridge game turned into something much deeper. They’ve celebrated momentous occasions in each other’s lives, and have provided comfort and even more substantial help in times of crisis.

In the story each character recounts their “SOS”—the moment when each felt they could only rely on the Bridge Club to help them. These stories range from marital troubles and divorce, illness, addiction, and many others, and each chapter reinforces the intense bond they have. (For those of you who actually play bridge, there are even bridge hands at the end of each chapter.)

The Bridge Club was originally written in 2010, and marked the celebration of everyone’s 65th birthdays, as well as one sad note in an epilogue. In this 10th anniversary edition, Sands includes the epilogue as part of the book and writes an updated final chapter that takes place in 2020. It's a very interesting decision which really works.

This was a really well-told story. I love books about strong relationships and these friendships truly weathered some storms. It made me grateful for the friends in my life!

I was grateful to be part of the blog tour for this book. Kate Rock Book Tours and Patricia Sands provided me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks so much for making it available!

Book Review: "The Stranger Game" by Peter Gadol

You're in a public place and a person or group of people catches your eye. It may be the way they look, their actions, things they're saying, but you just can't stop yourself from surreptitiously watching them. You don't want to get caught, but you can't look away, and you (and perhaps even a companion) imagine who these people are and what they're doing. When they get up, or leave the area where you've been watching them, you may even be (more than) slightly interested in following them, but you know it's too risky, or even foolish.

Take this at least one step further and you have the crux of Peter Gadol's enigmatic new novel, The Stranger Game.

After a few weeks with no contact, Rebecca comes to the realization that her on-again, off-again boyfriend Ezra has disappeared. She can't figure out where he would have gone without any warning, even though their relationship was in one of its odd periods. But he left without giving notice to his job or paying his rent, so she starts to wonder whether something has happened to him.

When she reports his disappearance to the police, they don't seem concerned in the slightest. They suspect Ezra is off playing "the stranger game," a cultural phenomenon which seems to have gripped society. In the game people choose someone to follow (unbeknownst to them), and while the initial objective of the game was to get as close as possible and follow for as long as possible without getting caught, it seems the game has transformed, becoming more complicated and, in some cases, sinister.

In order to see just what type of craze has affected Ezra, Rebecca tries the game. She is almost immediately sucked in, and it starts to affect other aspects of her life. At times she even has trouble distinguishing between who is playing and who is not. She meets Carey, a handsome and mysterious man who awakens her emotions, which have been hidden away for so long. But Carey also draws her further and further into the game, and she doesn't know whom to trust—or where she is safe.

"And then I wondered how many kinds of games people played with strangers every hour every day. We were, each of us, isolated creatures who ached for proximity, for intimacy with others, but who also out of primal self-preservation insisted on and maintained a safe distance. These stranger games we invented shuttled us somewhere halfway between stations of affinity and detachment, but more often than not we ended up at the latter destination. It was a miracle anyone ever connected with anyone. Most of the time we were cast back into our own longing."

To borrow a phrase from Winston Churchill, The Stranger Game is, "a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma." I love the basis on which Gadol built his novel, as I am one of those people who is fascinated by people-watching and wondering about the dynamics between groups I see in public. However, I felt that as the book progressed, the twists became more and more confusing until I, like Rebecca, wasn't sure what was real and what was artifice, part of the game. And while I'm okay with suspending disbelief when I read, I just found the whole premise a little unlikely.

Gadol has always been one of my favorite writers. His earlier books—The Mystery Roast, Closer to the Sun, The Long Rain, Light at Dusk, Coyote, and Silver Lake were all really fantastic, and he is one of those authors for whom I've waited a long time for a new book. As always, his use of language and imagery, and his ability to evoke emotions and connections is superlative. I just wish I liked this book more—despite the interesting concept, it just didn't gel for me.

Looking forward to the next one, however!

NetGalley, HARLEQUIN — Trade Publishing, and Hanover Square Press provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Book Review: "The Throwback Special" by Chris Bachelder

Full disclosure: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks to NetGalley and W.W. Norton & Company for making it available!

One weekend every November, a group of 22 guys get together at a hotel. They aren't friends during the year, but there is rarely a question that they'll miss this weekend.

The purpose? They gather to reenact (although they hate that word, since for them it connotes people dressed in war uniforms holding guns) what is known in football history as "the most shocking play in NFL history": on November 18, 1985, Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann had his leg horribly broken on live television by New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor. The injury ended Theismann's career, and was replayed several times that night on television, although commentator Frank Gifford warned those "with strong stomachs."

The weekend isn't just a casual game of touch football. Every year one of the men becomes the commissioner, and each man gets to choose which player (of those Redskins and Giants players who were on the field for that play) they will play that year. They watch the film of that play, room together by position, and even dress in authentic uniforms, down to wristbands or taped body parts. Some of the men take the weekend and their roles very seriously, while others would rather be anywhere else but know they're obligated.

If your eyes have already glazed over because you're not a football fan, rest assured that Chris Bachelder's The Throwback Special is less about football and more about life. The men have been playing for a number of years now, and most are approaching or are solidly entrenched in middle age, experiencing all of the stresses and problems which come with it, from physical ailments, difficulties and/or concerns with their children, financial challenges, marital woes, etc. These are men who bear the weight of life on their shoulders, and while this weekend should serve as a release for them, they can't seem to shake everything that's going on in their "real lives."

This is a really interesting and sensitive meditation on the burden of manhood and growing older, as well as the dissatisfaction and the disappointment that comes with it. Bachelder has a great ear for dialogue, which imbues this book with a great deal of sensitivity and humor. The challenge is, there are so many characters that it's hard to keep all of them straight—there's Fat Michael (who isn't fat in the least) and Bald Michael (who is bald), Adam and Andy, and many others—and while some of the characters are more vivid, it takes a little time to remember which one you're reading about.

I'm a huge football fan and we even have Redskins season tickets, so this book definitely appealed to me, but you don't need to know the first thing about football to enjoy The Throwback Special. If you're a guy dealing with growing older and the challenges of life, or you know someone like that, this book may interest you. It's very different than I expected it to be, but it definitely captivated me.

Book Review: "The Lesson" by Jesse Ball

Sometimes a book clicks for you and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes you devour a book and sometimes you can't seem to make headway and just want the whole thing to end. Sadly, it was the latter for me where Jesse Ball's "The Lesson" was concerned. I was intrigued by the concept of this 137-page novella, but the story never engaged me, and I'll admit that I struggled to really understand the point of it all.

Ezra and his wife, Loring, were chess masters. Following Ezra's death, Loring continues giving chess lessons, both as a way of making ends meet, and as a small source of companionship in her old age. When she agrees to teach a young boy, Stan, she is immediately intrigued by him. It's not long before she is convinced that somehow Stan is the embodiment of her late husband.

When you lose someone you love so dearly, someone with whom you've spent so much of your life, the idea of their coming back in one form or another is definitely appealing. As Loring begins seeing more evidence that supports her belief about Stan, she wonders if this is the truth or if her mind is simply seeing what it wants to.

The problem with this story is that it meanders all over the place. It's a reflection on grief, love, and loss, and look at how societies treat the elderly. It's also a commentary on what dreams are, why games can be important to both adults and children, and the importance of belief in things that can't quite be explained, such as magic. But far too often, Ball veers from the core of his story into random details that he picks up and drops just as quickly, which made it very difficult to comprehend. Here's one example:

"The caretaker was there, and saw her walking. He came up, and with him his wife and daughter. This wife and this daughter, they were the same person, by a series of odd coincidences, but we will not go into that at the moment."

I've never read anything by Ball before, so I don't know if he was being deliberately obtuse and mysterious with the way he told this particular story, or if this is the way he writes. I was expecting a story about human emotion and perhaps a little mystery, and while I did find a bit of the former, much of the story left me disconnected and frustrated.