++ Unnecessary Roughness

Warning: This review might contain what some people consider SPOILERS.



Rating: 4/10



PROS:

- I know there are other sports m/m romances out there, but I haven't read many, so I found this to be a refreshing change of scenery. Especially considering the guys' sport is lacrosse--I know almost nothing about lacrosse and was interested in the little details here and there about the sport.

- Hauser does a good job of creating a college setting. Many of the descriptions are right on: dorm life, crummy little apartments, college pubs, the (straight) dating game, etc.

- The "does he like me?" dance is intriguing and probably pretty realistic. (I did start to get a little tired of it, though: I realize they're both nervous about coming out, but after referring to each other as "very cute" and "perfect," giving each other oiled backrubs, standing literally nose to nose, and dropping a number of other obvious "I'm gay" hints, they still can't figure each other out? Really?)



CONS:

- There's very little detail or depth to the story--especially to the characters' thoughts and feelings. "Connor was getting the feeling the friendly gesture was something else. Being propositioned upset Connor." O...kay. WHY did it upset him? How did it make him feel? What was his reaction? Etc.

- For the majority of the book, I had a hard time telling the characters apart; they have very few distinguishing features. They're both gorgeous, they're both closeted, they're both athletic, they're both studious. Several times I'd read through about half a page of dialogue and then realize I had the two guys mixed up. I kept having to remind myself that Connor was "long-hair guy" and Kevin was "transfer student." They also do some really clueless things that aggravated me: one of them receives some hateful text messages at one point, and instead of thinking maybe the police might be interested in reading them, the guys just delete them.

- Something horrible happens to one of the secondary characters at the end of the book, and although there are hints throughout that something like that could happen, I didn't feel that the gravity of that moment jived with the flippant tone of the rest of the book.

- The book has numerous inconsistencies that suggest very sloppy editing: Connor's a senior, for example, yet he tells Kyle at one point that he hasn't picked a major yet. I can't think of any college where you could be 30 hours shy of graduating and still not have a major.



Overall comments: I've read other Hauser books and have come to the conclusion that most of her stories are fun fluff and nothing more. I didn't really find this one all that fun, though. The main reason I bought the book was that a percentage of the proceeds of each sale goes to Gay American Heroes, and I love that Hauser is supporting gay rights organizations. But honestly, I wish I had donated the $15 straight to the organization.
(7 customers reviews)
Customers Rating=3.5 / 5.0

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