Mirrigold: Mutterings & Musings

The Quarterback by Tal Bauer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I need more stars. And a stiff drink, a blanket, a pound of dark chocolate, and a punching bag – like every time I read a book by Tal.

The only thing I don’t need this time is more sleep because I managed to not stay up all night reading it.

***

Tal Bauer works magic with words, I don’t know how he does it.

How he can take something which on the face of it seems simple, two men falling in love against all the obstacles in their path, and yet make it feel like nothing you’ve read before.

There were so many times when reading this book that I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, drown my sorrows, throw a party, or curl up in a ball and try not to rage.

The Quarterback is so much more than just his position on the team and Colton, oh how my heart broke for him almost as hard as his shoulder injury.

Tal made me so angry at what both Colton and Nick go through. But that’s nothing new (hello Sochi I’m looking at you), and he also had me almost crying happy tears of joy.

I’m not going too deep into the plot, although this is an age gap, slow burn romance, it still should be read blind.

The reader is drawn through the eyes of two men who’ve never had feelings for anyone of their own sex before with such skillful precision.

It’s honest, it’s brutal, it’s heartbreaking and uplifting. At no point did any of it feel untrue.

Colton and Nick fall for each other with all the grace and passion you’d hope to see expressed once they finally give in to the feelings which have built up like the heat of the summer.

Wes and Justin are also still hearts and flowers and pink tinged sunsets in love. But their love can sometimes be insular, leaving others on the outside and I massively wanted to shout at them both a fair few times.

But both come through when it matters and I was pleased to see them as strong together as in their own book.

I also absolutely adored the Texan oilman Nick and Colton go to do business with. He was such a vividly drawn character who provided such an encouraging support to Colton when it looked like all was lost.

I know there were people who didn’t see the connection between Colton and Nick, but I’d hope by the time they finish reading, they’ve come to realise just how wonderful a pair they are.

If this is the end for The Team, it goes out on a brilliant note with two top class entries to the Tal Bauer catalogue.

#ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.

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