Review: "Brawn, Brains, and Heat"
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 2, 2012
This novel is well written and moves right along keeping one enthralled.  It is a story of love and the bonding of two people as they move into a deeper relationship.  Paul Vanderwell is a teacher of gifted children in Los Angeles who had been abandoned by his former lover without a clue as to why.  Javier Villalobo is an attorney who has no serious love interests.  They are two men who desire a strong, loving, and lasting relationship.  They are drawn to each other and move very slowly while getting to know each other.  Just as their affection for each other starts to bloom, Eric, Paul's previous lover, shows up and wants to resume where they had left off two years earlier.  Why now when Paul is in love with Javier?  As a first novel powerfully written by Jeffrey Ballam, his story becomes very compelling. I felt as I had become a voyeur drawn into his emotional scenes. Near the end, Jeff has thrown the switch and the story takes a sudden turn which assaulted my emotions.  After finishing it, I am thrilled to have read this novel and applaud the author for his style and warmth in developing it.  I look forward to his next exciting novel.