Review: Great story of love between athletes in professional sports
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 8, 2013
Given The Circumstances is a great and timely story, and it gives some insight into why professional sports remain one of the last barriers for LGBT acceptance. It also demonstrates how keeping in the closet, just to play a sport you've been born to play, can erode one's sense of self and lead into compensating habits; either ruthless suppression of one's desires or reckless behavior with drugs or self to numb the pain.Brian and Roger are two young men who happen to gravitate towards baseball and football. The author was careful to note that while they were born with natural talents to their respective sports, it took hard work and discipline to attain greater heights and skills in their fields of interest. But while Roger was the industrious ant, always working for the long-term goals he set, Brian was the fun-loving grasshopper, too impatient and restless to do much except coast on fleeting talent. It took a few mentors, and Roger's support and eventual love, to get Brian to wake up to his potential. But it wasn't smooth sailings, by any means. Brian's insecurities and failure to ignore the marshmallow of quick and empty gains when by himself would cause Roger no end of heartaches and worries. And Brian himself would realize the depth of the hole he dug himself with the use of suppliments, and the pain he caused with the man he loved, and grieve for the disappointments he caused in everyone who believed in him. But it's important to note that their attraction and love for each other was based on their characters and potential. Brian goofed badly in his drug use, but owned up to his mistakes, and Roger knew him to be, at heart, a good man and could wait for the real Brian to emerge at the end.Whew, what a mouthful! And I'm emphasizing the MCs' characters because Brad Vance made this more than a story of instant lust and cheap love. He loved these characters and has the reader just as heavily invested in their relationship as the MCs themselves were. Not to mention, giving a wide-eyed, behind-the-scenes view of college and professional sports, and the immense pressures that result from playing in those fields. I was caught up in those details as well, and I don't even particulariy like sports! I highly recommend this story; you won't regret reading it!