Review: Solid romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 23, 2014
Reviewed by Pat Henshawfor TheRomanceReviews.comIf an ice skater is equally talented as both a hockey player and figure skater, is it less manly to hone his figure skating skills? Teegan Loy's romance lands solidly on the line, declaring that both figure and hockey skating demand strength and precision.The author also tackles the question of image as figure skater Justin Corrin works to become a member of the United States Olympic team while coming out as a gay man. Justin's been in a closeted relationship with his friend Danny, a hockey player.Danny's a real piece of work, acting hot and heavy when he's with Justin behind closed doors and making fun of Justin in front of the hockey team.This all changes when Justin throws over Danny after he meets C. J. Daly, a new hockey player on the team that Justin's father coaches. While Justin and C. J. immediately click, Justin realizes right away that something isn't right with C. J., a fact corroborated by others who know him.Since Justin hasn't really talked to his father after he reacted badly to Justin's coming out, Justin leaves C. J. alone, not demanding that he talk about his troubled past. Besides, Justin has demons of his own.Justin feels guilty about his mother's death in a car accident as she rushed to pick him up from practice. Fortunately, his sister is still speaking to him even though his brother isn't. In fact, his sister, also a skater, is helping him perfect his long and short programs, and he is living in her house.As a character Justin is a bundle of nerves, worried about his skating and his boyfriend. Justin's best friend Eli, who has just come out to himself and his friends, provides humor and humanity to Justin's snowball of angst and panic.Disconcertingly, Justin's demons are always literally present and always flying around him, perching on furniture, bothering him, talking to him, and generally annoying him and this reader. It's not enough that Justin is high maintenance, but his demons are also, sometimes to an irritating degree.Happily, those around Justin (with the exception of Danny) ground the skater and the story and make him loveably human and diminish the effects of the pesky demons, making the story quite enjoyable.