Review: An enjoyable story I would have been happy for to be a little longer
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 25, 2013
After three years away, professional footballer Talbot Wojewódka is back in his hometown of Hawkestone. The town where he left his partner after choosing football and the closet over his long time love, Powell Perdue. Powell spent two years in Amsterdam trying to get over Talbot, but realised that he didn't want to end up hurting the man he was with, cared for, but didn't love, like Talbot had hurt him. So he returned to Hawkestone to work as a news cameraman for the local station. When Talbot and Powell's paths cross it becomes evident that, despite Powell's hurt and anger with Talbot, the love for each other is still there.The story starts with Powell's POV as he's on location for a news report, and what a great, tense and action packed start it was! Powell is confident, funny, intelligent and friendly. He enjoys his job and is good at it. But he never really got over Talbot "Bot" Wojewódka. As their past relationship is revealed, with the POV alternating between Bot and Po, it remains to be seen if they can find their way together this time around. Bot is deeply closeted and reluctant to rock the boat. After losing his parents as a young teenager, Bot went to live with his Aunt and Uncle, a military man. While they were decent enough, they had never wanted children. Between that and the constant moving, Talbot really only ever wanted to just feel like he belonged somewhere.I liked Audible, but it didn't ever feel like it quite got there. It seemed to need a little bit longer to really develop the characters and their relationship. Most of the story was spent on Po and Bot's individual stories and Talbot's pursuit of Powell, who kept pushing him away citing Bot's continuing reluctance to open that closet door. A note on names: I still have no idea how Wojewódka is pronounced! There was a perfect opportunity when Bot was meeting the other new team member that the pronunciation could have been addressed. And on the same subject, I couldn't help but giggle at 'Po' and 'Bot'! Probably childish, but come on! Po and Bot?I felt like I got to know Powell a little more than Talbot, but I did like both. Rancid, the other new player for the Hawkestone Raptors, was pretty cool. He was a good guy and supported Talbot from the start. Etta, Powell's boss at the station, was fantastic! Strong, funny and unapologetic, I really liked her. Her son, Mel, was just like her. I wasn't so fond of cardboard cutout characters Melicent, Mel's twin sister, and Coco, reporter and Powell's work partner. The other members of the Raptors are virtually mere mentions, but that's understandable with the length of the story. Their only real function was the inferred homophobic attitudes prevalent in the sport keeping Talbot in the closet. With only moments left in play, I was wondering how the author was going to get the MCs together so close to the end, but she pulled it off and did it well.All in all, an enjoyable story that I would have been happy for to be a little longer. The action scenes, both news and on field, were well written and fast paced.Read the full review at Live Your Life, Buy The Book