Monday, January 18, 2010

TLC 101 by Janey Chapel

TITLE: TLC 101
AUTHOR: Janey Chapel
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: Novella (roughly 19k)
GENRE: Gay contemporary erotic romance
COST: $3.99

A desperate phone call from a co-worker sends Kip Rigsbee to the Emergency Room at the crack of dawn. Coach Greg Browne has broken his ankle, and now, with an order of three days of no stairs, finds himself forced to accept Kip’s offer of help and a first floor apartment. He doesn’t want to. He’s been trying to ignore his desire for the man for ages. But proximity and need conspire against both of them until the outcome is inevitable…

If you’re looking for a short, hot, entirely masculine erotic story, this will more than fit the bill. Greg and Kip both work for a college football team, the former as a coach, the latter as a motivational psychologist. Kip has been lusting after Greg for a long time, while Greg has secretly been doing the same. Greg is deep in the closet, though, because the football world is not that forgiving of gay men. He never has sex with anybody local, but Kip tempts him to break his rule. Both men are very much men. There’s no hint of femininity in either of them, from the way they communicate to the way they react to situations. It gives the entire story a rough, fresh edge that only adds to its already considerable appeal.

The majority of the story is focused first on the UST between the two men, then the followthrough, so there is little room for much of anything else. It’s a good thing, then, that it satisfies more than well enough on that level. The sex is hot, and the exchanges between the pair realistic. I never harbored any expectations of a great romance, so anyone looking for that will likely be disappointed. The ending is much more of an HFN than an HEA, simply because any type of resolution is very rushed compared to the rest of the story. That doesn’t diminish it, though. You just need to remember what kind of story you’re reading and not try to label it as something else.

Readability

8/10 – Fast, funny, and hot

Hero #1

7/10 – Smart and independent

Hero #2

7/10 – His reluctance provides the real heat in this

Entertainment value

7/10 – A hot little morsel

World building

7/10 – I liked the glimpses into the football legacy world, but the focus really is on the two men

TOTAL:

36/50

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