Book Review: Teach Me (The Alums Book 1) by Blake Oliver

“Teach Me” by Blake Oliver was such a beautiful story. 

I loved this book about two men with very different personalities and backgrounds finding each other and taking care of the other. Robb Porter is an ex Navy SEAL with a prosthetic leg, who’s not into men, or so he thinks until he meets yoga teacher Stephen, who’s tired of getting his heart broken by a string of straight guys experimenting with their sexuality. 

I thought Robb’s disability was very sensitively portrayed and it added depth and authenticity to the hurt/comfort themes in the book, one of my favorite tropes that often tends to be written in overwrought ways. Not so here. I also appreciated that the author didn’t shy away from portraying the brutal and testosterone-infused culture of the military that Robb came from, including all the homophobia and locker room talk. 

All in all, I loved this book. Some of their breakups seemed so hurtful I wondered that either would make their way back to each other, but I appreciated that each changed as characters to be there for each other in the end. 

Thank you to Booksprout for the advance review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Book Review: Giving In by Rue Whitney

I’m a sucker for a well-written bi awakening story, office romances and bossy authority figure types, and “Giving In” by Rue Whitney had all those in spades. This was a breezy, tension filled romance with two characters that had an almost improbably rocky meet cute at the beginning, but the way the author handled the character motivations that helped your suspension of disbelief made up for it. I have also read enough awkward, clumsy bi awakening and straight-to-gay kinds of stories that the sensitive way this one was written was a breath of fresh air.

This is the story of Luka, a middle school art teacher who hopes to land a graphic designer gig at an advertising agency, who’d always thought he was straight until he meets his potential new boss, the arrogant Morgan “Fitz” Fitzgerald, who mistook an interview with his friend’s son with his call boy hookup and unexpected sparks fly.

Improbably, Luka doesn’t sue, and he’s back for more bossy Fitz, the only guy he’s ever felt an intense attraction for.

Loved the back-and-forth sexual tension in this story, the character development and the fast-paced plot in combination with the slower burn pace of their relationship. I would read more of this series and more of this author’s work for sure.