Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Review: Rush by Nyrae Dawn





This new adult, male/male romance will capture the audience who fell in love with Nyrae Dawn's Games Trilogy.

For the love of the game.

Brandon Chase has always defined himself by one thing: football. Tough and athletic, he is a great college player who enjoys the hard hits and the sweaty grind of the gridiron. But when Brandon is injured, only one person can help him get back on track-a forbidden love he's desperately tried to put behind him. 

Alec Andrews has never quite forgiven Brandon for walking away when their friendship turned into something more. But he can't deny help to one of his closest friends. As the two spend the long, hot summer working together, their old attraction comes flooding back.

Now as Alec thinks about coming out to his conservative family and Brandon considers revealing he's a gay football player, the two men must be strong to fight for a love that could be the greatest rush of their lives. 

4.5 Stars by Jen Skewes


I love Nyrae Dawn’s writing and was so excited when I found out that she was writing a m/m romance.  Rush is a beautiful story of two young men who are best friends but find themselves wanting to take their friendship to the next step.  But becoming more than just friends comes with risks which they are not sure that they are willing to take. 

Since they were fifteen years old Brandon and Alec spent their summers together.  What started out as an innocent friendship turned into so much more.  They would spend their time playing football, hanging out and stealing kisses when no one was looking.  To everyone around them they were nothing more than best friends, which was true but they were also in love. 

Brandon is a star football player in college.  Football is what defines him, it is the one thing that he is good at.  He has loved the sport since he was little and now is that much closer to playing in the NFL.  For Brandon the only thing he knows is football. Without football he has nothing else to fall back on.  And while he loves Alec he knows that he cannot give him what he needs and wants.  He is afraid of what coming out will do to his football career.  He is afraid of being the “gay” football player.  The one who his teammates are afraid to be around in the locker room.  So he does what he thinks is best for the both of them, and ends it with Alec.  Leaving him hurt and heart broken and angry.

It’s been almost two years since Alec has seen Brandon. Alec has never come out of the closet either for fear of his father hating him. His father has always been tough on him and he has never really been able to live up to his father’s expectations.  The only person who knows that he is gay is his best friend Charlotte and her boyfriend Nate, who also happens to be Brandon's brother.   Two years after Alec broke his heart, he gets a call from his best friend telling him that Brandon has been in an accident.  Alec drops everything to go see him.  Despite the hurt and anger he feels he needs to be there for him. To make sure he is ok. 

Brandon is not in a good place when he gets there but he seems to be the only one to bring him out of the current state that he is in.  After spending time together, Alec realizes that things will never change with him and Brandon.  They will never be able to be more and Alec leaves to go back home.  But Brandon soon follows and while he knows that they may only have this one last summer to be together, right now he will take what he can get.  Can these two be able to say goodbye again at the end of the summer?


Rush is a beautiful love story between two young men who have a love that is so real, that it will warm your heart.   But their fears prevent them from finding the happiness with each other that they both want.  Brandon and Alec were just perfect together.  Brandon was so afraid of losing football if everyone knew he was gay.  In Brandon's eyes that was the only thing that he was good at, the only thing that he had that would make his parents proud of him.  He thought that football was his life and that he couldn’t live without it.  But deep down it was Alec that he couldn’t live without.  The struggles that these two went through were at times sad and heart breaking.  The struggle to want to be with someone so bad but knowing there may be consequences if they did.  They were both there for each other through the most important moments in their lives.  Alec and Brandon understood each other, they loved each other more than anything and they were their to support each other in the end when it mattered.  I loved this book so much.  It is one of those books that will touch your heart.  Amazing job by Ms. Dawn. 






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