Title: Foreshock
Author: Kari Gregg
Publisher: Riptide
Length: Short Story
Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance

Rating: 4.5

Kyle Armentrout is twice divorced and recently out of the closet. Strapped into his toolbelt, he is every gay man’s dream, but he is sadly an accident waiting to happen when he tries his DIY projects. Yet his partner Eric Mulholland knows that there is part of Kyle that needs these projects to help him regain some of his confidence as he adjusts to life as an out gay man after years of stuffing his feelings away.

In Foreshock we get to see a quick snapshot of Kyle and Eric together. Despite still adjusting to his new life, Kyle is totally into Eric and we are treated to a hot scene between them in the kitchen. As we watch the guys interact, the love and tenderness, as well as a bit of playfulness are really apparent. And when the guys are startled but a sudden earthquake, we get to see a bit more between them, as they both refuse to let go of one another. And even though, like the earthquake, their relationship has shaken both of them up, it is clear that where they both want to be is with each other.

This is a short little story, but Gregg packs quite a lot in. I really felt like I got to know the guys and understand a lot about their relationship even in the short format. The love and affection between them is really clear and they are quite sweet together. Eric is clearly exasperated at Kyle’s never ending series of failed fix-it attempts, yet even with that it is clear he understands why Kyle needs to continue with them. And even with his anxiety about his new life, it is also apparent that Kyle loves and needs Eric and can’t be without him. I wish the post earthquake section was just a tiny bit longer; I would have loved to see that conclusion made a bit more clearly. But overall I definitely enjoyed Foreshock and loved meeting Kyle and Eric.

P.S. I remember the earthquake of this story quite clearly as I live near enough to have felt it myself!

100% of Kari’s royalties for Foreshock are being donated to the Trevor Project (www.thetrevorproject.org), which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ youth.

Kari is also stopping by the blog today to talk about the quake and share a short excerpt from the book.  She is also giving away at $10 Amazon gift card to a lucky commenter, so be sure to stop by that post as well!