Rating: 3.5 stars
Buy Links: Amazon | All Romance
Length: Novella
If I was going to judge this book by it’s cover, this novella would receive a 5 star rating! Goodness, this cover is hot. And for the most part, the MCs in Tumbling Blindly, Matt and Gabe, live up to the high expectation. Since they spend a good portion of this novella at the gym, The Arches, these boys are not lacking in the physical perfection department. Unfortunately, the story doesn’t quite take prime advantage of their undoubtedly plentiful talents and abilities.
Matt has just been recently dumped by his boyfriend of two years, Milo. Milo and Matt’s relationship started out strong while uni students, but once real life started, Matt began working to make ends meet and Milo felt above a desk job, instead taking advantage of Matt in more ways than one. He wasn’t above flirting or even cheating and eventually dumped Matt for a man who will take care of him. Devastated, Matt spends five days in seclusion, only getting out of bed for the bare necessities. On the fifth day, two policemen show up at his home, directed there by the nosy, “concerned” neighbor. This is how Matt first meets cop Gabe, who makes sure he’s okay and quickly leaves.
Matt finally pulls his act together enough to get back to the gym, where Gabe recognizes him from their encounter a few weeks prior. Gabe is clearly interested in Matt, but Matt is not ready to move on, so they become friends. In the meantime, Milo has been kicked out by his new sugar daddy, and he preys on Matt’s soft heart in order to secure a place to stay for a night, which turns into a week. Matt has to decide if he wants Milo back in his life for good, or if he’s willing to take a chance with Gabe.
That’s pretty much it, folks. I didn’t share any more than you would read in the blurb for the book, but it basically lays out every detail of this novella. In other words, there’s not a whole lot to it. Reading this novella is a perfectly entertaining way to spend an hour or two, but don’t expect anything ground-breaking or revelatory. What you have here is a nice story about two attractive men (I tried to look at the cover as much as I could while I read) who become friends on the way to more. It’s well-written and has a good balance of plot and sex scenes. The MCs have a nice chemistry and their dialogue together is amusing and fun.
There are some things that stand out as problems. First of all, there’s the whole premise of the MCs initial encounter. Matt is in bed for five days after his breakup with the horribly selfish and lazy Milo. Five days! For a two-year relationship with a real loser? Hard to believe. It becomes even more implausible when Milo returns on the scene and, while Matt feels a little bad for him, he is not filled with that same emotion that had him literally incapacitated only a few months prior. This overindulgence of wallowing did indeed bring Gabe into his life, but this plot point felt like a bit of a stretch for me.
There was a lot of unnecessary filler stuff. Luca, the gym owner, is quite obviously being set up to be the MC in another book in the series. His personal problems seemed irrelevant and out of place in this story. Since there wasn’t a whole lot going on in this book, I felt like there were several places where things would happen or conversations would occur that didn’t really further the plot. And the epilogue? It seemed tacked on as though the author thought an epilogue was necessary, but did not add one ounce of resolution to this story.
If you’re a fan of Sue Brown, and many of you are, I would not dissuade you from reading this book. It’s not going to change your life, but it’s a pleasant read that will perhaps brighten your afternoon.
