Book Reviews

Book Blurb

It's all fun and games until someone puts his heart out.

After being outed to his hockey team and then changing schools, Jock figures he’s due for something good—like the sex he missed out on in the closet. Toby, the hot grad student he meets at a frat party, seems like a great place to start, and their night together is an awesome introduction to the fine art of hooking up.

Toby’s heart takes a bruising after the near-perfect experience with Jock leads to . . . nothing. He’s been left on the outside as his friends pair up into blissful coupledom, and he’s in danger of never completing (or starting) his thesis. Can’t something go right?

Then Toby’s coerced into chaperoning a Theta Alpha Gamma trip to France. Not that he’s complaining. What better place to finish his thesis and get over that frat boy? Except Jock’s outing is leaked to the press, turning him into an unwilling gay rights martyr, and he decides France would be a great escape, too. It’s a break from reality for both guys, but they soon find their connection is as real as it gets.

 

Book Review

This fifth volume set in the world of the TAG frat boys was just as funny yet touching as the first four. It is the story of Jock, Tank’s little brother who got kicked off his hockey team when someone outed him, and Toby, a grad student who was a secondary character in some of the previous books. The two of them certainly have their issues cut out for them, both individually and as a couple. Add the setting of the sometimes hilariously ridiculous world that is TAG, and complications and drama are bound to ensue. Interestingly, there was just as much internal agonizing and touching romance as fun and games in this book, making for an interesting combination of emotions that kept me on my toes.

Jock, quite honestly, is a bit of an idiot at the beginning. Granted, he is only nineteen, is still trying to deal with recently having been outed, and just wants to have fun. His lack of sensitivity toward Toby adds to his internal issues and he spends a long time agonizing over what it means for him to be gay. As a result he has more neuroses and issues than some people twice his age. His learning curve is slow and steady initially, until he finally gets it—gets himself and what he really wants—and then look out, Toby!

Toby may be only a few years older than the frat boys he ends up supervising, no, advising, in France, but he is a whole lot more mature. For one thing, even though he doesn’t really want to admit it, he is looking for a permanent partner. He wants to be part of a couple, just like all his friends, and he was hoping Jock might be the right man for him. For another, his worries are around his thesis and what to do after college, where “the frat boys” are worried about someone blackmailing them over beer. And that leads to a whole other and very imaginative plot twist which had me laughing and worried in turn. But Toby is a nice guy and very patient, and while I loved watching him struggle to figure out Jock, I also rooted for him to be successful.

If you enjoy the world of the frat boys and all their confusion about how to be “sensitive” toward their gay brothers, if you’re curious how a pretty mature grad student deals with falling for one of those frat boys, and if you’re looking for a read that is as entertaining (and sometimes sarcastic) as it is sweet, then you will probably like this novel.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Riptide Pub;ishing for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 360 pages/100000 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	21-April-2014
Price	$7.99 ebook, $17.99 paperback. $25.98 bundle
Buy Link	http://riptidepublishing.com/titles/poster-boy