Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Alex Durant lives in a room behind the motorcycle repair shop where he works as an underpaid mechanic, bullied by his boss. There’s a truth he’s ignored most of his twenty-three years: men on their bikes turn him on, not women on the pin-up calendars that line the shop walls. It’s during a well-earned vacation to Sturgis, South Dakota, to attend the motorcycle rally where he comes face to face with his truth.

He meets the confident and outgoing Jordon Baker, who races motorcycles as a career. Alex is overwhelmed by Jordon’s incredible smile and kind eyes and his need to live life to the fullest. In the week they spend together, it’s Jordon who shows Alex things he’s never experienced: concerts, races, and the stars. It’s Jordon who shows him that two male bodies can ignite in pleasure when they come together. By the end of the week, Alex sees in Jordon’s eyes what he feels in his heart, and the truth of that scares him to the core.

But Sturgis week has ended, and Alex is back to the grind. He’s now stuck with making a difficult choice: continue to live his sad life alone and in hiding, or live his truth with the man who has big eyes for the world.

 

Book Review

I enjoyed this "ride on the wild side” coming out story immensely. It was sweet without being saccharine and covered a difficult subject matter: how do you handle yourself when your fears overwhelm you, with a graceful realism that tugged at my heart. Written in rich, warm tones, I found that the physical adventure of touring cross-country on a motorcycle balanced splendidly with the emotional building of trust and love between the two leads.

Alex Durant is on a bike trip to a motorcycle rally in Sturgis. For the first time, he’s away from his gruff, increasingly hard to please boss and the rough crew of mechanics that he works with, in the only home he’s ever really known, a motorcycle repair shop. It’s his first real taste of freedom and he intends to make the most of it. But a chance meeting with another young biker sends him into a torment of the best and worst kind. 

When motocrosser Jordon Baker meets Alex, he likes what he sees and carefully checks for signs of interest from the other male. He thinks he senses attraction, but the signals are strange; there then gone, then back. Used to going after what he wants, Jordan carefully coaxes Alex to meet up with him and slowly the two men become acquainted.

The love story between these two young men unfolds beautifully as light is shed gently on their backgrounds through a profound study of their deeds and attitudes. Opposites attract and Alex and Jordan are opposites in how they approach choices and decision-making. I found both leads highly charismatic and loveable. Alex is like a beautiful young lion, shy as a kitten and unaware of his own strength and beauty…he has no idea that he is a lion. Jordan is like an exquisite young bobcat, fast, brave, agile, and daring; he’s ready to take on the world. He knows he has limits, but feels more alive pushing at his boundaries. Motocross helps him do this, but there is his other yearning as well: the need to balance out his wildness with the quiet of a steady home and someone to share it with. Jordan believes he’s found the man he wants to build a life with, but will Alex face his fears and find his inner strength and the courage that Jordan sees in him? And will Jordan give him the time to do so?

All of the above and more makes for a fast-paced and entertaining story, full of genuine emotional turmoil, the joys of achieving and overcoming self-imposed obstacles, and captivating scenes of the initial fumblings of passion between first time lovers. Thank you, Anne Dudley, for this enchanting coming of age story; I look forward to reading your other works. “Sweet, Titillating, Powerful”

 

 

 

 

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

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 246 pages/83922 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	28-August-2013
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, $14.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/ride-the-wind-by-anne-dudley-3522-b