Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Chip Arnold is a well-liked football coach at a small liberal arts college, but his personal life is in a bit of a rut. He goes out drinking with his colleagues, gets along well with his players, and dates all the prettiest women in town—he has the life most straight men dream of. But lately none of the women he dates seem to be igniting any passion in him. Then he meets the new school chaplain, Foster Lewis.

Romantic attraction to another man is new and terrifying, and Chip just can't put his finger on why he's drawn to Foster, but it's stronger than anything he's felt for anyone in his life. Never one to back down from a challenge, Chip decides to go for it. But love is never simple, and sometimes it's a downright mess!

 

Book Review

Ah, a college football coach, young, straight, hot, and the chaplain. Wait. What? Yep. Eric Arvin has taken the two most unlikely people to even be friends, and has made a romantic connection out of them. I wasn't so sure about this, but I know that I enjoy this author's writing, so I figured I had to give it a try. If nothing else, I thought I might get some laughs. *grins*

I was fairly sure I had a handle on Chip from the get-go. I mean, he's a football coach and his name is Chip. Tell you anything? I guessed he'd be cocky and arrogant, especially about his abilities with the ladies. To a certain degree, I was correct. What came as quite a shock was how self-aware Chip is, and that, remarkably, he didn't have an issue with gay men, mainly because he has a gay uncle. I had assumed that since Chip grew up in a small, conservative town, he might've been raised in some bigotry. It was nice to see that I was completely wrong about that.

Foster is the new chaplain at this small, private college and he's very happy to be there away from the city and the memories of his last break up. Foster was hurt badly by that relationship and had vowed to never get into another one. So it was quite a surprise to him when he's attracted to the coach and even more that the coach seems to reciprocate. Now Foster and Chip just need to find their place in the world.

At the same time that Foster and Chip are beginning a relationship, there's a second story arc involving best friends and roommates, Jason and Brad, who are also exploring possible love between them. It's very sweet to watch them struggle with what to do, what to say, and, most importantly, can they be what the other needs?

This was an interesting story. The romance between Chip and Foster was good, with the inevitable break-up and getting back together. The title is very accurate. Chip and Foster, and even Jason and Brad, are simple men. They didn't like to talk about their feelings too much and were happiest when life didn't give them too many hiccups in the road. I enjoyed the simplicity and, I'll admit to enjoying a few laughs along the way.

 

 

 

 

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, print and audio
Length	Novel, 200 pages/51399 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	12-March-2010
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, $14.99 bundle, $14.99 audiobook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/simple-men-by-eric-arvin-1092-b