Review: First Season

First Season by R.J. Scott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hired to help with the media circus that is going to ensue after a player and coach for the Harrisburg Railers coming out as gay, Layton has his work cut out for him. Added to the mix is one of the players, Adler, who has shown an interest in him. And while he returns Adler’s interest, there are things in his past that keep him cringing and shying away. Adler’s gentle pursuit slowly works on Layton.

Adler is a fun character. He has an open mouth and words fall out problem. What he says doesn’t always come out the way he means. At heart he’s a fun, loving and caring guy. It just doesn’t come across that way all the time. With cold and uncaring parents, all he’s looking for is someone to love him. He thinks that someone is Layton. Now he needs to take things slowly enough for Layton to realize it too. And then there is the fact that if he wants Layton, he’ll need to come out of the closet too.

Loved both Layton and Adler. Their different personalities contrast nicely, and yet balances well between them. They have starts and stops, pushes and pulls in the building of their relationship. Also, the secondary cast of characters from the first book, Changing Lines, show up here. Tennant and Jared, Stan and the rest of the group add great depth to this story. I think Stan may need his own book. And I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

On a serious note, I love the way the authors dealt with the issue of a player coming out. Of being gay in a professional sport. It will happen at some point, I hope soon. I also have hope that in real life the player is allowed to live and love as he chooses. He will be a brave, brave person. And this world needs brave people.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.


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