Christopher KoehlerRezensionen

Rocking the Boat is a sweet college romance. I can certainly remember what it's like to be a teen and wonder if the person you're crushing on likes you. The chemistry between Nick and Morgan is undeniable. I can totally understand why each is reluctant to make the first move - but at times I just wanted to scream give in already! Just enough tension to keep you reading with a storyline that's not too sports heavy.

3.5 Stars

Oh Lord, but I felt badly for Derek & Toby. Their disagreement and conflict was achingly real, seemingly without the possibility of a positive resolution. And in that, the story fell short of 4 stars because in fact there was no resolution, only a mutual agreement to leave things for now. *pouts* Not what I wanted from Santa!

This is one of those books that utterly fascinate me yet drive me up the wall because the main characters just don’t get it. This story contains misunderstanding after misconception, interpretations of events that are clearly incorrect (with reader-sight as well as hindsight) – in other words, this novel feels like a slice of real life to me. Cameron and Henry get off on the wrong foot – and stumble through the rest of the book clearly fascinated with each other (even if they’d never admit that) but unable to get over their first impressions to reassess the other in the light of day and taking into account the fact that both of them are only human.

Cameron is a bit of an idiot. He wants to be independent from his rich parents, which is fine, but he really does bite his nose off to spite his face. He struggles along, working retail while dreaming about going to college. When he runs into Henry at a party, he is very attracted to him but the man treats him like crap, and that first impression sticks with him throughout the rest of the book. Thanks to his friends, who believe he and Henry were meant to be together, he keeps running into him, but the process of recognizing his own mistakes is slow and painful.

Henry has a ton of issues. He used to be a gay porn star, and has been fighting to get away from being objectified for ten years. Even running a successful business hasn’t truly set him free, and his one wish - to find a life partner - still eludes him. When he meets Cameron, Henry thinks he may be his wish come true, but the subsequent misunderstandings are almost too much to deal with. Thank God Henry is as stubborn as Cameron! Just a little more actually, and far more forgiving as well.

If you like a “slice of reality” in your stories, if main characters with definite flaws interest you, and if a troubled start to a relationship is something you like reading about you may like this book as much as I did.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

This was a great combination between a pretty realistic love story between two very normal guys and a slightly exotic setting. The world of rowing isn't one that I'm very familiar with, and I liked all the little details I learned about that sport while I was reading about Nick and Morgan.

Nick is the older of the two, a graduate student and a coach, and he knows he's in trouble if anyone finds out he's falling for his younger colleague. Since they are both students I didn't have any issues with the teacher/student relationship, but I did think that his initial hesitation vanished fairly quickly and conveniently once temptation was too much for him. Of course, this comes back to haunt him, but that was as it should be. He did ignore the rules and regulations, after all, even if I didn't think there was a moral issue with what they did.

Morgan is the younger partner, but the more aggressive one. Well, he has to be, to get through Nick's defenses. I thought this was pretty selfish of him, he never seems to stop and think (or discuss with Nick) what would happen if they get caught.

The two are great together, I loved their dialogue. There are also some appropriately tense moments that provide a good crisis towards the end. If you like your characters to be realistic, close to real life and loving, you will like this book.

There may not be a right time to meet the perfect someone, but there's definitely a wrong one. Philip Sundstrom, whose father is in prison and whose company is facing a takeover, and Stuart Cochrane, just graduated from college and about to enter medical school, come together at what might be the wrong time in both their lives. But love overrides all outside forces.

When Philip finds out his girlfriend of three years whom he thought he would marry hasn't been faithful to him, he's stunned. Since he's bisexual and dreams of having sex with men, he decides to see if his dreams could possibly come true.

Meanwhile, Stuart, the coxswain in Koehler's CalPac Crew series of college rowers, is being pressured by his boyfriend/roommate to defer going to med school and spend a year in England. Not able to persuade his boyfriend that med school is his lifelong dream, Stuart breaks up with him and moves out.

Accidentally meeting at the grocery store where Stuart works, he and Philip hit it off and start dating. But both men have complications in their lives that could keep them apart. And dealing with those problems makes up the bulk of the story.

Both Stuart and Philip are interesting people who are neither all good or all bad. In fact, their human foibles are what make them more than cardboard cutouts. Both have family issues: Stuart was raised by fundamentalist parents who threw him out of the house when he told them he was gay. Philip's father had his other son's gay boyfriend brutally beaten nearly to death.

Read the rest of my review at The Romance Reviews: http://glbt.theromancereviews.com/viewbooksreview.php?bookid=12507

3.5 stars.

First up, this is gay fiction not m/m romance although a romance is at the heart of the book.

"First Impressions" is one of the best books I've read this year. There is so much going for it, if you drop your prejudices, look beneath the surface and think about what the author is saying.

It makes a number of statements on a number of levels clothed in witty, irreverent and scathing dialogue as befits a gay writer doing exactly what Jane Austen did many years ago.

It's fun picking the parallels with specific characters. They are there in essence, but at times the lines blur. For example, Simon is sometimes said to be the Wickham character, but really he reminds me more of Elizabeth's friend Charlotte and her marriage of convenience to Mr Collins aka Henry's Uncle Brenton. The master stroke was making his alter ego, the drag queen as a beautiful rendition of Lady Catherine.

Just as in the original, the secondary characters are seen through the eyes of the long suffering quieter pair, Elizabeth and Darcy, or in this case Cameron and Henry. Their friends' frivolities and flaws stand out in marked contrast to the latter's more conservative behavior.

True, the antics can be at times over-the-top, because deep down the POV character, Cameron, makes no bones about the fact he's gay and allows the stereotypical acerbic gay wit to sneak through.

Some of the scenes in the book are priceless. Take for example the early scene in the diner where the four men have gathered on Cameron's birthday. Their sniping dialogue is very well done.

Reading this requires you to look underneath words and concentrate more on what characters do. Those with good hearts may on the surface appear bratty, selfish and out of control but that is often a front donned to protect themselves from the judgemental pricks of (and in) society.

There's also a very serious, thought-provoking discussion on what makes the perfect partner. Present are Cameron's mentors, Brent and Aspen (aka Mr and Mrs Gardiner) and Darren (aka Mr Bingham) The criteria of choosing the Ideal Husband hold true for anyone of any gender, and the answer may surprise some people. I have no doubt that the arguments presented here reflect the author's own beliefs, judging by his record of nearly twenty years of happy marriage.

All I'd like to know is if Darren ends up with Thad or Van (or both maybe) that would be a perfect match.

So, if you've been put off reading the book because of negative reviews, do yourself a favor and read it without prejudice because I think the author should be proud of what he's written.

Mind you, you don't have to have read Pride and Prejudice to enjoy the story, and I'd forgotten hearing about the link until half way through. This link explains some plot roughness as characters are used to mirror the original. But overall, it is a comedy of manners of our time, a sarcastic take on the society it's set in and a collection of some really memorable characters.

The thing I liked most about this book was the depiction of a big man who had lost his self-confidence thanks to the overwhelming nature of his relationship with his father.
People tend to assume that big people are naturally mentally tough, when in reality they've often had to suppress their strength for fear of hurting little people. I've seen this happen with children who are bullied by smaller, weaker ones because they know they can't retaliate.
Long term this makes it difficult for them to believe they are worth anything and they can be prone to walking away when the going gets tough rather than fighting back because they know if they did someone would get physically hurt, and it wouldn't be them.
Recognising this allowed me to accept how easily Brad assumed Drew hated him and hesitated to return phone calls.
Whether characters should or shouldn't behave the way they do isn't relevant to me. In real life, people's motives for doing things can be extremely illogical. When you're hurting physically you can be very self-centred and just see things through a very narrow field of reference.
Friends can knowingly or unwittingly influence you, especially if their perceptions of your relationship aren't entirely positive.
Only the two people concerned really know what they get from and contribute to a partnership. It's not for others to judge, yet too often we do.
The story kept me interested and rooting for the couple. That's the main thing.

I was expecting something more dramatic, and this is not always a bonus for me, and so I was pleasantly surprised to find out this was a nice and sweet college romance. Now we are talking of students and coach, so it was also “sweat”, meaning that these are two men with their hormones all working at high speed, so there is also hot sex, and good teasing, and even some dirty dancing, but all in all this was a romantic story.

Nick is the 29 years old coach of a college rowing team and he is a little embarrassed to realize he is attracted by one of his students, Morgan. Even if they have less than 10 years separating each other, Nick is in no position to make a move on Morgan, and so he is basically pining for the guy, and trying in every way to push him away. Problem is that Morgan has the hot for the handsome and young coach, and he is not allowing any pushing, unless it’s not the right push (yes, pun intended).

It’s basically a college romance, these guys seem to not have much trouble in their life if not making the trials and completing their test; Morgan is on a scholarship, Nick is both studying for his bachelor degree and coaching, their prospect future is pretty clear and they can enjoy their romance. Indeed, as Morgan states, Nick’s reticence on the assumption he is the coach and Morgan a student is pretty lame, and for that reason Morgan decides to not take it too seriously.

I like the nice contrast that was Morgan, big and muscle bound, but with a tender heart; Morgan came out to his family when he was a teenager, he had his time to experiment, and now he wants commitment, a boyfriend, and a bond for the future. Plus, even if bigger and stronger than Nick, he likes a dominant lover, and Nick, with those years on him and the role of the coach, plenty fit the description. Actually I think that, if they were same age, they wouldn’t be so perfect together, since Nick didn’t come out as very domineering, actually he seemed to me more the quiet one, someone who likes things pretty and simple. In any case don’t get me wrong, Morgan is not searching for a D/s relationship, he is more for a little role/play in bed.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/161581843X/?tag=elimyrevandra-20