Review: Headstrong by Eden Finley
SYNOPSIS:
A straight guy gives gay hookup tips to a virgin. What could go wrong?
When I first met Whit, I couldn’t get away from him fast enough. He’s a hockey player, and I hate everything to do with the sport that once broke my heart.
But I can’t help feeling sorry for the guy. He’s newly out and desperate to meet someone, but his eagerness seems to scare potential hook-ups away.
Agreeing to be his wingman should’ve been simple. Watching him flirt with other guys made things complicated.
Whit challenges me in every aspect of my life, from my hatred of hockey to the new questions I’m asking myself. Like why a straight man suddenly can’t stop thinking about kissing another guy.
I think the answer lies somewhere on Whit’s lips…
REVIEW:
This was an okay read for me, I liked it but didn’t love it. I was intrigued by Rainn when he was introduced in Heartscape and happy to see he was getting his own story. And while I enjoyed his journey of self-discovery, it felt like it dragged out.
Rainn and Whit have instant bad blood during their first meeting, and most of it’s from Rainn. What started as Rainn trying to make amends for being rude quickly turned into a tentative friendship. The banter between these two is fantastic, it’s charming and down-to-Earth. They really form a solid friendship before Rainn realized that he wanted more and Whit finally accepted he can’t deny his budding crush.
As their friendship turned into something more, Rainn accepted all of these changes in stride. He isn’t sent into some spiral or insecure, for the most part, he was confident in his new sexuality. But this is where the story started to drag for me. The story climax is centered around Rainn needing to get his future going, he can’t work forever at Vino & Veritas but he is paralyzed by fear of failure. It took far too long for him to even acknowledge that he was being an idiot. But when he finally does, the story quickly wraps up in a cute little bow.
For the most part, it was a sweet, fluffy read with plenty of banter and slow-burn tension. It’s what I would describe as a palate cleanser book. Not too much depth but plenty heart. It’s the type of story that won’t weigh heavy on my mind with cute but forgettable characters.
LINKS:
