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Guest Review: Love Struck by Alex Pietsch

Chase is used to fighting to survive. Dante is used to fighting in the ring. When a chance meeting brings them together can these two fight their attraction?

Chase is homeless, hungry, and just about broke. While trying to think of a way off the streets he’s attacked by a mugger and things turn ugly fast.

Dante is rich, fit, and dead set on boxing his way to being the next champion. While out for a run he happens to see Chase and can’t help but step in to protect him.

Sparks immediately fly between these two and over time they can’t help but admit their attraction to each other.

But Chase never wanted to fall in love, just wanted some fun while he made enough money to get out of town.

And Dante swore he'd never let himself get distracted from his goal of being champ.

Things only get more complicated - and more steamy - the longer they’re together.


If you like steamy gay romances with lots of emotion and a hint of sports, you’ll love the sweet and sexy journey these two characters go through!


Reviewer: Shee Reader

Chase is a homeless man in his twenties that is desperate to not only survive on the streets but save enough money for a bus ticket to a bigger city. As he’s resting in an alley, an old man seemingly strung out on drugs or alcohol tries to mug him at knife point. A passing runner (our other main character Dante) comes to Chase’s aid but is unable to avoid Chase being cut by the mugger.

Dante scares off the attacker and then persuades Chase to come back to his boxing gym with him so the cut can be cleaned and doctored. Even at this stage, there seems to an attraction between the two men, but it remains unspoken. For reasons known only to himself, Dante allows Chase to sleep in the dusty attic and even offers him a job cleaning up around the gym.

The story develops quickly, introducing a bad guy in the form of champion boxer Ollie, who eventually accepts Dante’s challenge for his title. Fearing the media attention will cause the outing of his ‘relationship’ with Chase, Dante asks Chase to leave, and Chase does.

Much of the story is given in dual point of view, and the reader gets a decent, if disjointed look into the two guy’s thought process, but there seemed to be a distinct lack of conversation or communication between them. I get that the premise there was their mutual awkwardness, but there seemed to be a few leaps and bounds in the relationship that had nothing to back it up. I’m not sure if that makes sense, but as the reader, I felt that there was a bunch of stuff missed out. We never really learned why Chase had finished up on the streets, or why Dante himself had been in the same situation at one time, but had managed to reach ‘billionaire’ status.

The upset due to the separation was tangible, especially for Chase, but the circumstances that brought them back together was a little contrived. I liked that Dante was a boxer, and I’m no expert on the sport but it seemed very curious to me that Dante arrived for his title fight in the huge arena in Vegas with no trainer, assistant or entourage at all.

Still, the ending was happy, and I enjoyed that. This was a nice rolling story that could have been more grounded and deeper, but was still enjoyable on the whole.


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