Eddie Smith is a chubby bear of a guy who lives in Daytona Beach and doesn't work much anymore but isn't retired.
Whit Hall has just retired as a tight end for an NFL expansion team and lives in San Antonio.
At 52, Eddie feels at home with himself and has learned how to roll with life. He's happy enough where he is and doesn't expect much to happen anytime soon.
At 35, Whit is ready for a life that put less of a strain on his body. He's banked plenty of dough but doesn't know what to do next.
. . .
About to sit down to his favorite take-out lasagna, Eddie gets a call from a friend who wants to hire him to help Whit figure out what's next in his life.
Eddie is a kinda, sorta life coach and might be able to help but seriously doubts it.
Reluctantly, he climbs aboard his friend's private jet and flies to San Antonio. Once he arrives, he ends up getting a whole lot more than he bargained for. Whit Hall is aggressive, he's angry, and he's under a lot of pressure.
It's a good thing Eddie (sorta) knows what he's doing!
. . .
Now that he's retired, Whit is looking for the next thing.
He's set, with plenty of bank. And he's doing what he can to deal with his parents, who are all up in his business. A lot.
Then, one Wednesday morning, he opens his front door. Before he knows it, Whit is chasing Eddie Smith out of his house, down the street, and even further.
It's a good thing Whit is (kinda) in shape for this new type of chase!
. . .
Neither man wants to go far...
But unexpected changes are chasing them both...
Wherever they end up going, and whatever ends up happening, this will be the beginning of something new and wonderful for them both.
. . .
This 45K word stand-alone contemporary male/male (MM) romance involves a chubby bear guy and a retired professional football player.
Reviewer: Annery
This is the third installment in the author’s Golden Gate Love Stories, which is a spinoff of the Nick Williams Mysteries. I’ll be honest, so far these have not worked for me, and I’ll probably stop at this one, because taking a whirl at other reviews, I’m clearly in the minority opinion. Perhaps these stories are not for me and I’m at peace with that. I love the component parts: non-traditional MCs, age difference, MCs with bodies that don’t conform to IG six-pack model, but the couple stories have not felt true to me. Not liking these more makes me sad. I can feel that the author is coming from a good place, a good heart, and has based his characters in the real world. Sadly the writing and progression of the story doesn’t bear out the wished for results.
As I feared Bob & Mario, from Their Own Hidden Island have inherited the mantle from Nick & Carter, but as I said in my review of that story, and continues to be true here, I don’t think they’re worthy heirs or I can’t say we know enough about them to say bequathe them honor. The book opens in January 2019 with the titular Eddie, Eddie Smith, getting a call from Bob & Mario ***spoiler***who’ve inherited Nick & Carter’s empire after their deaths***spoiler***. Eddie is, by his own definition:”... a light trance channel which, for some people, sounds all fancy but it really isn’t. I just means that I’ve taught myself how to let another kind of voice talk and write through me.” So. Yeah. Some kind of medium? Occasionally he also dabbles as some sort of life-coach and general New Agey type activities. Bob & Mario want him to go to San Antonio, Tx. and perform some sort of coming out intervention for Whitley “Whit” David Hall, a recently retired football player, who they’re not even sure is gay. To complicate things Whit’s parents are leaders of a megachurch in Lakewiew, Tx., which preaches a prosperity gospel, and put me in mind of Joel Osteen & co. Needless to say that more than complicates Whit’s life. I felt for this man-child, who at 35 is struggling be his own person, and I would’ve been interested in his journey but the book is really a love letter/wish fulfillment for Eddie, whom I suspect is a bit of a stand-in for the author or people near and dear to him.
Eddie Smith is 52, 340lbs., and hairy. A bear. But not a muscle bear, though he does work out, and has killer legs, if he says so himself. He’s more like a chub who wears a CPAP mask to sleep. He’s also a bit of a wanderer with “alternative employment?” Whit at 35, has football money, is an athlete, and at 6’7” some kind of Texas size demigod, who resembles the book cover model or Rob Gronkowski, I’m hoping for the former. Wishful thinking and dreams are my bag but … I didn’t buy these two as couple? Not within the immediacy of the story. Not in my book. And quite frankly my stumbling block is Eddie. Like someone past a certain age he’s pretty set in his ways, maybe a bit judgemental (yes lefties can be prejudiced too), and I’ll say nothing about his wardrobe choices. He goes to Texas and I can’t say how his conversations with Whit actually helped, rather they were opportunities for Eddie to expound on his opinions, likes, and dislikes, and then he leaves. Perplexingly Whit follows him to Florida (that’s not a spoiler, it’s in the super long blurb & title) and suddenly they’re in love. How? Why? Worse yet this ends in a sort of cliffhanger with our love birds running away together
If you’re interested their story continues in what seems to be yet another series, The Romantical Adventures of Whit & Eddie “Getting to Know You”. Will I follow them? I dunno.
