Sunday, 21 December 2014

Moment of Impact by Karen Stivali

MOMENT OF IMPACT by Karen Stivali
 
Pages:          130
Date:           December 21, 2014
Grade:         4+
Details:        No. 1 Moments in Time
Copy received from the author
Own / E-book

The blurb:

“Outside Collin Fitzpatrick’s dorm room is a dangerous place. Beyond his door the students of his small, conservative college think he’s straight, as does his Catholic family who'd disown him if they learned the truth. Inside, he’s safe with his incredibly sexy roommate Tanner D’Amico. Their room makes a perfect place to hide away and fall in love. The moment they cross the line from roommates to lovers, Collin becomes caught between their heavenly passionate encounters and the hellish reality that someone might find out and destroy everything. Tanner's not used to being so confined, and wants to show the world how much he loves Collin. But Collin’s not sure he’s ready for the impact stepping outside will make.”


My thoughts:

“I didn’t mean to see Tanner D’Amico’s cock. I really didn’t.”

The quote above has to be one of the best opening lines in a book I’ve ever come across. It certainly made sure the story had my attention from the very first moment. And the rest of the story kept me captivated. It would be hard, if not impossible, to not get sucked into Collin’s turmoil as he comes out of his shell and learns to admit to the feelings he’s been hiding from the world for years.

This is a story-line all of us have read before. What makes it special is Karen Stivali’s wonderful gift for storytelling. She injects exactly the right balance of sweetness, angst and humour into her stories to keep me hooked and turning the pages.

It is impossible to read to read this book and not find yourself totally caught up in Collin’s struggle. Caught between his attraction to and growing feelings for Tanner and his fear of what coming out as gay will be mean for his life and his relationships with his family and friends, Collin finds himself torn between bliss and panic most of the time.

Tanner is a wonderful breath of fresh air. His interactions with Collin are just the right balance between understanding patience for Collin’s fears and frustration at having to keep his feelings a secret. The way Tanner is presented on these pages make it perfectly understandable why Collin is smitten and had me falling for the young man too.

Because Collin has little or no experience with intimacy – never mind sex – the reader gets to join him on a very sensual and – it has to be said – hot voyage of discovery. Tanner being a more experienced and very sexy guide did the story, and my reading enjoyment, no harm at all.

This is the first book in a trilogy about Collin and Tanner and I can’t wait to see how their story will continue and what hurdles they’ll have to overcome before Collin can fully commit to what I trust will be a happy ending.

I think it’s safe to say Karen Stivali very successfully made the transition from M/F to M/M. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised; she tells a wonderful story regardless of who her main characters are.

This book will be released on January 7th. More information can be found on the Dreamspinner Press website: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5855




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