Two Men Fight For Love In Nyrae Dawn's "Rush" – Reviewed by Traci

“There is no one that can make me look into their eyes and see the rest of my life. Only you.” ― Airicka Phoenix

Title: Rush

Author: Nyrae Dawn

Publisher: Hatchette Book Group

Pages/Word Count: 273 Pages

Rating: 4 Stars

Blurb: For the love of the game.

Brandon Chase has always defined himself by one thing: football. Tough and athletic, he is a great college player who enjoys the hard hits and the sweaty grind of the gridiron. But when Brandon is injured, only one person can help him get back on track-a forbidden love he’s desperately tried to put behind him.

Alec Andrews has never quite forgiven Brandon for walking away when their friendship turned into something more. But he can’t deny help to one of his closest friends. As the two spend the long, hot summer working together, their old attraction comes flooding back.

Now as Alec thinks about coming out to his conservative family and Brandon considers revealing he’s a gay football player, the two men must be strong to fight for a love that could be the greatest rush of their lives.

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Review: I am a huge fan of Nyrae Dawn. She is primarily a M/F author who has written one of my favorite series, the Games Trilogy. Rush is her first M/M book, which should be categorized somewhere between a Young Adult and Adult book—New Adult is a perfect fit. Dawn writes her books through different POVs, and to me, that takes a lot of talent. I am not a huge lover of switching between character POVs, because sometimes the actual timing or situation of a scene can get lost in translation, but she does a great job going from point to point and capturing the different views between these two characters.

The story is one that is familiar. Brandon is a rising football star, raised in an upper middle class family from New York, who believes his whole life revolves around football and getting to the NFL. He has a learning disability and realizes that football is the only way he can succeed in life and make his family proud.

Alec is also a great football player, but he was raised in a small town by a lower middle class family. He was raised by conservative parents who believe you get married, have children, and live in the town where you were raised. His dad rules with an iron fist…or tough love. Alec never pursued football seriously because he had his own personal secret that he knew would never be accepted by his father; that he is gay.

Alec’s family owns a small vacation resort that Brandon’s family visits each summer. Brandon and Alec become best friends and through the years, they fall in love. The story begins when Brandon is faced with living a life he thinks people want him to live, or having the courage to accept who he really is.

Both of them are in the closet for different reasons and fears, and it is painful to watch them at the beginning and then beautiful to watch them work through their issues by the end of the story. The author does a wonderful job describing the pain each one goes through to find happiness. While reading their POVs, your heart breaks with them, you feel fear for them, you get mad at them, then you fall in love with them.

The author’s first attempt at M/M was well done and worth the read. I would definitely read another M/M book from her. I did have an issue with the beginning of the book. The flow and conversations were awkward, and I had trouble with the storyline until after Brandon’s accident, and then everything seemed to click into place and it was an enjoyable read. The book is more romance and love than lust and steam. It is a sweet book, and I loved all the characters except for Alec’s parents. I hated them! I hope she writes a sequel to this book with Logan as the main character.

You can buy Rush here: