Author: Scotty Cade
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Pages/Word Count: 200 Pages
At a Glance: Scotty Cade’s Knobs is a well written and informative story about the Citadel Military College.
Reviewed By: Maryann
Blurb: Angus Conrad (Gus) McRae is a privileged Charlestonian following family tradition and attending the Citadel, harboring big dreams of a military career. With the infamous Hell Week behind him, he quickly realizes being a Knob (a freshman cadet) is just as tough—especially for a man like Gus who must keep his sexuality a secret. Then a sudden dorm reassignment lands him with a roommate in the form of one of the football team’s top players—working-class jock Stewart Adam (Sam) Morley—and life gets increasingly complicated.
Gus can’t imagine a man like Sam as gay, yet there’s something between them—exchanged glances, the occasional innuendo. Sexual tensions rise, leaving them more than friends but less than lovers. Gus and Sam know there’s too much to lose and they must keep their attraction hidden. If they fail, they risk destroying their hopes and dreams for a prosperous future in a military world that’s not yet ready to accommodate masculine gay men.
Review: Gus—Angus Conrad McRae III—comes from Charleston, South Carolina, and old money, but that doesn’t give him a happy family life. Gus’s father is controlling and has Gus’s future all mapped out. His mother is the perfect social climber. The only normal one seems to be his sister, Emmy. Although Gus has his fears about attending the Citadel Military College, he knows this is what he wants, and it gives him a chance to really feel like he belongs to something special.
Sam—Stewart Adam Morley—comes from Southfield, just outside of Detroit. Needless to say, he’s street smart. At the age of twelve he became the man of the family, helping his mother, who worked, and taking care of his siblings. Sam made the choice to attend a local college even though he had academic and athletic scholarships offered to him. What he really wanted was to attend the Citadel; with a football scholarship it all became possible. Even with his nightmares, Sam honestly believes this is where he belongs.
Both Sam and Gus had an idea of what they were getting into attending the Citadel. They both have hopes, fears and know they have to keep their sexuality hidden. There are times that they have their differences, but they work them out together—you need determination, fortitude and strength to get through the Citadel. I think the whole experience brought Gus and Sam closer together to strive toward a better future and make their relationship last forever.
Scotty Cade’s Knobs is a well written and informative story about the Citadel Military College. It’s also a colorful description of all the events that take place at the Citadel. He created two wonderful MCs in Sam and Gus; we get to learn about their lives and struggles and take an emotional journey with them. I look at the Citadel as being a double edged sword. I don’t agree with some of its tactics but I think, in a way, it can make a person stronger and learn how to be themselves.
Besides the storyline, I have to mention the Dedication, which is written with warmth and love, and the Preface, which gives us a view of the research and reality that Scotty Cade brings to us in Knobs. Mr. Cade, I think you did Sam proud!
You can buy Knobs here:
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