Review: Bleu Balls by Tara Lain

Title: Bleu Balls (Balls to the Wall: Book Seven)

Author: Tara Lain

Length: 250 Pages

Category: Contemporary

At a Glance: Another wonderful addition to the Balls to the Walls series, and I really hope we see more of the amazing Howard, who helped Robin realise that he could let go of the darkness and really open his heart.

Reviewed By: Jenn

Blurb: Double trouble. The McMillan twins, Robin and Bobby, are renowned for their talents—both as fine artists and for thrilling the various men who catch their eyes. As different in style and personality as their DNA is identical, they’re nonetheless best friends who divide and conquer, with Robin doing the serious painting and Bobby adding the sunny salesmanship.

But when their most important client decides Bobby must wield the paintbrush, the brothers revert to childhood tactics and switch places. Then along comes Micah, a handsome doctor who’s attracted to Bobby but invites Robin out to try to please his homophobic brother, and Paolo, the pain-in-the-butt client who thinks he’s wooing Bobby when he’s actually after Robin. Paolo harbors his own hidden pain that weirdly intersects with Robin’s, but pride and privacy conspire to produce what will either be a masterpiece—or end up as Dogs Playing Poker.

Review: When twins become involved in a romance novel that you know will have sex, I generally avoid it because twincest is just not my thing. I decided to give Bleu Balls a try because it’s Tara Lain, and her novels are my thing. I couldn’t be happier for trying something so potentially outside my comfort zone. Bobby and Robin are two wonderful and unique characters that bring different aspects to life on the pages they feature in.

Much like he’s described in the blurb, Bobby is so happy and sunny he’s like a unicorn barfing rainbows, a phrase I love and want to use as often as possible, but he’s also got a core of steel that gets hidden and forgotten due to his bubbly nature. This leads many people, even his twin brother, to underestimate his fierceness and ability to protect himself and those he loves.

Robin, on the other hand, is that bit darker, having suffered through his family’s hidden secret, and determined to protect his sunshine brother from its darkness. His love for his brother, and desire to be more like him, is just so adorable, and I often found myself wanting to hug him and protect him far more than his brother. The novel truly highlights the effects alcoholism and substance abuse can have on the addict’s families and loved ones. The contrast between what Robin could have come out like and the man he has grown into is visible to all. Though I think Robin would always have been that bit darker and moodier, even if he’d had the same experiences as Bobby.

The two love interests were as unique as the main characters, and really complimented who they ended up with. In fact, it was nice to see the author pairing like-with-like instead of the opposites attract for a bit of a change. I would also like to take this time to wish that Dr Brown was my doctor, because he is everything anybody could want in their GP. Kind, caring, professional even when his emotions are trying to make him so very unprofessional. I can easily see Bobby being teasing enough to play doctor with him in his practice.

Paolo was a lot harder to like, and I even found myself agreeing with the Laguna crew that he needed to prove himself worthy of our Robin. As usual, seeing the eventual happy ending was worth the ups and downs. The book also was longer than I thought it would be. After all, the romance had been worked and the men had their loves, so why would it go on longer? But it was a perfect ending, tying up the effects of alcoholism and showing the light at the end of a dark tunnel.

Another wonderful addition to the Balls to the Walls series, and I really hope we see more of the amazing Howard, who helped Robin realise that he could let go of the darkness and really open his heart.

You can buy Bleu Balls here:
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