Stevie‘s review of Level Hands (Bend or Break, Book 4) by Amy Jo Cousins
Contemporary Gay Romance published by Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 25 Aug 15
I enjoyed the previous book in this series and, while I wasn’t particularly enamoured of Denny in that one, Rafi was possibly my favourite out of the secondary characters, so I was keen to see how their story would work out. When we saw them the first time, Rafi was the older, more experienced teen, and Denny was the younger over-privileged brat, just starting to find his feet away from his family. Now, we meet them again with Denny having completed his first year at an elite college and Rafi struggling to find his feet there, having done two years of part-time study at his local community college prior to winning a scholarship. On top of all that, Rafi has his suspicions that Denny’s family is at least partly responsible for his award – and so are several of his new teammates on the rowing crew.
Once again Rafi comes across as a lot more mature for his years than most of the better-off students, but he also finds it difficult to conceal his insecurities; work that would have got him good marks back home barely lets him scrape through in his new classes, and rowing takes up much of the time he isn’t working to raise money for his course books. Denny, meanwhile, has grown up a lot and knows plenty about how the college structures work, though not as much as he likes to think about people and relationships. Some of Denny’s attitudes really grate on me, although he does grow up a lot over the course of the book, and it becomes apparent that he does care for Rafi.
In this book, however, it’s the secondary characters that really win me over: Rafi’s classmate and part-time tutor, Bree, and his sisters, who are all keen for him to succeed. I still love Rafi, although I feel he could have done better than Denny, and there are times when his age shows through and I got more than a little irritated with him – even though his actions and attitudes make perfect sense given how much growing up he still has to do as well.
The resolution of the story works really well for me: people learn from their mistakes and Rafi isn’t afraid to stand up for what he believes in. I would have liked to understand a little more about where Denny is coming from – maybe I’d have liked him a little more if we’d got inside his head – but I definitely want to catch up with the rest of this series and am looking forward to the release of the next book as well.
Grade: B
Summary:
When it comes to love, there’s no such thing as smooth sailing.
Rafael Castro is so far out of his element he can’t even see it anymore. Carlisle College in Massachusetts is a long way from his Chicago home, even farther from his Dominican Republic roots.
The only thing keeping him attached to his last nerve is the prospect of seeing Denny Winslow again. The first time they met, Denny taught Rafi to fly across the water, rowing hard in a knife-like boat. Now, two years later, on the wings of a rowing scholarship, Rafi is attending Denny’s elite college.
Even before the excitement wears off, Rafi is struggling with classes and fending off rumors that Denny’s family, not Rafi’s talent, won him his spot. To quash the gossip, Rafi tries to steer clear of the man he wants. A plan that evaporates in the fire of renewed attraction.
But Carlisle’s academic pressure cooker has Rafi barely treading water. And when a family crisis hits, both Rafi and Denny must pull hard to keep their relationship from capsizing in rough waters.
Warning: Contains a surly Dominican-American guy determined to show no weakness, a golden boy who knows his soft spots, some seriously dirty bachata dancing, and an excellent excuse for voyeurism in the locker room.
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
