Positive Resistance (Work Out #5) by Andrew Grey
3.5 out of 5 stars
Ebook. 107 pages. Published June 8th 2011 by Dreamspinner Press
Blurb:
Blobby Bobby and Lane the Pain. A thousand years ago, Lane spent his time in high school tormenting Robert Stephen Phillips to the point of tears. Stephen thought he’d left all of that behind, including his extra weight and his horrid nickname, when he came out to his parents. But now Stephen’s been transferred back to his hometown and will once again have to face his disapproving parents and childhood nemesis.
Imagine Stephen’s surprise when Lane turns out to have changed from school
bully to persistent, attentive suitor. If Lane the Pain can hear Stephen’s most
painful of intimate details and still want to pursue a relationship, is it
possible that Stephen can reconnect with the family that turned on him years
ago?
Likes:
- Both Bobby and Lane.
- The issues they have to overcome in order to be together.
- The characters felt a little more real, their problems of more consequence.
- I connected more to these characters than some of the previous book’s characters.
- An ending that, while not everything was wrapped up, there was hope for the future.
Dislikes:
- The book blurb doesn’t do a good job capturing the tone or the main issues in the book.
- It took a while for the story to get going.
- Steven forgives Lane’s past actions surprisingly easily.
- Lane’s life could have used a bit more definition.
This book has the potential to be my favorite of the series. I like both ‘coming home’ stories and ‘ugly duckling to swan’ stories, and this one had both. Not that either was a huge part of the plot, but it was there in the beginning.
Written entirely from Steven’s point of view, the story focuses on him as he tries to make new memories in a town he was happy to leave behind. When he meets Lane, one of his former high school tormentors, I was expecting more drama. But the whole thing passed by really fast. Lane apologized and that was kind of it. After they’d known each other a while, it was brought up again, and Steven said he could see how much Lane had grown as a person. And while it worked for the story, I was expecting it to have a bigger impact.
The book blurb focuses a lot on Steven coming back to town, but the story is more about him learning to believe that he can love again, despite
being HIV positive. Honestly, I was hoping this was what the big ‘surprise’ was going to be. The hints were definitely there, and it was nice to see an HIV character. This isn’t the first time I’ve read a romance about an HIV positive character, but Steven’s concern for Lane felt really real. It made me respect Steven, even though he’d planned on never being intimate with someone ever again.
The personal journey Lane went through to accept Steven was really touching. This book had a great ending. It wasn’t perfectly wrapped up, but it ended on a high note that left me thinking that everything would be okay in the future. I wish all the rest of the books had touched my heart as much as this one, but I’m still holding out hope for the rest.
Love is Love Reviews 