Treading Water Gay Romance, Sports Romance
Dreamspinner Press
Oct 3, 2023
Kindle
310
Amazon
Actor Tucker Crawford is having the worst summer ever. Thanks to a viral video of him trying to swim, he’s the laughingstock of Hollywood and his role in a hit TV series is in jeopardy. The only bright spot is Tucker’s sexy new swim coach, Reed Oliver, but even that has its problems—because Tucker is deep in the closet and has never been with a guy.
Reed Oliver is having the best summer ever. He’s just scored a high-paying freelance gig teaching a Hollywood actor how to swim. The two of them have the run of a deserted summer camp, complete with an Olympic-size swimming pool. But when cocky playboy Reed meets shy, virgin Tucker, sparks fly and Reed’s walk-in-the-park coaching job becomes a minefield of temptation. Once they kiss for the first time, there’s no way to overcome their mutual passion and no looking back. But after two weeks of secluded intimacy, can they keep their romance alive in the real world?
Review by Xanthe
Member of The Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
So. This is my first book by Alex Winters and I’m still not too sure on how I feel about their writing…. It has taken me a few attempts to finish it, going back and trying to get back into the story as I struggled with that until at least halfway through.
Tucker and Reed pretty much dance around each other as they are placed/forced to stay at an empty kid’s camp so that Reed can coach Tucker to swim after a video was leaked of Tucker trying to swim for a scene in a TV show he’s in and, well, it didn’t go very well. To save face, the studio has hired Reed and they find themselves in a forced proximity situation, both attracted to the other but Reed has had recent trouble at his job with being accused of forcing a relationship so he is determined not to make the first move. However, Tucker knows that he likes men but has never been with one before, making this quite the slightly awkward, slightly flirty, intro for him to anything with another man.
I felt for Tucker as you can tell he doesn’t feel confident of his position in Hollywood. Not surprising for any star but because of the way he came into the show and the stars he is surrounded by, especially Summer, a child star with famous parents. The show producer, who comes across as a bit of a sleaze, seems to want to keep Tucker on tenterhooks and unsure of his position on the show, thus getting him to agree to swim coaching. Reed has had his own problems and getting away from work for a while, and with a decent paycheck, seems like a good idea. He definitely likes the look of Tucker but is unsure of him as he gets dropped off by Summer. Though reticent, it doesn’t feel like that much time passes before interest is shown and a pass is made.
One of the big things that I didn’t really enjoy was how their first couple of times together read more like an erotica and came with so many descriptors that made me cringe or laugh out loud that it just took me right out of the scene. I understand where the author is coming from, Tucker’s first time and the two men being alone in this big camp with several settings where a gay man’s fantasy may happen but it didn’t come across well to me. I also didn’t feel that the two men connected on a strong emotional level until right at the end when they are on their way to their HEA. There wasn’t much conversation happening in regards to getting to know each other considering they were spending so much time together.
It’s a mixed bag for me, overall. By the time I finished the book, I enjoyed way things had turned out for the couple, the drama that caused a little bit of angst but equally helped Tucker to stand up for himself with a decent amount of help and support from Summer. Things didn’t really feel resolved for Reed though regarding his issues at work, which feels like a little bit of disservice to his character.