Strong Side

By: Alison Hendricks

Narrated by: Chistopher Boucher

Their chemistry on the field is undeniable. But can they ever be more than friends?

Jason Hawkins is about to throw the biggest Hail Mary pass of his career. If he can't turn NFL recruiters' heads this year, he'll lose his shot at the one thing he's ever been good at. But every quarterback needs a man he can count on down the field. For Jason, that man just might be the Tigers' new receiver, Derek Griffin.

Four years ago, Derek nearly lost everything after being outed by his teammates. Now he finally has a chance to get it all back as a walk-on for Eastshore College.... if he can resist his immediate attraction to the gorgeous and very straight star quarterback. An instant connection during practice leads to an easy friendship that only grows stronger off the field.

Derek is convinced friendship is all it'll ever be, but a very confusing moment of impulse leaves both of them fumbling for answers about their relationship. As curiosity gives way to passion and passion gives way to something deeper, Jason and Derek will have to tackle their own personal demons to bring home the win and earn their happy ending.

©2016 Alison Hendricks (P)2018 Alison Hendricks

A winner for sure!

Strong Side is the perfect book when you want something quick, low angst, and a great listen. Add in some hot college athletes, and a great narrator and there's nothing that should keep you from picking this book up.

Jason Hawkins a.k.a Hawk is on his last chance of making his dream come true - a pro football career. First practice of the season and his is hopeful - until the man that he just set his hopes on freezes on the field for no apparent reason.

A few years ago Derek was badly tackled on the field and ended up paralysed for a few months. Intensive therapy and an iron will have him back in the game and on the field, but he can't help to freeze up when he sees a tackle coming.

Hawk decides to try to help Derek to overcome his fears. And so the private practices begin. A friendship forms quickly between them and slowly something more grows out of it. Something neither of them really expected. The Sexual tension between them though – it can light ice on fire.

This book drew me in from the start, I believed in the characters, their story. I felt for their struggles. I connected. I loved that nothing was overly dramatic or blown out of proportions, no huge fights or misunderstandings. It wasn't all smooth sailings and dancing on roses, because sexual realisation and coming out does bring tension. And in this case it was handled beautifully.

Christopher Boucher is a new narrator to me, which can be tricky. In this case though, it worked perfectly. I loved his narration, sorry performance, of this book. It was everything that it should be. The feelings and emotions that he added, along with different voices for the characters. I know after this book, I will keep an eye out for more of his works.

Strong Side was a sweet love story about two young men finding their way, finding love. A story of acceptance, coming out and self-discovery. Recommended to college athletes fans - and everyone looking for something sweet to read or listen to.

A copy of this book was generously provided by the author in exchange for an honest review for Love Bytes

Love it!!!

The storyline was great! Love M/M sports stories. Hope you will continue. Maybe an interracial story next time.

Quintessential sports romance

I sort of bought Strong Side on a whim when I was searching desperately for an audiobook to listen to. I love sports romances in theory, but in practice they usually leave me a little disappointed. For one thing, there's rarely very much in there about actual sports, and the fact that they're athletes is mainly used to explain why they have such nice bodies. I'm also skeptical about "falling for your straight friend" stories, especially as a gay man myself, because nobody is really "gay for you" and to be honest I find that trope a little hackneyed if not borderline offensive.

So I was surprised as anyone to find myself really loving this book. Not only was sports--like, the guys actually playing the sport--a big part of the plot (especially at the beginning and the end, and never overly technical), but the romance came about naturally and the "straight" guy's transformation and reactions were entirely believable, at least to me. It was also well written, the characters were likable, and the plot itself took several turns I wasn't expecting, despite the book fitting into so many cliché categories.

It's definitely worth a listen. The narrator, Christopher Boucher, is one I've never heard before and who hasn't actually narrated all that many audiobooks (I think only six, all from the same year). But he's really wonderful; his different voices for Derek and Jason were spot on. And to my relief, the pacing was good; I don't know whether it's an issue with the preview or just my perception is off somehow, but when I listened to the audio sample, it seemed like it was rushed and unnatural, but I think someone somewhere might have kicked the sample into a faster speed. Boucher sounds perfectly normal in the actual narration.

I rarely give an audiobook five stars across the board, so my recommendation is to buy and listen to this book--I don't think you'll regret it! Just don't go into it thinking you know what's going to happen, because you may not be right (at least, I wasn't).

Even better in audio!

Chistopher Boucher continues to impress me with his range, character voices, and his timing. The narration made a good story even better.

**~~**~~**~~**~~**

Lovely football sports romance with dual POV, some heat, and a sweet HEA.

I liked the backstory and the thread of angst that's woven throughout the story works well. The sexy times are not too explicit and just hot enough.

All in all it was a really enjoyable listen.

a straightforward no frills story

There are absolutely no extraneous words in this story. I honestly could have used more from the secondary characters to give the plot framework more emotional impact and flesh out the setting....but it was good. The author knows the formula and has a tight, controlled writing style.