Title: Campus Visit
Author: Stella Huerto
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (185 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (August 14, 2012)
Heat Level: Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5Hearts
Blurb: Damian Garza and Alex Murphy became best friends in their closed-minded small town, remained inseparable through Alex’s coming out, and have stayed close while studying at different colleges. They’re close enough that Damian dares a shocking e-mail confession: he’s bisexual and wants to experiment with men. With Alex.
It’s supposed to be a simple friends-with-benefits arrangement, one weekend only. That one weekend turns into two, then three, then a whole season of unexpected passion. But life after graduation can’t be ignored: soon Damian will be obliged to return to his family’s orange orchard, and Alex will fly off to his dream job in Europe. Unless they can admit their feelings to each other—and the world—their time as best friends may be over.
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3177
Reviewer: Any
Review: This is a sexy friends-to-lovers story that has quite something going for it. I read the story in one sitting, and didn’t notice the hours go by until—good gosh, is that the time? Luckily, I’d finished by then.
First thing I want to say about this book is you have to be in the mood for some sexy fun, and quite a lot of it. The story follows Damian and Alex as they move from experimenting (Damian is bi and wants to try out being with a guy—and wants it to be Alex, because he trusts him) to something a lot more emotional. The tension of the story for me was held in the questions: Is this more than just sex? When and how will they realize it? And, this especially considering the fact Damian feels he is responsible for helping his family back in his homophobic village, and Alex has a new job overseas: What will they decide to do when they do realize what they mean to each other?
Second thing I liked was the way I felt gooey at some moments in the development of their relationship. Just loved the scene that starts on the beach with Damian taking shots of Alex. The author did a good job in building up the images in my head. Actually, all throughout this story the author carefully involved the senses. In particular, I noticed the smells of things. Oranges. Salty coastal breezes. Soil. Redwood Trees . . .
A couple of things that didn’t quite work for me:
1) The beginning couple of chapters seem fun, but pretty unbelievable to me. So I’d recommend suspending believability for a while. It gets more real and involved in the middle of the story, though.
2) Max—the village villain—was maybe a bit too bad, and his character felt a little contrived, there solely for the purpose of bringing the story to its climax.
Those points aside, it was a fun, easy read. Recommend.