Title: First
Series: N/A
Author: KC Wells
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (296 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (September 21st 2015)
Heat Level: Moderate to Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts
Blurb: It’s taken Tommy Newsome a while to get his head around being gay.
Growing up in a small town in Georgia, hasn’t prepared him for the more liberal life of a student at the university in Athens. Add to that the teachings of his parents and his church, and you have one shy young man who feels out of his depth. Working on his daddy’s farm hasn’t given him any chance of a social life, certainly not one like the clubs of Atlanta have on offer. Not that Tommy feels comfortable when he gets to sample it—Momma’s lectures still ring loudly inside his head.
All that changes when he goes to his first gay bar and sets eyes on Mike Scott.
When Mike’s not behind the bar at Woof’s, he’s busy with his life as adult entertainer Scott Masters. Twenty years in the industry and the times, they are a-changing. Mike’s not had much luck in the relationship department, but as his mom is fond of telling him, you keep fishing in the same pond, you’re gonna reel in the same kind of fish. Maybe it’s time for a change.
And then a beautiful young man asks Mike to be his first….
ISBN: 9781634766012
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6882
Reviewer: Tams
Review: Tommy Newsome is a good ole boy from a small Georgia town, off to college, living on his own for the first time. To say the bright lights of the big city are overwhelming for him would be an understatement. When his openly bi-sexual roommate drags Tommy to a gay bar, it’s more than Tommy can handle, too many people, too much noise etcetera, so Tommy finds a quieter place to mingle.
Tommy hasn’t given much thought to his sexuality, mostly because he’s gay and his parents are fanatically homophobic. But when he lays eyes on the much older, handsome bartender at Wolfs bar, Tommy can’t deny who he is anymore.
Mike Scott moonlights at Wolf’s bar as a bartender. His “day job” is a bit more “glamorous”. For the past twenty years, Mike has made quite a nice living as a gay porn star. But the industry is changing, and not in ways Mike is happy with or willing to lower his standards for. Then he meets a young man with piercing eyes, a shy smile and the most adorable blush Mike has ever seen.
Old habits die hard though and after having more than one relationship end when the man finds out about Mike’s choice of career, he keeps his secret, and it just might cost him the love of that beautifully, shy young man.
May/December romances are such fun stories. I really love reading a book where there are a substantial number of years between the lovers when the Author can convey their love in a way that is true and romantic. That is exactly what Wells did with First.
I have to preface this review by saying how shockingly accurate an Author from across the pond got life in small town, heart of the Bible belt, Georgia right. I was born and raised in Georgia so I know firsthand what a person like Tommy would have to live through, and it was much like what he dealt with in this book. Wells even got the Georgia twang right! I could literally hear Tommy talking in my head.
Tommy was confused, naive and for lack of a better word, virginal. It was very endearing for the character.
The best part of this story for me was watching as Mike gently taught him about sexuality and being in a relationship. Mike never used or abused the trust Tommy placed in him, aside from not telling him the truth about the porn, he completely respected Tommy and the gift Tommy gave him.
Both men faced very real struggles, different, but still real. Tommy is dealing with figuring out who he is and what he wants to do with his life while Mike is dealing with the pitfalls of the industry he chose to work in. While First is meant to be a coming of age story for Tommy, I think that Mike did a lot of growing up throughout as well.
A very romantic and endearing story, I couldn’t put it down, was up until midnight so I could finish.
Definitely a must read!
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *