Title: Yellowbelly Hero
Series: Heroes at Heart, #1
Author: Susan Laine
Genre: New Adult Romance
Length: Novella (83 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (5 Aug 2015)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5Hearts
Blurb: Yancy Bell was bullied in high school for being a yellowbelly, not because of any cowardice, but because of his nervous bladder condition. It’s Yancy’s first year in college, and he’s hoping to make a fresh start.
Three days before Christmas, the campus is empty. Having to pee on a midwinter night leads Yancy to meet Curt Donovan huddled in a dark shower stall. Curt’s a troubled jock whose coming out went badly, so he plans to end it all.
But Yancy adamantly refuses to let Curt go through with his irrevocable plan. With just one dark night to talk Curt around, Yancy has to win the trust of a stranger who only sees one way out.
ISBN: 978-1-63476-359-2
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6700
Reviewer: Prime
Review: I am not a stranger to Susan Laine’s writing and Yellowbelly Hero has to be my favourite book that I’ve read so far from her.
The story line is fairly simple, exactly as you read in the blurb, but it is full of emotion and well paced. Yancy, who has a bladder disorder of some sort, finds jock, Curt contemplating suicide while he waits out the days until his parents pick him up from college for Christmas.
Yancy is a complete and utter sweetheart who immediately starts talking to Curt to find out what was happening that led him to hiding out in the bathroom stall in the boys’ dorms. Curt is a senior who is confused and has been sorting out his sexuality, while Yancy, who is a couple of years younger, is comfortable being different (let’s just add gay on top of his bladder issues) but he doesn’t particularly advertise from the roof tops.
These guys are two contrasting characters who just click. There isn’t a lot of angst, despite the thoughts of suicide from one character, but I like how the issues have been dealt with. However, I must add that the way this has been written, Laine has left a lot open the subsequent books. I think we have a lot to look forward to in the future in terms of getting to know both Curt and Yancy more.
Yellowbelly Hero only really just scratched at the surface.
The short of it is that I cannot wait for book two! There is a lot of space for these guys to develop more, both as young men and as a possible romantic couple. I read the sneak peek and – Sweet Jesus – I want to read it now!!!
This is a heartbreakingly familiar world where similar stories to that of Curt’s is all too common, but I loved the way in which the story has been told.
* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through http://mmgoodbookreviews.wordpress.com *