Reviewed by Amber
SERIES REVIEW: Teddy Bear Collection
AUTHOR: Princess S.O.
BOOK ONE TITLE: Their Plane from Nowhere
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 92 pages
BLURB:
In their small town in the Pocono Mountains, Earl Knox and Hank Grisset have never been considered among the pretty ones to anyone but each other. As lucky as Hank and Earl consider themselves to have found each other, that’s about as far as luck has gone. All those Could’ah— Should’ah— Would’ah— moments a man never sees comin’, but that don’t stop him from regrettin’ them later in life.
When Earl makes a critical decision that ultimately outs him and Hank, a mysterious plane shows up at their lake house. Coming out in a small town can erase friendships in a heartbeat. But when a rift in the family leads to a life-threatening accident, only their love for each other is gonna get them through this—that, and their plane from nowhere.
REVIEW:
This series actually reads like standalone novellas. They both have no connecting characters, so you do not have to read them in order.
In, Their Plane from Nowhere, I felt as if I was just dropped right into these two men’s lives. And that is not necessarily a bad thing. What these two men had to go through in their 20+ year relationship, sounds mostly heartbreaking, so I appreciate not having to read a huge novel with that much pain.
Earl and Hank are lovers that have had to live the majority of their relationship separate from one another. Both men are now in their 50’s so they come from a time where men just couldn’t be together. Both Hank and Earl married women and had children. But all the while they always took out some time each month to be with one another.
Years ago, Hank lost his wife and boys in a car accident so he’s had more freedom. Earl’s wife, however, is just downright mean, cruel, and vicious. Earl decides once and for all to leave her. He’s tired of not being able to share his life with Hank, who is the love of his life. I should also mention both wives knew their husbands were homosexual.
I probably wouldn’t have given this book 4 stars if it wasn’t for this mysterious plane. I just loved the whole idea about it. The whole thing is very farfetched but that didn’t take away the attraction of the mystery behind it. Why does it appear and disappear? How does it come and go with no noise? Where is it coming from? And at the end when all those questions are answered it was the perfect completion to the story. I loved the romanticism behind it all.
RATING: 
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BOOK TWO TITLE: Big Spoon & Teddy Bear
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 113 pages
BLURB:
For years Gage has been turning men into steel, athletes into warriors of strength, competitors into medalists. But Gage isn’t looking for any more empty trophies, he’s looking for something far more meaningful.
When Gage takes a new job at an old gym, he doesn’t expect his entire life to get a workout, just a change of pace. At first it doesn’t seem like much and about the only plus is the endless view of rugged and well worked man-candy in the form of weightlifters and Strongman competitors that he’d be training and working with. He figures he has it made the minute he walks in the front door in that sense. But in truth, it isn’t enough. He wants a place to set down roots. More importantly, he wants someone to take root with.
Because he’s gay, Gage had always been told to just be happy with what he got, but there’s something about Boomer. A quiet, towering mountain of a Bear that was the gym’s manager who has Gage hoping for more than just daydreaming about the large physique. And that alone promises to put a spark back into the life of a lonely, freckled ginger.
You’re never too old for a teddy bear, right?
REVIEW:
What I’ve come to enjoy about this author is her ability to write such loveable characters. In both books I’ve read, I truly fell in love with all 4 main characters. She writes these big, bearlike men who have these huge hearts and they aren’t scared of emotions. It was so nice and refreshing to read men like these.
Gage is an extremely muscular ginger who is ready to start over having left the fakeness of Hollywood; he takes a job at a nondescript gym. He’s good at training people for Olympic trials and strongmen competitions so naturally he excels at pushing and motivating people. You get the impression that he carries an air of sadness around him and you learn early on that the sadness comes from loneliness.
Boomer is the manager at the gym Gage was hired on at. He’s also a huge bearlike man with an enormous heart. Boomer doesn’t talk much at all. But his presence screams at you from the pages.
There are tons of special things about this gym. The gym owner, Schiller, is also a quiet force. The gym patrons all have their own stories, as well. I loved how Gage pushed Skye to be better than she ever thought possible. There is also a group of people who come every so often to help out at the gym and when we find out their significance and Abi’s relationship to Boomer, my heart just about burst. Without a doubt my favorite part of the book was reading about Abi, Boomer, and Schiller. The added twists were a perfect addition.
Some things weren’t resolved for me, however. While both Gage and Boomer have a few steamy moments, nothing happens between them for a good 50% of the book. And Gage kept having these inner battles about how he was a top and needed to be with a bottom but we never found out Boomer’s preference because there was no anal sex at all. Which I don’t necessarily need in a story but for a story like this that focuses so much on it, I feel it would have made this story even that much better.
I also felt like it ended too soon. This is definitely a HFN; it could have definitely used an epilogue. With all that being said, I did enjoy the book. You can’t take anything away from the fact that this author knows how to give her readers amazing characters with heartfelt stories.
RATING:
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THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed having the big boys for company <3