Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Canning the Center 
SERIES: Long Pass Chronicles #2
AUTHOR: Tara Lain
NARRATOR: John-Paul Barrel
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
RELEASE DATE: August 20, 2015
LENGTH: 9 hours, 11 minutes
BLURB:
Six foot seven inch, 300 pound Jamal Jones loves football, so when he finds out the ultra-conservative owner of his new pro football team fired their current center because he’s gay, bisexual Jamal decides to stay in the closet and hang with the females. Then, at a small drag show, he comes face-to-face with his sexual fantasy in the form of Trixie LaRue, a drag queen so exquisitely convincing she scrambles Jamal’s hormones — and his resolve to nurse his straight side.
Trevor Landry, aka Trixie LaRue, hides more than his genitals. A mathematician so brilliant he can’t be measured, Trevor disguises his astronomical IQ and his quirk for women’s clothes behind his act as a gay activist undergrad at Southern California University.
To Trevor, Jamal is the answer to a dream — a man who can love and accept both his personas. When he discovers Jamal’s future is threatened if he’s seen with a guy, Trevor becomes Trixie to let Jamal pass as straight. But Trevor risks his position every time he puts on a dress. Is there a closet big enough to hold a football pro and a drag queen?
REVIEW:
Canning the Center was a fun listen. It is the second book in the Long Pass Chronicles, but you don’t need to have read the first book to be able to enjoy this one (I haven’t). The first couple does make an appearance, but you are never left feeling like you’ve missed something vital.
Jamal Jones is the new center for a football team with a new owner that does not know what the word acceptance means, neither when it comes to skin colour and even less when it comes to being gay, or bisexual as is the case for Jamal. So in order to stay on the team he needs to stay in the closet. But a night out and a drag show staring Trixie LaRue has him re-thinking his choices.
Trevor a.k.a. Trixie is instantly drawn to Jamal – just as much as Jamal is drawn to them. They had some amazing chemistry right from the start, but it also went deeper than just the physical attraction for both of them. They were genuinely interested in the other for something long term and lasting. Sure there were some misunderstanding and miscommunication, but quickly resolved with not too much drama or angst attached to it. I adored Trevor’s nickname for Jamal chocolate Bunny / Bunny – it was so cute. Some pet names I’m not fond of and can even put me off, but this one fit with the light-heartedness of the book, the characters, the playfulness.
You might know that I’m not one that particularly enjoy on page sex scenes, and really don’t mind if it was all fade to black. I also very rarely comment on it – other than if there was way too much of it. Now that being said I did like that this book went against the grain so to speak. Where Trevor, the slender nerdy guy topped Jamal, the huge athlete. Sure they both switched, but I still liked that there were no fixed roles, no stereotyping.
I liked John-Paul Barrel’s narration. While Barel had distinct voices for the characters, there were only a few of them so he used the same voice for many of the minor characters. I think that he used the same voice for all the women (not Trixie) throughout. Not that it was a problem as there were few women in the story, it was just something that I noticed while listening. Another huge plus from me is that he also added feelings to the words, it makes the story come alive in a way that it otherwise wouldn’t for me.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
[…] Trevor, Jamal is the answer to a dream — a man who can love and accept both his personas. When he discovers Jamal’s future is threatened if he’s seen with a guy, […]