Reviewed by Carissa

TITLE:  Bottoms Up
SERIES:  An Avondale Story; About a Bottoms #1
AUTHOR:  Etienne
PUBLISHER:  Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH:  250 pages
BLURB: RN First Assistant Chris Bottoms enjoys being a bottom. Though abused by his stepfather as a boy and conditioned to enjoy sex only one particular way, he’s come to make the most of his life. And he enjoys bottoming—to the hilt—whenever and wherever he can.

As if colorectal cancer wasn’t enough of a trial, the subsequent botched surgery robs him of normal bodily functions—no more prostate massage for Chris. In the middle of his medical drama, his best friend, Mickey O’Donovan, accepts a promotion that brings him to live in Jacksonville. Roommates in college, they’ve remained friends and occasional fuck buddies ever since. Chris’s crisis brings their relationship to a new level, though, and long-suppressed feelings are revealed.

Chris and Mickey settle down together and life is good, even though they can no longer indulge in their favorite sexual position. But Chris can’t seem to catch a break. When his past rears its head, Chris and Mickey must face a new challenge, together.

REVIEW:  

Chris Bottoms loved being assigned to his aircraft carrier as a RN First Assistant.  And not just because of all those hot and horny seamen just waiting for the chance to Top his very lovely Bottom.  But when the Navy reassigns him to a hospital on their base in Jacksonville, Florida, he really doesn’t have much choice but to pack his bag and go.  Boy, he’ll sure miss all those seamen, though.  Still, it’s not like there was going to a dearth of hot gay men in Jacksonville, and it might be nice to get some without the ever present danger of discovery.  Yeah, Florida and Jacksonville might be just what he needs.

Except even he didn’t plan on finding out he has cancer.  Or that the drunken surgeon–who Chris has been trying to get removed–is the one who is going to be in control of the scalpel that could save his life.  Or end it right quick.  Chris’s plans never included falling for his best friend.  Or gaining a whole passel of crazy gay guys as new ones.  Didn’t plan on houses or children or even a single picket–white or otherwise.  Very little is going according to plan, but life isn’t going to say please? or may I? so Chris may just have to suck it up and dive right into the crazy mess, bottoms up.

I loved the concept of having Chris, this total bottom, forced by life and some pretty messed up circumstances, to have to face learning how to live in a body that no longer works the way he wants it to.  It is clear, from early on in the novel, that Chris takes pride in his body, and his sexuality, so to take away, or weaken these key parts of his self, we really get to see just what Chris is made of.  Cancer, botched surgeries, a new love that was an old and dear friend, all these things test Chris.  He has to remake and relearn himself in order to survive.  To see that he is not just a bottom.  To know that he has the strength to fight.  To understand that change is not always bad, but not always easy, either.

I’m having trouble putting into words exactly what I feel about this book.  On one hand, it is not very often I read stories that deal with such heavy subjects, where there is no quick fix or easy answer.  Sometimes love does not heal all wounds; and sometimes time only serves to show just how long you’re going to have to put up with some pretty messed up shit.  I liked that this book said: this is life, it is dirty, messy, and sometime it really kicks you in the balls and you can either stayed curled up on the floor or you can stand up and kick life right back, twice as hard.  It was a bold move to tackle this subject.  And I really appreciate the chance that was taken.

On the other hand…this book never took us past the surface.  There were some seriously deep emotions that (could have) lurked in this book, but like a river frozen over, we never get to feel them.  All we got was a long walk over glossed over trauma, pain, and love.  At times I felt like I was standing in the middle of that frozen river, jumping up and down, trying to break the ice, but it never worked, it never cracked.  I could never reach anything of Chris, or Mickey, that wasn’t more than two inches from the surface.

And after reading the Afterword, where the author explicitly stated that “Some people may like to read about pain and suffering, but I don’t like to write about it, and see no need to dwell on same,” I felt equal parts cheated and annoyed.  While I understand it is the author’s right to write whatever the hell he chooses, in the way that he chooses, by ignoring the pain and the suffering, he killed something in the story for me.  Something that had so much freaking potential that I was longing to read.  When I was not allowed to feel the lows, the highs became farcical and shallow.  Everything was forced into a middle ground of half-hearted shrugs and It’s only a flesh wound replies.  And every time we came close to a flash of genuine distress or emotion, it was quickly rushed over.  I don’t want to glory in Chris’s pain, but I would like to know that it was there, that it was a struggle, and that it will take an effort to overcome it.  I don’t want angst, but I need emotion.

I also need to not feel like I was dragged through a 250 page commercial for Jacksonville, Florida.  Setting a scene is important.  Letting a reader feel like a place is real and that it has roots that are barely touched on, but go deep, is essential.  Giving the reader a lecture on every building, place, and person that you come into contact with in the story, was just annoying.  Especially when it makes absolutely no sense in context with the story, or made the dialogue seem like the characters were just reciting lines at each other.  And while I now know, in detail, what restaurants to frequent, and what to order in them, if I ever happen to visit Jacksonville, there were times when I really started to wonder if the character was going to turn to camera, give a flashy smile, hold up his plate and say “Five Points–where the pizza’s so good you could eat the plate!” before winking and then going about his dinner like it was some ad in a 50’s TV show.  When your reader spends half the book wondering if there was an ad buy-in for your novel, it is probably not a good thing.  And, to be honest, sometimes it came across like it was spending so much time trying to sell the city that it forgot to sell the story.

This book and I did not agree on much.  I found parts of it doubtful–I’m pretty sure you’re not allowed to speak like that to a superior officer no matter how friendly they want to be.  Other parts dubious–they just cut out a sizable chunk of your digestive system and you’re chowing down on subs and pizza?   And let’s just say that if you have never read any of the other books in the Avondale collection–which I haven’t–the pure overload of cameos from previous Avondale MCs is both confusing and a tad bit boring.  I don’t know these people, and despite a detailed backstory for each character introduced (and who, seriously, after knowing a guy for like five minutes, starts to talk about how you’ve got your cock blown off? TMI, dude, TMI), I felt no connection to them, so I was unsure why they were in Chris’s story, except maybe to serve as a call back.

Bottoms Up certainly had some great potential, but for me it was wasted on avoiding the issues, instead of conquering them, and selling me a city, not a story.  Maybe someone who has enjoyed the previous books in the Avondale series will like seeing all the various MCs again, who knows.  I’m glad Chris got his HEA, but the journey to get there seemed rather farfetched to me.

Carissa rates it – 

BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner Press

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Carissa is one of the official reviewers on The Blog of Sid Love.

To read all her reviews, click the link: CARISSA’S REVIEWS
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