Reviewed by Amber
SERIES: The Long Pass Chronicles #1
TITLE: Outing the Quarterback
AUTHOR: Tara Lain
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 216 pages
BLURB:
Will Ashford lives in two closets. He meets his wealthy father’s goals as both the quarterback for the famous SCU football team and a business major, but secretly he attends art school and longs to live as a painter. And he’s gay. But if he can win the coveted Milton Scholarship for art, he’ll be able to break from his father at the end of his senior year.
In a painting master class, Will meets his divergent opposite, Noah Zajack. A scarred orphan who’s slept on park benches and eaten from trash cans, Noah carefully plans his life and multiple jobs so he has money and time to go to art school. Will’s problems seem like nothing compared to Noah’s. Noah wants the scholarship too and may have a way to get it since the teacher of his class has designs on him, a plan Will isn’t happy about.
When a gossipmonger with a popular YouTube channel finds evidence that Will is gay, the quarterback’s closet doors begin to crumble. Hounded by the press and harassed by other players, Will has to choose. Stay in the closet and keep his family’s wealth, or let the doors fall off and walk out with nothing. Nothing but Noah.
REVIEW:
This was an interesting plot line. The story itself is pretty common with some unique twists. Overall, I enjoyed this read.
Will is the quintessential jock. He’s the star quarterback for his college, he comes from money and calls the head cheerleader, girlfriend. He seems to have it all but unfortunately, he’s miserable. He’s very much closeted and he doesn’t want to play football because he’s also a very talented artist.
The interesting twist to the story is the fact that Will is trying to get out from football and his parents control by winning a coveted scholarship for painting. This is how we meet Noah.
Noah is a study in hard knocks. He’s had it rough his whole life. He’s survived horrendous abuse and still wears the scars to prove it. He’s vying for the same scholarship as Will. And like Will, Noah is an amazingly talented artist.
Their attraction is instant and intense. Will, having denied himself his natural attractions urns for male on male contact with Noah. They embark on a secret affair but their feelings for each other grow into more than just physical. I liked these two together, however, at times their interactions felt forced which made it all seemed contrived but overall I enjoyed them.
While all this is developing Will is constantly compiling more and more lies to stay in the closet. He also deals with his manipulative father, alcoholic mother, a crazy paparazzi/stalker/YouTube sensation, and crazy ex-girlfriend.
Some of my favorite aspects of this story were Jamal and his family. I want to read his story when it comes out. I loved how Evangeline was included in this story as well. It was awesome to read how supportive they were considering how little support he got from home.
This was a fun no frills story full of angst and drama which I truly enjoy.
RATING: 
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