Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: The Kinsey Scale
SERIES: Campus Connections #1
AUTHOR: CJane Elliott
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 89 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 9, 2018
BLURB:
Life is good for Eric Brown. He’s a senior theater major, an RA for a freshman dorm, and has a great circle of friends. Single since sophomore year, Eric isn’t looking for love. But then Will Butler—fellow senior, co-RA, and the cutest guy Eric’s ever seen—walks into his dorm. Will has a girlfriend he sees off campus—a minor disappointment that becomes a major problem when a housing shortage causes Will and Eric to become roommates, and Eric is forced to witness Will’s hotness day in and day out. For protection, Eric asks Jerry, his ex-boyfriend, to pretend they’re still together. Jerry warns him it’s a stupid idea, but he reluctantly agrees.
Too bad it won’t save Eric from losing his heart.
Will Butler has never believed in himself. His dysfunctional family saw to that. Although Will has loved music since childhood, he’s never seriously considered pursuing it, and the person he’s dating doesn’t encourage him. Then he and Eric Brown become roommates, and everything changes. Eric believes in Will and his talent. He’s also gorgeous and playful and fast becoming Will’s best friend. And that’s not good, because Will is hiding some big things, not only from Eric, but from himself.
REVIEW:
I’m a fan of CJane Elliott’s longer works, and I was excited to read a story of hers with a college setting. She really brings the chemistry between two characters, but the story itself feels forced and unoriginal. Eric and Will deserve better!
This is one of those stories in which the main conflict could’ve been avoided with a simple conversation. Eric spends months pining after his “straight” roommate and being jealous of Will’s “girlfriend,” but he never actually confirms Will is straight, bisexual, or anything else. He just jumps to conclusions. This would work okay as the starting point in a longer romance, but as the main source of tension, it feels trite.
Eric is a really enjoyable protagonist, though. Elliott is good at writing fun, flamboyant gay male characters with depth and heart. Eric will always lend a helping hand and offer a snarky remark, but he also plays it pretty safe, especially when his heart is on the line. Will is a little more sensible and dry-humored, making them a perfect match—as roommates, friends, and something more.
But the plot remains bland throughout, even with sweet romance tropes I often enjoy. Fake dating plots are pretty popular these days, but the one shoehorned into this story just doesn’t make sense. By telling Will that he’s in a relationship with his ex-boyfriend Jerry, I can’t tell if Eric wants to protect his own heart, make Will jealous, or both. Neither really pan out that well, and the tension ends up fizzling. The title also gets us excited and leaves us cold—the Kinsey Scale is hardly mentioned, and even when it is, it ends up not even mattering in the story.
The simmer between Eric and Will as they dance around their mutual flirtation is yummy, but it couldn’t make the story work as a whole. I know Elliott can write much better plots than this, and I hope her future works in this series show her real talent.
RATING: 
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