Reviewed by Jess
TITLE: Outshined
SERIES: Tall Thicket Tales #1
AUTHOR: Clancy Nacht and Thursday Euclid
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 226 pages
RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2019
BLURB:
Fall 1993.
Well, it isn’t his Plan A…
At his surgeon father’s insistence, premed bad boy Cameron Lord transfers from the massive University of Texas to tiny Tall Thicket State University in small-town East Texas. After the scandal of seducing the dean’s son during their sophomore year in Austin and being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Cameron needs a fresh start. Dr. Lord insists Cameron’s lucky any school still wants him, but Cameron’s more concerned with whether a certain gorgeous blond undergrad is interested.
After spotting Tim Sullivan through the plate glass window of Big Cheeser’s Pizza, Cameron can’t resist the opportunity to apply for a job there. Angelically handsome, Tim’s also frontman for popular local cover band the Angry Goats, proving there’s more to him than polo shirts and shy smiles. When Tim reveals he’s on Prozac for severe depression, Cameron’s convinced they understand each other. But with Tim’s evangelical upbringing, the terror of the AIDS epidemic, and the casual homophobia of Tim’s bandmate, will virgin Tim be brave enough to acknowledge his growing interest in worldly, reckless Cameron?
REVIEW:
This is my first story by Clancy Nacht and Thursday Euclid, but it certainly won’t be my last! They have a knack for writing steamy new adult romance with compelling characters who can’t stay away from each other. The actual story can be uneven, but it’s easy to overlook with romance this good.
The year is 1993 and Cameron is a long-haired, motorcycle-riding, nipple-ringed grunge god who is barely holding it together after he is outed to his wealthy father and forced to transfer to the rural Texas college of Tall Thicket State University. He knows who he is and goes for what he wants, but he’s also dealing with severe mental illness and trying to cope with self-doubt, loneliness, and depression. On his first day in town, he sees Tim, a shy student who he immediately falls in love with. Cameron soon ends up working with Tim at a pizza place and going to see his hard rock cover band every week, hoping to get close to the other man. The two have undeniable chemistry that they both want to explore, but Tim was raised a staunch Christian and has to overcome those internalized fears before falling into Cameron’s arms.
This is one of those stories where the overwhelming sexual energy between the main characters overshadows so many other things I wish were done better. I was immediately drawn to both these young men—Cameron, a confident and cocky punk, and Tim, a naïve Christian boy who lets his wild side out playing in his rock band. Just the premise of these two makes for a high level of erotic tension. They are both vibrating with quiet anger and passion, spinning off each other like magnets, unable to stay away even when they have no clue what they are doing. From the first kiss to the first time they touch one another, their chemistry is off the charts, making this one of the steamier reads of my year so far. I felt myself holding my breath before every first touch, every soft glance, every moment that turned into something more. That’s when you know you’re reading good romance!
Sex is so integral to the plot that in fact, the main arc of the story ended up being the slow loss of Tim’s virginity. It’s meant to be erotic, and Cameron is a slow, patient teacher who is willing to show Tim the ropes. But I wish it didn’t have to be the plot point. I do like the examination of virginity and what exactly it means for queer couples—what is virginity? What does “going all the way” mean for two men? It feels grounded in the time period and the way people saw sex and intimacy 25 years ago. But there’s a lot of stuff I wish the story took more time on, such as the highs and lows of mental illness and medication, the struggles of being a college student, and the differences between relationships in 1993 and today. In the foreword, the authors say Cameron was heavily inspired by the late, great Chris Cornell, who struggled his whole life with mental illness. I thought that needed to be a little more central to the plot rather than a background element.
Though I wish there was a bit more meat to the story and character development, I love the passion and romance so much that it just has to be recommended. The tension between Cameron and Tim is just that undeniable.
RATING: 
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