Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Headstrong
SERIES: Vino & Veritas Book #3
AUTHOR: Eden Finley
PUBLISHER: Heart Eyes Press
LENGTH: 260 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 22, 2021
BLURB:
A straight guy gives gay hookup tips to a virgin. What could go wrong?
When I first met Whit, I couldn’t get away from him fast enough. He’s a hockey player, and I hate everything to do with the sport that broke my heart.
But I can’t help feeling sorry for the guy. He’s newly out and desperate to meet someone, but his eagerness seems to scare potential hook-ups away.
Agreeing to be his wingman should’ve been simple. Watching him flirt with other guys made things complicated.
Whit challenges me in every aspect of my life, from my hatred of hockey to the new questions I’m asking myself. Like why a straight man suddenly can’t stop thinking about kissing another guy.
I think the answer lies somewhere on Whit’s lips…
REVIEW:
Vino & Veritas, the series, provides the reader with more opportunities to explore Sarina Bowen’s wonderful True North world. Vino & Veritas, the titular fictional, inclusive bookstore and wine bar located in Burlington, Vermont, provides the common denominator for the eighteen (yes 18!!) stories in this multi-author series (none of whom, BTW, is Sarina herself).
Headstrong is the third book in the V&V series and boy, is it a good one. Eden Finley never disappoints. She’s brought to life in this addictive story two captivating men caught up in the threads of a romance she weaves out of pure MM trope gold.
Whit, hockey player for Moo U, is on the cusp of college graduation with his 22nd birthday looming on the near horizon – and he’s still a virgin. Just recently out, he’s determined to make up for lost time and has resolved to get laid by the time he’s blown out the candles on his birthday cake. In small town Burlington, though, there are not a whole lot of options. So he heads to V&V where he’s certain he’ll meet with success in his mission.
Rainn, former Moo U hockey superstar and current, straight, V&V bartender, unwittingly gets pulled into Whit’s orbit. He volunteers himself, much to his own surprise, as Whit’s wingman. In the category of “[He] doth protest too much”, grumpy Rainn initially wants nothing to do with Whit, as he reiterates to Whit repeatedly. Whit’s status as a hockey player is enough in and of itself to evoke Rainn’s rejection. But no one can resist Whit for long. This guy is pure sunshine and light. (And, BTW, what a punny choice of names for Rainn. Apropos, as he’s all gloom and storm clouds and the sodden feeling of being doused by a never-ending rain.)
Rainn colossally fails at running Whit off. Instead, he finds himself helplessly drawn to the sweet, funny, self-deprecating, loveable Whit and his indefatigable spirit. Rainn describes Whit as “a wide-eyed puppy you can’t help but find adorable when he trips over his big paws.” It’s a perfect analogy. Whit is absolutely irresistible even when he is a klutz, or socially inept, or hopelessly clueless. He has a heart of gold and a refusal to view the world with anything other than optimism. It’s no wonder Whit unwittingly makes Rainn realize his sexuality may be more fluid than Rainn realized.
So we’ve got the gay virgin, GFY/bisexual awakening tropes at play here. (And I know you think you know where this is going. But wait for it … ) There’s a twist, though: Whit isn’t the only virgin here.
Rainn not only is a gay virgin, a baby bi as it were, but he’s a virgin when it comes to love and relationships and letting himself be seen. In fact, Rainn’s struggle really is less with his sexual identity and more with accepting his heartbreak over the loss of his hockey dreams. Acknowledging the paralysis it’s imposed on him and trying to move past it. Rainn can’t plan for a future, even one he desperately wants, because he knows how perfect plans can end. He refuses to put himself in a position to be hurt again when everything he wants inevitably goes away. He also doesn’t feel good enough to deserve it. Not with Whit.
This book is entitled Headstrong for good reason. The romance is lovely and sexy and sweet and ultimately heartwarming. But the core of this story is the character development and journeys of two extremely stubborn, headstrong men. But notably, Whit and Rainn are headstrong in opposite ways.
Whit knows exactly what he wants from his future and he never wavers. He wants to be a farmer, living and working on his family farm. While he loves hockey and is great at it, it’s not the future he wants. He’s rock solid secure in that resolution. He doesn’t waver even under the lure of a professional hockey career. Whit recognizes that someone else’s dream doesn’t have to be his dream just because he can have it.
Rainn, in contrast, is stubborn and headstrong in his refusal to face his fears. In his refusal to acknowledge that he is heartbroken by the loss of the hockey career he was on the cusp of achieving. He steadfastly refuses to throw off the mantle of hurt. As a result, he remains mired in the pain of the loss he suffered 4 years ago. He stubbornly refuses to let himself be happy because he knows it can disappear and he knows what that feels like. He’s petrified to go there again.
Eden Finley immerses us in the complex, rewarding romance between these two opposites as they clash, compromise and ultimately come together. Whit and Rainn are two of the most interesting and, particularly in the case of Whit, loveable, characters I’ve encountered. It’s a treat to see Whit’s golden, bright-eyed, infectious spirit slowly but surely break through the clouds obscuring Rainn’s vision of what lies ahead. Of what he can have if he stops being so headstrong about all the wrong things. Of letting himself love and be loved by Whit for as far in the future as they can see and go together. The whole V&V series so far is terrific but even if you don’t read the others, read this one. I promise, you’ll love it.
RATING: 
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