Reviewed by Larissa

 

TITLE: The Quarterback

SERIES:  The Team Book 2

AUTHOR: Tal Bauer

PUBLISHER: Self-published

LENGTH: 314 pages

RELEASE DATE: August 7, 2021

BLURB: 

A slow burn, friends to lovers, bi awakening, age gap MM romance.

Falling for his friend’s straight dad might be the worst mistake Colton Hall has ever made.

Colton’s best friend is gay. He’s not: he’s never been attracted to men. So why the hell is he fantasizing about his friend’s dad? Besides, Nick Swanscott is straight. A devoted father and the best man Colton’s ever known. He deserves more than to be the object of Colton’s crush.

The NFL is waiting for Colton, but he decides to stick it out for his senior year in college before joining the league, a decision that proves disastrous when an injury tears him from the game. In the blink of an eye, Colton goes from being a top draft pick to potentially never playing football again.

But Nick is there through his recovery. He takes care of Colton every day and shows him a future that might hold something more than being a superstar quarterback. Maybe Colton’s life isn’t over.

And Colton’s crush explodes: full-on, head over heels, hopelessly falling in love.

He’s so screwed. He’s got to get these feelings under control. All those dreams of kissing Nick can never become reality. And there’s no way Nick could ever love him back.

Right?

REVIEW: 

In The Quarterback, Tal Bauer delivers an astonishing writing tour de force that not only rivals its predecessor, The Jock.  It surpasses it.

Throughout this stunningly poignant and redemptive story, Mr. Bauer immerses the reader in a complex, impactful, enthralling sports romance featuring the pairing of Wes’ best friend and team quarterback, Colton Hall, and Justin’s amazing, self-sacrificing father, Nick Wainscott.  He expertly delivers it through carefully crafted prose in a story arc that is altogether different from Wes and Justin’s love story in The Jock.  And to that last point, Mr. Bauer accomplishes this in the very shadow of The Jock’s Wes/Justin romantic juggernaut, even with Wes and Justin playing pivotal roles in The Quarterback.  

Mr. Bauer has commented that for as many people who wanted “ColNick”, there were as many who didn’t.  I assure you that whichever side of the debate you’re on, you will fall into the thrall of The Quarterback.  In fact, I’m pretty confident that even if you’re staunch #NoColNick, reading The Quarterback will change your mind and you’ll become #TeamColNick forever.

When The Quarterback opens, Wes and Justin have turned into that uber-in-love couple, totally wrapped up in themselves to the exclusion of almost everything outside of them.  They shut Colton and Nick out even though Colton and Nick have no one else, except each other.

“Maybe that had happened out of necessity, two third wheels who became a pair.”

Colton and Nick have two decades between them, but they are not your typical age-gap relationship.  They, perhaps improbably, fall within the best friends to lovers category.  Despite their age difference, Colton and Nick enjoy similar things and have common interests.  Their greatest similarity, though, is that they both lack, and therefore desperately crave, the exact same thing:  love and family.

Colton and Nick are both lonely men.  Nick gave up his marriage, his home, his friends, his whole life, all for Justin.  Justin is his whole world.  Colton’s never had a family.  He’s never had anyone love him.  Colton’s father left him when he was a child, and his mother’s total lack of interest in him equates to complete absence.  So Colton pours everything he has – all his love, hopes, and dreams – into football.

Yet Colton and Nick both want something more.  They want what Wes and Justin have.  And Colton, despite building his entire life around his goal of making it to the NFL, still harbors hope in the hidden corners of his mind and heart that his deepest desire might become a reality:

“The only thing I ever wanted more than football was for someone to love me.”

Colton falls hard and fast for Nick without even realizing it’s happening.  Suddenly football, his first love, is no longer his greatest love:

“He just loved being with Nick more than hurling footballs at the crossbar of the uprights.
Which, if he stopped to think about it, was a fucking monumental concept for him to even think.”

Mr. Bauer explores the beauty of opportunity and the rewards of adaptability.  Colton planned for one thing his whole life.  But when a debilitating injury rips that away leaving him with nothing except a long, hard road to recovery, he falls in love and realizes that his future may look very different than what he thought.  Colton embraces the opportunity for a different life than he expected, one full of love and laughter with Nick.  But he doesn’t know how to make that happen.  

“Nick, if you’d loved me, I wouldn’t need any of them.  Not the fans,  Not ESPN.  Not his name in neon.  He wouldn’t need six Super Bowl rings.

He’d only want one ring.”

Nick never dares to dream that Colton would ever choose him as his forever.   He assumes it’s all going to end.  Neither man communicates with the other about their feelings because of their fears.  The way Mr. Bauer sets Colton and Nick’s dynamic up and then lays it out is pure magic.

The Quarterback is both devastating and euphoric, a delicate balance that few authors can pull off.  Mr. Bauer can and does.  He expertly weaves deep, hard-hitting emotion throughout a dynamic, gripping storyline.  It’s driven mainly by his digging deep into his characters and taking an unflinching look at their strengths and their flaws.

Mr. Bauer’s treatment of Wes and Justin is the most notable example of this.  He does not put this revered couple on a pedestal and treat them with kid gloves.  I applaud Mr. Bauer’s willingness to sully them up a bit.  He demonstrates absolute fearlessness in embracing Wes and Justin on a deeper level even if what’s found may not be pretty.  He also clearly communicates how important that exploration is to the story of Colton and Nick.

Wes and Justin’s acceptance of Colton and Nick as a couple is crucial.  It directly ties into Colton and Nick’s individual and joint journeys.  Obviously, it overwhelmingly impacts Colton and Nick’s relationship.  Wes and Justin’s handling of it, though, is messy at best.

Mr. Bauer’s portrayal of Colton desperately trying to find his place amidst the complex relationship between Nick and Justin, and by extension Wes, is nothing short of breathtaking.  My.heart.hurt.  A lot.  Many tears were shed and tissues used.  Mr. Bauer doesn’t employ any ploys or machinations to make us feel.  He doesn’t have to because his writing is that good.  And boy do we feel it all.

He portrays Colton’s devastating loneliness, hurt, and loss so authentically, the impact on the reader is immediate and unavoidable.  His establishment and development of Colton and Nick’s relationship, the exquisite slow burn, aching anticipation – it’s nuanced, subtle and so seamlessly done.  

Whether you’ve read The Jock or not.  Whether you are #TeamColNick or not.  Whether you like age-gap romance or not.  Read this book.  The Quarterback is very difficult to describe in a way that can do it justice.  I’ve given it a valiant attempt but there’s just no substitute for Mr. Bauer’s gorgeous words.  Read them and you will understand exactly how Colton and Nick’s beautiful love makes absolute sense and is a precious and beautiful thing to behold.

“I want to be your quarterback for the rest of my days.”

 

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon