Reviewed by Stephen K.
TITLE: Rocking the Boat
SERIES: (CalPac Crew #1)
AUTHOR: C. Koehler
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 230 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 28th 2020
BLURB:
Nick Bedford coaches the men’s rowing team at California Pacific College, a small liberal arts school in Sacramento. He’s quiet, dedicated—and closeted. He struggles with professional ethics and NCAA rules as he denies his attraction for Morgan Estrada, one of his rowers. While they may not be far apart in age, the difference between coach and athlete leads Nick to worry about exploitation.
But Morgan has desires and a mind of his own, and what he wants is his coach. As the spring racing season advances, Morgan feels his coach’s eyes on him. Morgan may be gay, and while he’s not out to team, he hasn’t hidden it, either. It may be a coach’s job to check out an athlete’s form, but Morgan hopes Nick’s interested in more than his technique.
Morgan corners Nick in the boathouse, and Nick admits that while he wants Morgan he can’t have him. Morgan laughingly points out that he’s not bound by any of those rules and he wants Nick. Nick and Morgan start a relationship, but Nick worries whenever they’re in public: what if someone sees? An anonymous complaint from a rower to the athletics director sends Nick’s worries into overdrive just as the crew prepares for the make-or-break race of the year.
REVIEW:
The book description above pretty much covers the waterfront of the salient plot points. Expanding on what comes after would be spoilerish but this is an M/M romance so one is pretty much guaranteed an ending with clear sailing.
Though we pretty much know the plot, this is a pleasant enough voyage, and both main characters are likable and worth spending some reading time with. Morgan, the younger man in this tale seems mature, and is clearly able to handle himself. And Nick is very mindful of the abuses that can occur when coaches date athletes and is ethical enough to pretty much avoid most of those issues.
Several of the supporting characters are pretty interesting in their own regard. I’m fairly certain we’ll be seeing them get their romances in future volumes. The writer clearly knows his craft and though the shell of the plot is pretty well charted in the book blurb, it’s the details that make this one enjoyable. It’s not entirely smooth sailing for these boys. But it is pretty low angst as things go, even when a troublemaker sticks his oar in and tries to stir up a bit of trouble. The sex scenes are fun though this never devolves into full-on stroke fiction.
By now I’ve probably driven a few out of their sculls with the nautical references but the author tells a charming story centered on two fit men who just seem to belong together. I’d advise that you check it out for yourselves.
RATING: 
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