Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Indigo Road
AUTHOR: RJ Jones
PUBLISHER: Vivid Blue Press
LENGTH: 160 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 4, 2015
BLURB:
Two best friends take a year off to find themselves… and end up finding each other.
Joshua Simpson has just finished four years at Purdue University, but that’s not why he’s buzzing with excitement. Once they’ve said goodbye to their families, Josh and his best friend Alex are taking off to discover America in an old but reliable VW van, planning on not seeing snow for an entire year.
Josh has always considered himself straight—except for that one time in college—so when he and Alex are living in such close proximity on the road, he’s unsure what these new feelings mean. Is it because they’re spending 24/7 together, or is it something deeper? And does it really matter since Josh has only ever seen Alex with women?
While in Oregon, Josh meets Johnno, a sexy but confusing Aussie surfer. While having an impromptu surfing lesson, Johnno helps Josh realize who he is and what he wants—but Alex’s reaction leaves Josh confused.
From a Montana ranch to the bright lights and dangerous streets of Los Angeles to a dark and lonely deserted highway in Alabama, join Josh and Alex as they drive around the US, discovering not only who they are, but who they can be together.
REVIEW:
Indigo Road is a sweet, best friends-to-lovers, road trip novel with a cross-country trek that spans the entirety of the story and recollects the shared adventures and joint bisexual awakenings of two recent college graduates.
Josh and Alex are taking time off before real adulthood for an epic year-long trip to see America via wheels. Friends since middle school, they have been planning and saving for this trip for years. Still, a week before their planned departure they don’t yet have a vehicle. But surprise! Their parents have gotten them a thirty-two-year-old VW Vanagon kitted out with a mattress in back, a mini fridge, hidden storage under the bed, and a fold out table and chairs.
They head west from their Indiana hometown on a journey detailed from Josh’s point of view. Some of the highlights are the week spent working on a dude ranch in Montana, Christmas in San Diego, and the week they have to spend apart when “Maude” the van has to be repaired.
Josh identifies as straight (as does Alex) so when he starts feeling unfamiliar fluttering in his tummy and the occasional awkwardness around his best friend, he’s confused. “My chest felt light with the touch, and I wanted more. I wanted to hold his hand but didn’t know why.” It starts with their fingers brushing together and then entwining their pinkies together, which becomes their thing. Pinkie porn, who knew? With the advice of an Aussie surfer dude Josh meets on a beach in Oregon, he realizes it’s time to act on his feelings.
Shortly thereafter, they’re awash with new experiences as a gay couple in San Francisco. Publicly holding hands in the gay mecca of the Castro, and dancing pressed together in a gay club is eye opening and freeing. As Josh and Alex are both gay sex virgins, there’s lots of experimentation and first-time experiences. But they’re both naturally afraid of taking this changing dynamic further for fear of losing a decade long friendship.
Time on the road is not all easy going and there are a few harrowing scenes that ramp up the tension and inject a bit of angst into the story. The overall tone is more somber than I would like with the focus more on arguments and hardships than potentially exciting or joyous ventures of this long dreamed of trip. Otherwise, this is a simple and enjoyable, but not groundbreaking, story.
RATING: 
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