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A review by booksafety
The Jock by Tal Bauer
5.0
Book safety, content warnings, and tropes & tags down below.
He was risking everything. His past, his future, and even his now, reaching for a kiss based on one week of stolen glances and sideways looks and a frisson underneath his skin he couldn’t scratch away.
I had some of this book spoiled before reading (on purpose), so from the first page I was anticipating heartbreak. That, coupled with the beautiful, somehow wistful writing, had me on the verge of tears right from the start. Tal Bauer’s writing is just on a different level altogether. I’ve read so many good books, had the pleasure of reading the work of brilliant authors, but coming back to Tal anything just makes me go ‘Ah okay, that’s what great writing looks like.’
Maybe, once all his friends were set in their star-studded futures, when they were living in the worlds they drew on their bedroom ceilings every night, he could raise his eyes and take a look at the things he’d stiff-armed away.
The way you end up connecting with his characters is unreal. My heart broke for the MC who messed up, just as it broke for the ‘wronged’ MC. There were no winners, just heartbroken boys, and I cried buckets pretty much up until 50%, and then again later on. It’s a really beautiful story, and one of very few books I would actually want to see made into a movie, if done right (very big ‘if’).
Glory had never been what he wanted. He wanted a future. He wanted to see his dad smile as Wes walked across that stage and accepted his college diploma. He wanted to love a man and be loved in return.
The book is very well balanced between sports and romance, and I felt like each part enhanced the other. It deals massively with the bond between teammates and how important trust is, which I loved, and at the same time is the source of the only criticism I have. I felt like the ‘big blow up’ was a bit out of proportion from what I expected, and especially Colton’s reaction. I am very glad they figured out they were being idiots and that they apologized. I’m just sad about what had to happen for them to realize.
I actually read The Quarterback months ago, and didn’t really get a good feel for/first impression of Justin in that. Thankfully he was nothing like I sort of expected or feared. He’s just a tiny bit of a drama queen, lol. Interestingly, when a friend was reading this book this summer and told me about Colton’s behavior, I was like ‘Huh? not my Colton. He is a sweetheart who can do no wrong.’ Turns out, if I had read The Jock first, I would have disliked Colton quite a lot, most likely. I guess it goes to show Tal can write multifaceted characters with actual growth.
It also turns out that my ‘I don’t like sports romance’ comments don’t really count when Tal Bauer is the one writing them. I would read them all. I also want everyone to know that I made myself cry all over again when reading and picking out highlights for this review, lol.
“Is there any epic love story that isn’t tragic?” “Ours.” Wes smiled. “It’s not gonna be tragic. It’s gonna be epic.”
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
College romance
Closeted MC
College football
Cowboy
Dancer
Virgin MC
First times
Sports romance
Size difference
Second chance
⚠️⚠️ Content warning ⚠️⚠️
Brief mentions of religious bigotry
Outed without consent
Violent attack/hate crime
Hospitalization
Homophobia
Vomiting
Explicit sexual content
⚠️⚠️⚠️ Book safety ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Cheating: No
OM/OW drama: One MC goes on a date with someone else while they’re broken up. Only cheek kisses.
Breakup: Yes
POV: 3rd person, dual POV
Genre: Contemporary romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
I could fall in love with you, if I let myself. It was Paris, and it was summertime, and it was the wrong place and the wrong time. He wasn’t ready for this yet, wasn’t ready for his heart to catapult out of his chest and chase this man, crave him. He wasn’t ready to fall in love. But there was this guy named Justin, and it seemed Wes didn’t have a choice in the matter, because he was already on the way.
[…] I don’t know how to live with loving you like this. It will fade eventually, right? Because right now it feels like I’ll love you for the rest of my life, and I’ll just have to learn to live with this hole in my chest forever.”
He was risking everything. His past, his future, and even his now, reaching for a kiss based on one week of stolen glances and sideways looks and a frisson underneath his skin he couldn’t scratch away.
I had some of this book spoiled before reading (on purpose), so from the first page I was anticipating heartbreak. That, coupled with the beautiful, somehow wistful writing, had me on the verge of tears right from the start. Tal Bauer’s writing is just on a different level altogether. I’ve read so many good books, had the pleasure of reading the work of brilliant authors, but coming back to Tal anything just makes me go ‘Ah okay, that’s what great writing looks like.’
Maybe, once all his friends were set in their star-studded futures, when they were living in the worlds they drew on their bedroom ceilings every night, he could raise his eyes and take a look at the things he’d stiff-armed away.
The way you end up connecting with his characters is unreal. My heart broke for the MC who messed up, just as it broke for the ‘wronged’ MC. There were no winners, just heartbroken boys, and I cried buckets pretty much up until 50%, and then again later on. It’s a really beautiful story, and one of very few books I would actually want to see made into a movie, if done right (very big ‘if’).
Glory had never been what he wanted. He wanted a future. He wanted to see his dad smile as Wes walked across that stage and accepted his college diploma. He wanted to love a man and be loved in return.
The book is very well balanced between sports and romance, and I felt like each part enhanced the other. It deals massively with the bond between teammates and how important trust is, which I loved, and at the same time is the source of the only criticism I have. I felt like the ‘big blow up’ was a bit out of proportion from what I expected, and especially Colton’s reaction. I am very glad they figured out they were being idiots and that they apologized. I’m just sad about what had to happen for them to realize.
I actually read The Quarterback months ago, and didn’t really get a good feel for/first impression of Justin in that. Thankfully he was nothing like I sort of expected or feared. He’s just a tiny bit of a drama queen, lol. Interestingly, when a friend was reading this book this summer and told me about Colton’s behavior, I was like ‘Huh? not my Colton. He is a sweetheart who can do no wrong.’ Turns out, if I had read The Jock first, I would have disliked Colton quite a lot, most likely. I guess it goes to show Tal can write multifaceted characters with actual growth.
It also turns out that my ‘I don’t like sports romance’ comments don’t really count when Tal Bauer is the one writing them. I would read them all. I also want everyone to know that I made myself cry all over again when reading and picking out highlights for this review, lol.
“Is there any epic love story that isn’t tragic?” “Ours.” Wes smiled. “It’s not gonna be tragic. It’s gonna be epic.”
⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️
⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
College romance
Closeted MC
College football
Cowboy
Dancer
Virgin MC
First times
Sports romance
Size difference
Second chance
⚠️⚠️ Content warning ⚠️⚠️
Brief mentions of religious bigotry
Outed without consent
Violent attack/hate crime
Hospitalization
Homophobia
Vomiting
Explicit sexual content
⚠️⚠️⚠️ Book safety ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Cheating: No
OM/OW drama: One MC goes on a date with someone else while they’re broken up. Only cheek kisses.
Breakup: Yes
POV: 3rd person, dual POV
Genre: Contemporary romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles
I could fall in love with you, if I let myself. It was Paris, and it was summertime, and it was the wrong place and the wrong time. He wasn’t ready for this yet, wasn’t ready for his heart to catapult out of his chest and chase this man, crave him. He wasn’t ready to fall in love. But there was this guy named Justin, and it seemed Wes didn’t have a choice in the matter, because he was already on the way.
[…] I don’t know how to live with loving you like this. It will fade eventually, right? Because right now it feels like I’ll love you for the rest of my life, and I’ll just have to learn to live with this hole in my chest forever.”