The Quarterback

This book managed to actually grab my attention with the plot. Okay, a LOT of sexual expliciteness herein. A. LOT. Yet, the plot was the driving force that brought this to an emotional touchdown. The characters are believably presented and built. There is growth, challenge, overcoming prejudices and hate. There is the triumph of love over the southern impression of Judeo-Christian prejudice. That said, it's another M/M romance written by a woman ... one who obviously has never actually experienced anal sexual contact from a man. The scenes are at times over the top with descriptions of sexual penetration as a near-violent act, where a man is penetrated for the first time by another, with not care and loving, but instead with a pornographic movie's disregard for the pain and discomfort that is associated with that first time. Yes, the prostate is a magic button. No, you can't use the prostate to overcome pain and discomfort to make that first time a receiver's climax. Bringing the plot to a successful conclusion, where the two lovers have conquered their internal fears and the external influences that seek to rule their spirit, took the unrealistic sexual expression and put it in the past though, and the book rates a 5-Star for overall emotional impact and story line.

My Review:I had no idea what to expect from this new to me (and I think new overall) author, but I was completely blown away by this book. It was so, so good!!!This book features Matt. He's a senior in his last year at the very conservative college where he has a full football scholarship. He's spent the last three years not hooking up at all because he can't lose that scholarship. His dad is a class-A jerk and if he finds out Matt is gay, not only will he cut off all financial support, but Matt will also lose his small ability to protect his 17 yo twin sisters from his wrath. Matt is on the edge of making all his goals. He just has to survive one more celibate year.But Matt's best friends aren't stupid, so they set up a massage with a plan for him to let loose some of the tension he's been storing. The issue...they don't give Matt any warning and he's completely shocked when the gorgeous guy giving him a massage takes things past where it's comfortable...especially since said masseuse is gorgeous and turning Matt on.Trevor and Matt were in a freshman class together, and both of them were attracted way back then. Trevor has his own issues. His parents disowned him and he's doing everything he can to stay above water with three different jobs. Trevor has never paid any attention to the football program. He's just not that interested, until Matt and he start circling one another.This book was everything good and romantic. I loved these two guys. Matt is in a no-win situation. If anyone finds out about him, he's screwed, but everything is so good with Trevor. He just doesn't have the self-control to stay away. And Trevor gets that...he does, but Matt is a high profile athlete. It's hard to see him with women all the time when Trevor wants nothing more than to scream from the rooftops that Matt is his.I loved this book. It's easily one of the best books I've read this year. It was sweet and romantic and hot and funny. Everything about it was perfection and I HIGHLY recommend it! It was GREAT!I received a complimentary copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Sweet story of two unlikely guys who manage, despite MUCH BS, to connect and thrive. One an Asian young man, Trevor, who likes to dress punk and be the “bad boy”, the other, the golden boy quarterback of the college football team, Matt. Set in Alabama the prejudices and homophobia of some of the characters ring true as does the fear felt by the two guys, especially the Quarterback, of discovery and the fall-out if this happens (such as losing his scholarship). This book held my interest throughout though the insecurity of the two main characters over misunderstandings got a bit bothersome. Like Trevor seeing a girl sitting right up against Matt and assuming Matt and the girl are hooking up. Or Matt coming out to an important person in his life and forgetting to mention Trevor. I wanted to tell Trevor “Baby steps, dude! Matt just told the guy he’s gay. Let him get used to THAT before loading him up with more stuff to handle”.There are some very funny moments between Matt and his roommates that also rang true (for me at least) depicting them trying their best to put Matt at ease but finding their limits on Matt sharing info and running away before being (supposedly) scarred for life.Despite my aggravation at the insecurities of Matt and Trevor, I’d say this was a VERY enjoyable book. Smart dialogue, interesting characters, and some HOT sex scenes.

This was a great addictive read. I picked it up late at night and ended up staying up til 3am reading it cover to cover. While the overall subject matter isn't incredibly original (i've read multiple other M4M novels with the jock/fan dynamic) this book somehow still came off fresh. I really liked that Trevor was Asian. Asians are probably the least sexualized ethnicity within pop culture and I liked that Mackenzie Blair fit it in so naturally. The romance between Matt and Trevor wasn't your normal frat boy jock meets submissive twink dynamic. Matt was outwardly an alpha jock but he was also sweet and sensitive and while Trevor was outwardly sort of exotic, ethereal, and not overtly masculine, he was also extremely tough. I think Blair did a great job building Matt's character and showing the rift between his outward identity as a football star and his actual identity as a sweet gay guy who just wants go out and sip Mimosas with his boyfriend. I loved the ending and was left fully satisfied. I only wish there could be a sequel... Anyway, I greatly look forward to what Blair comes out with next!

Really amazing debut novel by Mackenzie Blair! I was really disappointed after reading it to see that she didn't have a whole catalogue of novels for me to binge-read. MC were well thought out, and well-structured. Really lovely love story.

I enjoyed reading this book. Easy read with solid characters.

"The Quarterback" reveals a series of realistic situations in life for young men. Reading it kept me wanting more of the story. Excellent writing and attention to detail made it an excellent choice. I think this book deals with situations many of us had at the ages of the young men surrounding "The Quarterback." I'm glad that I bought the book and recommend it to others interested in the lives of young men.

Ok so the front cover of this novel is clearly a factor of why you would want this book, but I really liked the way it was written. One section by Matt & the other by Trevour it was a really nice love story with some hot action splattered throughout, it is more of an easy read and I would definitely recommend this.

This is my first read of this author and I enjoyed it. It is well paced, entertaining and exceeded my expectations. I found the characters to be well rounded and appealing, including the peripheral characters. The story was both humorous and touching; overall, time well spent!