Speedbump, Charli Coty

Life has a way of leading us right where we're meant to be, even if it's the last place you wanted to end up.  Red is running from his past but ends up in his home town and can't wait to get back out.  Ezra's running from their own too but they'd be happy if their past could leave them alone to settle happily in Drop.  Neither of them were looking for more but what they found could mean their ultimate happiness.  But only if they can find courage, happiness, and acceptance within themselves first.

The romance and sexual situations were really slow-burn in terms of actually coming together.  The events of their lives and coming to terms with their sexuality came before the actual romance of the story.  And while I usually think a romance should focus on the romance, I didn't mind the slowness of this one because there were many more things at stake than the possibility of falling in love.

That being said, the steamy scenes were quite tame and I was a bit annoyed by the emphasis on sex and genitalia before the sexy times even happened.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with acknowledging your own sensuality, desires, and taking things into your own hands, both figuratively and literally.  The off-putting part was how nearly every interaction became sexualized and dominated the getting-to-know-you parts.  It made the story seem like it was trying to be two things at once.  An erotic romance or a story of acceptance and love.  It was both and neither at the same time.  It gave the story a disjointed feeling at times.

Who and what they all were was both confusing and enlightening.  I've read a couple other stories with non-binary characters and the pronouns, the use of 'x' after words that typically only have a masculine or feminine ending, and other things like that is unfamiliar to me but this story put them in context with explanation that fit with the dialogue.  Speaking of pronouns, Red was incredibly dense throughout the story with how he referred to Ezra, even after cues from other people he interacted with.

There was a lot of personal angst going on with Ezra's feelings about their identity that felt unfinished, unresolved, and skipped over.  Their relationships with their exes, though, was tender and healing.  They allowed themselves to look at what Brett and Tink needed and finally looked beyond their own needs to give closure in a way that left their friendship open.

Watching Red come to terms with his sexuality and what his means to him was really good.  Not that I liked the bathroom scene or the way he was so quick to be open to something more with people other than Ezra before he figured himself out, but since he found a way to define who and what he wanted in a way that was realistic, I didn't mind for too long.

Overall the story was pretty good.  I enjoyed reading Ezra and Red's journey.  I do wish that there was more communication and romance in the story instead of just at the end because it packed all the resolution into a short amount of time.  It left the rest of the story up to that point feeling like it dragged and we were going to end up with a happy-not happy ending before you get hit with a really tender, sweet, honest conclusion.

*$5.99 on Amazon!