Slow Bloom

Slow Bloom by Anah Crow & Dianne Fox

Torquere Press

Novel

5 Pants Off

Blurb:
Ricky Talbot, fresh from his first year at university, is looking to have a perfect summer. He gets to work for the man he's had a crush on for years and spend the rest of his days in the pool, training for the swim team. Jack Corson, on the other hand, is a suburban hermit with a tangled past. Jack's a lot more experienced than Ricky, cantankerous and more than a little anti-social.

When an unexpected one-time encounter between the two of them turns into more, Ricky and Jack must see if they have what it takes for love to bloom despite all of their differences, the distance between them while Ricky's away school, Jack's past and Ricky's parents. Can their slow-blooming love come to fruition?

Review:
Slow Bloom was a real treat; it blew away all my expectations and more. I was expecting summer fling between younger man and older man. Lots of sex and a quick HEA, I got so much more than that. I was surprised, and moved all in one. So I think Slow Bloom is an…

Expression of Sexuality! What I mean, is that the characters and the story offer up so many ways to look at love, sex, and relationships. Also the discovery of a young boy finding out what his sexuality is, and not just leaving it at ‘I am gay’. Personally, I have never read an M/M erotica like this and I hope to read much more like this book in the future.

Ricky is a young boy of eighteen who has had a crush on his next-door neighbour since he was fifteen. The problem is Jack is thirty years older than he is, and secondly he has no idea Ricky even exists. Everyone in the neighbourhood knows that Jack Corson is gay, but he is famous and talented so he is pretty much accepted. He doesn’t flaunt his lifestyle so no one really cares. Well Ricky cares, and after landing a job working as Jack’s gardener, he decides to make a move. A little interlude in the kitchen was supposed to be a one-time thing, a little seduction on Ricky’s part to experience what it’s like just once to be with Jack. Then Ricky is assaulted, and he calls the one person he knows he can trust and that is Jack, and it leads to one *hawt* summer.
This summer is about not only sex, but also a discovery of a young boy coming into his manhood. All the things he thought he knew about sex, about gay sex is broadened with Jack. They go on a journey, a man of forty eight who has seen it all and done about everything, is made to see things in a whole new light because of his young lover. Ricky learns about himself, and finds a confidence in Jack’s arms, that it was in every sense ok for him to just be Ricky.

The book is not without a few obstacles, Jack is afraid that he might inadvertently changing Ricky to please him, its never his intention to corrupt him but to make him reach decisions on his own. This plays out sexually, and it becomes clear that this relationship is a lot more than sex. Jack makes Ricky happy; he is one hundred percent himself with the older man. Moreover, Ricky is teaching Jack to just love.

The sex is freaking awesome in my opinion, it happens quite often but each time I am a little more shocked. It pushes boundaries, and it was boundaries I appreciated, and a little self-discovery. I like men who sometimes wear women clothing *gasp*. I thought it was the freaking greatest part of the book, and I thought ‘WHY NOT’! I like to wear boxers, baggy sweatpants, and baseball caps, and put a little swagger in my walk. So why can’t a man enjoy wearing a dress now and again and feeling sexy. It’s not a huge part of the book, but I thought it wonderful.

I really loved the book, and some readers might have a problem with the age gap. So let me say, its not about an old man taking advantage of a young boy, it might have been about a young boy wanting to land his crush, but it evolves to something greater. It is a love story, and it’s beautiful and I freaking loved it. The characters were awesome, I loved Jack, he is just this grumpy old man, but a compassionate and caring one. This book is no boy searching for a daddy cus Ricky already has one. I liked Ricky, I loved how he was unsure but he became confident and someone to respect.

This book is what I have always thought of sex and sexuality, “to each is own”. I do not think any thing about any form of sex is wrong as long as there is consent, and the person is happy. Lets be real, what might float your boat might sink my ship, it’s not wrong; just not for me.

This one is a winner people!!!