Review: Horizons by Mickie B. Ashling

Horizons (2nd Edition) by Mickie B. Ashling
Dreamspinner Press
Novel: 250pgs
2.75 Pants Off

Blurb:
College football player Clark Stevens, a popular wide receiver with a potential NFL contract, has a few problems. He's got a jealous girlfriend, a narrow-minded and controlling father, an attention problem, and an unexpected and powerful attraction to the trauma doctor—the male trauma doctor—who treats him for a broken bone.

Dr. Jody Williams is getting some really mixed signals. He can't ignore how much he wants Clark, because it's obvious Clark feels the same way. For the out and proud doctor, the solution seems very simple. For Clark, it's not! His world is not gay-friendly, and the obstacles he's faced have led him to deny his sexuality for years.

It's the Super Bowl of disasters, no matter how you look at it. In the end, Clark has to decide if he's going to stick with the only life he's ever known or take a chance on a new one with Jody.

Review:
I became a fan of Mickie B. Ashling after reading Loving Edits, which happens to be one of my fave ménages out there. Then the awesome continued with Tono, so of course I was totally down with reading Horizons the blurb sounded interesting enough but what sounded interesting soon started to fizzle and I was left all kinds of disappointed.

Clark Stevens is a star football player at his college; he's so fantastic that the NFL is most definitely in his future. Too bad he's miserable, with his grades at failing and constantly feeling miserable all the time and Clark is at his breaking point. What he does is lash out and his temper lands him a broken arm and a date in the E.R. What Clark doesn't expect is his instant attraction to doctor Jody Williams, he's kept that part of himself buried tight and wrapped up, but now he's flirting with the doctor but Clark knows that being gay and football just doesn't go hand in hand. Yet, he keeps seeking out the company of the sexy doctor and doing this sexual tension filled dance around each other. Things get more intense when Jody decides to tutor Clark in English and their attraction cannot he denied.

Clark comes with a series of problems, a girl he sleeps with occasionally to show his heterosexuality, a father that’s more of a bully than anything else, and the fact that he feels like an idiot pretty much all the time. Alas, he has Jody a man he's a falling in love with and finally realizing how much happier he is now that he's being honest with what his body wants. Too bad he's gotta stay in the closet until he figures out how to come out without losing everything, because though his new found honesty is exhilarating letting the world know could cost him everything.

First, these guys are like the Canadian weather; one minute they're hot and the next a cool front moves in out of nowhere. They're happy and in the next minute there is tears and them having all the feels. Realistically I can understand Clark's fear of being outed when he's not ready but dude was just setting the trap for a whole bunch of hurt. Obviously, he wanted to come out so his later "lets protect Jody from my crazy father" was just a little too late cus dude was asking for it. Jody...for a doctor he is a darn fool sometimes, I get that love makes you do crazy things but I was not impressed with most of his decisions. Like yeh, these guys fuck all amazing but otherwise I just couldn't get a handle on them (cloudy with a chance of mood swings).

Mostly everyone in this book is sort of annoying with the exception of Jody's best-friend who I really liked. Clark's parents especially his dad should have called it quits with being a parent, his adult status has surely gone up in flames. Clark likable, but his constant self pity was a bit annoying, Jody also likable but easily forgettable. I just couldn't read this one without eye-roll numerous and in the end I was disappointed. Not a good read for me, but I am usually impressed with this author work so overall "it just wasn't the right read" for me.

Should You Read It? *sound of crickets* to each his own I say, this one didn't work for me but I did get through it quickly. In all honesty the pacing is good; I just didn't enjoy the overall story. HEA was too neat, in a perfect world it’s awesome but I didn't find it believable.