Don’t Trust The Cut
Title : Don’t Trust The Cut
Author : Kade Boehme
Publisher : Loose Id (BUY HERE)
Genre : M/M, Contemporary
Length : 208 pages (e-book)
Published : July 2, 2013
Blurb:
Tucker Gray is a Baltimore, MD waiter, hailing from the deep south, whose mental health issues and past relationships have made it hard to trust more than the cut. After he hits what he thought was rock bottom Tucker decides to keep close to the ones who stood by him and keep his head down, until he finds something to prove it can get better.
Jesse Bauer is unsure what his future holds after an injury forces him to retire from the marines. With all of the decisions he has to make in his civilian life with all of its freedoms and possibilities, he feels staying closeted and keeping the people in his life happy will keep down the chaos.
Until the night he met Tucker Gray at a party he thought that’d be possible, but both of them are instantly and strongly in lust. As their relationship grows Jesse has to prove himself and Tucker has to learn to trust more than the cut.
Review:
The first few pages of this book throw you right into the story. At first I felt like it was all too much to fast and wondered if it was going to be one of those stories. A few chapters in I realized it was far more than your instant attraction closet story.
Tucker is trying to put his life back together. Putting his past behind him proves to be more difficult than the people around him think it should be. It’s best for him to keep it simple and take things day by day. He has his best friend Alison, who would do anything for him, except BS him about what she thinks. Tucker is also haunted by the memory of a kiss at a party a year before. He’s never felt anything that amazing. Too bad it was with a hot closet case with Barbie as a girlfriend.
Jesse knows he hasn’t seemed like himself since he got out of the military. The repeal of DADT basically squashed the reason for him running away and joining in the first place. Jesse has known since he was a teenager he was attracted to men. His relationship his girlfriend, Miranda, was initially an understanding she was his beard. Over the years the lines got blurred as Miranda and his family pushed for more. Jesse knows he allowed it to happen but his need to keep those around him happy costs him his. When he sees the gorgeous dark and curly haired Tucker at a party one night the sparks are just too much to ignore. A heated kiss in the bathroom awakens the part of him he’s kept hidden for years. But the guy runs out on him and nobody will tell Jesse how to get ahold of him. Seems they’re pretty protective of the guy for some reason which they also won’t tell him.
A year later they run into each other and all those old feelings come back for both of them. Both try to fight it because Tucker isn’t exactly stable on his own and Jesse is still with Miranda. They realize quickly that’s not going to happen but with their secrets and things stacked against them,they both think it’s doomed from the start.
So I really liked this book. Like I said, I wasn’t loving it the first couple of chapters because it seemed pretty high on drama, but as the book progressed the reasons for it became apparent. There is a good amount of angst but just the right amount for me. It includes serious subject matter in physical abuse, not on page, and suicide attempts and cutting but it’s well balanced and not too heavy considering. Tucker’s character was very likable and a fun mess of a man. I highly enjoyed the banter in this story. Particularly between Tucker and his best friend Alison, whom I LOVED! She cracked me up over and over.
Tucker and Jesse had good chemistry. Jesse had a lot of stuff to deal with in this book but the one constant was that he finally found someone to accept him for himself. Hell,he liked the real Jesse. Jesse had spent so much time in hiding and faking who he thought he should be he lost himself. You could feel the connection between the MCs. You could practically feel their impulse to smile and touch each other. It was all very sweet without being too much. The sex was meaningful and hot. I thought the way Jesse slowly dealt with his coming out was pretty realistic. He didn’t want to hurt Tucker, but he was scared of the fall out.
Something I didn’t like about this book was Miranda. Yes she played her bitch role well but the back and forth about her being a nice person and a nasty one just didn’t work for me. I’d wonder why the hell she would want to be friends with guy who attracted her ex’s attention enough to make hm break it off. I’d be suspicious of that but they all just thought she’s nice and just wants to be friends. Maybe I’m just too cynical but I just didn’t see that happening. It worked enough but it did bother me. I guess in the end they had to remain friends somehow so we didn’t think Jesse was a total jerk. She was to blame for most of her heartache but you can’t help but feel sorry for the dumped. Well, I felt a tiny bit bad for her. Just a tad. 😉
I’d recommend this book. Don’t give up on it based on the first few chapters. It all makes sense the more you read. It’s not the writing, it’s the content, that some people might not like. Despite some heavy subject matter this book was very funny. I highlighted lots of lines that made me smile or laugh. It was sexy, sweet and made the think. Good book!
Rated 4 stars by Whit
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