The Eskimo Slugger by Brad Boney {Review & Giveaway}

Eskimo Slugger

The Nothingness of Ben, book #3

Brad Boney

Dreamspinner Press (September 29^th 2014)

***** 5 Star Review *****

It’s the summer of 1983, and Trent Days is Major League Baseball’s rookie sensation. Born in Alaska to an Inupiat mother, the press have dubbed him the Eskimo Slugger, but a midseason collision at home plate temporarily halts his meteoric rise to the top.

Sent back to Austin to recuperate, Trent visits his favorite record store, Inner Sanctum, where he meets amiable law student Brendan Baxter. A skip in the vinyl of New Order’s “Blue Monday” drives Trent back to Brendan, and their romance takes them into uncharted territory.

As Trent’s feelings move from casual to serious, he’s faced with an impossible dilemma. Does he abandon any hope of a future with Brendan and return to the shadows and secrets of professional sports? Or does he embrace the possibility of real love and leave baseball behind him forever? As he struggles with his decision, Trent embarks on a journey of self-discovery—to figure out who he really is and what matters most.

Grab your copy of The Eskimo Slugger now from Dreamspinner Press! 

Trent Days is living his dream playing for the Houston Astros, poised to be the Rookie of The Year. That is until an accident at home plate sends him home to Austin with a concussion and injured shoulder mid season. While he’s nursing his wounds, he decides to visit his favourite music store The Inner Sanctum and add to his vinyl collection. When the record he buys has a scratch in it, Trent winds up adding more to his life than just some new music.

Brendan Baxter is a fulltime law student, part time music aficionado and definite lasagne lover. When the Trent Days comes into the music store where he works, he is star struck. Brendan has followed Trent’s career from afar since he first started playing. When Trent winds up back at the store a few hours later, the two wind up having dinner together and make plans for the next day when Trent gives Brendan a ride home. Over the next week Trent and Brendan become fast friends and then unsure lovers. While Brendan has known for a while that his attraction lies with the same sex, Trent has never admitted the same fact to himself, much less out loud.

There are so many reasons they shouldn’t get involved. For starters they both deserve to be proud of who they are and who they are with, and Brendan knows that Trent can’t possibly do that. If the MLB learned Trent was gay, his career would be over. And Trent himself is uncertain if he wants to tell the world he’s fallen in love with a man. With the support of their friends and Brendan’s land lords, the Walsh’s (pause for reaction, if you’ve read the other two books that lead up to this one) Trent will discover what lengths a man will go to when your heart is on the line.

This is a story that is rich with dialogue, Boney’s books always are. He’s quite good at going into great detail with his characters, what they are feeling, why they are making the decisions they make and so on. I was invested in the love story of Brendan and Trent from that first smile in the record store, and I loved how they really got to know each other before their relationship became a sexual one. There was doubt and questioning, reasoning why they shouldn’t pursue a relationship, but realizing the way they felt about each other made it worth all the risks. Sure, there was those awkward moments early on while they got to know each other, fumbled their way through a few times. But their passion and chemistry jumped off the pages and added a depth and reality to their story that was very endearing.

All I can say is that this book was fanfuckingtastic! I absolutely loved how Boney tied in the characters from the other two books (1. The Nothingness of Ben 2. The Return) flawlessly within this story. It’s not a book series per say, but a beginning and an end of the other stories. While I’m certain you could read this book without having read the other two, I personally think you will be lost if you don’t. I’m not kidding when I say that all three stories are tied together, and while the events don’t happen in a sequential order, you have to read the books in order to fully understand and appreciate all the events as they take place.

Do you believe in Soul Mates? That love can literally transcend time and that certain souls are just meant to be? Then read this book! Take my word for it and read the other two first, if you haven’t yet. The Nothingness of Ben is probably the best book in the genre, for me at least. ‘The Earth is Flat’ was pure genius!!

Brad Boney lives in Austin, Texas, the 7th gayest city in America. He grew up in the Midwest and went to school at NYU. He lived in Washington, DC and Houston before settling in Austin. He blames his background in the theater for his writing style, which he calls “dialogue and stage directions.” His first book was named a Lambda Literary Award finalist. He believes the greatest romantic comedy of all time is 50 First Dates. His favorite gay film of the last ten years is Strapped. And he has never met a boy band he didn’t like. 

Author links:  Facebook | Website | Twitter 

Be sure to check out the first two books in this series, Please, Please, Please read them in order! 

The Nothingness of Ben                            The Return

Buylink/Dreamspinner                              Buylink/Dreamspinner

Tams Review                                           Tams Review

Buylink/Audible                                        Buylink/Audible

A huge thankyou to Brad Boney for offering up an E-book copy of The Eskimo Slugger!

You will need to have or create a Dreamspinner account if you win, the E-book will be awarded by be being added to your 'bookshelf' through DSP by the author.

** 18 + only entries, this is a M/M book and series **

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