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    Knight of Ocean Avenue
    Unavailable
    Knight of Ocean Avenue
    Unavailable
    Knight of Ocean Avenue
    Ebook363 pages4 hours

    Knight of Ocean Avenue

    By Tara Lain

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A Love in Laguna Novel

    How can you be twenty-five and not know you’re gay? Billy Ballew runs from that question. A high school dropout, barely able to read until he taught himself, Billy’s life is driven by his need to help support his parents as a construction worker, put his sisters through college, coach his Little League team, and not think about being a three-time loser in the engagement department. Being terrified of taking tests keeps Billy from getting the contractor's license he so desires, and fear of his mother's judgment blinds Billy to what could make him truly happy.

    Then, in preparation for his sister’s big wedding, Billy meets Shaz—Chase Phillips—a rising-star celebrity stylist who defines the word gay. To Shaz, Billy embodies everything he’s ever wanted—stalwart, honest, brave—but even if Billy turns out to be gay, he could never endure the censure he’d get for being with a queen like Shaz. How can two men with so little in common find a way to be together? Can the Stylist of the Year end up with the Knight of Ocean Avenue?


    Winner: GLBT - Contemporary Romance


    2015 Rainbow Awards
    Best LGBT Cover Runner-Up
    The William Neale Award for Best Gay Contemporary Romance Runner-Up
    Best Gay Book Runner-Up

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDreamspinner Press
    Release dateMay 1, 2015
    ISBN9781632165763
    Unavailable
    Knight of Ocean Avenue

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    Reviews for Knight of Ocean Avenue

    4/5

    38 ratings3 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Billy Ballew doesn't have the best of luck with relationships. He has no problem attracting women, but things always seem to end before they get too serious. Which is where he finds himself once again: dumped. And he's not excited to tell his mother who thinks he should be married and settled down at twenty-five. Preparations for Billy's sister's wedding provide the perfect opportunity for his family to try to "help" him. They set him up with stylist whose job is to improve his image. That should help him land and keep a lady, right? Except when Billy meets Shaz, he's thrown for a loop. There's something about this guy that Billy just can't shake. Billy likes him. And not just as a fascinating person who is good at what he does. Billy realizes he might like Shaz for something more. And he needs to figure out if that's what he really wants before his chance is lost forever.

      Too often I find that "gay for you" or first gay relationship stories take a very simplistic view. The guy goes from 100% straight to totally okay with being gay in the snap of his fingers. And that always strikes me as a bit unrealistic. Coming out to yourself is a major component of the coming out process. And coming to a realization that you may not be who you thought you were your whole life is a big deal. And I appreciate that this story treats it that way. It doesn't dwell on it as the focal point of the story for pages and pages, but it provides a more realistic portrayal than I'm used to seeing.

      It's not difficult to like this characters, either. They're all pretty great. And the subplots and scheming going on in the background with the side characters just makes it even more fun to read.
    • 4/5
      Oh my god, I loved this book!I loved Billy and Shaz. I loved the story and how it was written. This is my first by Tara Lain and I definitely want more!
    • 3/5
      The equivalent of a Hallmark movie as far as cheese and cringe levels go, with some (equally cheesy and cringey) sex scenes. Not the worst I’ve read by far and I did actually finish it, so full credit on that front. I will not, however, be reading more of this series or even this author.