Football has defined Brandon Chase's life for a long time. It was so important to him that he even left the love of his life, Alec Andrews, behind because there's no room for a gay football player in the college locker room or the professional leagues. And even though Alec loves Brandon, all he can do is let him go. But after a major injury puts Brandon on the sidelines, unsure if he's going to be able to get back on the field, the two reconnect. While Alec knows better than to hope they can find a way to be together, he can see that Brandon's love is still under the surface somewhere. As Alec helps Brandon train and get ready to return to his team for training camp, the two begin to wonder if a collective future might actually exist.

I don't recall many other books where I have just wanted to reach in and shake everyone of the characters. Repeatedly. More frustrating than entertaining. More anger-inducing than endearing. Just didn't work for me. ( )

3.5 stars.

Nyrae Dawn's Rush is a soul-searching New Adult romance that is overflowing with angst, longing, lust and love. Alec Andrews and Brandon Chase's teenage friendship turns to something much deeper but neither of them is ready to step out of the closet and Brandon breaks Alec's heart when he severs off all ties with him. Eighteen months later, the two are reunited following an accident but the reasons for keeping their feelings a secret haven't changed. They decide to give their relationship a chance, but is love enough to overcome their fear of coming out?

Alec and Brandon are characters from Ms. Dawn's Games Trilogy but Rush easily stands on its own. Enough of the characters' back story is provided so it is relatively easy to step into their story without having read the previous novels. If you haven't read the series, the different relationships are a little convoluted at first but they get easier to follow as the story progresses.

There is never any doubt that Alec and Brandon love each other but both are struggling with revealing their sexuality. While Alec is almost ready to come out, he is afraid of his homophobic father's reaction and unfortunately, these fears are justified. Brandon's entire identity is wrapped up in his successful football career and he knows announcing he is gay could end any future he has in the NFL.

The two agree it is worth it to give their relationship a go, but with Brandon's impending departure for training camp, their romance has a built-in expiration date-when Brandon leaves for training camp, their romance ends. They revel in the ordinariness of everyday togetherness and the freedom to explore their passion. Of course, all of this leads to them longing for a long term relationship, but they have to weigh their possible losses against what they stand to gain.

Rush is written in first person alternating between Alec and Brandon's points of view. While this perspective shift is useful, Alec and Brandon's voices are so similar it is easy to lose track of which character is narrating the current chapter. Their angst is realistic but it is rehashed so frequently throughout the story, it loses some of its significance. There is a lot of internal dialogue but it quickly becomes repetitive with the reader never learning anything new. While some of the plot is refreshingly unique, it is also somewhat predictable. The sex scenes are fairly tame but highly sensual.

Rush has all of the key ingredients for a spectacular novel: great characters, a relevant storyline and steamy sex scenes. Although it falls a bit flat in some of these areas, it is an engaging read with two protagonists that readers cannot help but root for. Nyrae Dawn does hit the mark with a pretty powerful message about the importance self-acceptance and that is something that can never be reiterated often enough for anyone, but especially for those struggling with their sexuality. ( )

Fair warning, the following wasn't intended as a review and contains spoilers. (That's why it's in spoiler tags.)

It felt like I was thrown in the middle of a story that had already started in another book. It wasn't even just that there was a past with all these characters, because there was one, but a previous story that had already been written and I hadn't read it. And it bothered me a lot, it didn't read like a standalone. The past was constantly referred to in a manner that I felt like I should put this book aside and read the one before.

I came very close to not reading the book at all in the beginning. It's the whole NA thing. I haven't really thought it earlier but it's so easy to tell when the author writes NA romance, and when they write other types of romance. Dawn has a very distinct NA voice, and like I said earlier, I found I prefer my M/M romance without it. But I kept going because the story intrigued me and the writing was solid. I just could have done without all the NA angst and drama.

The boys, ohmigawd, they were so. Freaking. Sweet. They had each other's backs all the time. No matter what. In love with each other since forever but scared of coming out. Brandon's using football as a crutch got really old really fast for me but I think I get it: if you think that's all you are and that's all people see when they look at you, would you risk losing it? No. So I get it but I don't have to like it. And when even he knew he was hurting Alec...

I loved Alec. I don't know if I've ever read of another so understanding character. He backed up Brandon every second of the way whether he liked his decisions or not. But I think maybe he was also hiding behind his strength. At one point he tells Brandon he's scared of coming out to his dad because he's afraid of losing him (which eventually did happen, so he knew what he was talking about), and in the end his dad was his biggest motivator to everything he did, before Alec and Brandon really got together and started building a future.

The whole thing with Nate and Charlie, and the fact that Alec had dated Charlie when they were younger bugged me. A LOT. I get why the tie-in and all, but goddamn WHERE IS THE FUCKING BOOK THAT SHIT IS TOLD IN?! GAWD!

May 15, 2014: So I just learned this book actually does exist and is called [b:Four Summers|17666999|Four Summers|Nyrae Dawn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1365697054s/17666999.jpg|24661631]. No wonder [b:Rush|18269671|Rush|Nyrae Dawn|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386883222s/18269671.jpg|25451537] didn't read as a standalone since IT IS NOT ONE. I'm annoyed by the fact that it's not clearly stated there's this whole preceding book to which references are made. Thanks for that.

I almost hated the Big Reveal at the end. Brandon didn't need to come out to the world. It didn't need to be a massive public display. I did not like this at all. But I loved the sentiment behind it, and the fact that he showed to both himself and to Alec he's in it forever. But I much preferred him coming out to his team, that felt genuine and real.

Can't not say anything about the sex. I kinda loved how they learned everything together, but I felt there was a pattern Dawn followed. Like she had a checklist for gay sex she kept referring to: Frotting, check. Blowjobs, check. Penetration, check. Switch top to bottom, check. Don't get me wrong, it was hot, but did you notice that after there had been a scene with one encounter, the next time one gave the other one a blowjob or they did something else already written, the sex didn't actually happen on the pages? So, yeah, back to the checklist. ( )

WOW. This book was amazing, just like I thought it would be! I forgot how much I love Nyrae's writing. This book was heavy but in a great way. It has this realism to it that just brings these characters to life. The romance was superb; these two have such strong chemistry together that I immediately fell in love.

Check out more spoiler-free book and series reviews on my blog SERIESousBookReviews.com as well as read book series recaps!

Full Review: https://wp.me/p7hLUw-2np
Actual Rating: 5/5 ( )

Touchdown! 5 Huge Stars!!!

The is the first book that I have read by Nyrae Dawn and it definitely will not be the last. I could not put it down. Read it in one day. I was sucked in from page one!

Alec and Brandon met one summer when they were fifteen and sixteen. The became best friends quickly and then so much more. When they looked at the other, they saw their soul mate. But Brandon could not see a way for them to be together without losing himself and his love a football. Gay athletes had it harder than others, especially in football. He feels that football is the only thing he is good at. So after a few summers together, learning more about one another and realizing that they could really be good together, Brandon puts a stop to it. He cannot bring himself to "come out" and Alec is still afraid to admit to his father, who he has always looked up to that he is also gay. He knows when he does, that he will never be allowed around his dad again.

When Alec receives a phone call letting him know that Brandon has been injured in an accident and that no one has been able to get through to him, he drops everything and travels to see him. Mind you, it has been a few years since they have seen one another. Alec is the one person that Brandon can relate too. And who can get through to him.

"Nothing I've ever had feels as right as you."

"I want to be happy. I just...I want to just be. That probably doesn't make any fucking sense but...I want to be normal." A deep breath leaves my lungs. "With him."

"Don't we deserve to have what we want like everyone else does? After everything we've been through, don't we deserve it more?"

Can Alec and Brandon find the courage and strength to put the frustrations behind them and forge ahead and try to be together, no matter what the circumstances? I found Rush to be well written and I loved the characters. I got frustrated with Brandon from time to time because of his treatment of Alec, but he redeems himself. I also thought the secondary characters held vital rolls in how the story would play out at times. A true roller coaster ride. ( )