HEY GUYS, SO HAPPY TO BRING YOU MY RELEASE DAY REVIEW OF BULLY & EXIT BY BRIGHAM VAUGHN! THIS ONE IS AWESOME, AND I KNOW YOU ARE GONNA LOVE IT TOO! I HAVE MY REVIEW, LINKS, AN EXCERPT, AND EVEN A RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY, SO LET'S GET STARTED:
HOLY CRAP IS THIS THE PERFECT QUOTE FOR THIS BOOK! HERE IS MY REVIEW:
Bully & Exit (The Midwest Series 1) by: Brigham Vaughn
reviewed by: Becky
Theater student Caleb Stockwell is ready to leave college behind. Too bad his past isn’t ready to let him go.
With less than a month to go until graduation, Caleb runs into Nathan Rhodes at a house party. Nathan is a star hockey player for Western Michigan University and finally ready to step out of the closet. He’s also the guy who broke Caleb’s heart in high school.
Nathan’s determined to make amends for what he did four years ago, but Caleb isn’t willing to risk getting his heart stomped on again. With only a few weeks left before they go their separate ways, it’ll take all of Nathan’s creativity and help from some interfering friends to convince Caleb to give him a second chance.
I love this book, and I am thrilled it is the start to a series, (I know who I hope stars in book two)! I adore Brigham Vaughn's books, not only are they well written, but you are able to build connections to the characters, and that is so important!
Caleb had his heart broken his last year of High School by Nathan, a hockey player, so now he doesn't do relationships, he does friends with benefits. He just can't see himself trusting someone and being hurt as bad as he was with Nathan.
Nathan finally get his chance to talk to Caleb senior year of College at a party, he needs Caleb to understand that things weren't what they seemed, and though he broke Caleb's heart, he hurt himself too.
Will Caleb believe Nathan and give him the chance he wants, or will Nathan still being in the closet ruin it for these two guys? There is so much at play here, can these two guys get it together and be together like they should have been all along?
I love the supporting characters in this one, and I already have book 2 started in my mind ;p! Another thing I love about this book is that, though there are flashback moments in it, you never get confused as to what is happening or when it is happening, and that is so important in a book like this! Thank you Brigham, for a 5 star winner that has me wanting book 2 right now! :)
I DID THE GUYS AND DOLLS RATING IN HONOR OF A FIRST INTERACTION BETWEEN NATHAN AND CALEB :) HERE ARE THE LINKS FOR THIS ONE:
SMASHWORDS BUY LINK
ARe BUY LINK
AMAZON US BUY LINK
AMAZON UK BUY LINK
GOODREADS LINK
YOU GUYS SHOULD BE GOOD FOR LINKS ;P! HERE IS AN EXCERPT AND YOU WILL GET WHY I DID THE GUYS AND DOLLS RATING :)
“Hey, will someone give me a hand hauling this shit up here?” he called over the railing of the prop
loft and heard his voice echo. When no one answered, Caleb grumbled to himself, muttering about
useless cast and crew members.
Their final performance of Guys and Dolls—put on for the whole school—had taken place that
morning and they were supposed to spend the afternoon breaking down the set. Of course, half of
the cast and most of the crew had disappeared immediately after, using it as an excuse to skip
school. Caleb, as assistant director, couldn’t. The rest of them trickled away as the set destruction
finished and cleanup began. The director—also his English and Drama teacher—had been there,
but with the school day almost over and an emergency faculty meeting to attend, Caleb was on his
own now.
He was seriously going to ream out his so-called friends for ditching him. He’d forgive Allison and
Robbie; she had a dentist appointment to get her wisdom teeth out and Robbie was grounded
because he’d let his grades slip during the show. The rest of them were all going on Caleb’s shit list
though.
He glanced out the narrow window in the metal exit door and sighed. A sudden warm spell had the
trees leafing out and everyone desperate to be outside in the fresh air before a cold snap reminded
them Michigan in the spring was fickle at best.
He grumbled as he stacked the remaining props at the foot of the stairs and pushed the broom
across the painted concrete floor backstage, sweeping the discarded nails, screws, various bits of
trash, and building materials into a pile to toss in the garbage. Theoretically the janitorial crew was
supposed to sweep, but no one took as good of care of the space as he did. Then again, Caleb lived
and breathed theater. Other people dabbled but for him it was as much a part of him as his heart or
lungs; something he couldn't live without. He dumped the last of the trash in the garbage and
walked to the storage area.
Although the school had been built at least thirty years ago, the auditorium was fairly new, built the
year before he began high school. With seating for over eight hundred and top-notch sound and
lighting systems, he felt incredibly lucky to be able to perform there. Most schools had dated,
cramped facilities, but the wide thrust stage, ample room in the wings and roomy backstage allowed
them to put on great shows. There were two dressing areas for the cast with a shared makeup room
and private bathrooms, room for the pit orchestra, and a huge storage space for building materials.
Off the back of the stage, there was a loft where all of the costumes and props were stored. The
problem was, he had to get those costumes and props from the ground floor up into the loft. By
himself.
He tugged at his T-shirt, already damp and beginning to cling to his skin. Backstage was always
warm but the prop loft was sweltering and he knew he’d be miserable by the time he finished
hauling everything up there. If he could even manage it alone.
Twenty minutes later, as he muttered angrily to himself while he made his umpteenth trip up the
stairs to haul props and costumes, someone spoke. “Need some help?”
The awkwardly-large box slipped from his hands and landed on his foot. He swore and jerked back,
barely managing to catch himself on the railing as the box slid and dug into his shins. Visions of
tumbling down the stairs and breaking his neck danced before his eyes. “Mother fucker,” he swore.
“Shit! Sorry. You okay?” Caleb felt a large, warm hand on his back for a second, then the guy slid
between the wall and his body to grab the box. Firmly planting himself on the stairs, Caleb turned
and looked at the guy. Caleb blinked stupidly at him. What the fuck was a hockey player doing
backstage? And Nathan Rhodes at that.
“Hey, you want me to take this up?” Nathan turned before Caleb could respond, jogging up the
stairs easily carrying the box Caleb had barely managed to lug halfway up. At eighteen, Nathan was
already over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and long legs. He had a 5 o’clock shadow. Caleb felt
scrawny and girlish compared to him. A boy instead of a man.
Caleb stared at Nathan in shock for another long moment before he followed him up the stairs.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
Nathan set the box down on an old wooden desk that they’d used in a previous show and turned to
face Caleb, jamming his hands in his pockets. He looked uncomfortable all of a sudden, awkward.
Caleb had never seen him appear anything but confident and ready to take on the world. “I was
hoping I’d catch you. I know you practically live back here.” His voice was deep but extremely soft.
It always shocked Caleb that such a quiet voice came out of such a large guy.
“Me?” He paused, frozen on the top stair. “You’re here to see me?” He’d never once seen the jock
anywhere near the auditorium. Usually, he roamed the halls with his other hockey-playing buddies, looking for someone to harass. Admittedly, Nathan wasn’t the worst of them.
I CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO SEE HOW THIS 'PLAYS' OUT, HAHA OK THAT WAS A BIT CORNY! HERE IS THE INFO ON THE RAFFLECOPTER, ENTER FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN ONE OF THREE COPIES OF THE BOOK!
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GOOD LUCK FRIENDS, AND THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME FOR RELEASE DAY OF BULLY & EXIT! SEE YOU NEXT TIME!
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