Cassandra Carr Spotlight!!!

 

 Hockey player Jason Monroe lives a double life—star defenseman and soon-to-be Olympian on the ice and closeted gay man outside the rink. A serious relationship is out of the question, and Jason makes do with anonymous sex in barroom bathrooms, not willing to take the chance on coming out as gay in a decidedly macho sport.

Advisor to the US Olympic hockey team Patrick Parker knows a thing or two about being a professional hockey player who’s not out. He’s fifteen years older than Jason, and when he senses the sexy younger man is interested, he knows he shouldn’t give in to the attraction.

The two men can’t keep their hands off each other, though, and with each heated encounter it gets harder to hide their relationship. When their world blows up around them, forcing them into the limelight, though, will their love survive or be put on ice?

I am not a sports fan - I don't enjoy watching or participating in sports - but I do enjoy sports-based movies and books and See the Light is no exception. Jason is an up and coming hockey player who has been chosen to play on the US Olympic team and he is firmly in the closet. Patrick is a former player who is now a coach and advisor for the Olympic team and he too is in the closet. Neither of them feel as though they can be open with their sexuality in the NHL despite recent campaigns addressing the issue, so they have no idea that their attraction is mutual until Patrick confronts Jason about his cold behavior toward him. When Patrick realizes that his attraction is not one-sided he is still resolved not to act on it because of their age difference and his status as an advisor.

Thankfully Patrick and Jason are virile, testosterone-filed men and their hormones finally get the better of them and it was HOT! The visual of these two hard-bodied men together is almost enough to short circuit my brain and fortunately, Ms. Carr attempted to put my brain into overload several times. The fact that the non-sexual aspect of Jason and Patrick's relationship continued to develop and deepen over the course of the book made reading it that much more enjoyable.

See the Light is a well written sports romance that also delivers some hot man on man action. Ms. Carr's Safe Harbor series is off to a great start and I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

           

 Vladimir Gusev exists in a living hell. A year ago in the Olympics he was forced to use a homophobic slur during a game, and guilt is eating him from the inside out. Not only is Vladimir not a homophobe, but in the aftermath of the Olympics, he was finally able to admit his true nature to himself. Yet he's been taught homosexuality is a sin, so he tries to push away his feelings, but to no avail.

Joe Bufford is an out gay man and an ex-Delta Force member who was medically discharged after an injury to his hand leaves him no longer able to perform his duties. His job as a mechanic at the airport is hardly a long-term career choice, but Joe has no idea where he can utilize the skills he learned in the Army.

Vladimir and Joe meet, and Joe instantly recognizes Vladimir as a terrified closet case. Before he knows it, Joe is offering to help Vladimir figure out what he is and what he wants. As time goes on, Joe begins to hope more and more that the answers to those questions lie with him.

WOW! I did NOT see that story coming. When I read the blurb for the book, I hadn’t read book one yet so I didn’t know who Vlad was and by the time I got to read both books I had forgotten that Hiding in Plain Sight was about Vlad, so needless to say I was flabbergasted. I must say that I’m glad that I started the book with no expectations as to what it was about because they may have impacted my enjoyment of the book otherwise.

I love that Ms. Carr’s Safe Harbor series is (so far) about an in-the-closet gay professional hockey player finding the person that makes him feel safe in admitting who he really is and being true to his sexual preferences. That she accomplishes this with a plentiful amount of hot sex scenes is just the icing on the cake. Vlad’s story is no different. We learn why he did what he did during the Olympic Games in See the Light – I was astounded and quickly found myself saddened for him and the situation he was in. The way in which Joe and Vlad meet was quite the scene and I liked that the author started the book off with a bang. The testosterone levels in this installment are just as high as in book one – Joe may not be a hockey player, but he is former Delta Force, so there was no shortage of aggressively hot sex between him and Vlad. This, of course, just made their relationship development even more entertaining.

Hiding in Plain Sight is a well-written sequel that makes for a very enjoyable addition to the series. I look forward to reading the next book in Ms. Carr’s Safe Harbor series.