Love and Lust rec: 'Nobody's Hero' by J. Leigh Bailey

Nobody's Hero by J. Leigh Bailey

What it's about (courtesy Carina Press):

Bradley Greene's family all but discarded him when his brother caught him fooling around with another boy. Now Bradley has seventeen dollars and a gas card, and he's sleeping in his car. He's an emotional mess and if he doesn't land a job soon, he's up the proverbial creek.

Danny Ortega can take care of himself…most of the time. When what started as a date turns into sexual assault in a dark parking lot, he's grateful for Brad's help—and an instant admirer of Brad's military school-honed muscles. He certainly doesn't expect to see him again, and definitely not as the newest hire at Ortega Construction.

As Brad and Danny's quiet attraction turns into more, things start to go sour before they've even started. Danny grows frustrated that Brad won't open up emotionally. And Brad is terrified of being responsible for someone else's feelings. When Brad's family makes one last attempt to turn him into an "acceptable" son, all bets are off—he and Danny will need to decide if they're in this together…or apart.

Why you should read it: Brad is capable of taking care of himself, even though he's only 18 years old. His parents forced him to figure out how to do that by kicking him out of their home and luxurious lifestyle for shaming them with his "choice" to be gay. Thanks to an unhappy two years at a Southern military school, he's got the chops to defend himself and anyone else who comes along. It's summer and he's down to his last few dollars. Brad's in the town where he plans to attend college on scholarships and has an appointment for a job interview.

Danny is 19, a student at the same college. He's gay and has been out since he was 14. This evening he's on a date set up by his older brother Ray, but the man turns out to be abusive and unwilling to accept that no means no. When Brad sees that Danny is in trouble he intervenes.

Danny quickly realizes that Brad is gay but that is not something Brad wants anyone to know. Thanks to his years with a family that did not accept who he was and further years in a military school where he was bullied, Brad is firmly in the closet. When he shows up at Ortega Construction the next morning for his job interview and realizes this is Danny's family's business, he also believes he can't have anything personal going on with the boss' son.

The book is a story of the pull and push of Danny and Brad wanting each other but Brad pushing Danny away. When someone starts in motion actions that could drive the company into bankruptcy, and the blame falls on Brad, prospects don't look good at all for Brad to not only keep his job, but stay out of jail, to say nothing of falling for Danny. Brad believes that when things look good, something bad is about to happen and that turns out to be true.

Brad's older brother did something so heinous it's almost beyond belief, but their parents want Brad to come home and help defend his brother in court. Brad says no, but then something happens to change his mind. Will Danny understand and try to help Brad, or is their summer love over before school starts? This is a story with a good dose of angst, but it is tempered by some well-placed humor. The scene in which Danny and Brad play rock-paper-scissors to decide who is going to go buy fried chicken for a romantic picnic and who is going to go buy condoms is priceless. Neither boy is a virgin, but they are inexperienced enough that going into a drugstore where people know them to buy supplies for a sexual liaison is embarrassing. When someone completely unexpected shows up, well, I'll leave it to you to enjoy this sweetly hilarious passage yourself.

J. Leigh Bailey is a new-to-me author, but I am definitely now a fan, looking forward to reading more of her work. I highly recommend this New Adult story to anyone who enjoys seeing the awkwardness of the late-teenage years blossom into young adulthood and the love for another that will not be denied.

Becky Condit is a widow, mother of three and grandmother of 10 who reads all kinds of books, but her go-to comfort books are erotic romances. A romance novel coupled with just-out-of-the-oven chocolate-chip cookies and a glass of cold milk is her idea of heaven. She reads and reviews more than 250 books a year, so you won't often find her without her Kindle in hand, but when you do, she'll probably be gardening, doing needle crafts, working in her upholstery workshop and spending time with her family.