Love and Lust rec: 'Despite the Odds' by Chris T. Kat
Despite the Odds by Chris T. Kat
About the book (courtesy of Dreamspinner Press):
Michael Campbell can't hold a job for more than a few days. He's lucky his foreman is giving him another chance with the solar panel project at an elementary school in Atlantic City. When he spies a man walking strangely in front of the school, Michael laughs, assuming he's drunk or high. Little does he realize that Joshua Stone, a teaching assistant, has cerebral palsy, and he's having a bad muscle control day. Taking a tumble right in front of the handsome construction worker is just his luck.
When Michael learns the truth, he feels bad for his cruel behavior. He offers to give Joshua—and his tricycle, the Racing Rhonda—a lift. Joshua accepts the help, and suddenly there's a gorgeous man breezing into his life, turning his world upside down. But Michael has more issues than his inability to hold down a job, and neither man is sure if they'll be able to overcome their fears in order to be together.
Why you should read it: Michael often speaks before he thinks, and one morning he mocks a man who is stumbling by his construction site. Assuming the man is drunk, Michael laughs and makes inappropriate remarks. His electrician partner is horrified at Michael's callous disregard for the man's plight and angrily lets Michael know this man has cerebral palsy and is a beloved, intelligent member of the community.
Joshua is regularly embarrassed when his body betrays him, and this is turning out to be a particularly bad day. Unable to continue his ride home on his three-wheel tricycle, Joshua accepts Michael's apology and offer to take him home.
Thus begins a voyage of discovery between the two men, including the shared experience of being gay. Their backstories are full of family and friend experiences, good and bad, and add to the development of the current story. If you are looking for a book full of hot sex, you might look elsewhere. Yes, there is sex in this book and it is exciting and fulfilling for Michael and Joshua, but keep in mind that Joshua has led a sheltered life and what experiences he has had have not built his confidence in bed. Michael turns out to be gentle and understanding and puts his own needs aside to shape an emotional relationship with Joshua first. One of the funniest scenes involves Michael discovering Joshua in bed with … oh, I'll let you find that particular passage yourself.
Ms. Kat gives the reader a spot-on description of what it means to have cerebral palsy. While every person with this condition has different experiences with his or her body, the fact that it's a physical impediment, not a mental one, is critical. She also does a careful exploration of Michael's secret disability, which is not revealed until late in the story. He is humiliated by it and has been taught that it makes him less of a man.
The end of the book is not a cliffhanger. There is definitely an HEA for Michael and Joshua, but there is obviously more to their stories, and another book in the series will come out in a few months to let us see how they are doing as well as delve further into their backstories. I am certainly looking forward to that book as I enjoyed Despite the Odds so very much. I highly recommend this romance between two men with secrets and damage to overcome.
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.