Reviewed by Morgan
Title: Canning the Center
Author: Tara Lain
Narrator: Jean-Paul Barrel
Series: Long Pass Chronicles #2
Heroes: Jamal Jones/Trevor Landry
Genre: MM Contemporary
Length: 9 hours, 17 minutes
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: August 20, 2015
Available at: Amazon, Audible and iTunes
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads
Blurb: Six foot seven inch, 300 pound Jamal Jones loves football, so when he finds out the ultra-conservative owner of his new pro football team fired their current center because he’s gay, bisexual Jamal decides to stay in the closet and hang with the females. Then, at a small drag show, he comes face-to-face with his sexual fantasy in the form of Trixie LaRue, a drag queen so exquisitely convincing she scrambles Jamal’s hormones — and his resolve to nurse his straight side.
Trevor Landry, aka Trixie LaRue, hides more than his genitals. A mathematician so brilliant he can’t be measured, Trevor disguises his astronomical IQ and his quirk for women’s clothes behind his act as a gay activist undergrad at Southern California University.
To Trevor, Jamal is the answer to a dream — a man who can love and accept both his personas. When he discovers Jamal’s future is threatened if he’s seen with a guy, Trevor becomes Trixie to let Jamal pass as straight. But Trevor risks his position every time he puts on a dress. Is there a closet big enough to hold a football pro and a drag queen?
Review – Book: Susan very accurately reviewed the book when it came out here: Susan’s review
For me, who is not usually a big fan of very “fem” characters, I was very pleasantly surprised by Trixie/Trevor (minus the double snaps 🙂 ). To me, it made a lot of sense that a bi-sexual guy would easily be attracted to both “sides” of Trevor, and I thought it was great that this wasn’t even really much of an issue. And I thought it was equally wonderful for Trixie that she got to be loved for herself, too.
The other thing that stood out for me was the imagery of Ferdinand the bull – I just thought it was so appropriate for our guy Jamal!
Kudos to making both men versatile – anytime you can wipe out a stereotype like that I think it adds to the story.
For me, book two surpassed book one in it’s awesomeness, and I am excited to watch the series to continue!
Review – Audio Book:
I wanted to give John-Paul Barrel a second chance. He can be hit or miss for me. I wasn’t that impressed with his narration of Outing the Quarterback, but I know that different books, more time and experience can lead to improved narrations. In this case – I think the narration skill remained at about the same level. He tries different voices that work a bit for the different characters (especially Jamal’s family – I loved his mom!) and that’s a nice quality. However, his reading voice is so stilted and awkward and hard to listen to that I really can’t recommend this narration.
Overall Impression: I really liked it
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*
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