2016 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Eight Seconds by William Davrick (212-07-26-2016)

[reviews_and_ramblings]

This book was very heavy and full of deep trauma. It hurt to read. The writing was solid, the execution was well done. I found myself scoffing at some of the proposed treatments for Dustin and some of the trouble he landed himself in--I don't see such alternatives to the trouble he landed in being actually viable in real life. That nudged me out of the story often, and I had to push on. Maybe I'm far too critical. I can say that the emotions were on high, the pain and past trauma were terrifying, and the second-chance old friends to lovers theme helped balance out the darkness.

Eight Seconds by William Davrick
Gay Contemporary Romance
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Less Than Three Press (July 11, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1620048345
ISBN-13: 978-1620048344
Amazon: Eight Seconds

Dustin Marston, wannabe professional bull rider, cannot stay on a bull for the required eight seconds. Suffering from sinister flashes of suppressed memories from his childhood, Dusty has a panic attack during a hazardous sexual encounter that lands him in serious legal trouble. When he proves to be uncooperative, his health counselor, Diana, turns to a colleague for assistance—only to learn that Joe was once the boy Dusty loved when they were kids, and who was lost to him twenty years ago. Then Joe proposes a highly unorthodox treatment to save Dusty, a treatment that wakes old nightmares and threatens any chance they have of a future.

Rainbow Awards Guidelines: http://www.elisarolle.com/rainbowawards/rainbow_awards_2016.html