My Rugby-playing Twink

How could I resist a book titled 'My Rugby-Playing Twink'? However, if you're under the assumption that this is lighthearted fare, think again. I enjoy Jaime Samms's writing, so I was looking forward to this story, which I knew was going to be a little weightier than what I was expecting. It was rewarding to read about Ian and David, and how their romance became what they each needed so badly, but didn't really know they needed.
\"One thing I’d noticed about David: he loved sex. He loved to see me come undone with lust. He never apologized for wanting me, and he always spoke his mind. I knew all about his body, and I never had to guess what he was thinking. I had yet to know what was in his heart. He rarely showed simple, physical, nonsexual affection for the sake of it.\"
Ian is a pretty straightforward guy. An art major and a set designer, he's never stayed with any one man for very long. He's out and proud, and can't help but fall a little in lust with David, his boss's hustler twink. But there's a lot more to David than meets the eye. David doesn't apologize for hustling to make his rent. He doesn't make any money playing rugby and he's happiest on the field. And David might be shorter than the rest of the players, but he's faster and smarter. He describes himself as a twink, except the more Ian gets to know him, the less like a twink David is. In an odd quirk, David ends up with Ian's job, and Ian takes over as production manager, outing his former sleazeball boss.
\"Not so very long ago, I thought it was only a matter of time before he found out I was just some plain, ordinary man with little to offer him besides myself; just a slightly underfed and underpaid, overanxious, glorified stage hand. Seemed that was enough for him after all.\"
I wasn't joking earlier when I stated that I knew this was going to be a weightier book than the title and the blurb led me to believe. David and Ian are more complex characters than I expected, each with strengths and weaknesses and their own share of vulnerabilities. They fell in love against a number of odds, including David's father, whose identity turned out to be a shock to Ian, and they overcame some significant hurdles.
If you like your men complicated, your sex hot, and your drama a little angsty, then I can easily recommend this to fulfill all your needs. A very enjoyable book.
NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

Ms. Samms’ greatest strength as a writer is the way she paints her characters. They are flawed, real, a little gritty, lower to middle class and she lets you determine their attractiveness.
This book was a little confusing for me at the beginning because it started in the middle of a scene without any setup at all about the plot or characters. It took me a while to get into it but when I did, I loved it. The writing is excellent, sex doesn’t overwhelm the story, there’s happiness, sadness and a proper HEA but the characters have to work to get there. I will definitely be reading it again.