New Release Review: Blowing off Steam

Title: Blowing off Steam

Author: Joy Lynn Fielding

Publisher/GR Link: Samhain, GR

Genre: MM contemporary

Vice: Nerds, sexy men, trains, feel good

Rating: 4.75 out of 5

Lock this book up: 4 out of 5 keys.  The sex is HOT and supports the story. 

Length: Novel

Satisfaction: HEA

Cover Impressions: I love it.  Looks steampunk-ish, but its a wonderful contemporary.

Best Line: "...He couldn't want for anything more."

Synopsis: Two guys, a train, and lots of steam.

Sam Chancellor has been in love with the steam engine Old Bess since he was six years old. Well, maybe not literally, but even when he’s lost everything else in his life, he’s always had her. But now her place in his heart has been unexpectedly challenged. Her new driver, Ryan Saunders, is the embodiment of all Sam’s fantasies.

Ryan has written off Sam as just another geeky trainspotter—until the moment Ryan sees him without his usual shapeless hoodie, and realizes that for a nerd, Sam’s pretty built.

When Ryan overlooks Sam’s awkwardness long enough to suggest a hook-up, Sam seizes the opportunity—and Ryan—with both very eager hands. Finding common ground in their shared love of Bess, their time together is better than Sam ever dared dream.

But there’s a reason Ryan never talks about his past. And when Ryan's job is threatened, Sam’s well-meaning intervention puts both Ryan and Bess in deadly danger.

Impressions:  I loved this book!  I spent my day thinking about how I could squeeze in time to read while I was cooking a big dinner!  I read while I stirred the sauce, while I worked the grill, and while I baked a cake!  At my most fortunate moments, I read when I snuck away into the comfy chair to read for a few minutes!

Sam was so adorable that I wanted to reach into my kindle and give him a hug.  (I could definitely be his sassy lesbian friend! Maybe I can be written into the sequel?!)  Ryan was so bold and confident, and yet so vulnerable at the same time.  I loved watching him connect not just with Sam, but with his own self and his own identity.

I didn't know a lot about trains before this, though I have ridden on an older locomotive, but this made me want to learn even more.  I could see how the predictability and power could be so comforting to Sam.  

This was a story about awakenings, both sexual and personal, and about forging a new future.  I was curious about some of the details of the MC's backstories, but then I realized that those things weren't important, and in fact they might have distracted from the joy of watching these two men find each other.  I didn't need the sad details of their past to wish for their happiness. 

I would love to hear more from these guys, but I feel completely satisfied with their lives now!

I was excited to give this a try when I read the blurb and I am so glad that I did!  Check it out and you won't regret it at all!   Don't let this one sit in the TBR pile...download it now and start reading at midnight!