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duckyreads 's review for:
Contract Season
by Cait Nary
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
In Contact Season, Cait Nary creates a charming slow-burn romance between Brody Kellerman, a professional hockey player, and Seamus Murray, a rising country star. Brody and Sea's fake relationship begins after they are forcefully outed and decide that fake dating is the best way to save their images since they both exist in conservative industries.
As a fan of Nary's first book, Season's Change, Contract Season was one of my most anticipated reads this year, and I wasn't disappointed. The yearning between Brody and Sea was so easy to lose myself in and enjoy. I really liked Sea's character arc as he reflected on his life and tackled ideas of sexuality and sex given his upbringing. Although it's a very sensitive topic, there are often times in queer relationships where you can feel like you should have more sexual experience by a certain age, so I found most of Sea's internal wrestling relatable. I also really enjoyed all the side characters because they weren't just there for decoration and actively played a part in the story.
I thought it was a little strange that Brody's long-term ex never really showed up in the story except brief mentions. That was especially interesting since the demise of their relationship was because Brody kept London hidden and then was suddenly in the media in a very public relationship. I was also a little wary of how the story handled Sea's potential alcholism. I believe there is a very thin line between social drinking as a young 20-something and displaying symptoms of alcoholic dependency. Towards the middle/end of the story, Sea's internal dialogue seemed as though he was leaning more towards aloholic dependency, and I wished it was discussed more instead of just having a therapy session and leaving it at that.
However, overall I really enjoyed Nary's writing and the way that Brody and Sea's relationship grew despite their rough start. Also there was a very cute and brief cameo with Olly and Benji when Brody was on a road trip!
Thank you to Carina Press and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
As a fan of Nary's first book, Season's Change, Contract Season was one of my most anticipated reads this year, and I wasn't disappointed. The yearning between Brody and Sea was so easy to lose myself in and enjoy. I really liked Sea's character arc as he reflected on his life and tackled ideas of sexuality and sex given his upbringing. Although it's a very sensitive topic, there are often times in queer relationships where you can feel like you should have more sexual experience by a certain age, so I found most of Sea's internal wrestling relatable. I also really enjoyed all the side characters because they weren't just there for decoration and actively played a part in the story.
I thought it was a little strange that Brody's long-term ex never really showed up in the story except brief mentions. That was especially interesting since the demise of their relationship was because Brody kept London hidden and then was suddenly in the media in a very public relationship. I was also a little wary of how the story handled Sea's potential alcholism. I believe there is a very thin line between social drinking as a young 20-something and displaying symptoms of alcoholic dependency. Towards the middle/end of the story, Sea's internal dialogue seemed as though he was leaning more towards aloholic dependency, and I wished it was discussed more instead of just having a therapy session and leaving it at that.
However, overall I really enjoyed Nary's writing and the way that Brody and Sea's relationship grew despite their rough start. Also there was a very cute and brief cameo with Olly and Benji when Brody was on a road trip!
Thank you to Carina Press and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, Alcohol
Minor: Drug use