Saturday, September 3, 2016

Bear Among the Books by T.J. Masters


Forty-eight-year-old Ben Thompson is a librarian, a passionate book lover, and a man who embodies the definition of a bear. He’s also lonely after the loss of his long-term partner. Young ex-gymnast Jason Barnes piques his interest, but Ben quickly realizes there’s more to Jason than his good looks. While Jason visits the library almost every day, he never checks out a book.

With gentle persistence, Ben befriends Jason and learns the nineteen-year-old’s tragic secrets. After years of abuse at his father’s hands, Jason was kicked out of his family home for being gay. And despite his apparent love of books, Jason never learned to read. Ben offers to teach him, and the two men bond over their lessons. Ben can’t deny his attraction to Jason, but he wonders if Jason is too young and too handsome to return his interest. With the help of the close-knit library team and Jason’s growing self-confidence, they move beyond the books and into the bedroom, where their own story is just beginning.

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie☆☆☆
This story about a man in his late forties, Ben, who runs a library, and a young man, Jason, whom he befriends, has some really good ideas in it. It is mainly set in a library, which already is in its favour, and deals with some recent political controversies in the UK regarding the closing of local libraries. But Jason has been created with too many issues – and too many talents – and actually, so has Ben. These elements make the story messy, as it is trying to keep up with too many strands. Add in a habit of giving us an action by action run through Ben's day, and a strange mix of banal and terribly deep confront the reader. I felt there were some cultural disconnects too – Brits do not call people "jocks," and they really do not go around hugging people, especially at work. There were little gems of scenes, but too much that was unnecessary and slowed the pace. There is an enjoyable story in here, it just needs simplifying a little.



T.J. MASTERS is a fifty-six-year-old author and life coach living in Hertfordshire just to the north of London, England. T.J. has shared thirty years of suburban life with his civil partner Ian, and they enjoy the love and support of T.J’s large Irish family who all live nearby. In 2009 T.J. took early retirement from a thirty-three-year school teaching career and decided to follow a new path. After qualifying as a life coach, T.J. found that he was coaching a couple of authors who were going through the process of giving birth to the book that “had always been inside them.” This rekindled T.J’s long-held desire to write and get published.

With a lifelong passion for books, learning, and the sharing of knowledge, T.J. woke up to the realization that he had stories to tell, books to write, and less than half a lifetime left to do it in. As for the kind of books he is writing… well, let’ s just say that he decided to channel over thirty years of experience in the gay BDSM lifestyle into a genre where it would be most appreciated!

Alongside this passion for books and writing, T.J. also found an outlet for his inner geek and has become a great advocate for social media in various forms. Blogging has become a great outlet for T.J’s many interests including the writerly ones. He blogs regularly and loves to interact with his readers and followers.

Connect with T.J.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Blog  ~  Goodreads


https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com


Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Bear Among the Books by T.J. Masters to read and review.

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