Friday, October 27, 2017

Improper Fraction by V.L. Locey Blog Tour


O’Malley Ramsey, math aficionado, grew up next door to Garrison Rook, All-American athlete. While O’Malley dreamed of numbers and kissing Garrison, Garrison’s tastes ran to home runs and hot chicks. During a family celebration the night before both young men were heading off for college, O’Malley joyously discovers that Garrison isn’t quite as straight as the star athlete had been pretending to be. Vows to return to each other quickly followed a few clumsy kisses in the old treehouse in the Rook’s backyard.

O’Malley came home to Garrison. Garrison never returned to O’Malley.

Four years later, the two ex-friends meet up at a summer camp where O’Malley is serving as a counselor. Garrison is desperate to make things right with his childhood friend, but can O’Malley, still nursing the pain and mistrust of Garrison’s betrayal, ever forgive or love Garrison again?

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Erica☆☆☆☆
4 Warm & Fuzzy Stars

O'Malley and Garrison have been best friends and next-door neighbors since the first grade. O'Malley is out and proud, and has been harboring secret feelings for Garrison – not puppy love or a crush, true love type emotions.

The prologue set the book up perfectly, taking a friends-to-could-be-lovers into a tension-filled confrontation. The summer camp portion of the story was my favorite of the entire novel.

To me, the book read as three parts: The prologue, where the foundation between the best friends was erected. At the summer camp, where all the yummy sexual tension occurred. The beginning of their happily ever after, where it was a waiting game for O'Malley to give in and Garrison to come out.

O'Malley is a supportive, understanding, and patient narrator, as he takes the reader on a journey as Garrison's passenger. Garrison is struggling to come to terms with his sexuality, unsure how his family will take the news, and whether or not being gay would tarnish his budding baseball career.

The bulk of the story either leaves the reader with the warm & fuzzies or in need of a cold shower. O'Malley and Garrison heat up the pages as we wait for one of them to make a decision. If you're looking for a book that doesn't add a ton of stress, is easy to read, and you know the couple is going to end up where you envision, then this is the perfect afternoon escape.

My only critique is the conflict. Homophobia is a valid conflict, but it almost seemed illogical without some sort of backstory. The villain of the tale needed an anchor to the storyline, as it felt as if it was just tossed in there as a plot device that took the responsibility of when/how to come out of the closet out of Garrison's hands. Garrison's personal conflicts resolved with such ease and no fallout, they were almost non-conflicts, which was great if you're looking for a stress-free romance on that front.

Improper Fraction is perfect for readers looking for a friends-to-lovers, sports-related, second-chance romance, warm and fuzzy read that has the reader rooting for our heroes' happily ever after.


Veronica☆☆☆
After a prologue that sets up O'Malley and Garrison's backstory, we join O'Malley at a summer camp where he is a counsellor. After having no contact with O'Malley for four years, Garrison shows up at the camp also to work as a counsellor, throwing O'Malley for a loop.

As a youngest in the 80s, I loved watching movies like Meatballs and Poison Ivy so I was thrilled to be reading a book set at a summer camp and I was happily reading and enjoying the book and watching these two childhood best friends try to work out their issues. But alas, time at camp didn't last forever and about a third of the way through camp ends and our heroes go back to their lives.

The story lost me a bit through the middle because it felt a bit predictable and like I was just waiting for the obvious events to happen. And the obvious did happen but it was right towards the end and it felt rushed, but I was pulled back into the story and happy to see O'Malley get his happy ending. Improper Fraction is an enjoyable stand-alone novel.


Ruthie☆☆☆☆
This is a romance that has been in the making since O'Malley first realised he was gay and that he loved his best friend more than anyone in the world. Unrequited except for one moment of madness, he has been harbouring a great deal of resentment and heartbreak ever since. I liked however, that he had still done plenty of experimenting at college, and whilst a maths nerd, he also cared about his looks and health.

Garrison is trying to make it big in baseball – so even if he feels just the same way as O'Malley, he cannot reveal his true self, and has had a string of hookups with women ever since he left for college. Now his little sister is trying to pull the two of them back together and a summer at her Maths camp, where O'Malley is a leader, is one way of trying to right so many wrongs.

I enjoyed the summer fling approach between two people who had known each other really well, and yet had to learn about intimacy, and consider what being secretive would mean to them in the future. Given how much we are told of Garrison's family, his concerns seemed unfounded, but not unexpected. O'Malley's dad is a fabulous character – although we discover how his actions unintentionally cause a much greater harm.

There is some drama, but generally it is underplayed, and this is a warm and cuddly book, with some really fun and quirky cameos – such as the Camp host!


Sarah☆☆☆☆
The very start of this story – a graduation goodbye between childhood best friends in a treehouse – is a wonderful scene. I’m not sure the rest of the story ever quite recaptures the magic of that moment, but readers definitely understand why O’Malley struggles to move on from his teenage crush.

O’Malley is a great character. I enjoyed his enthusiasm for maths and his passion for teaching kids. He’s at his best when he’s working at a summer maths camp for girls. It’s probably completely realistic but I hated that all of his common sense (and some of his self respect) seems to disappear when Garrison comes back into his life.

Garrison infuriated me at times. While slight, effeminate O’Malley is comfortable with his sexuality and manages to deal with pretty awful homophobia, the big, strong athlete is terrified of his sexuality and seems happy to hurt O’Malley as he attempts to keep his secret. I’m not sure he ever properly apologises and while he does grow up, it felt like too little too late to me.

I loved the scene where O’Malley and Garrison are teenagers. I enjoyed their time together at camp – but I really struggled with the ending. It lacks structure and purpose. Maybe that’s the point. O’Malley flounders just like so many Millennial graduates as he attempts to find a job and make important decisions for his future. So it’s probably realistic but it is also pretty boring. My least favourite m/m trope is employed at the end – hate crime/hospital visit makes everyone reevaluate their priorities – but the frantic angst in these scenes feel jarring and out of place in an otherwise gentle story.

There are some great moments in this book but there are also too many slow and inconsistent moments and I wish that the end could be as moving as the start.




V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Dr. Who, Torchwood, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a flock of assorted domestic fowl, and two Jersey steers.

When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in hand. She can also be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

Connect with V.L.

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Google+  ~  Website  ~  Goodreads



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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Improper Fraction by V.L. Locey to read and review for this tour.

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