Slide

Obviously I'm in the minority here. There were too many things bothering me in this story to enjoy it.

- The constant use of "fucker" as a term of endearment. I'm not a native English speaker, and I've never heard it used that way before. Is it slang? Is it really used that way in real life? I don't know, maybe some of my US friends can enlighten me. But every time it was used it felt jarringly out of place and took me out of the story.

- I felt uncomfortable with the number of negative comments toward women. It's possible I was being overly sensitive, since I didn't find any other reviewer on GR noticing it, but in the first half of the story every chick was "the same," "easy," or had something aggressively distasteful about her. show more Again, it was probably me being overly sensitive, but it sure didn't help me love the characters or enjoy the story.
EDIT: Scratch that. I'm not the only one who noticed. It's a thing and it makes me feel better and worse at the same time (because I actually like most of Leigh's books). See Meep's review; sraxe's review.

- Too many coincidences.

- Pete's reaction when he like a jerk jumped to conclusion that Ash was taking drugs again was way OTT. His main reason to get pissed off at Ash seemed to be that "Ash put his mother in danger." Really? When did you guys make a deal that Ash will take care of her? When did it become his responsibility?

- The story couldn't keep my attention because it dragged so much. It took me 7 days to finish it. SEVEN DAYS. It was a combination of rinse-and-repeat thing it had going on for the better part of the book and the fact I didn't really like the characters or care that much what happened to them.

In conclusion, I think it's possible this book just caught me in the wrong mood. I'm not sure I want to read the rest of the series though. show less

I'm not going to bother writing a summary of the story, since a lot of people before me have summarized the plot better than I could, so I'm going to jump directly into my feelings about the book.

It took me a while to get into this book; for the first half, I was kind of lukewarm about the characters and their relationship, but the last half of the book punched me straight in the feels and I ended up shipping them pretty intensely by the end.

I really liked how the characters interacted with one another; they felt more "real" than other m/m romances that I have read lately. I really enjoyed the character of Pete, who was just super endearing and kind of hilarious at times. And talk about real - he pulled double shifts and overnight show more shifts as an EMT and he was - gasp! - cranky when sleep deprived! And sometimes he couldn't turn off his brain no matter how much he wanted to after work. Talk about realistic. Having had a healthcare job that required major sleep deprivation on a regular basis (ultrasound with intense call) for years (thank god THAT is over), I was cranky as hell after not sleeping for 36 to 60+ hours in a stretch. If Pete HADN'T been grumpy, I would have been rather pissed off, haha.

And major FUCK YEAH for both Ash and Pete being bisexual and not afraid to say it. It's so rare to have a bisexual character in fiction, so to have TWO of them was awesome - and neither of them went through the "I thought that I was bisexual but I discovered that I was actually [gay or straight]" phase that I have seen in fiction, either. They started off bisexual and ended up bisexual, even though they were in a committed relationship with another man. A+.

Also A+ was the amount of angst in the book, which I loved. I am such a glutton for punishment. ;)

But there were some things that didn't work out so well for me, and that is why the book ended up with only 3.5 stars from me. All will be under a spoiler cut, since those things are all pretty spoiler-heavy.

The first thing is that the author relied way too heavily on coincidences to move the plot forward in the book. Chicago is a big city - nearly three million people in the city limits proper, not to count the suburbs that kind of bleed into the city as well - and yet Pete kept running into people he knew. What are the chances that the guy who attacked Pete with a baseball bat is the same guy who also attacked and killed the street kid who looked disturbingly like Ash AND the guy who presumably raped and abused Ash in Houston, Texas? It's pretty slim. And Pete also picked up someone whom he vaguely knew on a run who could shed light on Ash's situation when he took off and left for weeks on end. And the nurse who treated Ash once at a totally different hospital recognized Ash when he was half out of his mind and nearly dying from pneumonia - and Ash looked so bad that Pete, his partner for about two years, barely recognized him. Nope. Too many coincidences for me to make the story believable.

I also wondered why Pete was so clueless about Ash's downward spiral, which had been going on for weeks at a time. Granted, I know that Pete is often sleep deprived (which makes anyone, even a younger guy in love with someone else, rather fuzzy when it comes to noticing details - trust me on this, I speak from wretched experience), but Ash's descent into his psychotic break was pretty slow. And I know Pete probably didn't want to see that Ash was suffering, but I'm just surprised that he didn't, especially since Pete's own mother was picking up on major clues that were just going right over Pete's head.

I also wonder how Pete could be so clueless about Ash's obvious sexual trauma. I know I, as a reader, was literally saying aloud to my Kindle, "dude, he was raped, why aren't you picking up on this?" All of the signs were there, and even though Ash doesn't seem to be exactly clear on what happened in his childhood (he has repressed those memories almost completely, and they only emerge in his dreams), Pete is a trained medical professional who deals with rape victims on at least a fairly regular basis. I'm not sure why he didn't put the puzzle pieces together.

I can't fault Pete for assuming (wrongly) that Ash was back on the heroin or drug wagon, since Ash had told him that he'd been an addict at one point and agonized about taking even OTC painkillers, especially with Pete's line of work. And I know that Pete was juiced up on anger because Ash hadn't answered his phone and worry over his mother. But still, I really wish that Pete had taken a little more time to figure out what was wrong with Ash, instead of basically kicking him to the curb.

I really don't feel like there was enough discussion about what exactly happened to Ash when he went back to the streets. Why was that his first move? He didn't know that Ellie was out of the country for a funeral; he didn't even try to contact her, it seems. Was he comfortable on the streets? Was that a familiar pain? And why was he covered in scrapes and bruises and wounds? How did he even survive? I know it seems that he kind of blanked on that, but I would have liked a few more details.

I also feel like the book ended way too abruptly, leaving a lot unsolved. I know that there is another book in the series, as well as two short novellas, so I don't feel entirely ripped off about it, but I still feel like it was way too rushed at the ending, with an epilogue that felt tacked on and hurried.

I would still recommend this book, especially for those of us who love a healthy dose of angst with their romance. ;) show less

I was juuuuust at the point where I required resolution when finally all the pent-up crap broke loose.

There is a lot of not communicating (the basis for problems in romances IRL and in fiction), and some of it annoys me, but not enough to subtract any stars. People screw up, it's a fact made worse when emotions crowd out critical thinking. The resolution, when it comes, is swift - and I'm glad I bought the trilogy.

Rather than alternating chapters for the two points of view, Pete and Ash have Parts with multiple chapters. I understand why from a writing perspective, but me the reader found parts a little tedious. I liked the unusual take on labels, and I liked how tough the resolution was to get to. AQ

I enjoyed this story. Pete and Ash were both very complicated characters, and the author took her time while unfolding them. There is a lot going on, much more than a love story. I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next book.

I don't know if it's because I'm not used to reading romance and this is just how they normally go, but it really seemed like this book had no real plot at all. It was well written and I liked the characters, but I was constantly waiting for something to happen. It read kind of like a FanFiction.

3.5 stars. Well written but too angsty for me. YMMV especially if you love the hurt/comfort trope.

FGMAMTC Blog Review
Slide is a story about two young adult men becoming roommates and then falling for each other. It's just their day-to-day work and living basically, but it speaks to me on such a profound level. The way it is written made me feel like I was really in their heads. The phrase Still Waters Run Deep comes to mind when I think of this book and of Ash's character.

Both Ash and Pete are bisexual. Both are functioning adults for the most part, but neither is really settled in life, especially Ash. I was so drawn to them both. I think Ash will have a piece of my heart forever. I wanted to wrap him up and make him feel safe. (Following sentence might be considered a spoiler) –> When Ash was found on the streets, and the show more truth about him being sick and turning to no one came out, it broke my heart.

My emotions have been thoroughly worked over. They need each other, and I need more of them, so I'm definitely on to book 2.


Fangirl Moments and My Two Cents

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