Crossing the Touchline by Jay Hogan

Narrated by Gary Furlong

In Crossing the Touchline, book two in Jay Hogan’s Auckland Med. series, we meet twenty-three-year-old rugby player Reuben Taylor, who is on the verge of achieving his lifelong dream of playing for the All Blacks. It’s all he’s ever wanted – until he meets the out, proud, and totally fabulous ER nurse extraordinaire Cameron Wano, and for the first time in his life finds himself starting to consider that maybe dreams can change. The book is sexy and angsty and something of an emotional rollercoaster, but that’s like catnip for yours truly, and I was fully invested in Cam and Reuben and their story from the get-go. Add in another terrific performance from Gary Furlong, and the almost twelve hours of audio just flew by.

Reuben is very much a rising star and has high hopes he’ll get a try-out with the All Blacks soon. But he’s got a lot of his plate that makes it difficult for him to focus solely on his career; his abusive, bigoted father bullies him relentlessly – Reuben might be too big for him to use his fists on now, but that doesn’t stop his mean-spirited diatribes, his constant threats and the hate he spews every time he opens his mouth – and his older brother Craig is an alcoholic who struggles to care for his four-year-old son Cory. Reuben adores his nephew and loves spending time with him, but it’s not always easy; Reuben suspects Cory has ASD, but Craig refuses to have him assessed, mostly because their father keeps insisting there’s nothing wrong with Cory that discipline won’t fix.

On top of all that AND the pressure of a career in professional sport, Reuben is gay and deeply closeted – and wants to stay that way. There’s never been an out, gay professional rugby player, and Reuben doesn’t want to be labelled as the ‘first’ or be a trailblazer; he just wants to be known for his skills on the pitch.

Cam Wano runs the ER at Auckland Med. with an iron hand. He’s well-liked, well-respected and highly competent, can wound at twenty paces with a well-placed barb and takes no shit from anyone. He’s been out since forever –

on account of being born with a congenital swish in my walk and a sassy mouth to match, not to mention an apparently hugely inappropriate obsession with makeup and clothes well before the age of eight.

– and although he’s had to fight to be who he is and endured his share of bullying, he’s come through it all stronger and completely secure in himself.

When Cam and Reuben first meet, the sparks fly like nobody’s business – but once Cam realises that Reuben isn’t out – and he does understand his reasons even though he can’t agree with them – he backs off. He was badly burned by someone who wanted to keep him as his Dirty Little Secret, and Cam isn’t going back into the closet for anyone, no matter how tempting Reuben is, or how strong a connection exists between them.

The romance between Reuben and Cam is a gorgeous slow-burn and is extremely well written. The longing and the strong attraction between them is palpable and ever present, but they both know where they stand and decide to go forward as friends. They spend time together regularly over the ensuing weeks and months, getting to know each other over coffee or on outings to the beach with Cory, and Reuben eventually opens up about his toxic relationship with his father and his difficult family situation. It’s clear how much Reuben adores the little boy – but he hasn’t told Cam the whole story, that his father is using his fondness for Cory against him, threatening to send the boy to live with his maternal family (who are not good people) unless Reuben toes the line.

The story is thoroughly engrossing and Cam and Reuben are attractive, well-developed but flawed characters whose path to happily ever after is rocky to say the least. Unsurprisingly, given their relative ages and life experience, Cam is the more emotionally mature partner in the relationship, while Reuben is more than a little bit clueless; he knows he wants to be with Cam, but doesn’t know how to make it happen, how to continue to play the sport he loves while being out and openly in a relationship with a man. He’s become used to waiting for problems to sort themselves out rather than being proactive, but perhaps that’s not surprising given everything he’s dealing with. Ms. Hogan does a great job of conveying the immense pressure Reuben is under, and each time he lets Cam down – albeit unintentionally – my heart hurt for both of them.

I had a few small niggles; sometimes the story meanders a little and there’s a bit too much internal monologuing at times, but for the most part I was so wrapped up in what was going on that it didn’t matter. Cam and Reuben are complex, likeable characters, and there’s enough rugby in the story to make Reuben’s situation convincing but not so much that a total-non-sports fan (like me) starts to glaze over!

Gary Furlong once again delivers a truly impressive performance, and I honestly can’t think of a single thing about it that doesn’t work. His pacing is just right, all the secondary characters are well differentiated and easy to identify, his vocal acting is superb – and best of all, his portrayal of the two leads is spot on. Cam is larger-than-life, big hearted, warm, funny and a bit naughty; he doesn’t suffer fools but there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for the people he cares about, and all of his fabulousness shines through in Mr. Furlong’s portrayal. He does perform both characters in a similar register, but Reuben’s voice is slightly lower-pitched and his speech is a little slower, and I never had any problems working out who was saying what. The thing that turns an impressive performance to an outstanding one however, is Mr. Furlong’s insight into and understanding of the two leads and the way he uses that to enhance and strengthen the emotional connection between them. He hits every emotional cue in the story, whether it’s the longing and desire crackling between Reuben and Cam, the twisted bigotry of Reuben’s father or the frustration and despair felt by his brother Craig – it’s all there in his voice and at times I forgot I was listening to just one person. I know there’s a vogue for two narrators in first person, dual PoV contemporary romance these days, but when a narrator is this good, there really is no need for a second one.

Great characters, strong chemistry, sharp dialogue, warmth, humour and steamy sexytimes all contributed towards making Crossing the Touchline a terrific listen, and one I found hard to put it down. Gary Furlong proves once again that he’s one of the best and most versatile romance narrators around, and I’m eagerly anticipating the next release in the Auckland Med. series.

Caz

---

Buy Crossing the Touchline by Jay Hogan on Amazon