The idea behind the story was interesting enough. Unfortunately, it wasn't fully developed. The MCs get hot and dirty for the first time without much of a thought. The author provided some lines about each of them wanting the other, but not deep enough for the reader to get invested. The separation was minimal for all the changes on Shelby and the reunion wasn't as hot.It was a nice read, just not a great romance. The 51st Thursday by Mercy Celeste (published by Cobblestone Press at 15,502 words) first attracted me with its unusual title, and then reeled me in with its opening paragraph set in a sports bar in Mobile, Alabama during hurricane season. I can’t resist a vivid setting, especially in the American south, and I’m fascinated by hurricanes. This story gives us an insider glimpse of a medium-strength hurricane striking a Gulf city, which feels pricelessly authentic in its blasé oh-this-again attitude while not minimizing the hurricane’s danger, power, and chaos.I had one small problem with the somewhat forced romantic commitment vocalized between the heroes in the last few pages. Their evolution from one sexual encounter with no strings attached to being in love seemed to come out of nowhere with no supporting scenes to explore the transition. However, I didn’t mind due to the hurricane material and an electrifyingly intense scene between the two men during a basketball game that highlights their aggression and sexual tension. The 51st Thursday is worth reading, and if the author writes another longer gay romance set in Mobile during hurricane season, I’ll be first in line to buy it.The story, told from two alternating third-person viewpoints, centers on Deacon and Shelby (aka “Thursday”). Deacon owns a bar and lives overhead in a spacious loft-style apartment with a basketball court. For close to one year, he has been lusting after mystery-man Shelby, who shows up to drink once a week on Thursday. The two men don’t know each other, except by sight, but clearly “Mr. Thursday night” is suffering from a terrible trauma in his recent past. Tough guy Deacon would like to get him in bed, but isn’t the type to want an intimate emotional connection, and has therefore kept his distance. When Shelby is stranded at the bar while the hurricane makes landfall, he has no choice but to go home with Deacon to the fortified apartment above the bar. There, their mutual attraction will not be denied, which leads to some startling revelations about Shelby’s past.Val for AReCafe
What do You think about The 51st Thursday (2012)?
Cute but rushed story, I'd loved to spend more time with these two.
—Nicole
Short, Sweet, and Sexy. Perfect Thursday night fling.
—Aditi
