Review: Seducing C.C.

Title: Seducing C.C.
Author: Ariel Tachna
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Publication Date: 16 April 2010
Reviewed Format: ebook
Length: 200 pages

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review: Roger is looking to escape, however briefly, from a bad break-up with a cheating ex when he accepts a position as outdoors specialist at Camp Laguna. Newly dubbed Astro by his tentmate, C.C., he fights against an instant attraction, certain that C.C. is straight. When a night away from camp shows him to be anything but, Astro has to decide whether he's worth risking his heart, or if C.C.'s philandering past is more than he can chance.

Astro is likable enough. He's willing to stand up for himself, gun-shy without being completely neurotic, and still mostly self-confident despite his occasional questioning of himself due to his ex. I never really felt invested in him, though; he never made it past words on a page to me. I appreciated his romantic quandary with C.C., but I wouldn't have been crushed if it hadn't worked out.

C.C. caught me a bit more. He struck me as rather vulnerable despite his bluster, and the reveal of what was behind his name was charming in its bittersweetness. He did tend to come on a bit too strong for me to buy it, though, given the setting. Then again, college students can be supremely dumb when it comes to hormones, so I suppose it really isn't too terribly unbelievable.

The chemistry between Astro and C.C. starts out as one-sided lust, grows into mutual interest, and finally explodes into the physical. It takes a long time to get to even their first kiss, but it's all downhill from there. From there on, the sex gets frequent and frantic enough that I actually found myself skimming the final scene. There was definitely heat between them, just a bit too much exploration of it for me.

What ultimately ruined it for me was a preliminary scene before Astro and C.C. actually had sex. In it, C.C. is busily fingering Astro with only saliva for lubrication... which is refreshed between bouts of fingering. The thought of said fingers going from ass to mouth to ass again just completely put me off of the scene and soured me on the sex in general. It's one of those things I just can't move past, unfortunately.

The supporting cast was stellar, threatening to walk away with the story more than once. I particularly enjoyed Spirit, but most of the counselors, particularly those dubbed the Amazons, were fun, well-developed personalities. I would have enjoyed spending more time with them, although what was shared in the story was plenty in and of itself.

The story itself is cute, centered on the camp life when not on Astro and C.C. There's mild conflict here and there, but nothing to really threaten the relationship and nothing that isn't quickly resolved. I usually prefer a little more conflict, but this is a sweet enough premise that it wasn't really necessary. The story is also told entirely from Astro's point-of-view, so everything is flavored by his personality and perceptions.

Actually, sweet fits the story as a whole, not just as a premise. The characters and relationships were sweet, the story was sweet, the development and ending were sweet. I wish I'd had a summer camp like Camp Laguna when I was younger. The hot guys in love with each other are just a bonus.