Thrust by Rachel Spangler is a sports romance that really shows how dreams are meant to be achieved, not feared.
Jess Kidman is a fencing prodigy who’s always been ahead of the blade she wields so easily. At thirteen, she won the state championship, came out, and kissed her team captain, Lauren Standish. Even at such a young age, Jess knew Lauren was the woman she was meant to be with, despite Lauren rebuffing her advances, claiming a five year age difference as the reason. But Jess doesn’t give up, so she makes Lauren promise that when she makes her first Olympic run, Lauren will go out on with her.
Lauren Standish’s life took a hard turn a few years after graduation thanks to unforeseen circumstances. Now, ten years after high school, her dreams have been put on an indefinite hold. She’s made peace with returning to Buffalo, and teaching fencing in a small, run-down club that makes her feel just happy enough. When Jess waltzes through her door, ready to collect on a promise made by pool light, Lauren finds the young fencer’s confidence, alluring and dangerous. One date is enough to make Lauren fear the possibilities, and when Jess suggests that Lauren become her coach, fear and desire mingle to give her the singular emotion she hasn’t allowed herself to feel in a long time: hope.
Can Lauren and Jess keep the sexual tension down and concentrate on the biggest even of their lives? Or will they ignite it and find that they can not only win the gold, they can win each other?
Pros And My Favourite Parts
This story has the best set up I’ve ever read because you see who these women are and what inspires them from the very beginning.
Jess is a firecracker. That’s the best way to describe her. She is the whole package: talented, gritty, charismatic, and it all stems from one place, or more specifically one person: Lauren Standish. Thirteen-year-old Jess made Lauren promise to go on one date with her when she went on her first Olympic run, and she’s come back to collect. Every action she has taken, every accolade achieved has been to reach this goal. Now, Jess isn’t delusional and understands a lot can change in ten years. She doesn’t want to make Lauren uncomfortable, nor is she there to force Lauren to like her. All she wants is one date, the date she was promised. From there, Jess is willing to let fate decide if there is more possibility for them.
Lauren remembers Jess. It’s hard to forget such a courageous, and unyielding young woman who worked up the nerve to kiss her poolside in high school. And while it takes a little time to shake the cobwebs away, she does remember the promise she made. But Lauren’s life hasn’t turned out the way she planned. Unforeseen heartbreak, followed by a sudden loss of self-worth, has redirected Lauren down a path she never expected. A path where dreams are now approached with caution instead of valor. Where disappointment is more likely to happen than success. Jess represents the unattainable to Lauren – the hope and aspiration she refuses for fear of being disappointed when it is ultimately taken away. Lauren is willing to push Jess away, allow her to chase those dreams and live vicariously through her. But she didn’t count on Jess’s tenacity and fortitude to bring her along for the ride and show her that dreams are meant to be grabbed and achieved. And hope is the one thing they both could use if their dream of being together is to have any chance at succeeding.
Cons And Heads Up
My only con is very nitpicky because I loved this story so much I read it twice over vacation. You may have to adhere to the “one more chapter” rule or risk losing sleep because these chapters are long. In which case, I suggest starting it on the weekend when you have no plans the following day or do like I did and take it on vacation where you have no plans whatsoever.
The Conclusion
I’m sure I’ve said this before, but it holds true every time. I have always enjoyed Spangler’s writing, but sports romances truly is their forte. Jess and Lauren are perfectly matched. Jess with her sure-fire fortitude makes Lauren see that all dreams should not be sacrificed and need to be nurtured and fought for. In addition, the research is so spot-on. I don’t know anything about fencing and I was able to follow the bouts pretty easily. Seriously, if Spangler ever announced they were never going to write another sports romance again, I would cry. So, hopefully such an announcement will never happen and Spangler will continue to give us awesome sports romances that highlight the sport as well as the women who love them and each other.
Excerpt from Thrust by Rachel Spangler
Red ringlet curls, sky blue eyes, a stubborn set of close, pointed lips drawn up in a short, shy smile. The features were all the same, and yet the woman who wore them bore less resemblance to the girl who’d last stood this close, than to the powerhouse whose likeness plastered various photos across the room.
Heartbeat hammering through her brain, Lauren glanced over her shoulder to check the display of Team US memorabilia against the far wall to make sure the image hadn’t come to life before her, but that poster hadn’t shifted. She glanced back to the woman who’d followed her gaze, cheeks coloring as she recognized her mirror image held a place of honor in the space she now occupied in the flesh.
Neither of them spoke for the surreal set of ticking seconds it took for Lauren to find the simplest of words. “Hi Jess.”
“Hi.”
Lauren opened her arms, and Jess stepped into the embrace. She didn’t fold under her chin anymore, but rather rested hers on Lauren’s shoulder, smelling of well-worn leather and an impending storm.
Lauren breathed her in, taking note of everything at once. The firm body, the soft wisp of her breath, the tender touch of a strong hand on the small of her back. This was Jess, and yet not the kid she’d known.
“What are you doing here?” she finally managed to ask.
“I came to see you.”
“Me?” She laughed a little louder. “You?”
“Yeah. Me, you…”
“You should be training. Oh my God, you only have a few months. Seriously, why are you in Buffalo?”
“We made a deal.”
Now Lauren took her turn to arch an eyebrow.
Jessie frowned. “Please don’t tell me you forgot.”
She searched her memory, like a rapidly clicking through a slideshow in the back of her brain. She had so many mental images of Jess, but they were all shrouded in the golden haze of youth.
“Your senior year, the party after we won the state championship, everyone was drinking.” The seriousness of Jess’s voice willed her to remember. “You took me out by the pool, away from the crowd, just the two of us.”
A muscle twitched in Jess’s jaw the same way it had that night, and the memories rushed back as the little tick softened something inside of Lauren the way it always had. “You were so brave and bold and serious. God, Jess, doesn’t it feel like an eternity ago?”
She nodded slowly then took a deep breath. “Sometimes, but I’m here now. I’ve qualified for my first Olympics, and I don’t see a ring on your finger, so unless you’re with someone…”
Lauren laughed, an incredulous shot of joy. “Seriously? You came all the way back to Buffalo in an Olympic year to tease me about a deal we made more than ten years ago?”
“I’m not teasing. You told me I could ask you again on my first Olympic run. This is me, roughly two months from the opening ceremonies, asking to please, finally, go out with me.”
Lauren could barely process the words, much less the swell of emotion they clearly carried for Jess. The idea she’d even remembered her would’ve been flattering, but to have her barge in and try to sweep her off her feet added up to something to surreal to fathom. The whole exchange would’ve felt farcical if not for those steady eyes burning with the same fire that bound them together in a different life. The heat of that fire held her cautiously back for fear of getting singed.
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9781734303841
Publisher: Brisk Press
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