Book 791: Fall Through Spring (Winter Ball #3) – Amy Lane

And this just goes to show what happens when you have to eat your words. At the end of my review for Summer Lessons, I said I wasn’t sure Dane and Clay needed their own story and Lane proved me wrong for the most part.

I still wonder how all of this happened when Mason and Terry were getting together, but I guess Dane did disappear for large swaths of the books. The one scene that really gets me though was when Skip called Clay out during a heart-to-heart when they were eating lunch with Mason. Clearly things were a lot further along at that point than it appeared in book two!

I really enjoyed Lane’s inclusion of a plus size character (I can never remember if that’s what us large guys are called, personally Big and Tall is just annoying) in Clay. This is only the second or third that I’ve read with the one that is probably most similar being The Weight of it All. Both authors did good jobs of talking about how the characters wanted to lose weight but it wasn’t the be all and end all of their being.

Some adjustments you made for life because you wanted to have a life. (144)

She did a great job paralleling the struggles (and strengths) of battling overeating to some mental health challenges. I definitely don’t think they’re identical, but the way she talked about losing control around food and having to make a conscious decision to NOT buy food or to give it all away so you don’t eat it all to having to take medicine everyday was really apt.

Maybe love wasn’t stolen cookies and forbidden kisses. Maybe love was love when your best friend changed everything that was wrong in his life so he could be the person you needed most. (21)

That’s the bullshit you’re having trouble with. There’s no beating someone at life. There’s just living your life the best you can. You can. I think you’re doing okay, man. I really do. (113)

I wasn’t so sure on Dane’s character. I struggle with characters that hit too close to home because they just make me uncomfortable when I read. As much as I love to read works that push my boundaries and increase my depth as a person, sometimes that’s not what you need in what you think will be a lighter read. Ugh and then added in the overinvolved/judgmental family and yeah wayyyyy too close to home (regardless of whether it’s imagined or not).

There were so many wonderfully sweet moments as well, maybe because of the highest highs and lowest lows they stood out more, but this one was just perfect.

That hand on his knee was everything. It was lightning and thunder. It was heavy breathing and promises in the dark. It was a dozen donuts and steak and potatoes and that proud feeling that went with knowing you hadn’t eaten any bad things and you felt just fine.

It was Dane trusting him to do what was best and his complete fear that what was best for Dane wasn’t going to be a whole lot of fun for Clay Alexander Carpenter.

But when Dane shifted to move his hand, Clay put his hand on top of it and squeezed back. (94)

Clay’s niece and nephew were in the back seat and didn’t even acknowledge this happening and it was just perfect, especially with the semi-dramatic scenes of Clay coming out to his family.

Lane did a good job with the sex scenes. She walked the walk when it came to versatility.

Well, does it really matter what they think? You’re not sleeping with them. You’re sleeping with me! Doesn’t it matter what I think, because I think you do what feels good and nobody shames you for it. I thought that’s what you thought, too! (187)

AND she had fun with it. I mean don’t get me wrong there are absolutely words (like butthole, looking at you It’s a Steal) that should probably never be in a sex scene, but when the characters have great chemistry and humor is a part of sex (which it absolutely can and should be) sometimes throwing in a U-turn works great:

They both moaned this time, and Dane started to shudder with want. God, he loved that feeling, full, aching, burning. He always wondered if he should donate his asshole to science or something, because he seemed to have extra nerve endings right . . . oh God . . . oh yes . . . there. (207)

I legit LOLed, but I WASN’T pulled out of the scene which is all you can ask for. It was a quick quip that made sense because of who said it and the relationship the characters had with each other. A less talented author couldn’t have pulled that one off.

Recommendation: What a great end to the trilogy! With two protagonists facing their own challenges, this book could’ve gone so differently and I wasn’t really looking forward to going into it, but I was pleasantly surprised at the story and the relationship. Lane has left plenty of characters to come back to (see the very last quote under more quotes), but she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to because this feels like a nice ending point of the series. Lane’s definitely toward the top of my Tier 2 writers and I’ll definitely read more of her work in the future.

Opening Line: “Clay Alexander Carpenter was the first to admit it—his first love was a chocolate chip cookie.”

Closing Line: “They’d be playing on this field forever and ever, until their last kiss and their last breath, because being together was the best game of their lives.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Fall Through Spring
“He’d shown up on the first day of second grade wearing jeans that fit perfectly and a T-shirt that had a picture of Chewbacca on it. His mother had allowed him to pick his own clothes, and she’d been surprised. ‘Chewbacca, honey? Do you even know what that is?’
‘It’s a who, Mother,’ Clay had answered reasonably. ‘He’s a Wookiee. His species doesn’t make a difference in his personhood.'” (6)

“It had been perfect. A revelation. A vision of stars and wars and laser weapons and giant hairy beasts who wore artillery packs on their chests.” (6)

“But that curiosity hadn’t been enough to keep him from going off to school and falling in love with Rebecca Jorgenson, who was serious and earnest and who wrote wickedly funny fan fiction centered in the Star Trek universe. Some of it was Spirk, and Clay enjoyed the hell out of reading that, even if he didn’t tell Rebecca.” (13)

“And God, he really wanted to talk with someone about that kiss with Jordyn that he kept tied up next to his heart, because it was starting to dawn on him that if nothing else, bisexuality doubled the dating pool. And at this point, he’d take someone, anyone, who he could bare his soul to and who would still love him in return.” (15)

“Things, stupid things, like the temperature or a change of plans could catapult him from being a functioning adult to big whiny baby with his own mood-funk surrounding him like weather.” (27)

“But Carpenter was starting to see that to Skip, he had effectively raised the bar on being human. To a guy who had no family, being dragged to a family gathering was a blessing. To a guy who’d just figured out he was gay, having one friend who still treated him right meant he could have a whole lot of faith in the world to come. To Skipper, who had apparently grown up too quickly and too alone, the point wasn’t that Carpenter felt happier in his kitchen than he’d ever felt in his life. The point was that Carpenter came into his kitchen at all.” (44)

“Clay was like patient zero of Dane’s happiness virus. Dane needed to catch him.” 69)

“Dane sucked in a breath. ‘Jesus, Carpenter. I was going to be all bitchy and jealous and you had to pull emotional honesty on me. What kind of asshole are you?’
‘Apparently I’m the asshole who’s going to let you clean my room?'” (73)

“You know. All those Christmas charities? And I’m like, ‘My sister’s a cancer doctor, and her kids are little saint children, and my parents are lobbying for a better environment, and I’m a big fat blob of environmental suck, so I should give all my money to charity.’ It happens.” (76)

“It’s not privilege when it makes you feel awful, when it cripples your ability to do good things in the world.” (77)

“Skip and Richie’s first choice for a dog, their mutual, oh my God I can’t live without him, love-at-first-sight choice of friend and companion for life had been a cross between a wolf and a pony.” (85)

“You loved your friends and wanted to impress your friends and dreamed about your friends and their slightly crooked teeth and their dreamy brown eyes and the way, sometimes, when they stood really close, it felt like their chests were made of magnets and the world had no air.” (92)

“Yeah, the tiny house on the peninsula was cluttered, but it was friendly clutter. Sure, Dane and Mason had needed to share a bedroom, but they’d also talked almost every night until Mason went away to school. Mason had gotten in trouble a lot in school, not because he was a bad person, but because his mouth tended to say the one thing that would freak teachers and authority figures out the most. Dane had heard every detail about every teacher conference since he was old enough to pat Mason on the back and say, ‘It’s okay. I don’t think you’re a freak,’ and Mason had been preciously grateful. They’d both known those were the days their mom spiked her Kool-Aid with a little bit of vodka, and maybe forgot the greens with dinner.” (101)

“Sure, I could ignore it. I had to work to eat half a chicken sandwich and one cookie. I had to practice that in my head sixty thousand times in the drive-thru so it didn’t come out a double-quarter and three cookies with a shake. If I stop thinking that way, in three months, I wouldn’t be able to walk across the parking lot. I couldn’t fit in the car. This isn’t heroin, where I just don’t have it around. This is fuel—I need to eat. It’s important for my body’s function. And my other alternative is to never eat another cookie, ever. Are you hearing me?” (117)

“‘That’s my line,’ Clay said, his voice shaking. ‘Because you are special to me, and I think I’m special to you. And I don’t want you to disappear because we hook up and suddenly you’re terrified you did or said something wrong. If I’m your friend, you know anything is forgivable. Being lovers is harder. Let’s get our shit sorted first.'” (119)

“Clay moved with a sort of exquisite grace, an absolute care, probably born of the awareness that he was bigger and heavier than the person he was with and didn’t want to hurt or crush anybody.
Dane appreciated it at first, but as Clay backed Dane gracefully to the arm of the couch, he’d had enough of it.
‘Bed,’ he demanded, and then shoved at Clay’s shoulders. ”No couch. No necking. Bed. I want naked, and I want bed, and I want you.’
‘Wow! You’re a pushy bastard!’
‘And you’re still dressed, and we’re still in the living room! Now move!'” (167)

“Somehow I thought when I fell in love again there would be fewer orders and more flowers.” (180)

“I don’t want your fucking pity, Dane. I… I just want what you give me. Whatever you can manage, however you’re doing that day, you give me what you can based on who I am. Not the better person you want me to be, or the person I’m trying to be, but who I am that day. That’s what Skipper gives me, and Richie, and even the fucking Holy Church of Soccer. But I never got any of that from school or those fucking worthless pieces of paper. I wish I’d done something useful after high school, like go on a mission or join the Army or something. But I didn’t. I tried to make myself into someone I really loathed, and I’m still trying to wash the taste of that person out of my mouth with donuts.” (205)

“He wasn’t a brick, drowning the people he loved. He was a brick they could stand on so they could get their heads above water and take a breath.” (226)

“Skipper shrugged. ‘Naw—Thomas and Cooper will be over, at the very least.’ He glanced to where their two teammates stood, shoulder to shoulder, and Dane’s radar started dinging fiercely.
‘Uh . . . do you guys think they’re—’
Skipper shook his head violently and held his fingers to his lips. ‘We’re not going to say anything about that, okay? I think it’s spreading.’
‘The gay thing?’ Dane asked, enchanted. That was supposed to be a myth.
Skipper grinned. ‘Or the falling in love thing. Either way, the team is finally winning, and I don’t want to jinx it.’ He sobered. ‘But me and Richie will be fine.’ His face softened, and he regarded Clay with the fondness of a brother. ‘I appreciate you asking, though. A whole lot sure has happened this last year, hasn’t it?’
Clay nodded. ‘Yeah. Best year of my life.'” (234)