This RITA® Reader Challenge 2015 review was written by Heather S. This story was nominated for the RITA® in the Long Contemporary category.

Here is Heather S.'s review:

Before I start this review, let me make it clear that I am not a music person. I can’t play an instrument, I can’t read notes, I just know what I like. As a result, a lot of the scenes that used music as the catalyst for expressing emotions didn’t ring the bell with me that they might with someone who knows more about the subject.

When I saw the title, I thought Fever Pitch might be an NA college/high school sporty jock/science nerd story. The cover looked science-nerdy. The title implied something like baseball. No, I didn’t read the summary before volunteering to review it. All I needed to know is that it was m/m romance. Sold to the lady with the Kindle for $5!

Aaron comes across, initially, as a bit of a jock, probably because his “friends” (and that term is to be use oh-so-loosely) are the resident jocks/popular kids. He’s only lived in the town for a year, and he basically took the only people who showed any interest as his friends. Not exactly a recipe for eternal friendship, but whatevs, dude.He gets to spend his birthday with his pseudo-friends, drinking alone in the laundry room while the rest of them get trashed at the party outside. Why? Because he’s gay and he knows it and he doesn’t want to have to play it straight. So he hides. He doesn’t have any of the “OMG I wish I weren’t gay!” angst stories like this usually contain.

Enter Giles. He’s a geeky guy – crazy hair, big ears, skinny as a rail. Not the classic “all-American Boy” image that Aaron has. He’s been bullied (and hospitalized) a lot for being gay – often by the same guys who furtively seek him out for sex.  He has sex with them as a form of revenge for their treatment of him, which is weird, but maybe will make sense in the context of the story? He’s way into music and can’t wait to ditch his hometown, best friend in tow, and leave all that behind him. Giles gets a drunk Aaron out of the house, unseen by his “friends”, and buys him a meal at Wendy’s for his birthday. They end up out at the lake and sexytimes commence.

From the start, there is a sense of understanding and humor in Aaron and Giles’ interactions that make it seem like they’re not just suffering from a case of hornypants, but they’re actually friends who really like each other (when they aren’t pissed at each other for the aforementioned Big Mis) and have stuff (besides sexytimes) in common.

Even more awesome? In their sexual encounters, Giles always checks in with Aaron. He doesn’t assume that because they’ve had sex once, it’s now wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am open season whenever he likes. He asks if different acts are okay, receives expressed permission from Aaron, and shows that he cares about Aaron’s comfort. He even says that guys who do what they want and hurt people in pursuing their own pleasure are jerks (my word, not his, but you get the idea). Consent is emphasized, reemphasized, and Giles never falls into the “you’re so hot, I have to keep banging you even though you’re in pain” trap, not even the first time or two. Consent and mutual enjoyment are huge priorities to him, even more than his own enjoyment. That alone got a solid rating boost from me.

The surrounding characters are pretty standard fare – a cool roommate (Giles’), a creepy religious-fundie-esque jerk who isn’t what he appears (Aaron’s), matchmaking mother (Giles’), a doormat mother (Aaron’s), controlling fathers (both sides), a whole passel of band/choir geek friends who rally around our couple when it’s needed.

My one issue was Mina, Giles’ friend: she falls in love with another girl in the story, but dismisses her own feelings as being more “the idea of” than a legitimate romance because she’s still attracted to guys. It seemed a bit bi-erasing (but this character was doing it to herself, as opposing to having other people invalidate her feelings), which I really didn’t like.

All in all, the story was a bit predictable, but Aaron and Giles were so likeable that I didn’t really care about the lack of surprises. If you love stories where sexual agency and consent are important things, if music-themed and/or college romances are your catnip, then you’ll curl up with this book like it’s a glass of iced tea on a summer day. It’ll hit the spot.