The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall

Title: The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall
Author: Tam Ames
Publisher: Torquere
Cover Art: n/a
Genre: contemporary
Length: Short Story (7100 words)
Rating: 4 out of 5 rating stars

A Guest Review by Feliz

Summary Review: A sweet, largely angst-free little snack of a story.

The Blurb: Spence may be a big guy at six foot four, but he’s mortified when he faints at the sight of blood in front of sexy client Vander at the local tattoo parlor. But it’s not often Vander finds attractive men his own height, and he’s not going to let a little thing like fainting ruin his chances for a date.

The Review:

“Beanpole” Spence has self-esteem issues, particularly over the fact that he’s prone to fainting at anything that has remotely to do with medical procedures, needles or blood. Problem is, he thinks tattoos totally hot and he wants one, badly. It has taken him four years to work up the courage to enter a tattoo parlor–and he even gets to watch as another client, Vander, has something done–but wouldn’t you know it, at the first drop of blood, Spence drops like a sack of potatoes. Looks as if he just isn’t meant to have a tattoo of his own, let alone a sexy tattooed hunk. Because surely a man like Vander won’t have anything to do with a weakling like Spence, right?

Wrong. At well over six feet four (and built), Vander is sick and tired of almost breaking his neck every time he wants to kiss–since what he likes in a guy, lithe and lean, always seems to come with short. From the moment he first lays eyes on him, Vance thinks Spence perfect. What’s a little fainting in comparison? Vander will do anything to make Spence happy. And if it’s a tattoo Spence needs to be happy, Vander will make sure Spence gets one.

This was a cute story with two sympathetic main characters. Spence is so lovably uncomfortable in his gangly body, and I liked how Vance made him see his own assets. Spence is also the more elaborated of the two characters, we have more background on him than on Vander.

There’s an over ten-years age difference between the two, but that is not an issue. Actually, this story is refreshingly straightforward and problem-free.

This is really “only” a slice of life, how Spence and Vander meet, the first night they spend together and a little epilogue of sorts, set six months later. If you’re in the mood for a sweet, enjoyable, entertaining tidbit of a story, try this one.