Shira Anthony - The First Step

The first step is the hardest. After a scandal, New York political reporter Reed Barfield is lying low at the North Carolina coast, writing a story about the seafood industry. But it’s the harbor pilots on the Cape Fear River who capture his interest—men who jump across ten feet of open ocean to grab a rope ladder and guide huge container ships into port. Men like sexy but prickly Justin Vance.
After surviving an abusive childhood and a tour in the Navy, Justin isn’t fazed by his dangerous job—it’s certainly easier to face than Reed’s annoying questions. Justin isn’t out at work, and he doesn’t need Reed digging into his personal life or his past.
But Reed’s no stranger to using his considerable charm to get what he wants, and as he wears Justin down, they realize they have a lot in common—and that they like spending time together. Moving beyond that, though, will mean Justin confessing his sexuality and learning to trust Reed with his secrets—if Reed even decides to stay. Both men want a future together, but can they find the courage to take the first step?

Comment: I got interested in this book for the opposites attract type of trope, since the main characters have different jobs and would be at odds when the story begins, and while this was a good story, it wasn't out of this world.

Reed Barfield is a reporter doing a piece on the seafood industry in North Carolina, a place that brings him less than good memories, but work demands and the need to lay low made him accept it. He's simply thinking about it when he notices the skill of a harbor pilot and start wondering if that wouldn't be a better piece to write about, but when he decides to ask the pilot some questions, he doesn't seem interested.

Justin Vance only wants to do his job and go home to his quiet life, especially since he fears coming out to his co workers might make them seem him differently, and Reed's questions about his past and interests make him uncomfortable. However, Reed doesn't seem to give up and soon Justin starts opening up about why he likes the job and they seem to hit it off. The problem is that Reed will need to go back to his job in New York, and it's quite a distance to manage, or isn't it?

This is the second book I try by the author and I did like this one slightly better. It's true that they are of different genres (the other was a PNR) but the overall feeling I have, now that I tried another book, is that the author's writing style is competent but not exciting.

The fact the protagonists seemed to be different types of people made me curious, because the fun part of this trope is to see how the romance can be developed between two people who might have different positions in life, different expectations but still care about one another enough to make things work, or to make it easier for that to happen. In this regard, the story was good enough for me, if not a little predictable, because Justin and Reed might come from different backgrounds and have different jobs but they actually are similar enough in other aspects.

Their relationship is the most central element in this book, but I should say I feel it wasn't as exhilarating as it could be. I feel the author could have added more sexual tension or could have written things so that this would be more obvious between them before they took the step towards that. The way things played out, Justin was careful because he couldn't be certain how his sexuality would be received and I actually thought his past and choice to join the navy to be away from home might have something to do with it, but in the end this element wasn't as important as it seemed to be hinted.

Reed seems a bit more complex in some parts of the story, but now I've finished, perhaps not as much as that. He had a childhood in which his Jewish roots were a problem in school, and he is an impulsive guy who gets himself in some trouble for lack of attention, such as when Justin helps him when they meet. Still, deep down, he is a charming good guy and I felt his personality and Justin's were similar, and not as opposed as the blurb and their place of living seemed to suggest.

The plot is heavily centered on them, but their personal issues in life weren't as complicated to solve as that either. This means the story lacks some driving force and while I don't mind quieter types of plots or cozier ones, something has to compel reading and here I found myself sometimes wondering when something special/urgent would happen. There's the introduction of a hurricane at some point, which I think was done to accelerate their understanding of what they felt for one another, due to the possible danger and what would happen when they had to separate when Reed would return home, but... again, this wasn't done in a very smooth way.

I did like the sweet scenes they share and when they decided to be together while Reed is around it felt the romance was getting stronger. The piece Reed is writing about the pilots also includes a small case of a pilot who got hurt at work and what could have happened, but thankfully this wasn't a big deal in the end, because I think if the intention was to showcase how Justin's work and/or his co workers might be involved in something shady would feel very stilted, considering where the story was going.

In the end, as expected, everything is solved, the guys obviously find a way to have their HEA and I felt happy for them, but it's not the type of story I will think of as being so great that i need to re-read my favorite scenes or something....

Grade: 6/10