Whistle is the 8th and the last book in the Westbrook Elite series by Cambria Hebert. One thing I can say about this author, is Cambria brings the feels and you are definitely going to feel them reading about Westbrook's prestigious swim coach and his boy get their HEA.
From the blurb:
my life has been nothing but an epic downward spiral.
Once a swimmer for the most prestigious West Coast college,
I never in a million years thought I’d end up here.
Abandoned. Locked up. Alone.
In a moment of weakness, I call the guy who was more of a brother to me than anything, the guy I betrayed.
Shockingly, he flies cross country to bail me out. But he isn’t alone.
In tow is his new swim coach—a whistle-blowing tyrant who makes me crave pushing every button he’s ever had and tossing his list of rules into the bottom of his coveted pool.
But I can’t because now he’s my coach too.
It’s Coach Resch and the team who hates me or a four-by-four cell.
So off to Westbrook I go to serve my sentence like the good boy I’ll never be.
Coach thinks he can handle me, but he’s never met my particular brand of wild.
Please note Whistle contains discussions of suicide (off page), death, and murder of a sibling, present danger, and water trauma. This an age-gap romance. The ages of the main characters are twenty-one and forty.
Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's review:
"𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮. 𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙮, 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙖𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙."
Whistle was a moderately angsty story which deals with the heavy topic of grief. When we meet Bodhi he is deep in the abyss of mourning the terrible murder of his twin sister. He's lost and angry and hurt which leads to him making some very bad choices, bad choices which end him up in jail. When coach Emmett comes to the rescue after Bodhi calls Rush, he recognizes Bodhi's actions for what they are: A cry for help.
"𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙤𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙮 𝙣𝙤 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠. 𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚. 𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣, 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙖𝙩 𝙪𝙨. 𝙃𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙤𝙛𝙛, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙."
A lot of the angst in this book is due to the fact that Emmett is a faculty member, not to mention the swim coach, of the college and team Bodhi is now a part of. Emmett eats and breathes his job. The team is his family. I mean, if you've read the series you know, coach is always there when he's needed. He's like the grouchy Dad who complains all the time, but secretly loves it. His being in a relationship with one of his swimmers is strictly forbidden. It weighs on him terribly and leads to some major issues between him and Bodhi.
Fortunately for him, Bodhi is relentless and he proves too much of a temptation for Emmett to ignore. These two are drawn to one another like nothing else. Bodhi craves a firm hand to help him navigate his new life and Emmett craves to be the one to give it to him. Neither have been in a Daddy/boy relationship dynamic before, but it becomes clear really early that it is exactly the right fit for them.
Their journey was not all hearts and rainbows. There are a lot of moving pieces on the chess board and things that had to happen in order to clear their path. One thing that stays strong throughout this entire series is how Elite is a family and family protects their own. I have adored this series and all the people who make up this team. I'm sad this is the end of the Westbrook Elite, but seeing their coach get his very own HEA was definitely the perfect ending for them all.
Whistle is currently available as an e-book and paperback and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
Comments
Post a Comment