Elaine White's Life in Books

Book – Cozzi Cove: Stepping Out (Cozzi Cove #3)
Author – Joe Costentino
Star rating - ★★★★★
No. of Pages – 130
Cover – Gorgeous
POV – 3rd person, multi-character POV
Would I read it again – Yes!
Genre – LGBT, Contemporary, Romance


** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Reviewed for Divine Magazine

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Warnings: This story deals with some heavy issues: historical rape of two characters, historical homicide, ill health, loss of faith, and the difficult transition of a transgender MTF.

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The story begins with a quick summary of the history of Cozzi Cove and a lovely scene between Cal and Michael. It's a great way to start the novel and the brilliance of Cosentino's writing style means that anyone can pick up this book without having read the previous two in three series, without any difficulties.

Our cast is diverse, as always, but a little more close to home than before. As promised in the previous book, we have Cal, Michael and George as the resident family. Dr Aaron Weiss is the cardiologist who arrives with Taylor, only for them both to end up shaking up the comfortable, happy atmosphere the Cozzi boys have found together. Blue Magnum is a blast from the past with a big secret to share. Connor finally gets his story when Professor Nastas Flowingstream takes up Bungalow Three and takes an interest in the psychology of Connor's nymphomaniac lifestyle. We have sixty-year-old Pastor Bill Gayton, who is having a crisis of faith, until he meets the resident of Bungalow Six, Kamael. Kamael is the head of 'the Angels', a group of like minded gay men, who gather together to do good deeds for others. What was a really nice and unexpected surprise was that we also get the story of Carla, Tommy and Connor, which I've been looking forward to all this time.

I've loved Connor since the start of this series. When he enters the story here, with one of his usual crazy stories of spontaneous sex with a stranger, it's a hoot from the get go. But what I loved even more was his initial hesitance over Professor Nastas because he reminded him of the Professors who made him feel dumb before. Despite that, he was willing to listen to his theory about his study of nymphomania and Connor had the strength to agree to be his Subject Y, opening up about personal things, even when it was difficult. The huge maturity and revelations that he came upon in this story were beautiful to see.

Cal and Michael, as ever, were my favourite. Though their story was smaller this time around, it still had the same impact. They were loving, hot and sweet together, but they still had their problems. Exploring those problems while they tried to help their friends and family meant that they came upon their own answers and revelations, more by accident than design. It was a very clever way of allowing them to work out their issues.

Carla's story was exactly as I'd imagined it would be, though Taylor certainly didn't make it easy. Tommy, on the other hand, had perhaps the most profound storyline of them all. Reuniting with a lost love, going back to those feelings he'd had in high school and finding that they hadn't changed, was a big step forward from his life-long crush on Cal. Blue's story, on top of that, meant that the entire book was emotionally charged and full of shocking secrets.

Because of that, I can't tell you much more other than that I loved it. As expected. With love, romance and the big reveal of so many secrets, Stepping Out is perhaps the most important novel in the series so far. With so many of the recurring characters getting a huge chunk of the storytelling time, I couldn't have asked for a better exploration of the Cozzi family and their chaotic summers at Cozzi Cove. Thanks to the perfect ending, I really hadn't expected there to be more...but, YES! There is an excerpt at the end for the next book. And I couldn't be more thrilled!

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Favourite Quote

“Resting his pad on his knees, Nastas asked, “Connor, exactly how many men have you had sexual relations with?”
Connor used the memory skills he'd learned in effective listening class and the additional techniques he'd absorbed in calculus. “Three hundred thirty-eight and a half.”
“A half?”
“We didn't finish because he had to milk a cow.””