Tipping the Balance is the second book in the CalPac Crew series, featuring newly-graduated rower Brad Sundstrom and Drew St. Charles, Coach Nick Bradford's BFF. As the first book ends, Drew is very interested in Brad, while Brad is beginning to realize he may not be as straight as he thought.

That dynamic continues as Brad struggles against even saying the word "gay" much less coming to terms with his attraction to Drew. Brad has a lot of emotional baggage and has a difficult time dealing with being less than "manly":

"Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod .... Was he gay? Bi? He didn't know. Both terms conjured images that he didn't recognize; that he prayed didn't apply to him. The lisping faggot, the limp-wristed theater crowd, the c@cksucker. Even at relatively liberal California Pacific, there'd been the divisions between the jocks, the real men, on the other hand, and the .... not-manly-enough guys on the other. [...] But, somehow, to like guys sexually was to be less than a man. He couldn't shake that idea from his mind."

Brad continues in this mindset throughout the book, gaining little in the way of personal growth or understanding of his sexuality, IMHO.

There is a lot going on here - Brad working for his horrid homophobic father in the family construction business, Drew, Brad and Emily putting together a bid to restore a historic property in town, issues with the college oversight committee and Nick and Morgan's coach/teacher relationship, and Brad becoming Nick's assistant coach. Brad gets up at the crack of dawn to work with the CalPac crew, works part-time at his father's subdivision sales office, works part-time restoring the historic house, takes classes for his contractor's license, attends oversight committee meetings, AND is in a relationship with Drew.

But wait, there's more .... criminal activity, rampant miscommunication, as well as an extended medical situation, and by the time we get to 91% Drew and Brad still have all their issues without any substantive discussion or resolution. At almost 400 pages, the pace is very slow, yet there is little in the way of personal growth, relationship building and communication. With too much telling versus showing, Brad and Drew's relationship feels very lightly developed, despite the huge amount of POV narratives from both characters.

This book just did not work for me for several reasons - the lack of character development and growth as well as the lethargic pace and convoluted plot. 2.5 stars and I cannot recommend this book, although "your mileage may vary."

Drew St. Charles is a realtor and home renovator in the Sacramento area. He has been flipping houses for years, but ir only now really focusing of home renovations. He doesn't have a contractor license, however, and his main contractor is retired--only coming on to the job sites near their final inspection to ensure everything is up to code. Drew's also routinely enlisted his college bestie, Nick Bedford, to run his construction crews in the summer when Nick doesn't have classes or coaching responsibilities, but Nick has made it clear this is the last summer he can do it. Nick and his boyfriend/fiance Morgan are planning to move for graduate studies, once Morgan graduates next spring, and Drew is frustrated for a couple of reasons. First, Drew wants a partner in love and business. He's a little melancholy that he and Nick never worked out, and that Nick is deliriously in love with Morgan. And, he also needs to get a good, solid contractor who will help him in his business plans. Beyond that, Drew has a hankering for a former member of Nick's crew team, Brad Sunderstrom, who just graduated from CalPac College, and Nick won't give over Brad's number.

Brad is a hot mess of a big lug. He'd met Drew St. Charles at a few of the crew meets last season and knew there was something special about him--despite him being gay. Drew was smart, classy and successful in real estate, which is what Brad would hope to be. He had thought he was getting a job building homes in his father's real estate development company, but instead he's been saddled with selling an inferiorly-developed suburban tract that is sure to be bankrupt as NO ONE wants a home there. He spends his days in solitary confinement at the housing sales center with nary a visitor or a call. Brad's been told his whole life that he's stupid and a waste of space by his father, and he pretty much believes this. If he could "make something" of himself, he'd get the trust his mother had bequeathed him and be able to move out of his abusive dad's home, which is why Brad initially reaches out to Drew for advice in selling the homes of his development.

Drew is elated to hear from Brad, even if he has to give Brad the terrible news that his development homes are substandard and overpriced--two huge reasons they aren't selling. Their lunch meeting does yield fruit in that Drew learns Brad's been building homes for his dad's company since high school, and has the necessary skills to make a crew foreman. And, with a bit more training could qualify for a contractor's license. Drew's attraction hasn't faded a bit, but Brad's definitely straight. That's not a reason for them to stay apart, though, especially when Drew offers Brad the crew foreman job and gets him to sign on to the huge renovation bid he's planning on Bayard House, a derelict state landmark home that should be the Sacramento mayor's residence but needs significant restoration to be livable. Brad is jazzed and even cuts his hours on his dad's development project to accommodate this opportunity, something that really rubs his old man the wrong way. And, it's not long before Brad has another opportunity: assistant coach for CalPac men's crew, now that their team has tripled in size since Brad and the crew won the west coast championships the previous spring.

The more time that Drew and Brad spend, the more than Brad begins to admire Drew, and this admiration is accompanied by sexual attraction for a man for the first time in Brad's experience. It's stunning, and scary for Brad, who has lived with his father's casual homophobia his whole life. And, yet, Drew is a man who believes him intelligent and capable and it's the first time Brad has felt cared for since his beloved mother died. This leads to some small explorations, mainly kissing and cuddling, that prove the arousal for both men--and Drew is at first happy with this. The closer they become, the more Brad is willing to explore his attraction for Drew sexually, but he is loath to even consider himself bisexual, and especially not gay, no matter how far these explorations extend in terms of sex. Brad's repeated denials of his same-sex attraction are wearing on his own esteem, and Drew's last nerve. Drew fought hard to break free of the closet, and Brad's unwillingness to consider coming out, or be seen in public with Drew, is eventually too much to overcome.

Naturally, there are outside challenges to the situation. The renovations were going pretty well until Drew is gay bashed one night. The aftermath results in a long separation, and the surety that both Drew and Brad had love in their futures before this tragedy. The situation is also complicated by bad communication and hurt feelings on both sides, but Brad is not a man to let down his love twice, and he finally picks up the pieces of his shattered self-esteem and does what is required to win back Drew's love and affection. This, by the way, happens only after Brad acknowledges his gay attraction--aided by a burly fire chief on an arson investigation.

There are issues with this story, regarding realities of life in construction projects that seemed a bit beyond reasonable, and long periods of not a lot happening when ti seemed A LOT should be happening. But it was super fun watching Brad figure his life out. He seemed to be such a horrible guy in the first book in this series, but he recognized his problems then and tried to fix them, and works doubly hard in this story to make amends for past mistakes. Drew has a hard road to recovery, and he's really about to give up on his dreams by the time Brad reappears in his life--with better news than he could have ever dreamed for. The long separation certainly did make these hearts fonder, and Brad's hard work during that time bridged the gap that had opened in their lives. He and Drew make a happily ever after, and their realty and renovation business isn't only the business partnership they build together; their private life is a masterwork of craftsmanship that they aren't keeping on the down-low any longer.

I really enjoyed Nick and Morgan's story in the first book, but book two is a different story. Drew and Brad have many issues to overcome. Okay, so more Brad, but Drew knew this going in. Add to that, a drawn out background about real estate and house renovations, then through in several improbable events and it becomes a tricky story to tell.

Unfortunately, C. Koehler doesn't seem to have a solid grasp on the tale he wants to tell. There are inconsistencies and contradictions in characters' POV and the narrative, that caused me to go back a few pages, multiple times. I felt the author had real difficulty sharing the characters' feelings and expressing them- to each other (the MCs) and to the readers. Koehler needed a more delicate handling of the climaxing events to make them believable.

By the end, I'm not sure I liked any of the characters anymore. Even Nick and Morgan's behavior was disappointing and didn't represent them in the same way we grew to love them in the first book. This book was hard to finish.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story between Brad and Drew continues in this next installment.
Brad is still on unfamiliar ground with coming to terms with his sexuality and his family.
Drew is headstrong and confident and knows exactly what he wants.
The characters were real, relatable and well fleshed out.
The author's writing style worked for me and I loved the world building.
I recommend you read book 1 in this series for maximum enjoyment.
A definite recommend

I loved this book. It was a mix of funny, hot, romantic, angsty and emotional. The writing was excellent, the story was engaging, the dialogue was witty and the MCs were just lovely.

On the surface they seemed to be polar opposites and such an unlikely pair, which made their irresistible attraction even more interesting. I empathized with Brad's confusion about his sexuality, his issues with his family, self-respect and trying to find his own way. I really appreciated that Drew was confident, knew what he wanted and wouldn't settle for any less. Most of all, I loved them together and I just wanted them to make it work. The relationship development was enjoyable and believable, if a little bumpy. There was bumbling and mutual pining, there was a lot of chemistry and they were very hot together. I was completely invested from start to finish. I didn't like the lack of communication as conflict, but somehow it made sense and the resolution was satisfying.

To sum up, this was a very well written, hot, emotional romance with compelling characters. I will probably reread it and I would definitely recommend it.

The story of Drew and Brad relationship stemmed from the first book in the series where they were side characters to Nick and Morgan. This book keeps the storyline going by reintroducing them over a personal and business relationship a few months after the first book ended. They started a joint business plan working on the mayor’s house. Which that part bored me to be honest. The main dilemma was that Brad was figuring out how to be out of the closet without freaking out and Drew was waiting patiently by his side. The problem for me was that Drew stated he was okay with that until he wasn’t. Which I didn’t think was fair. The love between them was sweet and lovely. The epilogue was too short for me but it ended the story nicely.

I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley for my honest review. Thank you for my copy.

This is the second book in Koehler's Cal Pac Crew series. It is highly recommended to read the first book, "Rocking the Boat" before attempting this novel. While some readers may be able to pick up many of the threads from the last novel, it's going to take more than one or two chapters for clear context about who the characters are and what their motivations are at the beginning of the story since you really get dropped in right after the end of the previous book.

The story follows the personal and professional relationship that develops between Drew and Brad, two major supporting characters in the last book that get the spotlight here. Drew is very much out and proud, yet struggling to build his business. Brad is a bit rudderless after just graduating college and is questioning why he is so interested in spending time with Drew. Their relationship evolves in alternating chapters, which allows for a fairly nuanced look at internalized homophobia and how one can debunk/break the chains of gender stereotypes. The plot moves at a fairly steady pace, that picks up dramatically in the final third of the story (a lot of events occur in very short order that simultaneously wraps up this story and launches the reader into what is likely a third, and possibly fourth, installment(s)). This is a serviceable romance novel that actually attempts to challenge the reader critically.

I received this free book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked this book, probably even more than the first one in the series.Brad finally gets his moment to shine and he does not disappoint. I would have liked to see him become closer with Nick and Morgan as well but I guess you can't have everything.
While I think the book is very well written and I liked the storyline, I was a little disappointed with Drew. I totally understand him not wanting to hide his relationship but I think he pressured Brad a little too much. Brad didn't have any real support besides Drew and no one he could have spoken to who had an unbiased view. Morgan and Nick are Drew's friends first, which they make very clear. I think I would have just liked Drew to give him a little more time or at least push him a little more gently, so a lot of the miscommunication could have been avoided in the end.
I also wouldn't have minded one more chapter before the epilogue, just to have the honest conversation between Drew and Brad about the relationship. They obviously work well together but I just always like to see everything come together in the end and then just have a bit of a look into their happy future in the epilogue.
Overall a great read with a good amount of steam and enough seriousness to give it a bit of an edge.

Tw: homophobia and also violent homophobia

A passionate complete love story that has friendship, relationship, and kinship along with wit and humor. And a happy ending I loved. I'd recommend this to any romance junkie I know. Can't wait to read more from this author.