I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This was a DNF for me as there was way too much going on and it felt very rushed to me.

Firstly, it was a good read. I absolutely loved the fact that one of the MCs was not your typical hero, he was flawed and was not the usual beautiful gay, built guy that most authors seem to prefer. But I felt this book had more potential than what the author served up. A little more character development and this story would have been unforgettable. I wanted to know more about Gabe and his background. Initially,he seemed like a butterfly, flitting in and out if the story. . Also, I found it hard to believe that he gave up his basketball career, just like that! There was no lead up to this, it just happened. I can't help but think that he'll regret it later on in life. Still, an easy read, with some uncertainty and angst, The writer shows great potential.

Gah! I absolutely HATE giving negative reviews. I really, really do, but sometimes you just can't escape it. Unfortunately, that's the case with the Ball Boy. *sigh*

I really wanted to like this one and to be honest it had promise. On the other hand, this one came close to a DNF for me, but because it was so short, I didn't give up on it. The bad part about that is that the shortness of this book was its ultimate downfall. There was way too much going on to cover in less than 100 pages. WAY too much.

On a totally different note, there was way too much... um... vulgarity? brashness? I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - you can take a look at my reading list to prove that, but the Ball Boy was one of those books that was just a little bit over the top.

Like I said, the Ball Boy did have promise and I think that if it had a little bit more length, if the story was developed just a little bit more...

Where to start? Well, there is a lot to unpack from "The Ball Boy" suitcase - in fact, it's packed full and popping at the seams. There's baseball, coming out, a death in the family, two car accidents, issues involving prescription drug abuse and alcohol abuse, trans, in the closet, drag queen, foot fetish, humiliation, homophobic slurs ... all in seventy (70) pages. Whew.

Gage Garfield - a young man dealing with the death of his father, his own subsequent injury from the accident and prescription drug and alcohol abuse, who works at a gay bar as a drag queen called Kymer Rouge - meets closeted baseball player / martial arts champion Cabel Cordova when he shows up at his front door, Gage's father having signed up the family to be a host family for the minor league ballplayer.

Cabel is gorgeous and well-endowed, as in "I didn't get a glimpse of his meat, but as he walked, it smacked loudly between his thighs." And Gage refers to his own "cobra" as it "started to rise from its basket ..." or "he slurped my cobra into his mouth ..." Personally, I found this metaphor somewhat ... strange.

Because there is just so much going on here, nothing really gets fully developed, with many scenes jammed into the novella that are unrelated to the main plot (strange foot fetish scene, I'm looking at you ....) and everything is resolved far too suddenly.

Personally, this novella did not work for me but your results may vary. 2.5 stars.

It's way too short, and everything took place in what 3 or 4 days? the whole thing was botched, or were chapters chopped off intentionally? It's a shame because I think the story is promising and could be better if it had more depth and more characters' background.
I give it Two and a half stars

This was surprisingly elaborated for such a short thing. A bit too leaning towards the angsty side for my comfort. But entertaining nonetheless.

Lucas Guard’s ‘The Ball Boy’ gets one star each for Natasha Snow’s cover art and for the two principal characters - Gage Garfield, a young man working as a drag queen (Khmer Rouge) while grieving over the death of his father, and Caleb Cardova, a closeted pitcher with major league baseball ambitions. Both young men are captivating and clearly deserving of better lives and of each other.

That’s the good news.

On the other hand, this novel graphically deals with prescription drug abuse, alcohol abuse, homophobia, suicidal ideation, trauma, and an extreme absence of self confidence. It also includes a gratuitous masochistic scene that does nothing to advance the plot. Never before do I recall an erection being compared to a cobra. While that comparison was clever the first time, after multiple references it lost its effect.

In fairness, the publisher does provide a warning note indicating that topics include a deceased family member, trauma, drug addiction, homophobic slurs, pain, humiliation, and foot fetish…”.

Others will view this book differently, but, for me, much as I liked the protagonists, it just didn’t work.

Having said that, ‘The Ball Boy’ appears to be Lucas Guard’s first book. There’s no question that Mr. Guard has a promising writing career ahead.

I received an Advance Review Copy of ‘The Ball Boy’ from NetGalley and NineStar Press in exchange for an honest review. #TheBallBoy #NetGalley

this book was alright, but it wasn't the best. I have definitely read better books in this genre. but I will keep trying :)

Ball Boy is a pleasant, if improbable, tale about young love. It often feels more like lust than love, but so be it. Author Lucas Guard takes few chances in telling the tale of a ball player coming to live with a mother and son family. The son is out and gay, the ball player is not. But he certainly has the equipment for a story of this genre. And here the author shines as he demonstrates the young men at play. But all seems to take a turn for the worst, and sadness prevails. Can the son and the jock find happiness? You will have to read this short story to find out.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.