Wrestling With Jesus

by Stephen Osborne

Bookstore owner Randy Stone is smitten. His new boyfriend, Kyle Temple, is sweet, hot, attentive, and great in bed. But introducing Kyle to his family takes courage, because Randy’s parents can be a little judgmental, and Kyle is ten years younger than Randy, a small-time pro wrestler, and dumber than the proverbial sack of hammers. Needless to say, Randy’s parents aren’t exactly thrilled, and even his best friend is skeptical. Despite the challenges, Randy is determined to tough it out for Kyle. After all, enduring a few scornful comments from his mother is nothing compared to what Kyle’s going through trying to quit smoking for Randy. When a hypnotherapy session designed to help with Kyle's cravings leaves him quoting Jesus Christ—in Aramaic—Randy’s parents are suddenly the least of their problems. Once word gets out, their privacy is destroyed. News crews follow them everywhere, and everyone who knows Kyle seems determined to make a buck. It’s a mess that could make Kyle’s dreams of wrestling in the UWE come true—but what about his dream of being with Randy?

Genres: M M Romance, Contemporary, Romance, Humor, LGBT, Sports, Fantasy

210 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 16, 2012

Reviews

[Mandapanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, well written and with highly appealing main characters. I love those stories like Muscling Through and The Epic Love Story of Doug and Stephen where one of the MC's is not quite the full quid. I don't know why, maybe it adds vulnerability to the story, or maybe it appeals to my always wanting the underdog to succeed. Kyle, the star of Wrestling With Jesus, is not stupid but he's not the sharpest tool in the shed either. He works as a pro-wrestler and his dream is to one day compete for the UWE against the famous 'Crusher' Phillips. His private life is going great too. His boyfriend is Randy Stone, a bookstore owner, and the two opposites are completely smitten with each other.

Kyle is trying to give up smoking and goes to see a hypnotist (and former circus performer), who's astonished when Kyle starts reciting The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic under hypnosis. Word gets out and suddenly Kyle and Randy are being stalked by reporters, religious freaks, fans and con-men and their lives take a turn for the worse.

This book is full of wonderful characters. Even characters with minimal scenes are well drawn and get great lines, like the sullen teenage ticket seller at the gym. I loved being around Kyle and Randy and all their friends (hell, even their enemies are fun!). An added bonus is the hilarious glimpse you get into the crazy world of pro-wrestling! I liked the way the sex scenes were done too. The scenes always start with Randy and (the very hot) Kyle just about to climax and Randy is always thinking really hilarious and fairly incoherent thoughts about Kyle and what they're doing. Totally cracked me up. The only small quibble I had was that the mystery wasn't really solved. But otherwise Highly recommended!

[Ami · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first experience with Stephen Osborne's story was a year ago (exactly on April 2011), with Pale as a Ghost. I enjoyed that one. When this was listed at DSP, I was intrigued with the blurb. Then, a positive review from MandyM popped in my timeline ...

This is definitely FUN!! It has several things that make me commended this for its uniqueness.

One, Wrestling ... I don't think I read many wrestling-related theme. Hockey, yes. Football, basketball, yes. But wrestling? Not so much. I love how Mr. Osborne writes about the 'obvious' scenario for the ring, the costume, and the hilarious crowds.

Two, Hypnosis and the possibility of one being a reincarnation of Jesus. It feels absurd but OMG brilliant!! I love how this plot goes berserk, what with the reporters, the church people, the wrestling committee. Highly entertaining, especially with Mr. Osborne play with capitalism tactic, perfectly said by Randy's father :)

“I’m sure it’s been a little difficult for you, son. But this will blow over quickly, believe me. It’s that whole Andy Warhol thing. This is your friend Kyle’s moment in the spotlight. He should enjoy it. Capitalize on it. Use it to his advantage. Just like I’m using your mother’s temporary insanity over it to my advantage to down as much scotch as I possibly can. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

You capitalist supporter, you! *lol*

Three, Endearing characters. I am just in love with Kyle. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he has such kind heart, and friendly attitude that makes people like him. Even Randy's best friend, who's at first smirked at the idea of Randy dating a guy 10 years his junior, a wrestler, and well, kind-of dumb. And I love Randy's devotion to Kyle. So sweet (without too sugary sweet).

I love every minute of this ... smart, unique, funny. I think I'm going to put Stephen Osborne on my to-watch author list

[Deeze · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun quirky story with mismatched cast.

I was hesitant at first to read this as I expected it to be more heavy on the “Jesus” aspect. But I really liked the beginning of the blurb.I’m glad to say I hesitated for nothing.

Kyle is a lovable guy and Randy is one of those guys that you love to hear what he’s thinking. Debbie was a bitch but even she couldn’t damper my enjoyment. Randy’s parents were totally wonderful and entertaining. In fact everyone in this book played their part perfectly. A very enjoyable read.

I’m torn between a 3 and a 4 star rating though. This book did have a few flaws for me. Firstly I just never felt any chemistry between Kyle and Randy. Maybe if we had got to see how they met and fell in love I’d of felt more connected to them. Secondly there were minor niggles that overall I was able to overlook but at the time they took a little away from my reading pleasure.

So a solid 3.5 rounded up to a 4 purely for the laughs that Randy gave me through out.


ETA Still as funny second time around.

[Enny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got a thing for slightly dumb but completely adorable guys - at least in my books. In real life, they wouldn't do anything for me but reading about them is so much fun and I liked this one even better than Bartender, PI Plus I learned lots about professional wrestling which my son thinks is the coolest thing ever right now, so that was an added bonus.

[Elisa Rolle]

I was quite intrigued by this novel’s blurb, but at first I thought it was only for the “cinderfella” subplot, a young and dumb professional Wrestler falling in love with a slightly older bookstore owner and the trouble with meeting his boyfriend conservative family.

And I have also to pay homage to the author’s choice to plunge the reader right in the middle of the story, something that had me a little startled, and I even went searching the backlist of this author to be sure I hadn’t missed a previous book. But no, Randy and Kyle are already a couple, they met sometime before, and we don’t know how and exactly when. Now the impeding threat is the meeting with Randy’s BBF, Debbie, a woman that measures men considering their bank statements, and Randy’s family, a former-military man father and an social conservative obsessive mother.

The author pushes on the light humor, the novel is never too much funny, but it’s nevertheless a comedy. Kyle wants to please Randy in any possible way, and since Randy is a non-smoker, Kyle decides he will use the hypnosis to stop smoking too. Only that the session goes beyond is expectation, actually Kyle reverts back to a previous life, way back, when he was… Jesus Christ. Doesn’t help that Kyle’s mother is indeed named Mary, that his father is, more or less, non-existent, that he is born on December 25th, and that, apparently, he has healing powers. Not Randy or Kyle believe in this reincarnation thing, and all they want is to be able to live as an ordinary gay couple.

I liked that the author didn’t downplayed Kyle’s naiveté: he is a 100% “simple” guy, he hadn’t the chance to study, but even if he had, probably he wouldn’t have been a very good student; Kyle is all for his wrestling career, that is his only true dream, and it was since he was a little kid. Randy knows that Kyle is not an idiot savant, he is not trying to make him different from who he is, Randy likes Kyle exactly as the guy is, innocent, a little dumb, but really sweet and protective. The sex is great, even if it’s not at all graphic, it’s more of listening to Randy’s praises to Kyle. Randy and Kyle’s relationship is not at all balanced, Randy has often to make Kyle feel good, to praise him, to reassure the boy he is doing good. I don’t think that will change, but that is also what it makes their relationship so special.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613724500/?...

[Eve · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really a lot of fun! I have to admit that this is not the first (or even third) "maybe he's Jesus" themed book that I've read, and I'm always fascinated by what parts of the myth the author will use in the MC's life and how they'll be used. In this book, they are used to great comic effect, and I don't want to spoil anyone's enjoyment by giving examples, but there were times I had to put the book down because I was laughing so hard (no spoiler, but the dinner party with Randy's mother was the funniest thing I'd read in months).

The romance was sweet, but the sex scenes few and not very hot. I enjoyed it more for the narrative of the story than because I was so vested in the MCs.

Added: I don’t completely agree with the notion that a dumb hero needs to be super sweet, so I give the author kudos for those few scenes where Kyle was a little bit of a jerk to Randy.
:)

[Jen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yes, I admit it. I read this shit. (In my defense, I was stuck in a plane for 8 1/2 hours.)

And it absolutely was as ridiculous as it sounded. It's pure camp, but not in a good, John Waters kind of way.

We never learn why or how Randy and Kyle met and started dating, or even why they fall in love. I'm assuming the author expects us to conclude it's because opposites attract..? If that's the case, it's not convincing.

Everyone is a caricature - Kyle is a dumb-as-rocks jock (and occasional idiot savant) whose mother lives in a trailer park. Randy is an introverted LGBTQ bookstore owner whose parents are rich, conservative snobs (but don't care their son is gay...?).

It takes place, ironically, in Indianapolis, which is my city. And I can tell you right now that the religious nutjobs in this novel would in NO WAY be okay with Kyle and Randy's gay relationship. Not in Indiana. And none of the places listed in this book are real. In fact, I actually know someone who owns one of the few LGBTQ bookstores in Indy.

Plus, what the fuck? NOTHING is explained. So Kyle can speak Aramaic when he's hypnotized. But WHY?!

And don't even get me started on the wrestling shit.

The whole book has an identity crisis, swinging frenetically between being a head-scratcher, a WWF match, an absurdist play, and a Will Ferrell movie.

It was just... weird.

*Special thanks to Dreamspinner Press for the TweetAway!

...And in this case, I got what I paid for. O_o (NOT that I for a moment expected otherwise! LOL)

[L'marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a minute to get into it at first because Debbie (the BFF) was being a major B and it seemed like everyone was ragging (kidding) on Kyle a little too much. I really started to enjoy the book once I stopped being so protective of Kyle and relaxed. Kyle and Randy made a cute couple. I liked all the side characters, including the sleazy Owner. My favorite side characters were Kyle’s mom and Randy’s dad. Oh, and I wanted the dog to run away and live with Kyle, lol! There were only two things that really irked me. I didn’t like how the big misunderstanding was resolved. Randy was very hurt by the whole thing. Kyle needed to sack up and make the first move. The ending POV was a WTF moment for me, hated it. Overall, this was a fun book and I laughed a lot.

[Anke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm going with 3 stars, as I liked the overall writing. Nevertheless for me the whole story was about 3 chapters too long.

[Manfred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyle is a 21 year old professional wrestler in a 3rd class provincial wrestling corporation. Randy is a gay bookstore owner in Indianapolis and the 2 are in love. Kyle is sweet and funny but you would not really call him smart, in fact most people call him dumb, but Randy loves him anyway.
Only bad thing is Kyle`s smoking habit, so he tries hypnosis to get rid of it. Unfortunately during a session Kyle goes back to a former life, or so one might think, starting to talk in Aramaic, quoting Jesus. Of course he has no idea afterwards but he knows he doesn`t speak Aramaic, after all he has never been in South America before, as he tells Randy!
And from the moment the story really takes off! It is hilarious, the MC are adorable, I was loughing so hard, the dialogues were great fun, for example when Kyle tells Randys parents he works as an air traffic controller, because he is ashamed to tell what he really does for a living, it was absolutely comical.
Unfortunately it slows down a little bit towards the end, and I think the ending could have been a little wittier, which was a minor disappointment. Also disturbing was the fact, that the book had some weird editing, something we call "Buchstabensalat" (letter salad) in german, sometimes I had no idea what a word like "fu§neasi%" was supposed to mean- and that happened a lot!
Apart from that I really loved this story, it worked on many levels, also playing with the question could a dumb wrestling kid really be the reincarnation of Jesus!?
For me that was the funniest read in a long time - however for all romance lovers, not much sex involved here - but strong 3,5 stars from me!

“Kyle here is an air traffic controller,” Mr. Stone announced to his wife. Randy dropped his fork and turned slightly pale. Kyle’s cheeks flushed red. “Well,” he stammered, “I just do that part-time, really.” “Part-time?” Mr. Stone frowned. “I didn’t know they had part-time air traffic controllers.” Kyle licked his lips. “Yeah. They just have me do the smaller planes. Since I’m still pretty young. Someday, though, I’ll work my way up to 747s and—” “Kyle’s a professional wrestler,” Randy blurted out. All eyes immediately went to Randy, even those of Mrs. Pitcairn, who was pouring Mrs. Stone’s wine. The long silence was broken by Kyle, who muttered, “Well, yeah, I do that now. The air traffic control stuff didn’t pay worth shit.”

[leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lightweight, funny and sweet, and less angsty and controversial than I feared from the blurb. There is no strong religious angle. Neither is it a research-dump about professional wrestling. The level at which Kyle wrestles is local and small-time. We meet colorful characters and the little details we get about how the sport works and what it takes to make it entertaining are fun.

Comedies are hit-or-miss for me in romance, because to me the relationship is always the most important part of the book, and I want the MCs to take it at least as seriously as the reader does. Here, the jokes do not get in the way. The entire plot becomes a bit absurdist and surreal by the end of the book, but still allows space for the boys to struggle with relationship difficulties and come through them.

This one isn't deep, but it's an amusing few hours' read with cleverness and heart.

4 stars.

[Sucajo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the characters in this book. They were funny and well-written and unique individuals. You can't help but love Kyle - what you see is what you get. He might not be the smartest guy around but he's completely in love with Randy and fiercely protective of him. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when these two met. Great story that leaves you with a smile on your face.

[Simsala]

DNF 80%

Just 20% left but the zoning out got worse and worse - I surrender!
Nothing wrong with the book,no niggles,no pet-peeves but I completely lost interest in the second half...simply not my kind of story.

[Mandy*reads obsessively*]

@dreamspinners: FOR ONE HOUR ONLY! (1PM-2PM GMT) Wrestling with Jesus by Stephen Osborne is free to download http://t.co/CsJPGbEW #TweetAway #OctoberGanza

[Cole Riann]

This sounds SO interesting!!!!

[Jess Candela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review Summary: A humorous satire that would have worked better for me with fewer logic holes and more three-dimensional, likeable characters.

Review: The premise of this story sounded absurd in a way I thought could be fun. It had some great humor but there were too many logic holes for me to really enjoy it. I realize the whole premise was implausible, but I’ve read many more implausible books that convinced me completely to believe in worlds and creatures I’d never even imagined. So that’s no excuse. :) It also played on stereotypes so extremely and consistently I was getting annoyed, until I realized it had to be satire. At least, I hope so! I’d be more confident of that if a few of the logic holes had been patched and the characters had been more three-dimensional.

It didn’t really work for me as a romance because although we’re told – frequently – that Randy and Kyle are in love, I never saw what drew them together. They don’t appear to have any common interests nor ever to listen to each other. One example of the latter is that they apparently reached the “meet the parents” stage without ever having talked about their respective parents. They’re about to have dinner with Randy’s parents when Randy starts last-minute coaching Kyle on what to expect. It sounds like the first time Randy has told Kyle about his parents. In the course of that conversation, Randy learns that Kyle never knew his father. I guess that was new information because the only thing they had in common was great sex? There’s also a Big Misunderstanding near the end that annoyed me, as BMs usually do, and was a clear result of the whole “not listening to each other” thing, as BMs usually are.

For quite a while, one of Kyle’s wrestling buddies was the only character in the book I liked at all. Kyle eventually grew on me, as he’s sweet and earnest, kind-hearted and well-meaning, even if he is… well, have you ever heard the expression that someone has a full six-pack, but lacks the plastic thingy that holds them all together? That’s Kyle. He had moments of surprising astuteness, like when he pointed out that he couldn’t be Jesus because he flunked geometry.

“Jesus was a carpenter, right? Carpenters have got to know shit like that. Angles and stuff. It stands to reason, then, that I can’t be him.”

But for the most part he’s about as sharp as a marble. He thinks Randy’s best friend (a b*tch named Debbie) likes him as much as he likes her.

“Every time I see her, she’s got some kind of compliment for me. Remember how the last time we were out, she told me I made ignoramuses look good? I thought that was pretty cool. A lot of people seem to think I’m pretty dumb, but she can see right through that.”

I found the hypnosis premise stronger than I’d expected, especially considering how many logic tests this book failed. I think that’s a great example of what I’d hoped the whole book would be, actually.

I wanted to believe, but then there were things like the hypnotist bringing a recording of the session to a friend who’s a history professor with some interest in languages. Despite the potential inherent in those two qualities, no case was made to explain how he’d be able to identify as obscure a language as Aramaic. And if he didn’t speak Aramaic – a reasonable assumption, lacking any evidence to the contrary – then how was he able to tease out individual words to look up in his handy-dandy dictionary? To those who don’t speak a language (or another in its family), identifying where one word ends and another begins is impossible.

Despite my frequent frustration with the lack of logic, I laughed a lot and appreciated a lot of the humor. There were many funny coincidental similarities between Kyle and Jesus, things that made the Jesus thing almost seem plausible: Kyle’s mother’s name is Mary, their last name is Temple, he doesn’t know who his father was, just to name a few. But my favorite was:

“You’re telling us that you were impregnated by a guy in a ghost outfit? One with holes all over it? A holey ghost?”
“That’s about the size of it.”

Enough of these similarities built up over time that I started to wonder if maybe Kyle really waschanneling or a reincarnation of Jesus. Considering I don’t believe in either channeling or reincarnation, that’s saying something! If you can suspend disbelief enough, or enjoy it anyway, this is an entertaining book.

This review was originally posted at Reviews by Jessewave, where I received the book for free in exchange for an honest review.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this very different m/m romance.
The slightly simple, sweet character of Kyle grabbed me right away.
There is a lot of tongue-in-cheek humour here, and I laughed out loud a few times and smiled a lot.
I loved the small-time wrestling setting, as well as the religious background. I'm not religious, so it didn't offend me at all, but I doubt it would offend any but very hard-liners as it's so affectionately portrayed. Even Mrs. Stone, Randy's mum, turned out to be a good girl after all. :)
Perfect cover by Anne Cain.
Very much a recommended read.

[Leaundra · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars...I don't really know how to describe this book. It was good though and I just loved Kyle he cracked me up and was like a big teddy bear and all he needed was Randy and his wrestling, boy did he love his wrestling:-)

[Karin Wollina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and well written, one of my favorits. Love the wrestling angle

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I kept thinking this would make a great B-movie as I was reading it.

[Lyndi W.]

I think a book titled "Wrestling With Jesus" being a M/M romance is fucking hilarious.

[Bookbee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts were humorous, so much so it made me laugh out loud - literally.

Considering the book's theme, I was waiting for any discussion that might shed light on why Kyle could quote Jesus - in Aramaic - while hypnotized. Any whys or wherefores were just omitted, which left the book a little flat and undeveloped.

[CB · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this story despite one of the MC's being a Wrestler (which is one sport, I do not enjoy). It was just what the blurb said - 2 MC's perfectly, imperfect for each other and the author did a great job interweaving the "Jesus" theme/coincidences (whatever you want to call them) into and throughout the story. Entertaining, funny and sweet.

[MyzanM · Rating 4 out of 5]

This actually was fun!
Lovely characters and all around a nice and light weight story.

[Tutu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saw this being offered for free on dreamspinner’s site for one of their promotions. Didn’t catch the promotion but the book sounded interesting so I went ahead and bought it. My rating has nothing with how good or bad the book is but rather with my enjoyment of it.
I really hate giving up on book and try to hang in there which is what I did with this story. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t really for me. If you expect to read another Muscling Through, then you should give up before starting this because they really have nothing in common in my opinion. The book has its few funny moments but I didn’t really perceive it as a romance. And Kyle had a few moments there where he wasn’t dumb at all.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest, I am still not sure what to think about this one. While I certainly appreciate the unusual twists in the type of setting, plot and characters developed, combined with some funny moments, the book was ultimately not to my taste. Still, I would recommend giving it a try purely for its out of the ordinary elements.

[Kiki · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 disappointing ... I did enjoy some of the outrageous humor, but it seemed to be at the expense of connection with the characters / relationship much of the time ... and the ending was a real let down, since the big "breakup" was more ignored than addressed

[Meggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was comical and enjoyable enough. I liked Kyle and Randy as a couple, but something was missing in this story. Like always people are greedy for money and would sell everything to get it. This story is a good picture of that.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 and being generous.

[Kelly_Instalove · Rating 3 out of 5]

First impressions: I think the author was able to pull off the satire, but the head-hopping and character inconsistencies drove me crazy.