Title: Dirty Laundry Series: Tucker Springs #3
Author: Heidi Cullinan
Published: January 28, 2013
Genre(s): Romance: Contemporary
Page Count: 265
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:When muscle-bound Denver Rogers effortlessly dispatches the frat boys harassing grad student Adam Ellery at the Tucker Springs laundromat, Adam’s thank-you turns into impromptu sex over the laundry table. The problem comes when they exchange numbers. What if Adam wants to meet again and discovers Denver is a high-school dropout with a learning disability who works as a bouncer at a local gay bar? Or what if Denver calls Adam only to learn while he might be brilliant in the lab, outside of it he has crippling social anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder?
Either way, neither of them can shake the memory of their laundromat encounter. Despite their fears of what the other might think, they can only remember how good the other one feels. The more they get together, the kinkier things become. They’re both a little bent, but in just the right ways.
Maybe the secret to staying together isn’t to keep things clean and proper. Maybe it’s best to keep their laundry just a little bit dirty.
Dirty Laundry was one of the first—if not the first—romance novel I’ve ever read. It’s adorable and sweet and fluffy (and also has some tame BDSM if you’re into that). The representation is amazing and intersectional. Overall, this book just makes me feel good every time I re-read it.
The story here is that Adam is a grad student in a small Colorado college town. He’s gay, which is difficult, of course, but even more difficult is his near-crippling anxiety and OCD. Adam’s OCD manifests in a need to keep people in their “proper” places, which makes visiting people’s homes or having people over to his a nightmare. But he’s coping and working hard in therapy and hoping that his dissertation goes well. Meanwhile, Denver is an older highschool dropout—also gay, natch—who dreams of being a personal trainer but can’t quite make it happen because he’d have to study for his GED. (We later learn that Denver has some rather severe learning disabilities, and that’s he’s not as “dumb” as he always thought he was.)
Denver and Adam meet, and they rather scandalously have sex in the laundromat. It was meant to be a one-time thing, but Denver can’t stop thinking about Adam, so they meet up again. They have more sex in strange places around town (remember Adam’s OCD) and then finally they both come to the place where they’d like to have a more committed relationship, but are to afraid their dirty laundry (get it?) will throw the other off.
In romance novels, the Big Secret trope can go one of two ways. Either the person flips out and storms off and there is a Misunderstanding. Or the person is like “well of course I still love you, doofus!” and it’s no big deal. I am obsessed with the later. It’s one of my favorite things, actually (even though I don’t like the Big Secret trope in general). And that’s what happens in Dirty Laundry. Denver doesn’t give a shit about Adam’s OCD, and Adam doesn’t give a shit that Denver was emotionally abused by his ex. It’s glorious.
This book is just so wholesome and I love it. It’s a cutesy small town romance with intersectionally diverse characters. Just my jam. And have you ever heard of fluffy BDSM? I haven’t, but that’s what’s going on in this book. Denver is into kink, and Adam discovers that when he’s submissive, his rampaging anxiety takes a backseat and he can actually enjoy the moment. It’s adorable.
Other great things about this book? Supportive friendships all around. Diverse secondary characters (one being a lovely trans lady). A positive portrayal of therapy. Steamin’ hot sexytimes. Need I go on?
Listen, I’m sure Dirty Laundry isn’t the most expertly written book, but it’s been a favorite of mine for about 5 years now. It’s cute and feel-good, yet also features complex characters dealing with complicated situations. I can’t recommend it enough.
