CRUNCH TIME introduces Darren, aged twenty-four, late of the Philadelphia Eagles, whose good looks and athletic ability have taken him through life without his needing to worry about education. George discovers that Darren is bright but an undiagnosed dyslexic. He's also secretly gay. George is a gay man who spent a long time in the closet due to his job, but while he's not flamboyant he doesn't hide anymore. The two have a heart-to-heart and decide they can work together. Darren can now aim for a TV sports presenter job, while George is spending his own money to buy stickers for kids who write good essays because there's never enough money in the school budget. George has a dodgy hip, but Darren assures him they can do upper-body training in the gym together. Darren couldn't be flirting, could he?

There's a lot to like in Andrew Grey's stories, and this Workout series with running characters and new personal dilemmas gets to feel like a bunch of old friends. Darren already knows that his former high-school buddies just want to hang out with him so he can pick up the bar tab, but now he learns how to read a menu instead of just asking for one of the specials, and gains confidence. As we're reading the book presumably Grey is not writing for a poorly educated readership, but he does encourage us all to learn as adults anything that seemed beyond us as youngsters, and grow as people. There are good details about working on TV and the pressure on a presenter to find guests, balanced by the tedium of the school teacher's work.

CRUNCH TIME is a good addition to this series and the romantic element leaves us pleased with the outcome. Grey's latest in this series is called Cardio Conditioning..

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