At the same time he feels extremely alienated from his old friends, who don't understand why he doesn't simply go back to being the hookup obsessed dude-bro he used to be. Twenty-six and recently out of the military, he feels just as lost and directionless as he was at 18, living in his parents' basement and working the counter at the family bagel shop. And it is powerful to have Kai be the one who puts in that work and effort, because he values himself and wants more for himself.ĭominic Costigan is at loose ends. While having an understanding partner is super important, in the end therapy and medication is how those things are addressed. Garrett and Kai love each other but that doesn't magically cure anxiety.

I have a great deal of respect for how Hassell and Erickson dealt with Kai's mental health issues. A lasting relationship require they both put in serious work on themselves and the way they communicate in order to make their relationship work.

While Kai and Garrett's sexual chemistry is hotter than fire it is not enough to overcome the serious obstacles they face in building something permanent. Erickson and Hassell layer emotionally-rich and realistic portrayals of imperfectly loving families, online communities, economic pressures, sexual identity and the tensions and conflicts inherent in building authentic intimacy and friendships while interacting online. There is so much going on in this novel and all of it good. They have a great opposites-attract dynamic that blossoms into a beautiful sense of compatibility for two people who struggle to be understood, seen and truly known. He can't resist sending Kai a concerned email. Kai and Garrett then start exchanging initially tense then later, funny and tentatively flirtatious emails, then gchats and more.

At first Garrett hate-watches the stream, trash-talking in the Chat, but before long he finds himself grudgingly admiring him and starting to feel protective of Kai (after hypocritically benefiting from tumblrs full of stalker/fan-fodder about Kai). Angry he decides to virtually track down the Orc only to discover that he is Kai Bannon,a 'gaymer' with his own Twitch stream (video gameplay channel) with legions of adoring followers and subscribers. He spends his precious few hours of downtime playing video games, where one day he is mercilessly destroyed by an overpowering opponent. Strong Signal (Cyberlove #1): Garrett Reid is serving the last 9 months of his military career deployed in Afghanistan.

*NOTE: 3.9.18 - Since this was published allegations have come to light that the author known as Santino Hassell, Catfished and mislead co-authors, fans and others

Strong signal megan erickson