Books like Dove in the Belly by Jim Grimsley
Ronny, a quiet and observant student at the University of North Carolina, keeps his secrets close while exuding the quiet resilience of dorm‑room life. His solitary existence is disrupted when the confident, football‑scholar Ben walks into his orbit, striking at Ronny with both playful taunts and a palpable, electric attraction.
Amid Ben’s high‑energy swagger and Ronny’s measured response, a fragile bubble of connection forms, set against a backdrop of family upheaval—Ronny’s mother’s move to Las Vegas and Ben’s mother’s battle with cancer. The novel explores how their differing worlds collide, how their shared tension sparks both joy and grief, and how the power of their evolving bond shapes their identities on campus and beyond.
First publish date: 2022
Genre: LGBTQ+ Fiction/Gay Fiction
Authors: Jim Grimsley
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