Charlie Salinger has spent his life trying to teach others that tolerance is something that should be granted to all people.  As the Director of BK House, Charlie has been charged with bringing more awareness to the college students about tolerance of others with different sexualities, however, dealing with the BK House cook – Jack, is straining even Charlie’s vaunted patience and understanding.  Beneath all the bickering simmers an attraction that neither can ignore for long, but when Jack suddenly disappears from Charlie’s life without a word or explanation Charlie is hurt more than he should have been.  However, when Jack comes back, with a son in tow, Charlie is flabbergasted.

Jack Hershie has spent his life in the Marines and hiding his true desires, but when he came to work at BK House the last thing he expected was to find love.  But when an emergency unexpectedly calls him away for a long time, he knows that when he gets back to BK House he will have to do a lot of begging to get Charlie back.  But, as this is not enough to fill Jack’s plate, he also has to mend fences with his fifteen-year-old son that he hasn’t seen for fourteen years and who believed him dead.

Can these two men overcome all the obstacles that stand in their way and deal with all of life’s complications to build a solid relationship?

Don’t let the title to Carol Lynne’s new addition to the Campus Cravings series – Hershie’s Kiss keep you from giving it a chance.  Charlie is an engaging man that has managed to not only overcome his disability, but also turns it into an asset in his job.  Jack is a hard-nosed Marine that, at first, takes Charlie’s “emotional” approach as weakness, but only too soon he discovers otherwise.  While I found it comforting to return to read the story about characters that have been mainstays during most of the series, I felt that the fun part of the romance – the getting to know you stage with all it’s nerve-wracking intensity and the sense of discovery of that first sexual encounter, was skipped over in order to get to the drama of staying together.  As is traditional with Carol Lynne’s characters, Charlie and Jack wear their hearts on their sleeves and over-emotional scenes leading to crying is a common occurrence.  Hershie’s Kiss is a romance that touches more on the effect that families have on us rather than the traditional path of romance.