Book Review: The Cock Down The Block by Amy Award

‘The Cock Down The Block’ by Amy Award was released in 2023, it is a short, immersive romcom with a plus-sized female lead, and is available to read with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited service, as is the sequel, ‘The Weiner Across The Way’. It is the first of what will be a series of books, called The Cocky Kingmans, following each of the Kingman children find love.

This book follows the eldest of the eight Kingman children: Chris and his love interest, Trixie. It explores some delightful tropes, like the ‘he falls first’ trope, the fake dating trope, and the girl next door trope.

Trixie, also known as Beatrix, is a librarian, but her best friend, Chris, is the Quarterback for the Denver Mustangs.

It was an easy romance to ease myself into. I loved the characters, and how authentically human they were. Trixie was bullied, and although she has come into herself, she still wants to prove herself to the girls that made her life miserable. Meanwhile Chris would move heaven and earth for a chance with Trixie. It’s so sweet!

Award is incredibly good at establishing character. From the get-go, readers get a sense of who Trixie is, from her little chicken coop, to her love of 50’s style dresses, to her evident love of game shows and Star Wars, and puns. I fell in love with Trixie as a character from the moment Chris mentioned her chickens: Luke Skycocker, Princess Lay-a, Chew-bock-bock, and Kylo Hen. Puns. Truly, a character after my own heart. And keeping chickens? That is one hell of a change from the usual animal companion for a FMC.

I loved so much about this book, from how Award acknowledged stigma about plus-sized people, weight, body image, the implications of being around bullies and projecting their opinions onto yourself, a healthy communicative family dynamic, the need to talk about your feelings, and live your life in the moment. This book is the epitome of healthy relationships: with both yourself, your friends, and your significant other. I loved that Trixie was sex-positive and mindful that the idea of being a virgin is a social construct. I loved her mother, and how sex-positive she was with reference to her daughter. I loved that Trixie had inadvertently amassed a collection of international niche sex toys and that she doesn’t just furrow them away like a prude. She finds it weird that that is the holiday souvenir her mother chooses to send, but doesn’t shy away from what she likes.

Trixie is confident. Trixie is herself. She loves her body. She loves Chris. It’s so good! I can’t wait to see more about how Trixie fits into the puzzle that is the Kingman family, especially since the family dynamic was likened to the Bridgertons! I can’t wait to read the next book when I have the chance!