Under The Poms by Claire Bear & Courtney Captisa

Alternately cute and creepy, Under The Poms is another winner from the intertwined pens of Claire Bear & Courtney Captisa. It was so not what I expected, and that is part of what made it so much fun.

Mark Brown is a newbie with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), sick of boring office work, and anxious to get out into the field. When his chance comes, it turns out to come with a heavy price - although he is not allowed to know how heavy until it's too late. When he awakes in the hospital after a minor booster shot, he finds he has been transformed into a sweet, 16-year-old cheerleader by the name of Kimberly.

I liked that Mark was never a crossdresser and never had any trans leanings. This is all new and entirely unwanted to him. I also like that he struggled so much with it, fighting the FIA at every turn, and really being an angry, sullen, hormonal, resentful teenager. There is no immediate or magical acceptance here, just a slow learning process 'encouraged' by his boss - who seems to enjoy the over-the-knee spankings just a bit too much. When he does finally start to cope, finding real friendship at cheerleader camp, it is only to come home to face another blow to his now-fragile ego.

Being the first part of the tale, Under The Poms never quite gets into the reality of his mission, but it makes for a lovely set-up that establishes the characters and hints at some interesting developments for the next chapter.

Reviewed by Sally