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Unrequited
Andy Montgomery is an artist and a dreamer. It isn’t long before the person he’s dreaming about is his college roommate, West Baxter.
West is cheerful and popular, a jock and a genius. Despite Andy’s best intentions, he develops a maddening crush on West. As their friendship deepens, so does his crush. It changes from an innocent flutter to the type of longing that defines a lifetime.
The problem? West is straight, so this epic love is unrequited…or is it?
West is cheerful and popular, a jock and a genius. Despite Andy’s best intentions, he develops a maddening crush on West. As their friendship deepens, so does his crush. It changes from an innocent flutter to the type of longing that defines a lifetime.
The problem? West is straight, so this epic love is unrequited…or is it?
- GenresM M RomanceCollege
182 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2021
About the author
Jesse H. Reign
13 books655 followersI'm Jesse, and I write contemporary and paranormal MM romance.
Whether my characters are born magical, or whether magic is something they make between the sheets, I strive to take the reader into the mind of the narrator. My ultimate goal is to leave the reader feeling like they’ve made a new friend or have spent a few hours flirting with a brand-new book boyfriend.
I love coffee, chocolate and daydreaming, in no particular order. I love conflicted characters, lust at first sight and angst – no seriously, ALL the angst. Give it to me!
Whether my characters are born magical, or whether magic is something they make between the sheets, I strive to take the reader into the mind of the narrator. My ultimate goal is to leave the reader feeling like they’ve made a new friend or have spent a few hours flirting with a brand-new book boyfriend.
I love coffee, chocolate and daydreaming, in no particular order. I love conflicted characters, lust at first sight and angst – no seriously, ALL the angst. Give it to me!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 163 reviews
January 20, 2024
3.75 - great one-sided pining! Free on the author's website if you sign up for the newsletter.
This was fun. By fun I mean, you get to sit and watch someone fall in love, obsess, pine, angst, and get hurt. 😂 Carefree sunshine/uptight judgemental obsessor pairing. Match made in heaven, those two!
What I loved about the book:
Simple straightforward thoughts, no messy metaphors. College-age roommates who became best friends. Talk about unfuckingrequited.
Bonus points for a great woman as a side character. The straight guy is hooking up with women and it isn't done in that typical defiling way, and it isn't out to make the women sleazy or petty, or the Enemy. Not really on-page, it happens, but you aren't getting details beyond moaning.
This is what I call fun pain, you know it's going to keep happening, and you know how much the MC is hurting, but neither MC is a dick, just real-life regular stuff. College kids hooking up, partying, being goofy, having a good time. Accidentally pulverizing someone's heart.
The book does age up the characters because it wouldn't be real torture unless it went on for TEN years. 😅
If you aren't a fan of idiots who refuse to communicate, and MCs having sex with other people, this book will absolutely not work for you. One gets married, the other goes through a fuck everyone phase and eventually has a nice relationship, etc.
It was worth the wait. Explosive sex scenes, fear and anxiety, love confessions, obsessive we don't want to leave the house situation once they are together. Both MCs had their idiotic moments, mistakes, and small painful stuff, but really at the end of the day, it was just two guys who didn't know what they were doing. I can relate!
So many highlights, but I've narrowed it down to:
• “Oh,” he says simply, “in that case, d’you want to come cruising for cock?” I must do a double take because he adds, as if to clarify, “Or trawling for ass?” I’m absolutely positive I do a double take at that. I can feel my jaw drop open slightly. He just smiles and shrugs, “Whatever you prefer.”
• Okay, fine. So he’s not homophobic. So what? He’s still a complete nightmare, that’s for sure.
• “Uh, um, West, this is, um, this is gay porn.” He looked at me as if I was mad. “No shit, Sherlock. I’ll just block out the dick and focus on the ass.” He had a big grin on his face. “After all, an ass is an ass.”
• Afterward, I hear him whispering to her. This is different, too. This time, he’s not asking her what she likes in bed; he’s asking who she is. He wants to know her. He wants to know everything about her. Fuck. This one is different. He wants her.
• “Andy,” says West, “this is Ashleigh.” He looks about as happy as someone who has just been announced as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. He motions to her proudly, as if she’s the trophy.
• “I’m telling you, West, this girl is bad news. She’s crazy.” He smiles at me patiently. “She’s all kinds of crazy. She’s totally wild,” he says it as if it’s some sort of special talent. I hate the way he looks when he talks about her. He looks like a fool. His green eyes glaze over as a helpless, toothy grin takes over his face.
• I stand back and take in the painting. It’s the best work I’ve ever done. I say that without ego. It’s just a fact. It’s the practical piece for my portraiture class. It’s a self-portrait. Though the face and body are purposefully blurred out, I’ve captured my likeness. You can see at a glance that it’s me. My expression and posture are perfect. Every nuance is there. I’m standing straight with one hand at my side. The other is raised in front of my gaping chest, holding my heart in my hand. I’ve painted the organ in a hyper-realistic style. The blood and membranes around the heart seem so lifelike that anyone looking at it is likely to feel that slight clench, that slight sense of dread you get when you see a car crash. I’ve named it Heart.
• She stands beside me. Not speaking for a while. I think she’s about to move on but then she looks at me. Her eyes are as sympathetic as mine are sad. “Unrequited,” she says softly. “There’s no worse way to love.”
• “You need a shower." He looks at me sheepishly, shrugging a little, showing me his bandaged wrist apologetically. “Uh, I think I might need a little help.”“Sure.”
• I spray the side of his face. I stroke his cheek with my thumb. Running my finger along his scar. Tracing the shape. Memorizing every minute detail. Trying my best to keep my mouth shut. Clenching my teeth. Trying my best not to lean down and run my tongue up the side of his face. It isn’t easy. I want him so much, I’m shaking inside.
• Everything hurts. There’s pain everywhere.
• I imagine the sound he’d have made. Like the sound he made that first time with Ashleigh. Better, though. I imagine he’d have made an even better sound, because it would have been him and me.
• “How long are you going to keep doing this to yourself?”“Dunno,” I say, suddenly angry. Furious, even. “I do not know. Okay? I guess I’ll just keep doing it until it stops being such fun. I guess I’ll just keep doing it until I can’t take the pain anymore.” I’m speaking a little too loudly.
• I can’t tell you how much time I spend lying on my bed, shaking, staring up at the ceiling, thinking, What fresh hell is this? I must have been a mass murderer in a previous life to deserve this type of torment.
• I love him just as much as ever. I don’t want him to feel any pain. I only wish him well. I want everything for him. I want him to have everything he’s ever wanted, even if that leaves me with nothing at all.
• Dare I say it? I’m happy.
• “It will be fine. I’m ninety percent over West,” I say, with a determined nod. “Ninety percent, huh?”
• Shit, I think, as I pull away, I’m only eighty percent over West.
• It feels so good having his arm around me that I have no choice but to acknowledge, I’m less than fifty percent over West.
• “You’re no gentleman, though.” He’s slurring seriously now. “You’re just hard to get.” What did he just say? What the hell did he just say? “What was that, West?” I whisper. He doesn’t reply. He just breathes heavily through his mouth. He’s passed out cold.
• “Since when have you not been straight?” I demand. For some reason, I'm starting to feel annoyed.
• “I don’t know if I’ve ever been straight. For me, it’s not that cut and dried. I think in some ways, it’s always been there. I just didn’t know what it was. For me, I guess, it hasn’t been that easy to know what this thing in me is. It’s not that simple when you’re easily and often attracted to women. Because that’s the case, I guess I just thought, well, great. I’m into girls. That’s one less thing to worry about. But I think it’s always been there.”
• My lack of judgment might just have cost me the most important person in my life.
• I’ve cleaned up my act a lot and that’s all well and good, but when the chips are down, I’m still capable of making spectacularly idiotic decisions. There's no getting away from that fact.
• Wave after wave of panic hits me. It’s hot and it’s pure.
• I pace up and down the loft frantically. When that does nothing to help, I take to my bed. Lying down on my back, my arms and legs spread out like a starfish. For some reason, that makes me feel even worse. I feel like I’m being crushed. Suffocated. Like I can’t breathe.
This was fun. By fun I mean, you get to sit and watch someone fall in love, obsess, pine, angst, and get hurt. 😂 Carefree sunshine/uptight judgemental obsessor pairing. Match made in heaven, those two!
What I loved about the book:
Simple straightforward thoughts, no messy metaphors. College-age roommates who became best friends. Talk about unfuckingrequited.
Bonus points for a great woman as a side character. The straight guy is hooking up with women and it isn't done in that typical defiling way, and it isn't out to make the women sleazy or petty, or the Enemy. Not really on-page, it happens, but you aren't getting details beyond moaning.
This is what I call fun pain, you know it's going to keep happening, and you know how much the MC is hurting, but neither MC is a dick, just real-life regular stuff. College kids hooking up, partying, being goofy, having a good time. Accidentally pulverizing someone's heart.
The book does age up the characters because it wouldn't be real torture unless it went on for TEN years. 😅
If you aren't a fan of idiots who refuse to communicate, and MCs having sex with other people, this book will absolutely not work for you. One gets married, the other goes through a fuck everyone phase and eventually has a nice relationship, etc.
It was worth the wait. Explosive sex scenes, fear and anxiety, love confessions, obsessive we don't want to leave the house situation once they are together. Both MCs had their idiotic moments, mistakes, and small painful stuff, but really at the end of the day, it was just two guys who didn't know what they were doing. I can relate!
So many highlights, but I've narrowed it down to:
• “Oh,” he says simply, “in that case, d’you want to come cruising for cock?” I must do a double take because he adds, as if to clarify, “Or trawling for ass?” I’m absolutely positive I do a double take at that. I can feel my jaw drop open slightly. He just smiles and shrugs, “Whatever you prefer.”
• Okay, fine. So he’s not homophobic. So what? He’s still a complete nightmare, that’s for sure.
• “Uh, um, West, this is, um, this is gay porn.” He looked at me as if I was mad. “No shit, Sherlock. I’ll just block out the dick and focus on the ass.” He had a big grin on his face. “After all, an ass is an ass.”
• Afterward, I hear him whispering to her. This is different, too. This time, he’s not asking her what she likes in bed; he’s asking who she is. He wants to know her. He wants to know everything about her. Fuck. This one is different. He wants her.
• “Andy,” says West, “this is Ashleigh.” He looks about as happy as someone who has just been announced as a Nobel Peace Prize winner. He motions to her proudly, as if she’s the trophy.
• “I’m telling you, West, this girl is bad news. She’s crazy.” He smiles at me patiently. “She’s all kinds of crazy. She’s totally wild,” he says it as if it’s some sort of special talent. I hate the way he looks when he talks about her. He looks like a fool. His green eyes glaze over as a helpless, toothy grin takes over his face.
• I stand back and take in the painting. It’s the best work I’ve ever done. I say that without ego. It’s just a fact. It’s the practical piece for my portraiture class. It’s a self-portrait. Though the face and body are purposefully blurred out, I’ve captured my likeness. You can see at a glance that it’s me. My expression and posture are perfect. Every nuance is there. I’m standing straight with one hand at my side. The other is raised in front of my gaping chest, holding my heart in my hand. I’ve painted the organ in a hyper-realistic style. The blood and membranes around the heart seem so lifelike that anyone looking at it is likely to feel that slight clench, that slight sense of dread you get when you see a car crash. I’ve named it Heart.
• She stands beside me. Not speaking for a while. I think she’s about to move on but then she looks at me. Her eyes are as sympathetic as mine are sad. “Unrequited,” she says softly. “There’s no worse way to love.”
• “You need a shower." He looks at me sheepishly, shrugging a little, showing me his bandaged wrist apologetically. “Uh, I think I might need a little help.”“Sure.”
• I spray the side of his face. I stroke his cheek with my thumb. Running my finger along his scar. Tracing the shape. Memorizing every minute detail. Trying my best to keep my mouth shut. Clenching my teeth. Trying my best not to lean down and run my tongue up the side of his face. It isn’t easy. I want him so much, I’m shaking inside.
• Everything hurts. There’s pain everywhere.
• I imagine the sound he’d have made. Like the sound he made that first time with Ashleigh. Better, though. I imagine he’d have made an even better sound, because it would have been him and me.
• “How long are you going to keep doing this to yourself?”“Dunno,” I say, suddenly angry. Furious, even. “I do not know. Okay? I guess I’ll just keep doing it until it stops being such fun. I guess I’ll just keep doing it until I can’t take the pain anymore.” I’m speaking a little too loudly.
• I can’t tell you how much time I spend lying on my bed, shaking, staring up at the ceiling, thinking, What fresh hell is this? I must have been a mass murderer in a previous life to deserve this type of torment.
• I love him just as much as ever. I don’t want him to feel any pain. I only wish him well. I want everything for him. I want him to have everything he’s ever wanted, even if that leaves me with nothing at all.
• Dare I say it? I’m happy.
• “It will be fine. I’m ninety percent over West,” I say, with a determined nod. “Ninety percent, huh?”
• Shit, I think, as I pull away, I’m only eighty percent over West.
• It feels so good having his arm around me that I have no choice but to acknowledge, I’m less than fifty percent over West.
• “You’re no gentleman, though.” He’s slurring seriously now. “You’re just hard to get.” What did he just say? What the hell did he just say? “What was that, West?” I whisper. He doesn’t reply. He just breathes heavily through his mouth. He’s passed out cold.
• “Since when have you not been straight?” I demand. For some reason, I'm starting to feel annoyed.
• “I don’t know if I’ve ever been straight. For me, it’s not that cut and dried. I think in some ways, it’s always been there. I just didn’t know what it was. For me, I guess, it hasn’t been that easy to know what this thing in me is. It’s not that simple when you’re easily and often attracted to women. Because that’s the case, I guess I just thought, well, great. I’m into girls. That’s one less thing to worry about. But I think it’s always been there.”
• My lack of judgment might just have cost me the most important person in my life.
• I’ve cleaned up my act a lot and that’s all well and good, but when the chips are down, I’m still capable of making spectacularly idiotic decisions. There's no getting away from that fact.
• Wave after wave of panic hits me. It’s hot and it’s pure.
• I pace up and down the loft frantically. When that does nothing to help, I take to my bed. Lying down on my back, my arms and legs spread out like a starfish. For some reason, that makes me feel even worse. I feel like I’m being crushed. Suffocated. Like I can’t breathe.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 23, 2023
I swear I blinked and next thing I know the two MMCs are together romantically after years of Andy being so hopelessly in love with his bff—West—and never saying or doing anything about it bc he thought West could never want him/be in love with him since Andy believed he was straight, but whole time through their friendship West drops all these ‘hints’ to Andy that Andy had no clue about/never picked up on and West just expected Andy to know from that, that West wanted him so badly?!🙄
How about just communicate, but ofc not, so all these years go by where they love from afar and move on from each other while still being friends. Then, West is all of a sudden divorcing his wife and making a move on Andy. It just made it hard for me to believe in their relationship and felt once they got together it lacked depth and just progressed WAY too quickly, and then wrapped up in a HEA. Felt very unsatisfying.
Good spicy scenes tho, but definitely not a memorable read and couldn’t care less for the characters and their love story.
How about just communicate, but ofc not, so all these years go by where they love from afar and move on from each other while still being friends. Then, West is all of a sudden divorcing his wife and making a move on Andy. It just made it hard for me to believe in their relationship and felt once they got together it lacked depth and just progressed WAY too quickly, and then wrapped up in a HEA. Felt very unsatisfying.
Good spicy scenes tho, but definitely not a memorable read and couldn’t care less for the characters and their love story.
October 27, 2023
This really is a book for anyone who’s experienced unrequited love. Especially the type that has gone for years. And if you have (ahem… yes I’m talking from personal experience…), this is the book for you.
Swoon /5 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Angst /5 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Steam /5 ♨️♨️ ♨️♨️♨️
Plot /5 🧐🧐🧐🧐
LOLs /5 🤭🤭🤭🤭
I fell in love with West & Andy. Told wholly from Andy’s perspective, we see them meet when they become roommates in college, and quickly become best friends, but Andy also quickly develops feelings for his straight buddy. Inconvenient, deep, intense feelings that he does his best to hide, even when he gets the occasional little bursts of hope that maybe West isn’t as straight as he thinks. But to preserve this important friendship, he never says anything to his own detriment. And Christ on a cracker, doesn’t the pining crush your heart as you read it. Fantastic writing that totally drags you into poor Andy’s breaking heart. Andy does everything he can to get over it - f***s his way around for years, tries to create space from West, tries to fall in love with someone else… but none of it works, and West keeps coming back. As someone who experienced all of this, Jesse definitely gets it and writes the feelings & experience perfectly. I felt like it was coming from inside my head.
The best bit is that it all works out in the end for them, and the final chapters are exactly what every unrequited lover wishes for. That transcendental love that is epic. Gahhhhh, I’m crying again. Cue massive book hangover. Wait, there’s another book??!!! But written from West’s perspective?!! Byeeeeeee….
Check out my reviews and MM content on Instagram, Threads, StoryGraph, Facebook & Bookbub, all under the same name!
Swoon /5 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Angst /5 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Steam /5 ♨️♨️ ♨️♨️♨️
Plot /5 🧐🧐🧐🧐
LOLs /5 🤭🤭🤭🤭
I fell in love with West & Andy. Told wholly from Andy’s perspective, we see them meet when they become roommates in college, and quickly become best friends, but Andy also quickly develops feelings for his straight buddy. Inconvenient, deep, intense feelings that he does his best to hide, even when he gets the occasional little bursts of hope that maybe West isn’t as straight as he thinks. But to preserve this important friendship, he never says anything to his own detriment. And Christ on a cracker, doesn’t the pining crush your heart as you read it. Fantastic writing that totally drags you into poor Andy’s breaking heart. Andy does everything he can to get over it - f***s his way around for years, tries to create space from West, tries to fall in love with someone else… but none of it works, and West keeps coming back. As someone who experienced all of this, Jesse definitely gets it and writes the feelings & experience perfectly. I felt like it was coming from inside my head.
The best bit is that it all works out in the end for them, and the final chapters are exactly what every unrequited lover wishes for. That transcendental love that is epic. Gahhhhh, I’m crying again. Cue massive book hangover. Wait, there’s another book??!!! But written from West’s perspective?!! Byeeeeeee….
Check out my reviews and MM content on Instagram, Threads, StoryGraph, Facebook & Bookbub, all under the same name!
August 6, 2024
4.25✨
oof, this hurt.
oof, this hurt.
December 30, 2022
MM Romance
PINING-Best Friends To Lovers
4.25 Stars ⭐️
A To Z Book Title Challenge: U
🤡🤡🤡🤡 Not me LOVING a book that takes place over 10 years, has multiple scenes with other partners and is in only one POV after bitching about all these things in a different review. Nothing to see here folks. 🤡🤦🏻♀️🙄
I was planning to read AH’s Unnatural for my ‘U’ book because I’ve been putting it off forever but then this guy appears when I’m looking at all the choices in my kindle and I already owned it. “Oh I’ll just read the first bit, see if I like it.…”🤡 I couldn’t put this book down and it has so many things that usually bother me but the pining was just so fucking good that I couldn’t stop reading it.
This actually gave me what I wanted from my ‘R’ book, ‘Rare’, because instead of bypassing the 10 years it takes for these idiots to get their shit together like in that book, we see it in all its angsty glory. It’s what I was missing from my ‘R’ book and probably why I appreciated it so much in this one no matter how hard it was to read at times. This starts off in college with West and Andy being roommates and Andy falling madly, hopelessly in love with West. Trouble is, West is straight, always has girls in his bed, always dates women but he’s perfect in every other way and the two become the best of friends. But Andy has it baddddddd and even though he tries to move on, he’s just so hung up on West and since the entire book is from Andy’s POV, it’s so damn angsty.
So this book starts in college and then spans about 10 years and through that we see the boys graduate college, go on to have careers, have relationships that aren’t with each other and everything else that life throws at them but through it all West and Andy are best friends and Andy just can’t seem to get over him no matter how hard he tries. Around the 10 year mark things in both their lives have changed and Andy learns that maybe West isn’t all that straight, maybe he’s just been waiting for Andy to make a move all this time BUT there’s the pining and the angst and the years Andy has spent with sad eyes and an empty soul and maybe it’s too late.
So, while this had a lot of things I normally wouldn’t like, like detailed sex scenes with other partners or it only being in one POV or the fact it spanned over such a long period of time before these two idiots were on the same page, THE ANGST & PINING WAS FANTASTIC. And when these two get their shit together and talk about the past and the future and everything else, it was perfection. I loved it especially the sex scenes with each other. And to know there’s a sequel from West’s POV makes me deliriously happy. It’s too damn bad it doesn’t start with the letters I still need to read or I’d pick it up right now.
PINING-Best Friends To Lovers
4.25 Stars ⭐️
A To Z Book Title Challenge: U
🤡🤡🤡🤡 Not me LOVING a book that takes place over 10 years, has multiple scenes with other partners and is in only one POV after bitching about all these things in a different review. Nothing to see here folks. 🤡🤦🏻♀️🙄
I was planning to read AH’s Unnatural for my ‘U’ book because I’ve been putting it off forever but then this guy appears when I’m looking at all the choices in my kindle and I already owned it. “Oh I’ll just read the first bit, see if I like it.…”🤡 I couldn’t put this book down and it has so many things that usually bother me but the pining was just so fucking good that I couldn’t stop reading it.
This actually gave me what I wanted from my ‘R’ book, ‘Rare’, because instead of bypassing the 10 years it takes for these idiots to get their shit together like in that book, we see it in all its angsty glory. It’s what I was missing from my ‘R’ book and probably why I appreciated it so much in this one no matter how hard it was to read at times. This starts off in college with West and Andy being roommates and Andy falling madly, hopelessly in love with West. Trouble is, West is straight, always has girls in his bed, always dates women but he’s perfect in every other way and the two become the best of friends. But Andy has it baddddddd and even though he tries to move on, he’s just so hung up on West and since the entire book is from Andy’s POV, it’s so damn angsty.
So this book starts in college and then spans about 10 years and through that we see the boys graduate college, go on to have careers, have relationships that aren’t with each other and everything else that life throws at them but through it all West and Andy are best friends and Andy just can’t seem to get over him no matter how hard he tries. Around the 10 year mark things in both their lives have changed and Andy learns that maybe West isn’t all that straight, maybe he’s just been waiting for Andy to make a move all this time BUT there’s the pining and the angst and the years Andy has spent with sad eyes and an empty soul and maybe it’s too late.
So, while this had a lot of things I normally wouldn’t like, like detailed sex scenes with other partners or it only being in one POV or the fact it spanned over such a long period of time before these two idiots were on the same page, THE ANGST & PINING WAS FANTASTIC. And when these two get their shit together and talk about the past and the future and everything else, it was perfection. I loved it especially the sex scenes with each other. And to know there’s a sequel from West’s POV makes me deliriously happy. It’s too damn bad it doesn’t start with the letters I still need to read or I’d pick it up right now.
July 31, 2022
2.75 ⭐️
Absolutely adored and LOVED the first half so much. Pining was wonderful, full of love and passion, descriptions of Andy’s feeling were amazing and MCs personalities was written perfectly. And then Idk what the hell happened with the storyline. Everything changed. The pace of the story suddenly felt too fast and everything that happened seems unnecessary and tooo out of place. The attempt of Andy’s character to cope with what happened felt rushed and forced too. I didn’t like that a LOT. Felt like the story focused on the pining and friendship beforehand, but not so much on the feelings and story after the disaster.
I can’t pinpoint which part I dislike the most. All of the things I loved from the beginning just vanished. Everything from there felt so forced and so much so, lack of depth. It was so hard to love this back after the disappointment. It had a lot of potential though and my fav tropes. Well damn *sigh* Probably wouldn’t read West’s POV on the second book.
All in all, I loved that their friendship didn’t deter their relationship and they actually talk about feelings and discuss things at the end there. I adored that so much. I do believe they are perfect together, it was just the changed of pace and plot were messing with me and my mood :’)
Absolutely adored and LOVED the first half so much. Pining was wonderful, full of love and passion, descriptions of Andy’s feeling were amazing and MCs personalities was written perfectly. And then Idk what the hell happened with the storyline. Everything changed. The pace of the story suddenly felt too fast and everything that happened seems unnecessary and tooo out of place. The attempt of Andy’s character to cope with what happened felt rushed and forced too. I didn’t like that a LOT. Felt like the story focused on the pining and friendship beforehand, but not so much on the feelings and story after the disaster.
I can’t pinpoint which part I dislike the most. All of the things I loved from the beginning just vanished. Everything from there felt so forced and so much so, lack of depth. It was so hard to love this back after the disappointment. It had a lot of potential though and my fav tropes. Well damn *sigh* Probably wouldn’t read West’s POV on the second book.
All in all, I loved that their friendship didn’t deter their relationship and they actually talk about feelings and discuss things at the end there. I adored that so much. I do believe they are perfect together, it was just the changed of pace and plot were messing with me and my mood :’)
March 11, 2022
...“tell me a story in twelve words or less.”...“I thought I saw fireworks once, but it was just a smile.”
That last 5% almost had me sobbing my eyes out. This novella definitely satisfied my craving for some ultimate pining (I'm talking 10 years of pining 😩)
That last 5% almost had me sobbing my eyes out. This novella definitely satisfied my craving for some ultimate pining (I'm talking 10 years of pining 😩)
March 13, 2024
This book Its pretty bad. The writing is bad, the story is bad, the time jumps are bad and makes little sense, you end up lost like "shouldn't this be more years in the future?"
The author may be good and I'd just had bad luck but this book is definitely bad, I couldn't find one single think I liked about it and that's a rare to me.
She seems pretty popular so maybe I will give another book a try.
This one? I definitely don't recommend!
The author may be good and I'd just had bad luck but this book is definitely bad, I couldn't find one single think I liked about it and that's a rare to me.
She seems pretty popular so maybe I will give another book a try.
This one? I definitely don't recommend!
March 11, 2022
This review might be spoiler-y.
So, I love Andy and West and that’s what made this book enjoyable for me. When they finally get together it’s an explosion of fireworks but there are things that really annoyed me.
It is not actually a college roommates romance like the blurb makes it seem, as they are college roommates for like 16% of the book.
This follows Andy, sad and pining with a capital P for West for TEN YEARS! Then we find out West has been pretty much pining for Andy the whole time too and that just frustrated me. For best friends, there was zero communication. One tiny drunken conversation could have saved them both ten years of misery.
The ending was very satisfying and made up for it.
So, I love Andy and West and that’s what made this book enjoyable for me. When they finally get together it’s an explosion of fireworks but there are things that really annoyed me.
It is not actually a college roommates romance like the blurb makes it seem, as they are college roommates for like 16% of the book.
This follows Andy, sad and pining with a capital P for West for TEN YEARS! Then we find out West has been pretty much pining for Andy the whole time too and that just frustrated me. For best friends, there was zero communication. One tiny drunken conversation could have saved them both ten years of misery.
The ending was very satisfying and made up for it.
July 30, 2022
I am seeing real sparks over there
March 9, 2022
2.5 stars
The characters are very one dimensional, even Andy. There are time jumps that happen very quickly but we never get into the characters. We know Andy who is in love with his best friend and then West, the best friend. All the other characters are there but are never fully formed. And West is just too perfect. Of course this is in Andy’s POV so to him he’s perfect but I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at times. I also felt like Andy had no backbone most of the time, he never distanced himself from West until he started partying hard. Years go by in a flash and we’re told of events but never shown these events. I felt like it was the shortened version of a story at times and I wish it was more flushed out.
The first time Andy and West have sex was my favorite part of the book. It was written so well and relayed the emotions Andy was feeling. I just wish I saw more than them having sex while their relationship was building. I felt like it was all physical and I knew that wasn’t the case but once again we’re told and not shown.
I liked the end when they finally talk. I still wish that the story wasn’t so driven by sex. There’s a great story under all of that but I felt like it wasn’t told fully. I am hoping the next book, from West’s POV, has more substance than sex.
*ARC via Gay Romance Reviews
*All thoughts and opinions are my own
The characters are very one dimensional, even Andy. There are time jumps that happen very quickly but we never get into the characters. We know Andy who is in love with his best friend and then West, the best friend. All the other characters are there but are never fully formed. And West is just too perfect. Of course this is in Andy’s POV so to him he’s perfect but I couldn’t help rolling my eyes at times. I also felt like Andy had no backbone most of the time, he never distanced himself from West until he started partying hard. Years go by in a flash and we’re told of events but never shown these events. I felt like it was the shortened version of a story at times and I wish it was more flushed out.
The first time Andy and West have sex was my favorite part of the book. It was written so well and relayed the emotions Andy was feeling. I just wish I saw more than them having sex while their relationship was building. I felt like it was all physical and I knew that wasn’t the case but once again we’re told and not shown.
I liked the end when they finally talk. I still wish that the story wasn’t so driven by sex. There’s a great story under all of that but I felt like it wasn’t told fully. I am hoping the next book, from West’s POV, has more substance than sex.
*ARC via Gay Romance Reviews
*All thoughts and opinions are my own
January 12, 2022
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!! Epic!! How is it possible for a story to be so exasperating and riveting at the same time??!! The realism of the narrative is remarkable. Lovely book!!
March 6, 2023
Yes I finished this a week ago but we have more troubling matters to discuss.
The fact that I did not AT ALL mind the FUCKING ANGSTTTT!!!!!! and WITH MORE STTTTTTTTTTTT like at ALL is very, VERYYYYYY worrisome people.
But yeah, classic pinning in its most bastard and heartbreaking ways. I think I teared up once or twice while reading this so I might have SOME life (but I'm associating that with my . so idk)
Really enjoyed this. Kinda wish the next book wasn't an alternative pov 😭😭😭 I want sequel damnit!
3.5 stars
This book woke up my desire to have a best friend who'll break my heart like Wes to Andy and it'll be the best kind of heartbreak.
Also, THIS!!!!! ↓!!!!!!!!
The fact that I did not AT ALL mind the FUCKING ANGSTTTT!!!!!! and WITH MORE STTTTTTTTTTTT like at ALL is very, VERYYYYYY worrisome people.
But yeah, classic pinning in its most bastard and heartbreaking ways. I think I teared up once or twice while reading this so I might have SOME life (but I'm associating that with my . so idk)
Really enjoyed this. Kinda wish the next book wasn't an alternative pov 😭😭😭 I want sequel damnit!
3.5 stars
This book woke up my desire to have a best friend who'll break my heart like Wes to Andy and it'll be the best kind of heartbreak.
Also, THIS!!!!! ↓!!!!!!!!
“I thought I saw fireworks once, but it was just a smile.”
July 3, 2023
5+++ stars!
My first thought after finishing this book: Holy crap that was good!
The angst & pining between best friends West & Andy was done extraordinarily well. The tension was taut as a wire for most of the book. It was great! I love stories like this. I will be reading this one over & over
My first thought after finishing this book: Holy crap that was good!
The angst & pining between best friends West & Andy was done extraordinarily well. The tension was taut as a wire for most of the book. It was great! I love stories like this. I will be reading this one over & over
August 7, 2022
Love love love ❤️
April 7, 2023
Rating - 3.5 Stars
If you like pining, angst and pain then this one is for you 🤡 Although there is a wonderful HEA, the road to get there is not easy.
Andy is in love with his straight best friend West. They meet in college as roommates and Andy has been gone for West since day one. The start of their friendship is adorable and the amount of angst and pining was just perfect. But then we move past their college years and Andy is still pining HARD and it gets more and more painful to witness.
When they finally get together the chemistry between them was amazing and there were plenty of super sweet moments to make up for everything that came before.
My main issue with this book was the lack of communication. These two told each other almost everything else. They were so connected and I just can’t get over how they could let things go for a decade before smartening up and communicating and realizing what was there all along. Some very simple different choices could have saved them both a lot of pain and it was hard to get over.
In the end I still adored West & Andy and they had a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love.
If you like pining, angst and pain then this one is for you 🤡 Although there is a wonderful HEA, the road to get there is not easy.
Andy is in love with his straight best friend West. They meet in college as roommates and Andy has been gone for West since day one. The start of their friendship is adorable and the amount of angst and pining was just perfect. But then we move past their college years and Andy is still pining HARD and it gets more and more painful to witness.
When they finally get together the chemistry between them was amazing and there were plenty of super sweet moments to make up for everything that came before.
My main issue with this book was the lack of communication. These two told each other almost everything else. They were so connected and I just can’t get over how they could let things go for a decade before smartening up and communicating and realizing what was there all along. Some very simple different choices could have saved them both a lot of pain and it was hard to get over.
In the end I still adored West & Andy and they had a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love.
June 5, 2023
I can’t believe I got to read this for free (author’s newsletter).
The PININGGGGGGG good christ!!!
The PININGGGGGGG good christ!!!
January 2, 2024
Unrequited is the first novella in the Unrequited/Requited duet.
Jesse H Reign is quickly becomming one of my favourite authors. Her style is very unique. I love how her words feel like a rhythm. They beat like a heart.
Speaking of hearts, mine is still in shambles after reading this novella. I'm not sure I have the words to explain my feelings while I read because West and Andy's story pushed me over the edge and I'm still down there trying to pick myself up.
Told from Andy's point of view only (West's point of view, with a twist, is in Requited), Unrequited is the story of two college roommates who... i want to say miscommunicate... like... really badly. Ha! Andy is an artist. He is gay and falls madly, desperately in love with his straight roommate West. The story spans over a decade+ and I loved that it did, allowing us to see Andy's highs and his rock bottom.
Andy's broken heart was my broken heart. I fell in love with him so bad, I could feel my chest constricting reading about his unreturned feelings for West. I could not put this book down. I loved how the author stayed away from a regular love story. The miscommunication trope was just sooo well done. It had purpose and worked and it made West and Andy's HEA so much more special. Now I'm just dying to read West's side.
Jesse H Reign is quickly becomming one of my favourite authors. Her style is very unique. I love how her words feel like a rhythm. They beat like a heart.
Speaking of hearts, mine is still in shambles after reading this novella. I'm not sure I have the words to explain my feelings while I read because West and Andy's story pushed me over the edge and I'm still down there trying to pick myself up.
Told from Andy's point of view only (West's point of view, with a twist, is in Requited), Unrequited is the story of two college roommates who... i want to say miscommunicate... like... really badly. Ha! Andy is an artist. He is gay and falls madly, desperately in love with his straight roommate West. The story spans over a decade+ and I loved that it did, allowing us to see Andy's highs and his rock bottom.
Andy's broken heart was my broken heart. I fell in love with him so bad, I could feel my chest constricting reading about his unreturned feelings for West. I could not put this book down. I loved how the author stayed away from a regular love story. The miscommunication trope was just sooo well done. It had purpose and worked and it made West and Andy's HEA so much more special. Now I'm just dying to read West's side.
June 5, 2024
So... I skimmed. A LOT in this one. I enjoy a bit of angst now and then, trust me, but this angst? For someone like me, a mostly demi kind of person, the kind of angst that results in the main characters having sex and falling in love with other people for ten fucking years while pining after each other? This kind of angst is painful for me. Very, very unenjoyable pain. It makes me depressed. Especially when I got toward the end and found out West had had feelings for Andy the entire time, as well. I could have handled it better if West had just been a dumbass and not realized how he felt about Andy until they were much older, but the fact that he was pinning his hopes on Andy "picking up on his flirty hints" when Andy thought he was straight? And West never did anything to disabuse Andy of that notion???
Gross and stupid. It always feels like a copout to me when an author uses this plot device. Because, you see, it has to be an EPIC LOVE, and in order for me to be EPIC LOVE, the characters both have to feel it almost instantly. But then we need the ANGST, I tell you, THE ANGST!
Just stop it.
Gross and stupid. It always feels like a copout to me when an author uses this plot device. Because, you see, it has to be an EPIC LOVE, and in order for me to be EPIC LOVE, the characters both have to feel it almost instantly. But then we need the ANGST, I tell you, THE ANGST!
Just stop it.
March 5, 2022
Ah wow.. I loved this book. I mean, there’s pining and then there’s PINING . Anyway, they were both idiots and when the book ended I wanted to throttle someone . But It was such a good book. Best friends to lovers with angsty pinning and heartbreak. Lovely side characters and Andy was great but because we only get his POV I found West plain and colorless. BUUUT , I heard a second book is about to come out that it will have West POV and it will develop like this one should have if one of them had opened the freaking mouth. Can’t wait!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2024
oh this is so basic and normal and the characters are so perfect 😴 the YEARS long pining for the supposed straight friend did it for me tho, i read this back to back at once and never even felt like dnfing. the fact i've kept my distance from this brand of basic vanilla trad pub romance for a long time now must have something to do with this
Read
February 25, 2023dnf @ 52%- not horrible and might be good if you’re in the exact mood for a read like this, but it’s too much telling instead of showing and I feel no connection to the mc or his love interest so I just can’t be bothered to finish it even with it’s short length
December 31, 2022
I don't know about this one. It wasn't a bad read, i enjoyed it thoroughly, but, I think it might have been too angsty for me, i mean he loved him for years without anything in return.... The angst and the pining were fun to read but i found it, the timeline of everything, a little bit on the unbelievable side.
Want to read
March 18, 2022🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/18/2022)! 🎁
April 21, 2024
3,8 ⭐️
A lot of angst and pain that sometimes felt like a bit too much. But. I liked this journey of (seemingly) unrequited love 💗
A lot of angst and pain that sometimes felt like a bit too much. But. I liked this journey of (seemingly) unrequited love 💗
August 7, 2022
you know the feeling when you just know without having read the book that this is going to be 5 stars, well this happened to me with this book, the premise is music to my ears a Gay guy madly in love with his straight roommate, please give me all that and much more and this book did not disappoint me at all, the first time I read this author and I was pleasantly surprised, I empathized a lot with our narrator Andy, I fell in love and identified with him a lot I also wanted to kill him many times and slap him, With West my story is completely love at first sight, he is such a nice, kind and sweet man that I just wanted to grab him and eat him alive, I was quite moved by their love story and without a doubt this is one of my favorite books this year. I won't forget the feeling that it left me in a really long time.
March 6, 2024
4.5 stars. I’ve had this one my TBR for a while and finally picked it up. I’m so glad I did as I really loved it. This is my first book by this author and I enjoyed the writing. At many points I wondered how this book was going to get a HEA but they do and I was so happy. This book is pining galore so make sure you’re in the mood for that!
This is a single POV story told from Andy’s POV. I felt so bad for Andy at so many points during this story. The pining and hurt were on a whole other level with this story. I’m not usually a fan of it taking so long for the couple to get together but I understood it and was ok with it in this story.
West, oh West. I could feel Andy’s love for him as well as the hurt he unknowingly caused Andy. Looking back I wish I could have smacked him upside the head and told these two to talk to each other! But all in all their story worked out for them!
The next book in this series is told from West’s POV and from what I understand the story actually changes. I’m sure I’ll read it at some point but not while this HEA is still fresh in my mind!
This is a single POV story told from Andy’s POV. I felt so bad for Andy at so many points during this story. The pining and hurt were on a whole other level with this story. I’m not usually a fan of it taking so long for the couple to get together but I understood it and was ok with it in this story.
West, oh West. I could feel Andy’s love for him as well as the hurt he unknowingly caused Andy. Looking back I wish I could have smacked him upside the head and told these two to talk to each other! But all in all their story worked out for them!
The next book in this series is told from West’s POV and from what I understand the story actually changes. I’m sure I’ll read it at some point but not while this HEA is still fresh in my mind!
March 10, 2022
A Joyfully Jay review.
4 stars
The story of Andy and West spans ten years in this book and the men first meet in their college dorm as roommates. Andy falls so hard and completely for West and West becomes such a focal point in Andy’s life. West brings a lot of women back to their room and Andy would have no reason to think that West would be interested in him, except maybe he misses a lot of hints from West.
The book is told entirely from Andy’s POV, so we only see what he sees and only as interpreted through him and by him. There are little sparks of thought that maybe West is interested in more, but since neither of them makes a move and they never talk about anything, life moves on. Andy is mostly tormented by his love for West and, as the years go by, he drowns himself in sex and drugs, which of course doesn’t help anything.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
4 stars
The story of Andy and West spans ten years in this book and the men first meet in their college dorm as roommates. Andy falls so hard and completely for West and West becomes such a focal point in Andy’s life. West brings a lot of women back to their room and Andy would have no reason to think that West would be interested in him, except maybe he misses a lot of hints from West.
The book is told entirely from Andy’s POV, so we only see what he sees and only as interpreted through him and by him. There are little sparks of thought that maybe West is interested in more, but since neither of them makes a move and they never talk about anything, life moves on. Andy is mostly tormented by his love for West and, as the years go by, he drowns himself in sex and drugs, which of course doesn’t help anything.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
March 19, 2022
5 Unbelievably Epic stars 🌟
Andy and West ❤️
Gahhhh!!!! This one almost did me in, OMG my heart ❤️ 10 years!!!! The incredibly slow burn, the friendship, the pining, the love....I seriously cannot form a decent thought for this review, I am still reeling from this beautiful story. The ending was just breathtaking, I bawled my eyes out!!! I absolutely 100% recommend this book with everything that I have, you will not be disappointed....it deserves 100 stars 🌟 in very simple terms: it was a very touching and endearing love story.
* I received an ARC from GRR, this is my open and honest review *
Andy and West ❤️
Gahhhh!!!! This one almost did me in, OMG my heart ❤️ 10 years!!!! The incredibly slow burn, the friendship, the pining, the love....I seriously cannot form a decent thought for this review, I am still reeling from this beautiful story. The ending was just breathtaking, I bawled my eyes out!!! I absolutely 100% recommend this book with everything that I have, you will not be disappointed....it deserves 100 stars 🌟 in very simple terms: it was a very touching and endearing love story.
* I received an ARC from GRR, this is my open and honest review *
March 16, 2022
4.5 star spell bound shock.
I did not go into this book expecting to like it so much. I didn’t even like it at all initially. I don’t typically like books that take place so predominantly inside one MCs head. There isn’t a lot of dialogue or action in this book. And it’s told in an almost lyrical way. It kind of reminds me of Colleen Hoover’s Ugly Love. The words just seem to stream on in rhythmic waves carrying me along on this journey of joy and pain. It’s not a dark read nor is it particularly deep. It’s not trying to use grief or suffering in an attempt to build intimacy as so many romances do. Yet it is intimate. You really come to know Andy and feel for him as he suffers over ten years of his best friend relationship with West when all he wants is to love him the way he wants. And I didn’t expect them to end up where they did. I started this book at 8am and read it before dinner time. I sped through it . It’s not the best book ever for me but it gets a 5 star because for being a writing style I know I don’t like I really loved this. And the steam was epic.
I did not go into this book expecting to like it so much. I didn’t even like it at all initially. I don’t typically like books that take place so predominantly inside one MCs head. There isn’t a lot of dialogue or action in this book. And it’s told in an almost lyrical way. It kind of reminds me of Colleen Hoover’s Ugly Love. The words just seem to stream on in rhythmic waves carrying me along on this journey of joy and pain. It’s not a dark read nor is it particularly deep. It’s not trying to use grief or suffering in an attempt to build intimacy as so many romances do. Yet it is intimate. You really come to know Andy and feel for him as he suffers over ten years of his best friend relationship with West when all he wants is to love him the way he wants. And I didn’t expect them to end up where they did. I started this book at 8am and read it before dinner time. I sped through it . It’s not the best book ever for me but it gets a 5 star because for being a writing style I know I don’t like I really loved this. And the steam was epic.
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