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| B0CTHSHRD9
| 4.25
| 1,775
| Jul 15, 2024
| Jul 19, 2024
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it was amazing
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, Golden retriever/black cat, actor/actor Feels: 5/5 Steam*: 3.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low HEA: yes Pai **spoiler alert** Tropes: fake dating, grumpy/sunshine, Golden retriever/black cat, actor/actor Feels: 5/5 Steam*: 3.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: banter, touch starved / cuddling I loved this book! This was right up my alley. Chase and Amos are in college studying acting, they both want to be actors. They haven't really interacted a lot but they've been in each other's periphery as they participate in drama classes and such together. I think they're both in their last year? Chase is a golden retriever carefree fuckboy who doesn't do relationships and everyone on campus knows that, he's bi. Amos is a gay grumpy black cat, friendless because he's antisocial but hot and mysterious. The college is doing a reality TV 90210/Friends story that follows three couples and two friends. It's supposed to be method acting, with their characters being as close to who they are as people as possible. They get paired together as an established relationship, a gay couple who has been together for over a year, so they have to be very comfortable with each other. Chase is very cuddly and inserts himself directly into Amos's space. They develop an intense comfort with each other, they so easily slip into sharing physical space and having deep talks. They constantly get lost in their own little world and are oblivious to people around them watching them, trying to talk to them, or filming. They had beautiful bickering and bantering. Amos is a grump and Chase just goes to work at battering down any distance between them and worming his way closer and closer to Amos. And Amos bickers back, but secretly he loves every moment. I'd call this relatively slow burn, they don't even talk about doing anything until the 56% mark, first real kiss at 59%. This was a beautiful story, I really loved the humor and the feelings they had. It was hilarious how oblivious the guys were to their surroundings and everyone shipped them and were fascinated by them. Some notable moments: The snuggling in this book was top tier!! "I went over and tapped his knee, then sat down right in between his legs leaning back against him. I was beginning to think this could be my new favorite spot. “Are you okay there?” “I am now.” I sighed as I made myself comfortable, which included taking his hand and draping his arm over my chest. “I’m just going to assume that if you need less people time that does not include me. I’ll be quiet, I just don’t want you to be alone.”" Words cannot describe how much I love this dynamic. I love a clingy grabby touch starved for their person, cuddle monster! And the grump begrudgingly putting up with it but secretly loving it. "Deirdre came over for the iPad. “Well, you two look very relaxed.” I made a point of trying to remove Chase’s arm from my waist and failing. “He’s like those dryer sheets,” I said. “You know the staticky ones that stick to everything. He’s like that.” “He’s called me worse,” Chase mumbled, seemingly undeterred. “Staticky dryer sheet is a compliment coming from him.” I sighed. “It’s not too late for a partner change, right?”" Their bickering is adorable "“You are insufferable. Has anyone ever told you that?” “You do. A lot,” he said, pouting because I was kind of squishing his cheeks. “But you’re really fucking cute. And you drive me so crazy I could scream.” “In a good way?” “No.” He made a squishy sad face. “Oh.”" "“Oooh, I know. You could do me.” “I thought you said—” “That was past-me. Now-me wants it, and future-me agrees.” “Chase,” he murmured. “Just a little orgasm. It doesn’t have to be a big orgasm. Just a little one.” He looked up to the sky and sighed." *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 25, 2024
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Jul 26, 2024
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Jul 25, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CW1C94P4
| 3.90
| 2,304
| Jun 21, 2024
| Jun 21, 2024
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liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: failed one night stand, miscommunication, sports, rich/poor Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 2/5 Kinks: sex in a risky place once Angst: lo **spoiler alert** Tropes: failed one night stand, miscommunication, sports, rich/poor Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 2/5 Kinks: sex in a risky place once Angst: low HEA: I'm calling this a HFN, read my review, I have a two paragraph long vent on this LOL Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: dead parents, neglectful/homophobic parent, money struggles 3.5 stars, rounding down though Jordan is 19, he has two dads, so he has grown up very open and very much an lgbtqia+ ally. He's questioning his own sexuality in college. He plays baseball in college and needs to wear a suit after the games. He's grown out of his suit and needs a new one, so he goes to a men's wear store and he meets Blaise. Blaise listens to Jordan vocalizing his questioning and helpfully offers to be of service in figuring out things by dropping to his knees. The experiment is a success and they both want to repeat. Lol. They start a hook up relationship and become friends along the way. And then whoops we're boyfriends. Blaise's 23 and gay, he's struggling a bit for money because he wants to apply to an unpaid internship and he literally needs to save up so he can afford to take the unpaid internship. So ridiculous that unpaid internships exist! His mom is dead and his dad wants nothing to do with him because he's gay. He has no family but he does have some close friends. He's wanting to get into costume design in movies. Coincidentally Jordan's family has connections in the job he wants. The miscommunication trope kind of has an annoying presence, hanging over their heads in the background waiting to fall. For the most part this was an enjoyable low angst read. Great use of humor. Jordan made a pretty realistic rich college kid. He was open, indecisive about his future, and he was used to having his needs met by his family and not having to struggle much. His flaws were shown and who he was was understandable. You don't always see that kind of honest humanity in college romances. The progression from hookups to friends to boyfriends was pretty natural. They enjoyed spending time with each other so they just kept doing it! And feelings came along. It was pretty funny when they realized that they accidentally fell into a relationship and are boyfriends. I liked their supportive friend group. There were a couple typos. There was also this stupid plot line where Blaise offered to (and actually does) buy Jordan a pair of earrings for every game he won. Blaise is struggling for money, it makes no sense that he would be buying Jordan a pair of earrings for every baseball win. And Jordan shouldn't be accepting it either because he knows Blaise is struggling. That wasn't thought out well. The author really pissed me off though on the page right after the book was over. On the last page of the story, the couple's story ends on a happy for now note. They say they're going to worry about the future when it comes and just enjoy today, they'll make big life decisions later. And I was actually applauding that, even though it meant the book technically ended on a happy for now note. Usually I like a very clear happily ever after, but I thought hey this is fresh and it's realistic because Jordan is only 19 and the whole book has been leading to a point where Jordan and Blaise are going to have to make some decisions, some right now and then some decisions in the future, because they're going to have to adjust due to their transitory life circumstances due to school and job stuff. Then I turned the page and saw that the author is promoting signing up for her newsletter to see Blaise and Jordan's future 10 years from now. Hell no. Don't deliberately choose to end a book on an HFN note and basically create a cliffhanger for your readers to drive people to your newsletter for an HEA. I respect the creative right to actually end on an HFN because of the age of the characters but don't just clickbait me. Controversial opinion, but my opinion is that those extra stories that authors promote at the end of their book should be missing scenes or optional scenes that are not critical to the happily ever after. To me, it's a particularly dirty move when you deny your reader a HEA within the book that they paid for and try to force them. Sometimes I'm interested enough to sign up for these extra stories or to hear more about the next releases of an author. But I'm deliberately not going to sign up for the newsletter and read their HEA because I think this is shitty behavior. Some notable moments: Jordan is such a boy! I love how stunned and appalled his dad is. I wish that Blaise had gotten to react to this as well, he might have cried. "“Nope. How long have you had that suit, anyway? I can’t remember when you bought it.” “Sure you do. You took me to buy it.” There’s a stunned little pause, then Uncle Luke demands, “Are you telling me that’s the same suit I got you for Homecoming your junior year?” “Yep.” When would I have bought another? And why?" I love how overwhelmed Jordan is at the idea of purchasing a new suit. "“Hi! Can I help you find anyth— Okay, I’m going to take that as a yes,” I say as both his hands latch tightly onto my forearm. “Please,” he begs. “Help me.” For a second I wonder if this is more than a shopping emergency—is he in actual danger?—but then he adds, “Why are there so many? I only need one,” and I relax." "“Oh, not now. Now I eat as many as I want, though sometimes I pay for it in the gym. But when I was a kid, he was always going on about how I couldn’t eat a whole box at a time.” A whole box? Just thinking about all that sugar makes me queasy, and we art students live on junk food. “He might have had a point. That many Pop-Tarts would probably lead to death.” I eye him. “You’re not doing that now, are you?” His gaze slides away. “That’s not important.”" *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 2024
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Jul 02, 2024
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Jun 26, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CS8J2KGK
| 4.05
| 3,284
| Jun 15, 2024
| Jun 15, 2024
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liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: jock/jock, secret relationship, instalove, hurt/comfort Feels: 3/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: Docking, food sex, dom/sub, daddy/boy, **spoiler alert** Tropes: jock/jock, secret relationship, instalove, hurt/comfort Feels: 3/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: Docking, food sex, dom/sub, daddy/boy, degradation, edging, kink of being used as a cum dumpster Angst: medium HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: death of parent, neglectful parent, domestic violence (not between MC's), minor alcoholic/addict character, erectile dysfunction, a scene of extremely dumb unsafe sex, mental health issues I should say before I start this review, I don't think this book was a good fit for me. Which is kind of silly because I'm a sucker for neediness and comfort, but the way it was done here just did not work for me, there were a lot of things that seemed like dumb decisions plot wise and the unequal dynamic just was unhealthy to me. Nick is 22 and he's an out bi or pan football player in college. His parents regularly Foster children. Joey is 25 and gay and a closeted hockey player. He is captain of his team and a late student. They don't explicitly say why, but it seems likely that he didn't feel he could leave home until his younger siblings had? Joey's father died when he was young and his mother retreated as a parent, focused on paying off medical bills. His mother would berate Joey for not looking after his siblings better, faulting him for every time the siblings acted up or out or they had a problem in their household. Joey had a huge sense of responsibility and was mentally and emotionally a mess. They meet at the beginning in a gay bar. They are instantly attracted to each other. They hook up and it's kinky from the beginning, Nick has a way of reading what Joey needs and giving it to him. So it is a good hook up, their sexualities are compatible, they want a repeat. They don't make plans to see each other again, which is kind of dumb on Nick's part because Nick really wants a repeat. But they meet again because they are both athletes though for different teams at college. When they meet again, Nick offers himself up on a plate for Joey, willing to have him on any terms and be whatever he needs. Which I have to say, makes sense a little bit early on in their relationship, but he does this all the way to the end of the book, and it's an incredibly unequal dynamic between the two of them. It's unhealthy long-term. At some point Joey needs to stand on his own but also be equal partner and meet mixed needs in a give and take way, not just taking. About their first time having sex... Joey had sex with somebody else that same night. He showed up to the bar after having had unprotected sex with somebody else which wasn't fulfilling to him, he's full of cum dripping out of him but he didn't get off so he wants to find another hookup. Nick finds this out by going to finger him and finding him loose and dripping cum. This icked me out so hard I almost dnf'd, but other reviewers said there was a real special dynamic of sweetness between Nick and Joey so I stuck it out. Being the second person in one night is an ick for me. But I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum or kink shame things that aren't my thing. What I will do is side eye wildly irresponsible unsafe sex though! Especially, because Joey had unprotected sex and his new partner is touching his old partner's cum with no forewarning beforehand, AND Nick and Joey do not use a condom. I don't care that they're both on Prep, you shouldn't be having sex without condoms with multiple strangers in one night. It's not safe. You can't trust strangers and prep does not protect against everything! This was especially stupid because a few pages later, Nick lectures a teammate about unprotected sex and is handing out condoms. You can have condoms on the ready to give to your friends / teammates but not use them yourself? Unsafe sex is dumb you know that yet you just had it multiple times yourself, and with a guy that had already had sex with someone else that night without protection?! A guy who from his inner thoughts we learn has a fetish of being used as a c** dumpster and has had many nights where he has multiple partners and gets off on being used? This is a wildly unsafe situation. Setting that aside, because it only happened the one time, they weren't with anyone else after they hooked up, so at least they limit their dumb sexual decisions to between the two of them. But the author loses points with me for characters being dumb and wildly irresponsible unsafe sex being glorified. I am a sucker for a relationship where the characters are glomped onto each other emotionally and touch starved / soaking up affection. I should on paper have like this relationship more than I actually did, because these characters do have that dynamic. And there were some moments where their emotional need for each other made me happy. There were times where they just I needed a hug from their person or they just really needed to talk to their person in order to be soothed. However I feel like their dynamic wasn't what I would have wanted because it was very unbalanced and it never got to a healthy and stable point. And while there''s a lot of talk about their cuddling, I didn't get to really enjoy it and "see it" happening, it felt more like I was being told rather than shown, and I didn't really feel the cuddles deeply the way that other book couples have made me feel. Whenever they are together, they end up having sex. We do see them talking a lot and Nick is always being a calming presence for Joey, being emotional support for him. I wanted to like them more than I actually did like them. I didn't find this book very realistic. And their relationship felt really rushed at the end. They've been in an uncertain place in their relationship the whole book, they weren't stable and secure in their relationship. And they weren't in a healthy place or a reciprocal place. Nick still considers Joey to be a flight risk in their relationship at the 96% point. At that same point, he is making mental plans to adopt a set of 3-year-old twins who came from a bad home situation, and wanting to adopt them with Joey. It's kind of crazy that Nick wants to be a parent of 3-year-old twins when he himself is 22 years old. But add to that that he isn't in a confident point in his relationship with Joey, and Joey is not in a good mental state and has been a parental figure ever since his dad died, and Joey has been struggling with the pressure of being responsible for other people ever since then and clearly you shouldn't be adding more responsibility to someone who's never had a breath of freedom before. This plot doesn't fit with what would be healthy for this couple or fair to those kids. Being a parent right now seems like the last thing that Joey needs. So this just felt like a dumb plot decision on the author's part. Some notable moments: "“Put some pants on, I don’t want Neal to see what’s mine.” He says it so casually, like it’s obvious, that I smile. I’m his. He’s mine. I pull up my underwear and grab him, pulling him between my thighs while I sit on his bed. “You want me to be yours?” My voice only wobbles a little at the question." "She saw us in the parking lot. I can feel how wide my eyes are but I can’t do anything about it. I’m going to vomit. It’s a good thing we’re moving because I can never look at this woman in the face again. “I mean, really, a parking lot?” Nick starts to cackle. It’s not long before he’s doubled over, leaning on his knees, wheezing from laughing so hard, while I’m having an existential crisis." *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 17, 2024
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Jun 19, 2024
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Jun 15, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CW2X2MCJ
| 4.11
| 4,003
| Jun 07, 2024
| Jun 07, 2024
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it was amazing
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: failed hook up, friends to FWB to lovers Feels: 4/5 Steam*: 3.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential ic **spoiler alert** Tropes: failed hook up, friends to FWB to lovers Feels: 4/5 Steam*: 3.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: one character has a disability, s***** dad 4.5 stars but I'm rounding up. Theo is 21. Perry is 22. Theo is attending college. Perry is working at the bar shenanigans. Perry is the illegitimate son of a rich guy, and he was raised without a dad just getting money because the guy was trying to keep the child secret from his wife. It all came out though and Perry is still hating his dad, but he wants to get to know his brother Ty who had his own book earlier. Perry is tech savvy and can build programs / apps but he doesn't feel like he should pursue it because his dad is in that business and he hates everything his dad is associated with. Theo thinks he's straight. He's a bit of a shy guy when it comes to girls, he has low self-esteem. Perry is bi/Pan, and he's all about quick hookups and not getting into a relationship. While drunk, they have a misunderstanding and Perry thinks that they're planning a hook up while Theo thinks they're setting up a friendly meet up. They decide to stay friends once they realize the mistake. But as they spend more time together, Theo thinks he's not so straight. He wants to hookup with Perry. Perry is up for that, and they agree to a exclusive Friends with benefits deal. Theo can explore his newfound sexuality and they will be exclusive because they are also friends outside of this and they don't want to hurt each other or make things awkward. They were very fast friends and very fond of each other before they even started the FWB relationship. So it's not surprising that this is really not going to stay an FWB relationship. Nobody around them believes them that it's casual. LOL I really enjoyed this book. I'm a sucker for characters being soft with each other and Theo and Perry were so sweet to each other. Perry called Theo his puppy. They were always looking at each other, so focused on each other, so physically affectionate with each other. And they weren't romantic or schmoopy so that was nice because it would have been too much if they were. I really liked the humor in the book. It was great to see Tyson and Braxton appearing as side characters. A lot of humor came out of those interactions. Some notable moments: "“They’re all easy, Puppy.” I make it two steps before I freeze. I’d just used my nickname for Theo in front of Ty and Brax. There’s no way my brother is going to let that pass. “Yes…have a seat…puppy.” Ty smiles. “Lacrosse.” Brax nudges him. “Be good.” “But where’s the fun in that?” Ty answers." Yay, body positivity "We take our clothes off, and I try not to stare too hard at Theo’s body, at the belly that’s a little softer than mine—and honestly, than most of the guys I’m with—and yet it’s so fucking tempting and mouthwatering to me. I want to lick him from head to toe, taste every part of him, making him come so hard that no matter what guys he’s with in the future, he compares them to me." *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 11, 2024
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Jun 12, 2024
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Jun 07, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CTMXNGVY
| 4.06
| 1,570
| Mar 11, 2024
| Mar 11, 2024
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really liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: age gap, failed one night stand, grumpy/sunshine, professor/student, forbidden relationship Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: s **spoiler alert** Tropes: age gap, failed one night stand, grumpy/sunshine, professor/student, forbidden relationship Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: sex in inappropriate places Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: foster system 3.75 stars JJ is 20, gay and he is attending college for dance while working at a strip club as a dancer. He has a one night stand with an older guy at work one night, no names exchanged. 3 months later he meets the same guy again and finds out that he's his roommates hated grumpy business professor, Killian Wilder. Killian is 30, bi. He is a former foster kid who's been on his own since 17 and he has a complex about proving himself and being someone worthwhile. So that has made him very career driven and he wants to be head of his department, it's part of his 2-year plan. He doesn't take time for anything but work, he's horrible at socializing, he doesn't even break for lunch often. They are super attracted to each other and they give in again and again. As they spend more time together, feelings start to creep in, they like who the other person is and they have a positive influence on each other. But Killian is up for head of department and a relationship with the student would be horrible for his career and if he accepted the promotion he wouldn't have as much time for a relationship. This was a pleasant story. I'm a fan of a prickly grump. There was a nice dynamic between Killian and JJ. They had a lot of sexual tension between them, and they genuinely liked who the other person was and had more than just a sexual connection between them. It was nice to see them be soft with each other and domestic. I also liked that they just could not quit each other. They half-heartedly tried a third act break up but they just couldn't stay away from each other. The reaction their friends had to their relationship was funny. Especially the roommates that were students of his, they couldn't see past Killian the a****** to see him as being hot. It was like JJ and the roommates saw two completely different people when they looked at Killian. JJ's relationship with his grandma was nice. I love a grandma like her, her rivalry with Barbara added humor too. There were a couple things I wasn't a huge fan of, but they were relatively minor: - After Killian saw JJ teaching a youth dance class at the youth center, as soon as the kids were out the door they were hard and ready to hook up. Little icky timing, maybe don't place a sexual scene so close to children, ew. - over the top outburst, page 161 - Them having sex in his office on the regular. Of course they were going to get caught! And yeah it's unprofessional. - In my opinion Killian wasn't really a good professor! He didn't teach people well because he was so grumpy and a hard ass, he intimidated and wasn't welcoming or nurturing or humanly decent. And then once he was going through drama with JJ, he took it out on his students whenever he was going through a rough time. Thankfully once they were happy together and settled, Killian did become a better person and teacher. Some notable moments: "Rising onto the balls of his feet, he leaned right in, his lips almost brushing mine. “Are you here to tell me you’ve changed your mind? You want a repeat of the night in the club? Because I’d be verrry interested if so.” At his words, something ignited between us. A hot spark, setting my nerve endings alight. All my objections went out of the window. “Yes,” I growled, my self-control fraying and snapping as I closed the distance between us, our lips connecting." I love the range of friend reactions to Killian and JJ. "When he nodded, I stepped back from him. Spinning on my heel, I turned to face my three friends. Ander wore a look of resignation, Elliot seemed like he was still in shock, and Nic was grinning at me." *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. Merged review: Tropes: age gap, failed one night stand, grumpy/sunshine, professor/student, forbidden relationship Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: sex in inappropriate places Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: foster system 3.75 stars JJ is 20, gay and he is attending college for dance while working at a strip club as a dancer. He has a one night stand with an older guy at work one night, no names exchanged. 3 months later he meets the same guy again and finds out that he's his roommates hated grumpy business professor, Killian Wilder. Killian is 30, bi. He is a former foster kid who's been on his own since 17 and he has a complex about proving himself and being someone worthwhile. So that has made him very career driven and he wants to be head of his department, it's part of his 2-year plan. He doesn't take time for anything but work, he's horrible at socializing, he doesn't even break for lunch often. They are super attracted to each other and they give in again and again. As they spend more time together, feelings start to creep in, they like who the other person is and they have a positive influence on each other. But Killian is up for head of department and a relationship with the student would be horrible for his career and if he accepted the promotion he wouldn't have as much time for a relationship. This was a pleasant story. I'm a fan of a prickly grump. There was a nice dynamic between Killian and JJ. They had a lot of sexual tension between them, and they genuinely liked who the other person was and had more than just a sexual connection between them. It was nice to see them be soft with each other and domestic. I also liked that they just could not quit each other. They half-heartedly tried a third act break up but they just couldn't stay away from each other. The reaction their friends had to their relationship was funny. Especially the roommates that were students of his, they couldn't see past Killian the a****** to see him as being hot. It was like JJ and the roommates saw two completely different people when they looked at Killian. JJ's relationship with his grandma was nice. I love a grandma like her, her rivalry with Barbara added humor too. There were a couple things I wasn't a huge fan of, but they were relatively minor: - After Killian saw JJ teaching a youth dance class at the youth center, as soon as the kids were out the door they were hard and ready to hook up. Little icky timing, maybe don't place a sexual scene so close to children, ew. - over the top outburst, page 161 - Them having sex in his office on the regular. Of course they were going to get caught! And yeah it's unprofessional. - In my opinion Killian wasn't really a good professor! He didn't teach people well because he was so grumpy and a hard ass, he intimidated and wasn't welcoming or nurturing or humanly decent. And then once he was going through drama with JJ, he took it out on his students whenever he was going through a rough time. Thankfully once they were happy together and settled, Killian did become a better person and teacher. Some notable moments: "Rising onto the balls of his feet, he leaned right in, his lips almost brushing mine. “Are you here to tell me you’ve changed your mind? You want a repeat of the night in the club? Because I’d be verrry interested if so.” At his words, something ignited between us. A hot spark, setting my nerve endings alight. All my objections went out of the window. “Yes,” I growled, my self-control fraying and snapping as I closed the distance between us, our lips connecting." I love the range of friend reactions to Killian and JJ. "When he nodded, I stepped back from him. Spinning on my heel, I turned to face my three friends. Ander wore a look of resignation, Elliot seemed like he was still in shock, and Nic was grinning at me." *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
|
Apr 03, 2024
not set
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Apr 05, 2024
not set
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May 27, 2024
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1922679968
| 9781922679963
| B0CCN3J5D4
| 4.22
| 263
| unknown
| May 22, 2024
|
really liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: friends to lovers, secret relationship, roommates, teammates Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 1.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: medium HEA: yes Pairin **spoiler alert** Tropes: friends to lovers, secret relationship, roommates, teammates Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 1.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: medium HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: hate crime, homophobia, abusive parent, injury 3.5 stars, rounding up This review contains spoilers. Sammy and Bentley have been the bestest of best friends and teammates all through college. They live in each other's pockets, there are no boundaries between them, they are codependent. Sammy has been hiding something from his past, he's secretly gay but when he was 15 his dad caught him with a boy and beat the boy nearly to death and is now in jail. Sammy hasn't done anything sexual since. Bentley has always thought he was straight but his closeness with Sammy is making him rethink it. In junior year, Sammy while drunk loses his control and makes a move on Bentley. They hook up. Sammy who was really struggling with his sexuality and past trauma, can't confront what they're doing, he can't talk about it. But Sammy keeps getting the two of them drunk or at least making them seem like they're drunk so that he can have the excuse to hook up with Bentley and pretend it didn't happen or that he didn't remember it happening. They continue this circle into senior year. But then they finally start talking and addressing what's going on and how they feel. But Sammy's dad is up for parole and the dad has threatened Sammy's life because he's extremely homophobic and wants to scare Sammy straight or punish him for being gay. So they have that to deal with. This was an okay book. There were things that I liked about it and there were things that I didn't. I liked the codependent friendship that Sammy and Bentley shared, I like characters that are as close as they were. They had a really deep friendship, they loved each other so hard before it was even sexual. I liked elements of them having a secret relationship. The tension of sneaking around, the reveal when people finally find out that they're together has payoff. The reveals to their close family, their friend groups, their coach were great. They got married in college, and in a moment I'll say why I didn't like that but in a way I also appreciate the early commitment to their forever love. I liked the supportive characters in their family and friend groups. What I didn't like... - I was uncomfortable with them hooking up while drunk only and never talking about it for a whole 7 months. That was so long. That was so toxic and unhealthy for them to be doing, and it wasn't fair to Bentley that Sammy played this charade. Granted Sammy was doing it because he was struggling with his sexuality and he mentally was not ready so I understood that it wasn't that Sammy wasn't a****** or a player or a commitment-phobe. - I hated how fast they moved the first time they really talked about deep s**** and acknowledged that they were in a relationship and wanted to be in that relationship. In that very first conversation, they said I love you and Sammy asked Bentley to marry him and Bentley said yes. I'm a person that has sensitivity to mental health issues and I'm protective of people who are vulnerable. So as I was reading this, my gut reaction was that this was very inappropriate, Sammy was not in a good place and him leaping from one extreme to another is dangerous to indulge. I thought Bentley should have said not now and they needed to talk more and maybe Sammy needed to see somebody professionally. - I was disappointed that their first time together was completely fade to black/closed door. For me, the first time that two characters have sex together is an important culmination of the sexual tension between them. And with us not getting to see that moment where the sexual tension between them finally broke, it just feels like we missed out. - A minor thing that bugged me was that the tropes of this book listed virgin MCs, and only Sammy was. I was slightly disappointed that we didn't get two virgins equally pining over each other for 3 years. Don't label your tropes incorrectly, I would have been happier reading it without that mislabel creating an expectation. - I liked that the epilogue took us to them at age 35, but I wish we'd seen more of their lives at 35 than just their career development. I'd like to have seen what their friendships looks like because found family with their roommates and teammates were so important to the book series. Also I'm not putting this under the positives or the negatives but this book gives off really strong fade to black vibes in the sex scenes. Some things are completely fade to black. There is some on page sex but be on page sex is over very fast, it's not that sensual. So if good smut is important to you this is a low smut read. Some notable moments: Funny "“The whole fucking household is riding the queer train.” A smile pulls up my lips, feeling so fucking good. “How epic is that?” My brows shoot high when I think about what Tyron said in the car. Fuck, was that seriously just a couple of mornings ago? “Tyron’s got that statistic he spouted about so damn wrong. Five of us on the team.” I snicker, falling into the familiar sensation of ease. “He’s going to lose his shit and compile his own study or something.”" Their poor coach has been through it lol. "“Fucking hell.” Another headshake. “Married? It totally makes sense… that’s the thing.” He doubles down with amusement, a wide grin forming. “It’s a shame you’re going to wait till graduation. I swear, missing out on Coach’s reaction is a pity.” I snort. “Screw you, man. It may be the final queer straw that breaks the coach’s back.”" *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
|
May 22, 2024
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May 23, 2024
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May 05, 2024
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||
| 1955979324
| 9781955979320
| B0D157ZW1D
| 4.12
| 504
| Apr 30, 2024
| Apr 30, 2024
|
really liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: roommates, jock/jock, gay demi awakening Feels: 3/5 Steam*: 3.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low to medium HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/p **spoiler alert** Tropes: roommates, jock/jock, gay demi awakening Feels: 3/5 Steam*: 3.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low to medium HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: bad parents, addict parent, death of loved ones, grief, OM (but no hurt feelings around it), cancer, homophobia, hate crime, physical assault Cruz and Liam are both 19-year-old college freshmen. They are athletes, football and lacrosse respectively. Liam is out and gay. Cruz is ace spectrum, and through this book comes to a gay Demi awakening of sorts. They both want to prioritize their education so they are rooming in an academic housing as opposed to athlete housing. They end up as roommates. They are both dealing with s***** things in their pasts. Liam is pretty quickly attracted to Cruz. But it takes a while for Cruz to feel more than friendship towards Liam. Obviously, given Cruz's sexuality. They get close and they share with each other and they realize that they have some things in common. Liam realizes that Cruz isn't the a****** that he thought he was. When Liam breaks his arm and can no longer to his daily routine of masturbation to relieve stress, Cruz volunteers a hand. After a couple repeats, Cruz starts to to have a response to Liam, and that's how they realize Cruz is on the gay demi range of the ace spectrum. They start hooking up and being secret boyfriends. There's a bit of a struggle about coming out because Cruz wants to be a professional NFL player though he's realistic and building a backup plan career-wise. This was a pretty nice story. It was one of the better ace spectrum romance stories that I've read. I liked the way that they talked about the ace experience, and that it wasn't instalust for Cruz which would have been very unrealistic. I liked the expression the author used to differentiate the experience of not hiding versus not knowing answers to give about your sexuality. I liked that their friend groups were not assholes. I can see already that some of the characters are being set up for having their own books and those relationships sound intriguing. I liked the humor once Liam and Cruz's relationship came out. I liked that there was a positive female character and friendship with her, as too often mm romances present female characters in a toxic way and present them as villains. I liked Cruz's choice between protecting his future career staying in the closet and being with Liam, I liked the way that was articulated. There were a couple things that didn't quite sit right with me: - The first time that Cruz jacks off Liam, it came off as dubcon to me. He didn't give Liam a chance to say anything, he just shoved his hand in his pants. - I was okay enough with this though it wasn't my personal preference, but I feel like I should put this feedback in this section for others reading this review - if you're a bit sensitive to other man drama, Liam has an on page hookup with another man at 10% and off page he is continuing to hook up with that fuckbuddy until about 21%. Cruz knows about it though and isn't hurt, it's before there's anything between Cruz and Liam. - Considering this was a romance with a demi character, I wasn't really seeing Cruz's feelings for Liam as being romantic or high intensity emotion. I definitely saw a friendship in their relationship and the sexual attraction that they eventually shared, but when you're feeling romantic towards someone there are these tells and Cruz didn't have them. They had their first Mutual hookup at 50%. But they didn't have their first kiss until 72%. There were some misses in showing the emotion Cruz felt, but also once Cruz accepted that that what he was feeling was sexual or romantic, he jumped straight into sex. - The author said something that I thought was kind of preachy and insulting to people. "I’m just saying it’s possible to be friends with someone before, during and after you’ve had sex with them. Anyone who says otherwise is lying or too immature to be having sex.”... I get it, sometimes you can be friends before during or after, but it depends on the two people. It came off as preachy and judgy to people who have problems with an ex still being in the picture, and that's just invalidating legitimate emotions and worries about physical and emotional cheating. Some notable moments: The Jesus clock LOL. "“Look at it.” Tommy points to a block of text on the package. “It says, ‘gently reminds you to engage in moments of prayer.’ Can you imagine sitting in your quiet house and all of a sudden a strange voice says, ‘Let us pray.’ They should call it a meet-your-maker clock, cause that thing’ll give you a heart attack for sure.”" "We’re christening our new bedroom for at least the tenth time since we moved in, and we’re supposed to be practicing quiet sex since our roommates have gone from impressed with our stamina to pissed about the noise. And it’s only been a week." "Jagger stands there, dumbstruck, mouth hanging open in shock as he watches my boyfriend’s cock spew its impressive release. “I… The Jeep isn’t here. And you’re… Fuck.” He backs out of the room and closes the door behind him, speechless for the first time in, maybe ever, which makes Liam and I crack up. “How much of that did he see?” I kiss along Liam’s neck, feeling the rapid beat of his pulse under my lips. “Jagger’s either gonna have some great spank bank material or he’ll be scarred for life.”" *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
|
May 05, 2024
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May 05, 2024
|
Apr 30, 2024
|
Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||
| 4.44
| 815
| Apr 19, 2024
| Apr 19, 2024
|
really liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: instalove, hurt/comfort Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: medium HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content wa **spoiler alert** Tropes: instalove, hurt/comfort Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: medium HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: misphonia, tinnitus, panic attacks, ptsd, possibly undiagnosed autism, bad cops, parental abuse and child abandonment, kidnapping, unsafe sex Matt aka Prism is a 20 year old college swimmer with a lot of trauma. He's suffered from disorders since birth and at age 6 his politician father who had been trying to punish the behaviors out of him gave up and erased Matt from his life. Giving him to someone else to raise. Matt has been trying to cope with his brain disorders but he's easily triggered. Part of his coping is to use ASMR and listen to music. He has a crush on his favorite DJ who also secretly is coincidentally his favorite ASMR artist as well. He is in the closet. But he's considering coming out because some of his swim team members have come out recently. Arsen is also 20 or 21, at the same college, gay, and a dj. His father is a big time politician and his father is supportive of him but wishes that he had different choices in life. One night at a party that Arsen is DJing, the cops raid the party and Matt catches arson's eye. Arsen follows him and tries to protect him from the cops. And they accidentally end up spending a night in jail where arson has to help Matt calm down because all of his sensory issues are triggered. This starts an obsession that Arsen has with Matt. Arsen falls insta love with Matt. They get together and Arsen helps Matt work through his issues. They also deal with some obstacles from the cops and their parents. The first thing you should know about this book is it is very much insta love and the characters are very over the top. If those things annoy you, then this book is not for you. But if those don't bother you there are some enjoyable things in this book. My thoughts while reading: - I'm neurodivergent and deal with some of the sensory issues Matt does, though to a far lesser extent. But I saw a lot of me in him. In a way, it was nice to relate but also some uncomfortable thoughts and moments. - I wasn't a big fan of the insta love. I'm not a hater of insta love in general, but I like when there is more of a basis for the feelings so that I can understand them and believe the relationship more. I didn't understand why Arsen fell instantly in love with Matt. Matt had been crushing on Arsen for a long time so I understood his feelings. But Arsen's just came out of nowhere. - I didn't like some of the over the top ways that Arsen expressed his feelings for Matt. He got so irrationally mad at people for calling him Matthew, which he wanted to claim as his personal nickname for Matt. He got jealous of people who did anything kind or caring for Matt. He was the only person that was allowed to protect and provide for Matt in his mind. Which is absolutely ridiculous! If you really care about someone, you want as many people as possible to be looking out for that person and be there for them, cuz you can't be there 24/7. And you should be happy your person has positivity in their life. What, do you want everyone to kick Matt as soon as they see him? Will it make you happier if people are just randomly abusing Matt?! Let people be kind to him. - I kind of liked the side characters more that I liked Arsen or the Matt/Arsen relationship. Kruger stole the show every time he spoke. I kind of wish Arsen was more like him. Kruger was extremely protective of Matt but he still respected his independence, he was quietly supportive and strong for Matt but treated him like an adult and not a baby. Kruger was unapologetic. He was also extremely hilarious. He had so many quips that ate. And his ridiculous possessiveness and protectiveness was funny. Kruger is the straight best friend of Matt. The coach was also hilarious, he was so done with the antics of his athletes, but he was also always there for them and supportive. He had a lot of great quips as well. - I didn't like the way that Matt chose the nickname of bear for Arsen. He came up with that nickname out of nowhere and he instantly overused it in a cheesy way. I love nicknames, but I like them to be more organic and develop naturally, rather than be cheesy. - Niles annoyed the frack out of me. When you're a lawyer you're supposed to represent the wishes of your client, protect their interests. Arsen had made it very clear that his main goal was to protect Matt. Niles deliberately took a hatchet to Matt metaphorically and gleefully rubbed it in. Worst lawyer ever. - I wish we had gotten a clear career ambition on Matt's side. It was unrealistic for him to go through so much of university with no idea of what he wanted to do career wise. And it was also not a positive message towards people with disabilities, the fact that he didn't have career direction and dreams. And it made it harder to believe that HEA, it made it more of a HFN because you couldn't visualize what Matt's life would look like in the future. Overall a decent story if you ignore the over the top stuff. There was a lot of complicated plot stuff happening, the smut was good, I liked the emotion between the characters even if it was unrealistic insta love. The supporting characters were the most enjoyable thing. Some notable moments: I love this message. "I meant it when I said we didn’t have to fit to belong because fitting denoted changing ourselves to conform to a predetermined shape. But belonging meant change wasn’t required. Belonging meant acceptance no matter the shape." "“But you guys don’t, ah, think I’m a liability to Elite?” “If anyone is a liability to Elite, it’s Rush,” Coach announced. “Dad!” Landry gasped. Rush made a rude sound. “A guy gets arrested for murder one time…”" I love a good clingy hug "“Arsen?” Disbelief echoed in his drowsy voice. “You came.” “There is literally nothing on this earth strong enough to keep me away from you.” A sob ripped from his throat, vibrating the air around us as he shoved off the floor and flung himself at me. My body rocked when we collided, thighs locking to balance the weight. My arms sealed around him as he grappled to get closer, wrapping his muscled legs around my waist and hooking his ankles at my back. His torso arched, fitting against mine as he threaded his arms underneath my armpits to wrap them around my torso." *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
|
1
|
Apr 22, 2024
|
Apr 23, 2024
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Apr 21, 2024
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Kindle Edition
| |||||||||||||||||
| B0D26BR76F
| 3.36
| 254
| Apr 18, 2024
| Apr 18, 2024
|
really liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: friends to lovers, horse proximity Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 2.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low HEA: more of a hfn given the book spans 3 day **spoiler alert** Tropes: friends to lovers, horse proximity Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 2.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low HEA: more of a hfn given the book spans 3 days and they've only been together two and a half days. Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: awkwardly naive character, emotionally abusive ex, some pining, unsafe sex (they used aloe vera for lube, they certainly didn't have condoms if they didn't have lube) Ollie and Wesley have been friends for 3 years. They met in freshman year after Ali had broken up with his boyfriend and was very vulnerable. They are 21 years old now and nearing the end of college. They go on a winter hiking trip as friends. Other friends were supposed to join but it ends up just being them. And they end up in a one-bedroom cabin due to a misunderstanding when booking. They have to share a bed because of the cold. They both obviously secretly been pining for the other person. And the sexual tension explodes and they hook up. I'm a hard person to win over with novellas. To me, it's hard to have a story told well in a novella length book. This book was also a debut for this author. So I feel like I have to judge this book according to newbie and novella standards. With that in mind it was probably 3.5 stars but I'll round up. This was a sweet friends to lovers short story. The physicality was well written. The physical awareness and the tension between them was good. The little touches, the movements, the significant glances and the abrupt movements conveyed the tension well. The smut was pretty well written. The worst thing about this book was the awkward and unbelievably naive way that they questioned each other about their sexual pasts. 21-year-old men asking each other have you done more than kiss - for real?! And after Wesley tells Oliver that yes he's had sex, mostly guys, some girls, Ollie asks him, what about on your own, do you touch yourself? I was just facepalming at the awkwardness and naivety. It was painful - unless you're asexual, if you have a dick, you're going to touch it. To me, this book sounded like it was about 17-year-olds rather than 21-year-olds. Just based on the mentality of the characters, particularly Ollie. The characters were juvenile but I'm blaming this on creative choices the author made about who these characters are as people. Some notable moments: I liked the physical awareness here. "I watch him in the dim light as I undress. First my jacket, then the undershirt, and finally the vest I wore on Wesley’s request. Lifting my hips, I’m unbuckling my belt when I hear a sharp inhale, and a large hand slams over mine, stopping me. I blink up at Wesley. “What are you doing?” His eyes are wide, disheveled hair falling over his forehead." There's something about impulsively straddling someone and gently pushing up their shirt. Ollie is so innocently horny. Yum. "I want nothing more than for him to feel as good as I did. Without thinking, I force myself to sit up despite the lethargy coating my limbs and straddle his thighs. Absently, I use my clean hand to push up his sleep shirt to expose his tight stomach, watching his abs flex with each thrust. He looks good spread out like this. “What— what are you doing?” Wesley says. “Watching,” I say. “You look amazing.”" *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
|
Apr 20, 2024
|
Apr 20, 2024
|
Apr 19, 2024
|
Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| B0CW1HZQ2J
| 4.21
| 1,958
| Apr 09, 2024
| Apr 09, 2024
|
really liked it
|
**spoiler alert** Tropes: marriage of convenience, step Brothers, hurt/comfort, college and sports romance Feels: 4/5 Steam*: 3.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: lo **spoiler alert** Tropes: marriage of convenience, step Brothers, hurt/comfort, college and sports romance Feels: 4/5 Steam*: 3.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low HEA: no, happy for now (apparently their story will continue in another book) Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: money struggles, shitty parents, wee bit of OM drama 4.5 Stars - I kind of want to round up because I enjoyed the story, but I also want to round down because I feel like the author tricked us into thinking this was a standalone book. Ryker and Lake we're stepbrothers when they were approximately 12, it's hard to narrow down the age. All of their parents have really messy lives and have been married multiple times. Lake was raised thinking John was his father, but when he was 10 or so it came out that John's brother actually fathered Lake. Things blew up. John wanted nothing to do with Lake after that. Lake felt very abandoned. His mother was never attentive to him. John married Ryker's mother but died. Years later, Ryker and Lake end up at the same college and our aged 21 and 22. Ryker is playing college hockey and wants to make it to the NHL. Lake is going to school for medicine and wants to become a doctor. When Lake's mother gets remarried, his new stepfather's income means he's not eligible for financial aid anymore. But the stepfather isn't financially supporting him, he's in an on-off relationship with Lake's mother and doesn't give two s**** about him. Lake is at risk of having to drop out of college. Ryker hears about this because he's a little obsessed with lake, he's always had a soft spot for him and watched out for him. He has a trust of money that he inherited from John that he can't access until he gets married. He gets the bright idea that he should marry Lake and "loan" (give!) Lake the money for college. Lake is gay and out. Ryker is about to have a bi-awakening. They agree on the marriage of convenience and get married but don't let it impact their lives. Then like 6 months into their marriage they start running into each other and hanging out and it turns into making out. They agree to a casual relationship, to let Ryker experiment and to just have some fun. Ryker quickly falls deep for Lake but lake is damaged and trying to protect himself and keeping up walls between them. So Ryker has a hard time winning him over. I quite liked this book. I was a little disappointed though when I got to the end of the book and realized this is not a standalone story. It ends with a happy for now ending and there is reference to more of their story to come. I wish that had been clear before I read, because I usually don't like to read part one of a book until the second book comes out. I would have waited and I probably would have enjoyed it more reading it back to back. Authors should be up front when a book is not a standalone read. I liked the way that the characters clearly had a special emotional connection as well as the physical connection that they had. Even though Lake protested, it never was just sex. I have a weakness for platonic touching and snuggling. And these two always found excuses to secretly touch each other in public and of course in private they were all over each other and not just sexually. And they kept having accidental and intentional sleepovers snuggling. Lake was prickly and didn't relax into it as much as Ryker did, but it was obvious he was feeling it too. I liked that Ryker was up front with Lake about the fact that he wanted a real relationship early in the book, at around 60%. I like when a character makes them self vulnerable, where's their heart on their sleeve, and the conflict isn't about whether the person has feelings for their love interest. It just makes the conflict so much more mature and makes me enjoy the love story more because they are open about their feelings. I was disappointed that we never really got any payoff about the fact that they were married. They never told anyone, though Hayes might have put two and two together because they did tell Hayes they were in a relationship and Hayes did know that Lake was married. I really wanted them to claim each other and have that public coming out moment. But I guess the author is saving something for the next book! I'm looking forward to the next book, but I wish I didn't have to wait. Just to explain more about what I meant about they're being a wee bit of other man drama. During the 6 months where they're married but not yet interacting, they are going about their lives. And they're 21 and 22. There is one on page hookup that Lake has with a FWB of his, it happens at a party and Ryker sees and is jealous and attracted to Lake. Presumably they are both hooking up with others occasionally during this time. I don't love that they did that while married, it just didn't sit right with me. But neither of them had a problem with it, because they weren't together at all at the time. Some notable moments: "Lake has gone very still next to me. He’s staring straight ahead, lips pressed into a tight line, a scowl on his face that does very little to say ‘devoted groom’ and leans more toward ‘hostage trying to come up with an escape plan.’" "Ah. Nap was a euphemism. I get it now. Only then he pulls me down on the bed, and instead of, oh, I don’t know, ravishing me within an inch of my life, he arranges us so that I’m on my side, wraps himself around me from behind, and motherfucking tucks us in. Very platonically, I might add. Minus the hard dick that’s currently poking me in the ass, but he’s not doing anything with it. Just sort of resting it between my ass cheeks. He lets out a satisfied sigh and buries his nose in the hair at the back of my head. It takes me way too long to catch on to the fact that we’re… “Are we cuddling?” I sound downright scandalized." "“Don’t be a sarcastic asshole.” He lifts both his hands in front of himself and pastes a grin on his face that goes nowhere near his eyes. “Bad news. That’s, like, two-thirds of my personality.”" *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 10, 2024
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Apr 10, 2024
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Apr 10, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CWW6J9GJ
| 3.90
| 2,108
| Jul 05, 2024
| Jul 05, 2024
|
really liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: age gap, grumpy/sunshine, professor/TA, forced proximity, roommates, workplace romance, forbidden romance Feels: 3/5 Steam*: **spoiler alert** Tropes: age gap, grumpy/sunshine, professor/TA, forced proximity, roommates, workplace romance, forbidden romance Feels: 3/5 Steam*: 3.5/5 Kinks: stripper, getting off in public, toys Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: Silas is kinda icky, premature ejaculation, toilet humor, inappropriate use of the word professional, unsafe sex (seriously, people need to at least talk before they f*** without condoms) I'm conflicted about what I want to rate this. If I was reading Silas, I would give him a three. But I really loved the Cora humor and ridiculousness and sexual tension. So maybe 3.5 stars and I'll be kind and round up? Silas is 35 and he is a buttoned up reserved grumpy professor. He goes to a bachelor party at a strip club and gets a lap dance from a hot guy working there, he embarrasses himself and comes in his pants. Then he finds out that the guy 21-year-old Everly, is a student at the college he works at, and he's the TA that has been hired to work with him. Silas loses his mind anytime he's near Everly, he's an absolute horndog for him. And it turns out Everly has seen him around campus and had a crush on him for a year. So they both want each other. Silas tries to keep it professional. He tries not to give in to the attraction. He fails miserably. And it's a slippery slope for him. When he gives in to a one-time hookup, that leads to him asking Everly to live with him because Everly's roof falls down in his Hazmat apartment, and if they're living together they might as well be having more sex and they might as well be boyfriends right!? And then meeting the family. And then maybe I might want to marry this guy. There were things that I liked about this book. It's a funny and steamy Cora romp. I really like the humor in it. Everly was great. I liked the use of the side characters in this book. There were tons of moments of ridiculous humor that I just loved sprinkled throughout this book. If Silas had been more likeable as a romantic lead, this book could have been a lot better. Silas was an unhinged character, off the wall. Normally I really like unhinged characters, it's entertaining to me, it's usually humorous and it's usually an obsessive possessive love which are some of my favorite things. Silas did not pull off unhinged well. I wish Silas had been a bit more likeable as a romantic lead. He came off a bit too pervy and horny, he got boners in public at inappropriate times all the darn time and had no control over his libido, coming in his pants often in less than 3 minutes often untouched. I like when a MMC is horny for their love interest, but have a little bit of class, restraint and some propriety line so that you don't come off as skeevy. Also, I wish Silas had had more romantic thoughts about Everly. I don't think he ever actually had non-sexual romantic thoughts about Everly, so it seemed like it was just sex to him until all of a sudden at the end he said something about marrying him. Everly at least had some romantic thoughts and made some romantic gestures, though it did seem a little forced. Silas also isn't very smart, he does dumb things that will get them caught and at times he also comes off as a selfish lover. Some notable moments: Jealousy scene (Everly is faking it with a guy and Silas loses his mind) "Speaking of the big man, he shows up at the end of office hours and strides over to Everly in my office and nuzzles up against him, making my entire body stiffen in anger. Honestly, they really should get a room. If they start kissing in front of me, I will flip the table over." "“Fine,” he says, looking slightly defeated. “I will.” “You should.” Our eyes clash, and I suck in a breath, feeling my heartbeat triple just from how close he is. And then without warning, Everly is on me, his lips crashing into mine, my back shoved up against the door with a small thump. His hands tangle in my hair, his tongue pressing into my mouth unbidden, and I let him. I let him kiss me. Let him devour my mouth as I clutch onto him for dear life." The ribbon dancing scene! "“Look at that ass!” a voice suddenly shouts from the audience. My heart stutters, and I stop moving, my eyelids fluttering open. I know that voice. I fucking know it. “That’s my man! Mine!” he shouts." *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jul 12, 2024
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Jul 13, 2024
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Apr 09, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CW1LNDVN
| 4.02
| 3,367
| Jun 14, 2024
| Jun 14, 2024
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really liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: kind of jock/nerd, secret identity Feels: 3.75/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: flip f*ck Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential **spoiler alert** Tropes: kind of jock/nerd, secret identity Feels: 3.75/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: flip f*ck Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: mentions of parents dying 13 years ago, some discussions of homophobia, drinking and weed Benny Dalton is 21 and a junior at college. He is the younger brother of West and Asher, and he has a twin named Emmett. Harrison is 23 and he's at the same college doing his Masters. He loves plants and he wants to be an ecologist and have people care more about plants. Harrison is auditing the stats class that Benny is taking, in preparation for a more advanced stats class that Harrison will be taking. Benny has an undiagnosed disorder and struggles with math, so his twin Emmett is taking the class for him. They've been cheating all through high school and now into college, with Emmett attending Benny's math classes and Benny attending Emmett's English class. But then Emmett is sick and Benny has to attend his own class and Benny meets Harrison. Harrison has never been with a man before and thinks he's straight. Benny is instantly attracted to Harrison and tries to hook up with him, they have a misunderstanding about whether this is a friendship or a hookup. Harrison turns him down but they keep hanging out as friends. Harrison starts realizing he might be open to being with men, he really starts having a thing for Benny. Benny is trying to keep his twin a secret though at this college, he doesn't want to be known as being a Dalton and he doesn't want his switching places with Emmett thing getting caught. But as they spend more time together, that secret doesn't seem very realistic to keep, and some problems are going to happen. I thought this was a cute story. Benny is a lot like Asher, he's a sarcastic gremlin. There's a lot of funny moments. I did like the relationship between Benny and Harrison, they were great as friends, and they had a natural chemistry between them that made their relationship understandable and work. I loved their trash talk and jokes. They were sweet as they tackled each other's problems in such a no-nonsense way, neither of them were schmoopy so it kind of fit for them to be college guys. Harrison taking as hard of a line as he did about cheating surprised me a little, he didn't seem like such a goody goody that that would be a problem for him. Maybe I'm just too corrupted by so much dark romance and all the horrible things that men have done, a little cheating at school wasn't a big deal for me. LOL. There was a nice conflict of secrecy throughout adding a bit of suspense. I wish we could have seen Harrison meet the Dalton family though. They just skipped right over Christmas. I think it would have been a hilarious chapter if we'd seen that so I feel like I missed out. I think this book was a poor choice to follow directly after book one in the series. Because these books were a bit too similar in that both book one and this book had a character who thought he was straight and a character who had a disability that affected them in school. And both of them had a hook up misunderstanding. One thing I didn't like about this book was how Benny didn't consider that Harrison was going to try to find and interact with Benny after that one time where Emmett was sick and Benny had to attend the stats class himself. With them both knowing that the other person is in that class, and them being so close outside of class, of course Harrison was going to try to find and talk to Benny during that class again. Benny acted so surprised by that concept after Harrison found out that the twin attending the class wasn't Benny. That seemed like a plot hole. Some notable moments: Ha! "“You’re so annoying. You’re also killing my chances of hooking up. I can’t bring guys back to my room and be all ‘don’t worry about the other me in the corner, he’s not watching,’ can I?”" Lol... not above... "Those geniuses sure did. “Eh. Our school is literally FU. It’s on all the sweatshirts. It’s a crime that I don’t have a FUKing DIK hoodie by now.” “But you’re not a King.” “I’m not above sucking off the entire football team to make it happen.”" Microtrope that I love, when the MC wants their love interest to have their focus on them, and they get this icky feeling when they don't have the focus. "I glance over at him, but he’s not looking. It … bristles me a little bit. Usually, I catch him looking all the time, so this should be an improvement. Should be but isn’t. I want to see his eyes. I like his eyes." ""Besides, my family aren’t going to believe that someone likes me enough to put up with me unless I have you there for proof.”" *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Jun 14, 2024
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Jun 15, 2024
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Mar 19, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CY6GMD7B
| 4.35
| 2,220
| unknown
| Apr 17, 2024
|
it was amazing
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: grumpy bratty black cat/former f-boy turned golden retriever, nerd/jock, size difference, failed one night stand Feels: 4/5 St **spoiler alert** Tropes: grumpy bratty black cat/former f-boy turned golden retriever, nerd/jock, size difference, failed one night stand Feels: 4/5 Steam*: 4/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: medium HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: depression, past incestuous CSA, bad parents, bipolar/ptsd/drug addict minor character Reid is 22. He's a rich kid with a bad relationship with his parents. His mother is barely there, she's got a lot of mental issues and substance abuse issues, she's barely cognizant. His father is a successful businessman but he got there with money laundering and dirty deals. Especially early on in the book He's portrayed as a villain though you see he isn't quite as bad later on. His Dad f****** his girlfriend a while back didn't help their relationship. Reid makes social appearances for his father's business reluctantly from time to time. He's interested in his father's business but doesn't like him as a person. Atticus is 20 and he is a grumpy black cat character that pushes everyone away from him, he won't let anyone get close. He's been hurt in the past. His dad abused him as a child sexually and Atticus got him sent to prison, his mom sided with the dad and that blew up any chance of relationship with his mom. He has a close relationship with his aunt and cousin though, those are the only people in his circle. He is a very prickly guy, he's small in stature and it's a self-defense mechanism of his to protect himself. The book starts with them waking up after a one night stand and Atticus is trying to creep away. Reid is absolutely fascinated by Atticus. Reid I've never been with a guy before but something about Atticus just drew him in. He's admired men before so it wasn't completely out of nowhere. But he fell fast and hard for Atticus and he doggedly pursued him. Within 2 weeks, Reid was definitely thinking of the L word. Atticus wanted to nut and run, but Reid keeps inserting himself into Atticus's life. Atticus is a romantic at heart and he feels things deeply. Atticus wants to test the strength of Reid's feelings, because Reid has a fuckboy reputation and he doesn't want to make himself vulnerable. Atticus creates distance, is bratty, bickers with Reid, makes him work for it and try to romance him, while at the same time pulling him closer. There's an intense chemistry between them and they have a comfort they find in each other. I really enjoyed this book. It was five stars for me. I have such a weakness for this type of dynamic between characters. I really love a prickly character and someone that is a bit unhinged in the intensity of their love/feelings. Also while I love a steamy read, which this one definitely was, I also love when an author works in non-sexual touching in a meaningful way. And this book had that. My thoughts as I read this book: - I love how from the very first moment Reid was absolutely obsessed with Atticus. And I love it when a character can't stop himself from eye fucking his love interest, and I love when that love interest is a prickly little s*** and the one who is obsessed knows it and is just more attracted. It's such a fun dynamic. - I'm so weak for a character watching their love interest sleep and just being fascinated. Reid did that their first hookup. - I know red flag and Tuesdays are in the title of the book and they're trying to make a point by mentioning it, but this is a little overkill cheesy that they keep mentioning red flags and Tuesdays over and over. I get it! Be more subtle. - My heart hurt for Reid when he saw what he thought was Atticus flirting with another guy. - I hesitate to call this book instalove though I know some readers would. I think Reid was smart enough to know that at first it really was just insta infatuation. It turning into love did happen very quickly for Reid but it was believable, because Reid really got to know Atticus in that short time and there was a lot for him to love about Atticus. Atticus was everything he wanted and triggered all these emotions in him. To me this book wasn't the kind of insta-love that annoys the crap out of me. Because I totally believed Reid loved Atticus, he had lots of reasons to love him. - I think the author did a good job handling Atticus's mental health struggles, it was good representation in my head. Even Reid's mother's mental health issues were handled with some grace. - if you're a person who really liked the NikoBran relationship in God of Fury by Rina Kent, this book is definitely not a copy paste and it's not quite as epic and emotional a ride as God of Fury was, but there's definitely similarities in the kind of relationship that Reid and Atticus have. They both feature an unhinged fuckboy doggedly pursuing a reluctant, prickly, damaged character. And there is an intense hurt/comfort relationship. People that enjoyed that book would enjoy this one. Some notable moments: I love a good hug. A clutch them tight because you need that comfort so bad, a weakness of mine. "He stays silent, back to my chest, my arms around his neck, my chin resting on the top of his head, watching the taillights of the procession fade. When the last one blinks out of sight, he sighs, turns around in my arms, and hugs me. Oh, holy fuck. I hold him so tight my muscles strain. I’ve never hugged him before, and feeling his body pressed against mine, seeking comfort I don’t know how to offer, his hot face pressed to my chest, my eyes get wet. I’m not crying, but it’s evidence that I can." Um, awkward, so this next quote was said in the context of masturbatory habits. But take away the masturbation stuff, and it's just very relatable to me as far as what types of relationships I like reading. Honestly, the more athletically physical and kinky the sex is the more you lose my attention! "“Movies with chemistry and tension. Long, drawn-out shows where the relationship builds over many episodes. Books where the sex doesn’t happen until halfway through, after the buildup. It’s the build up that gets me.” He glances at me from behind his hat and glasses. “And my own head.”" Mumbling prickly moment while also touch-starved. "“I can’t wait to tell you that I love you.” “Shut up. Shut up, Reid! Do not make me cry when I got through that whole funeral without a single tear.” He tightens his arms around me, though. “You aren’t allowed to say that yet.” “I didn’t.” I laugh above his head. “Just said I couldn’t wait.” He mumbles something that sounds a lot like I can’t wait either against my chest, and then he starts on a rant about how impatient I am and that it probably means I won’t make it a whole year." *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 25, 2024
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Apr 27, 2024
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Mar 15, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CT72PR4H
| 3.88
| 3,562
| Mar 07, 2024
| Mar 07, 2024
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really liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: rich/poor, college sports, manwhores/virgin Feels: 4/5 Steam*: 4.25/5 Kinks: degradation, power exchange, selling your virgini **spoiler alert** Tropes: rich/poor, college sports, manwhores/virgin Feels: 4/5 Steam*: 4.25/5 Kinks: degradation, power exchange, selling your virginity, spanking, punishment, dom/sub, possessiveness, dirty talk Angst: medium HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: religious trauma, homophobic parents, abusive/absentee parents, financial struggles, sex for money, lust at first sight Isaac is a freshman on scholarship at college. His parents are religious fanatics and the summer before college they caught him kissing his boyfriend and threw him out of their lives disowning him for being gay. Isaac is a virgin. Despite having a boyfriend, he was too afraid to do anything and not ready. They were both parents of religious fanatics. Oliver is in his last year at college. He's a wealthy fuckboy who gets everything he wants. He has a twin brother and a sister. His parents want their children to make political marriages. Oliver is a wild f*** boy but he's also a smart mentally well-adjusted man and he is the best prospect out of the children to take over the family business, so he's being groomed for that. As part of that, his parents want to arrange a marriage for him. Oliver and Isaac meet one day when Isaac is barely holding it together over his money struggles. They talk in a cafe and Oliver makes an offer to buy 24 hours with him, he has a fetish he wants to indulge and Isaac is right up his alley. Isaac agrees for the money and they have a wild hot day. Then a month or so later they meet again because they actually happen to be playing the same college sport of fencing. Oliver hasn't been able to get Isaac out of his mind and after a brief push pull of a combative bully dynamic, they give in to f****** again and again. Toxic dynamic with bullying and manipulation to start with. But there are lots of positives in this book. Yay to fucking into an incoherent blissful puddle, the nickname kitten, no sex with others during the book, only I get to bully you dynamic. I liked the possessiveness and how physical and steamy their relationship was, while also having protectiveness and feelings. I like that Oliver made space for Isaac to do his artwork, and got his prized possessions back from his abusive parents. I loved the roommate Colin in this. He was hilarious and a joy. He had Isaac's back and he was supportive and a good friend. His book should be good! I also kind of liked that he encouraged Isaac to date other people, not that I wanted Isaac to do anything with others but Oliver deserved being made to sweat! Kind of wish they didn't get married in June of their first year together. It's just artificially rushed because his parents wanted them to use the slot. Also kind of wish Isaac had seen a therapist, he could have really used one. Some notable moments: I love a petty man. "“You can’t just stop everyone from speaking to me.” Isaac half glances at Colin, like: can he do that? “Would you care to make that a wager? Because I am absolutely petty enough to put a moratorium on speaking to you.” “That’s not even enforceable.” “Watch me.”" Poor Colin. He does not want to overhear what he hears, ha ha. "“I told you, I’m here for your punishment.” I slip into the bed next to him, not letting him get away from me. “Is this like Door Dash for kinky people? You just bring it to the door?” Colin mutters pulling his pillow over his head. “Only on very special occasions.”" "“How come he gets to make fun of me. You said no one but you could!” Isaac gestures at Owen. “He’s my brother. He’s basically me. He’s allowed.” Isaac gets closer and drops his voice. “Does that mean he can fuck me too?” I snarl, barely stopping myself from grabbing him by the shirt to slam him into the lockers. “Careful.”" *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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May 26, 2024
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May 27, 2024
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Mar 03, 2024
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| B0CTRTR9YW
| 3.27
| 2,506
| Mar 24, 2024
| Mar 24, 2024
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it was ok
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: opposites attract, college romance, bully romance, hockey Feels: 1.5/5 Steam*: 1.5/5 Kinks: rough sex, spanking Angst: low HEA: **spoiler alert** Tropes: opposites attract, college romance, bully romance, hockey Feels: 1.5/5 Steam*: 1.5/5 Kinks: rough sex, spanking Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: abusive dad, misogyny to women, instalove, unsafe sex This is a novella. It's the story of Eli a gay art student and Alexei a college hockey player dreaming to make the NHL who is about to go through a bi-awakening. Alexei is a bully, misogynistic, he doesn't really care about other people. They bump into each other physically at college one day and Alexei blames Eli for not avoiding him and basically barks at him on two occasions and then they're next interaction he's lusting after him. They both instantly think that what they have is so special even though you see no development of feelings or positive healthy interactions between them on page that would rationalize feelings developing. It's insta love. I have to acknowledge first, I do have a bias against novellas, because to me a novella just isn't enough pages to properly tell a good story. It takes a special talent to write a good novella, and even if it's a good novella I usually prefer a full length book because I can get attached to the story and characters more and have more to enjoy - to accommodate for my bias, I judge novellas according to what I call novella standards and I'm usually pretty generous with the stars. Authors do need to do their part though and use caution and make sure the story they want to tell is one that fits into the confines of a novella. That said, this wasn't a well written novella. There wasn't good development of the characters or the relationship. You didn't get to know the characters very well. The relationship was instalove, and there was no rational reason for these characters to actually develop feelings for each other. There was a decent amount of plot for a novella, I'll give the author that. The passage of time was not handled well, it wasn't very obvious to the reader. There was reference to the next day and a few days later, and then at the end all of a sudden there's a comment about it having been a few months (it wasn't a time jump for an epilogue). Also it just didn't have likable characters. You didn't really get to know Eli well and Alexei was a misogynistic bully who was violent and mean to people as his default. Yeah his dad was abusive towards him, but that's not an excuse for treating people the way he did. Especially women. And there was no indication that he changed and redeemed himself, he just cared about Eli. And all the guys had together was instalove. I saw some tiktoks marketing this as having Sterek vibes (Teen Wolf), but Alexei and Eli were just violent grump & weaker small guy with none of the depth of Sterek. I will also acknowledge that I am biased because I'm a huge Sterek fan and have read sooooo much fanfiction of them, like, embarassing amounts, I even have a couple tags on my Goodreads for Sterek. Best moment: It's the 'I live here too!' that did me in. "Eli spasms in my arms, cock erupting, cum striping his chest and abs. I bite down where his neck meets shoulder, fucking him through his orgasm as my vision whites out, and I come harder than ever before, every cell exploding in pleasure, then fusing back together, making me feel nearly invincible. Through the fuzzy post orgasm haze, I just make out the sound of the door opening and turn my head. Eli’s roommate stands at the threshold, gaping before slapping a hand over his face. "Oh, Jesus fuck. I live here too!" He stumbles back out, pulling the door forcefully closed behind him." *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Apr 03, 2024
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Apr 03, 2024
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Mar 01, 2024
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Kindle Edition
| ||||||||||||||||
| 9798879254310
| B0CVG2K3MH
| 4.06
| 108
| unknown
| Feb 11, 2024
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it was ok
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: enemies to lovers, rich/poor, academic rivals Feels: 1.5/5 Steam*: 1.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/poten **spoiler alert** Tropes: enemies to lovers, rich/poor, academic rivals Feels: 1.5/5 Steam*: 1.5/5 Kinks: n/a Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: player MC, growing up in foster care, growing up without dad, third act breakup Shane and Alex are in college. They have shared some classes and their social circles intermix, so they have interacted over the last 2 years. They are academic rivals who do not get along. They exchange barbs all the time. This semester they share a particular class where they realize that they have the same major, they want to study law and be lawyers. They kiss. They hook up. They decide to keep hooking up, and begrudgingly start to like each other, and hover in a gray area where they may be boyfriends for a while. They're both competing for an internship in Italy over the summer. There's a third act break up. And then they get back together. This had a good premise. And it had potential of an interesting friend group. But honestly it was a miss for me. I wanted to dnf it but my OCD tendencies wouldn't let me. If the characters had been more likable or if I had understood why they liked each other, maybe this book would have gelled better for me. But I was not sold on anything about this couple, so nothing was resonating with me. Maybe other readers will have better luck and not be a cynical as I was about this couple? LOL Things I didn't like: (it was a lot) - Shane was not likeable. Usually even with a grump or a****** character there's something you like about their personality, something that makes them intriguing. Shane just didn't have anything that made him interesting or likable. I disliked Shane's attitude towards men. He was only willing to talk to guys if they were up for sleeping with him that night. If they say no, not tonight, he walked away, he was only interested in sex. It's not an attractive attitude, it's douchey. And it wasn't just his attitude towards sexual relationships, he was just not respectful of other humans and very focused on himself, selfish. - Why did they make the internship in Rome Italy? That just seemed silly, because not everyone is going to have the language skills to be successful in a foreign country job, and the practicalities of going out of country as a prize is not something everyone would be able to take advantage of. And at the end, someone randomly suggesting the friend group just spend the summer in Europe was a trite way to keep Alex and Shane together over the summer during the internship. - Alex betting Shane about kissing him came out of nowhere. It was just used as a lazy plot device to move them into a romantic situation. Cheesy and lazy. Another lazy plot device was the author getting them stuck in an elevator at a convenient time and them just instantly awkwardly saying to the other "I guess we should get to know each other" and they exchanged details about their lives and then dove right into sex in the elevator. - It annoyed me how many times Shane or Alex referred to the other one as just some guy I f***** once. It was over and over again and it was such a bad attitude for a romance novel. - There was a lot of bad communication/miscommunication. The plot didn't move forward in a natural way, things just felt forced for the sake of advancing the story. The way time flew wasn't natural. It's like the author just remembered that she wanted the book to be at the end of the semester and all of a sudden we were flying there. The guys were so awkward together. I thought it was weird when many many weeks into their boyfriendish relationship, Alex went home with Jason his friend for a second holiday. I didn't get why Shane didn't spend that holiday with him, extending an invite would have made it seem like Shane was advancing their relationship. To me it felt like Shane was keeping Alex in a situationship which was toxic. - Shane blowing his interview the way that he did was just unprofessional, there's better ways to let Alex win then wrecking his own reputation. And once Alex found out about that, them instantly hooking up and getting back together was just trite. The relationship was just sex. Feelings weren't handled well, we didn't see them in a lot of day-to-day moments. It was sex or nothing. And the smut wasn't even that good, blah. Though that could be because I wasn't feeling the chemistry or connection between Shane and Alex. - So out of character for Shane to all the sudden call Alex darling while they were having sex. Some notable moments: "The kid nodded and moved, nervous, like I was going to hit him. Poor kid didn’t know any better. I slid into his chair, taking out my books. Some lawyer he was going to be if he couldn’t even negotiate his ass into a chair." "He flipped me off. “Whatever. Do you know what Shane’s doing?” His voice was carefully curious. I stared at him for a moment, wondering where the hell that came from. “I…uh, I think he’s going home with his mom…?” His eyes flew open. “That was a test, you shithead. Why do you know what he’s doing for the holidays? Excuse me?”" *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 27, 2024
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Feb 28, 2024
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Feb 27, 2024
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Paperback
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| B0CVPP8ZDL
| 4.13
| 585
| unknown
| May 29, 2024
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really liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: captive/captor, revenge, brother's friend, amnesia due to drinking Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 4/5 Kinks: Noncon, dubcon, bondage, e **spoiler alert** Tropes: captive/captor, revenge, brother's friend, amnesia due to drinking Feels: 3.5/5 Steam*: 4/5 Kinks: Noncon, dubcon, bondage, exhibitionism, sex toys & f***ing machine Angst: medium HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: kidnapping, stalking, being burned, self-harm (once), captivity, manipulation, violence, murder, torture, jealousy / pining Flix at present is 22 and a Brumal Mafia member with secrets. He used to be friends with Russ who was part of the rival Shepard's gang, but Russ was a bit of an ass. Flix developed a soft spot and a bit of a crush on Russ's younger brother Ani, and he hung around in their lives more for Ani than Russ. He always saw what Ani needed and made sure he got it, even if it was from afar and he wasn't taking credit for it. Ani was only a year and a half younger and he had a huge crush on Flix. But he thought that Flix was dating his brother Russ. And when Russ died under odd circumstances, Flix and the mafia seemed involved, so they had a bit of a blow up and Flix got out of his life. They've still seen each other in passing over the three years. Ani has apparently been playing the long game and getting ready to make a move to find out what happened to Russ and torture Flix for the information and his role in it. Ani engineers things so that he becomes the leader of the Shepard's gang and he captures Flix and holds him captive for multiple weeks. Ani tortures him but it's largely sexual torture, he seems a bit distracted from his revenge by his attraction to Flix. Ani has grown up and grown into his kinks. In addition to being a college student and gang leader, he's also secretly a successful pornstar who is very into being tied up and used. Eventually Flix escapes and takes his revenge, which Ani enjoys. They get into a toxic dynamic of push pull. Ani won't let Flix leave him again. But he also won't promise to stay around, because he's still wanting revenge and open to finding an opportunity to hurt Flix. Flix doesn't really want to hurt Ani after his initial revenge, but he also can't let him too close either so he tries to push him away. But they're both obsessive and possessive of each other and they can't stay away. Ani is pretty dumb and clean-handed for a leader of a gang. He couldn't bring himself to actually hurt Flix, stopping at burning a cigarette on his ass (and sexually torturing him which was pretty bad but that was more sexual and about his feelings for him then it was about violence and rage). And Ani had no sense of self-preservation, he revealed himself to be a famous p*** star. So that makes him identifiable. He clearly intended to let Flix live, so he gave away a big clue to track him down by revealing his identity as the Bind redhead pornstar. I thought this was a decent book. 3.75 stars. There were some dynamics in their relationship that I really liked, I liked the obsessive and possessiveness and how the darkness in this was not quite as horrendously dark as the triggers and content implies because there were feelings there. There's a lot of simmering sexual tension and angst between the couple and there was a lot of plot and secrecy so there was some story to bite into. There were some flaws like the usual typos from this author, some plot things that didn't make a ton of sense. I was confused about why Ani was having money troubles and needed to resort to a career in p*** if Flix had secretly set him up with money. I thought there was going to be a big reveal at the end that Ani hadn't received the money and had just gotten the house, but that wasn't the case. Minor frustration: a big twist was revealed on page 16 other intentionally or accidentally by a particular word choice. I also personally would have preferred a little bit less pages spent with angst over past sexual history, that's not my favorite type of angst. There was no cheating. And no unequal feelings, they were both into each other, but it was just more than I prefer. (Spoilers... I know some people care about other man drama so, sharing... Ani thought Flix slept with his brother Russ and felt jealous but he didn't. Flix walked away and forgot about being Ani's first which hurt. Both Ani and Flix hooked up with others in the 3 years & they both felt angry. Ani being a pornstar... Flix was jealous and then ticked once he realized one of the guys was a friend of his) Typos as usual for CLF. Any should be Ani. Manors s/b manners, scream s/b cream, reigns s/b reins, lessoned s/b lesson. Some notable moments: I liked little moments like this where while Flix was captive, he showed that he knew who Ani was and his attraction to Ani bled through. Little moments of consent sprinkled in an extended non-con/dubcon episode that pushes boundaries. "“We’re enemies and you’re my kidnapper,” he reminded, though when Aneski brought his mouth to his lips, Flix didn’t resist. Instead, he leaned in to accept the kiss, licking forward to greet his tongue." "Ani thought he could make Flix want him and then walk out? No way in hell. Now that he finally had him, Flix was never letting him go. Aneski Kendricks was his. For the rest of their lives, he’d belong to Flix and Flix alone. Even if he had to keep him chained to the damn wall until they were old and gray." I loved seeing this little moment of Baikal and Rabbit!! "“What have the two of you been talking about?” “I’m late for practice.” Rabbit stepped away from Baikal. “It was nice chatting with you, Flix.” “How nice?” Baikal called out as Rabbit headed for the door he’d just come through. “Little Bunny? How nice?”" *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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not set
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not set
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Feb 17, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B07ZGL2TFY
| 4.33
| 1,239
| unknown
| Oct 22, 2019
|
it was ok
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: second chances, new adult Feels: 2/5 Steam*: 1.5/5 Kinks: bit of dirty talk Angst: medium HEA: yes Pairing: MF Triggers/potential **spoiler alert** Tropes: second chances, new adult Feels: 2/5 Steam*: 1.5/5 Kinks: bit of dirty talk Angst: medium HEA: yes Pairing: MF Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: suicide of parent, attempted sexual assault of a minor, violence, threats of sexual assault, homelessness, reference to minor character drunk driving and killing someone This book is about Taylor and Keelan. They are both around 21 years old. 2 years ago they had a one night stand. Shortly after that, Taylor's rich girl life fell to pieces and her father who was being investigated for financial crimes committed suicide. Taylor's siblings seem to think that their father left his money to Taylor and she's hiding it. But she's not. She's been homeless for months, she's very much destitute. Her greedy siblings have been threatening her, particularly via Peter her brother-in-law and Paul his brother. Taylor and Kellan run into each other at a restaurant, and when Taylor passes out Keelan comes to her rescue. Taylor confesses what's going on in her life, which is kind of unrealistic over sharing to be honest, and Keelan decides to be a gentleman and help her out. They spend a lot of time together when she stays at his place using his couch platonically, and eventually they end up dating. But Taylor isn't going to quietly get happiness with her greedy family in the background threatening harm. I didn't like this book for a lot of reasons. It started off on a bad note because in the first few pages, the author so casually dropped that one of the side characters David is an alcoholic and had driven drunk and killed someone a year ago or so, and that strings have been pulled and he only had 5 months in jail. And how David was now in love with his girlfriend and we should all sympathize with him being on the road to recovery. And I'm sorry but I can't just get over the injustice and horror of that in a paragraph and move on. I know David is Keelan's brother but I abhor drunk driving. I almost dnf'd the book over the author's treatment of drunk driving. I just overall didn't think this book was told very well. It started off with Taylor immediately confessing to Keelan that she was homeless, taking away any tension or secrecy. It instantly put them into this pitying relationship and it wasn't that she hates me dynamic that we were supposed to get. And there was no chemistry or moments building up romantic or sexual tension until they hooked up halfway through the book. There was no sensuality, especially not on Taylor's side, and then all of a sudden she's saying they have magnetic physical attraction? We neither saw nor heard it until she vocalized that. I am not opposed to slow burn, but you need to show me some of that simmer. And also this author has a bad habit of dropping a particular plot point or fact that the reader doesn't know. Making the reader kind of scratch their head and think it was a typo for a minute and that the thing isn't true. And then in the following paragraphs explaining that yes that is a truth and the situation changed and we're just learning about it. It's just a stilted way to tell a story. It doesn't add any value or tension, it just makes the reader question the author over and over again. When I come across one of those moments it feels like I jam on the brakes and try to make sense of how we got there, only to keep reading and find out oh yeah we got there. The book got a bit better and more realistic once they were officially dating. But the book just didn't endear itself to me for a bunch of reasons. I'm going to list a bunch of my thoughts that I had while reading this book and what page or percentage they were at. So you can see what was going through my head. - 32% - I'm disappointed this book is about a MMC who is in college and in his f-boy stage. I don't think new adult romance is for me unless the characters are more mature than this guy is. I can't take him seriously. He's not book boyfriend material. I'm not terribly impressed with him grinding against some other girl at the 32% mark. It's a little far into the book for him to be still considering other girls. The relationship between Taylor and Keelan should get more development. - 43% - they are talking about her dead family and Keelan is getting a boner. And this isn't even meant to be like an unhinged moment or an unhinged character where they are self aware of how inappropriate it is. It's just juvenile of Keelan. (Btw, I love deliberate unhinged behavior. Case in point, Cora Rose has a bunch of books that feature that and I cheer and laugh when it's deliberate) - 47% - Taylor's been pretty cool and in control of herself, not really having sexual thoughts and not seriously giving thought to Keelan with everything going on in her life. Yet in her thoughts here she all of a sudden just randomly drops that there's a magnetic attraction between them? It's not believable - 58% - This is so dumb. They just had a dramatic moment with some sexual tension, though badly written sexual tension. And the serious question she insists that she has to ask is are you okay if I wear heels to a wedding? so dumb - 66% - when they are having their first hook up 2 years after their one night stand, he's thinking of her as a goddess. I know he's interacted a bit more with her at this point. So he knows her a little bit better. But it seems a little pathetic / shoddy book boyfriend of him that he thinks she's a goddess now, but when they hooked up two years ago she was nothing to him. Just makes their connection feel like less, and it makes him at the bottom of my list of book boyfriends. - 95% - I can't really believe that they had sex right after the night that they had had. With Keelan's brother in the hospital, the multiple threats of gun violence. The guilt they are both feeling and all the other negative emotions. This isn't really a dark romance where that would fit, and it wasn't really a celebration of life and relief kind of moment. It was just an everyday horniness moment, and it just didn't fit. Some notable moments: Relatable! "“Do you run?” he asked. “Sure, if something terrifying is chasing me.”" Ha, Paige's reaction "“Paige,” he said before dropping down to one knee. “You make me happier than I ever thought I could be. I would be honored to spend every day for the rest of my life trying to be the man you deserve. I love you.” Derek fumbled with his pocket and withdrew the ring box. He pried it open. “Will you marry-“ “YES!” screamed Paige and threw her arms around his neck. “YESYESYESYES! I WILL MARRY YOU, DEREK! YES!” “I think she might have said yes,” Kellan announced to everyone in a stage whisper" *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Feb 11, 2024
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Feb 11, 2024
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Feb 10, 2024
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CKY7G592
| 4.01
| 4,121
| Jan 18, 2024
| Jan 18, 2024
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it was amazing
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: forced proximity, roommates, nerd/jock, hate (one-sided) to love, grumpy/sunshine, rich/poor Feels: 5/5 Steam*: 5/5 Kinks: rol **spoiler alert** Tropes: forced proximity, roommates, nerd/jock, hate (one-sided) to love, grumpy/sunshine, rich/poor Feels: 5/5 Steam*: 5/5 Kinks: roleplay, sex in risky / public places, so much smut Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: sex for money, money struggles, dubcon, past bullying, anxiety Feb. 10, 2024 - comfort reread already! 5+ stars! I absolutely loved this book, I know I will be reading it a billion times! Ryan is a poor nerd in college. He suffers from anxiety and he switched roommates many times, he's on a first name basis with the housing department lady. His newest roommate is Miller, who is a well-known campus jock and a bit of a himbo. Miller is openly bisexual and a sunshine of a character. Ryan is a grump who is suspicious and side eyes everything. Ryan has never been with a guy before but he definitely has bisexual leanings. When Miller meets Ryan, he's fascinated by him and attracted. He tries to befriend / hit on Ryan, but everything just bounces off of Ryan. And then Ryan gets particularly financially desperate and Miller offers him money for sexual favors. Ryan tries to be strong but he caves over and over again. These guys fall all over each other in their desperation for each other and have filthy hookups all over the place. This book had so many things that I love in it. I was howling with laughter and kicking my feet at so many moments. - I love how unhinged and one track minded Miller is when it comes to Ryan. Miller is absolutely desperate and has no pride. He will take him on any terms. - I love that Miller is so enraptured by Ryan's assholery and grumpiness. It turns him on. - The humor of Ryan being on a first name basis with the housing lady Bev, and having all these interactions with her was top notch. I hope one day Ryan tells Bev about what he and Miller got up to, because Bev would love that story! - The smut in this book was top notch! There was so much filth so frequently. They were desperate for each other. So many scenes flitter through my mind, but in particular the shower scene when Miller paid to eat Ryan's ass... Miller was so enthusiastic and desperate that he herded Ryan into the shower and cleaned him himself, joining him while still dressed, and dropping to his knees on the floor because he didn't have the patience to wait until they were in the bed. - Also, this wasn't just smutty, there were feelings, tenderness, affection. Miller glomped on to Ryan and pulled him in so tightly. From very early on he was planning for their future, wanting to marry him, get a dream house for him. He held on to Ryan even in platonic ways and just felt such joy and love and happiness. - I love a black cat grumpy accidental asshole like Ryan too. He was such a tough cookie but Miller was his weakness. I love that small moment when he was thinking of Miller and bought him the everything bagel seasoning and presented it as a gift. Just a small humble I was thinking of you moment, that meant so much to Miller. Some notable moments: I had so many moments I loved, it hurt to limit myself to these! "So yeah, I was bleak, but I cheered right up when I met him. Right up. All the way up. He had bags hanging off both shoulders and a huge box of books in his hands. He kicked the door open and held it ajar with his foot as he struggled to make his way in. I was looking at him, right in his eyes, when he saw me for the first time. His face was a picture. I don’t think anyone’s ever looked at me like that before. Disgust. Pure and unfiltered. Straight-up contempt without any attempt to hide it. I was weirdly into it. I’m weirdly into him too. He’s grumpy as hell and awkward as fuck, but he’s something to look at." "“Why’d they fire you?” Ryan blinks and looks down his nose at her. “Something about an attitude problem.” Oh God, he’s not just hot. He’s complicated and rude." Miller is unhinged. I love him! "When he got into bed, I said, “Sleep tight,” and he said, “Piss off.” He sounded pompous and British when he said it. It’s hard to describe the joy it brought me." "He turns slowly toward me. He’s holding the money I left on the desk in his hand. His face is a picture of self-loathing and lust. He slides the clip off the cash and stuffs the money into his back pocket with a shrug I think is meant to imply nonchalance, but comes off a little stiff. Blood floods my cock. It rushes down so fast I feel lightheaded. He flicks the money clip over to me. It glitters as it flies through the air. I catch it easily, uncurling my palm and looking down at the high-karat letter M in my hand. I let my bag drop on the floor right where I stand and take three or four large strides toward him, unbuttoning and unzipping and ripping my shirt off as I move." *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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2
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Feb 08, 2024
Jan 20, 2024
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Feb 10, 2024
Jan 20, 2024
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Dec 28, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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| B0CHKWZBVM
| 4.16
| 299
| unknown
| Sep 12, 2023
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liked it
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**spoiler alert** Tropes: bully romance, college romance Feels: 3/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: not really kinky Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential **spoiler alert** Tropes: bully romance, college romance Feels: 3/5 Steam*: 3/5 Kinks: not really kinky Angst: low HEA: yes Pairing: MM Triggers/potential icks/content warnings: internalized homophobia, reformed bully, past extremely abusive bullying, homophobic dad 3.5 stars This book follows Rhett and Spencer. They are college students. Rhett is from a single parent home and has always struggled for money. He's trying to pay for college on his own. He was bullied in high school for being gay, and his main bully was Spencer. He's coming to his own a bit in college and has more of a friend group now. He is consoling a friend about a guy who was trashy to her and he gets the idea of offering as a service being a hot gay BFF who will listen to people vent about their boyfriends. He creates a business that operates in the sly in a friend's house as a boyfriend venting cafe. Spencer was a bully in high school but he's trying to be a better person now. He's switched colleges this year and coincidentally ended up at the same college as Rhett. He's trying to be a different person away from his homophobic dad. Spencer was actually a bully because he was dealing with internalized homophobia. He realized really young that he was gay and his dad found out at the same time and has been a prick to him his whole life trying to force him to be something he's not. Spencer has only ever been with girls as a result. When Spencer and Rhett meet again at college they clash because Rhett rightly so has a lot of feelings of anger towards Spencer. Rhett picks up on the fact that Spencer is attracted to him and he's attracted to Spencer to reluctantly. He decides to use Spencer as a hookup. They have a bunch of angry sex on Rhett's side, but there is no anger or ill well on Spencer's side, he's actually very apologetic and interested in Rhett. It's kind of funny how you feel a bit bad for the bully now. But neither of these guys were innocent. This was an okay book. It wasn't terribly realistic, you have to suspend disbelief over the college business that blooms out of their basement into such a success. Rhett didn't really treat Spencer well for a good hunk of the book and that was a bit uncomfortable to watch, but I'm conflicted because Spencer totally deserved it given how horrible he was to Rhett in high school. There was decent steam. Towards the end there were decent feelings developing to. I'd quote my favorite moments but I think I somehow deleted my annotations in my Kindle app for this book. *FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink. **Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers. ...more |
Notes are private!
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1
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Dec 20, 2023
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Dec 27, 2023
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Dec 25, 2023
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Kindle Edition
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Jane aka Coughy019
>
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college
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| 4.25
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it was amazing
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Jul 26, 2024
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Jul 25, 2024
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| 3.90
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liked it
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Jul 02, 2024
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Jun 26, 2024
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| 4.05
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liked it
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Jun 19, 2024
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Jun 15, 2024
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| 4.11
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it was amazing
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Jun 12, 2024
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Jun 07, 2024
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| 4.06
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really liked it
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Apr 05, 2024
not set
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May 27, 2024
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| 4.22
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really liked it
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May 23, 2024
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May 05, 2024
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| 4.12
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really liked it
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May 05, 2024
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Apr 30, 2024
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| 4.44
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really liked it
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Apr 23, 2024
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Apr 21, 2024
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| 3.36
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really liked it
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Apr 20, 2024
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Apr 19, 2024
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| 4.21
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really liked it
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Apr 10, 2024
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Apr 10, 2024
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| 3.90
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really liked it
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Jul 13, 2024
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Apr 09, 2024
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| 4.02
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really liked it
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Jun 15, 2024
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Mar 19, 2024
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| 4.35
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it was amazing
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Apr 27, 2024
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Mar 15, 2024
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| 3.88
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really liked it
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May 27, 2024
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Mar 03, 2024
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| 3.27
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it was ok
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Apr 03, 2024
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Mar 01, 2024
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| 4.06
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it was ok
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Feb 28, 2024
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Feb 27, 2024
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| 4.13
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really liked it
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not set
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Feb 17, 2024
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| 4.33
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it was ok
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Feb 11, 2024
|
Feb 10, 2024
|
|||||
|
| 4.01
|
it was amazing
|
Feb 10, 2024
Jan 20, 2024
|
Dec 28, 2023
|
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|
| 4.16
|
liked it
|
Dec 27, 2023
|
Dec 25, 2023
|
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