M's Reviews > Rent: Paid in Full

The last Jesse Reign book I read was kind of a letdown, but she is back on form with this one, and let me tell you, I was into it. On the surface, this book is about Ryan - an awkward introverted college student who is struggling to make ends meet at his Ivy League school, and Miller - his rich boy, carefree roommate who offers to pay him for sex. I can see why some reviewers were not into that, but we are saved from this being just a transactional arrangement by the fact that we get a dual-perspective narration here. We should dislike Miller, he is a typical rich asshole who is taking advantage of Ryan, but he is just so relentless and sometimes even sweet, that I found him quite endearing. Ryan is rude, prickly, judgemental, and for some reason, that really does it for Miller. Miller paying Ryan is gross, sure, and the consent is pretty dubious, but it's the in he needs to peel back Ryan's spiky layers. Ryan is a mess, his perspective is chaotic and confused, and he is clearly fighting an enormous attraction to Miller, all the while being sullen and contrary. I fucking loved this dynamic, it's grumpy/sunshine but somehow deeper and fuller. And as with all Jesse Reign books, the sex scenes were absolute fire. There are also a lot of them. I swear, she is probably my favourite erotica author, I just cannot get enough. It definitely starts off as not a romance, but it's an interesting journey to get there eventually. This will get a sequel, as far as I understand, so I am very much looking forward to that.