Book safety, content warnings, and tropes & tags down below.

“Hold your head up, Edison,” Bishop said in a hushed rumble that Edison supposed was his version of a whisper. […] “With your head up, I can see you better,” Bishop rumbled, watching Edison as he backed away.

I’ve had this book on my TBR for aaaages, and I finally got to it. I’m glad I did, as I ended up loving it so much. I especially like Edison. He was simply a very lovely and endearing character. He’s also a plus size character, which I honestly often avoid reading, because of a lot of the themes popping up in those books can be triggering and difficult to read. This one had those themes as well. Edison is bullied by his coworkers (one awful one in particular), and he has horrible comments made about his body/looks and his eating habits, which was incredibly hard to read at times. What made it bearable, was how Bishop (the other MC) freaking adored Edison and his body. I never ever doubted his sincerity, and I think the author did a great job in making sure that it came through how attracted they were to each other. It was never ‘in spite of’ or ‘because of’. It just was.

It’s a longer book, and the slow burn with a building friendship and relationship was so right for these boys, who both had major insecurities about different things to work through. They were so good to each other though, and showed patience and kindness when they needed it. Bishop has had a very complicated and rough life up until this point (which I wouldn’t have minded being expanded on), and he’s working incredibly hard to turn things around.

“If my hands weren’t so dirty, I’d touch your handsome face. […]”

As mentioned, there is a lot of focus on food, bodies, and the teasing/bullying that Edison experiences. If you’re comfortable with that though, the love story in this is so sweet, and they both deserved to find someone good to spend their lives with.

⬇️ Blanket spoiler warning ⬇️

⚠️ Tropes & tags ⚠️
Plus size MC
Ex con
Former gang member
Illiterate MC
Size difference
Strangers to friends to lovers
Class difference

⚠️⚠️ Content warning ⚠️⚠️
Fatphobia
Fatshaming
Bullying
Grief
Insecurities
Food-focused talk
Violent altercation
Explicit sexual content
Mentions of life in prison
Manipulative side character
Mentions of the death of a parent (off page, past)

⚠️⚠️⚠️ Book safety ⚠️⚠️⚠️
Cheating: No
OM/OW drama: MC goes on ‘date’ before meeting the other MC (nothing happens between them). An ex tries to create drama later, as well as a coworker creating trouble throughout the book. The MCs only have eyes for each other.
Third-act breakup: No
POV: 3rd person, dual POV
Genre: Contemporary romance, M/M
Strict roles or versatile: Strict roles

“You look really handsome today, Edison.” Those few simple words eased over Edison’s mind like a comforting caress, then slid down his spine. He wanted to record Bishop saying that statement in that sexy voice and replay it for his psyche all day—anytime someone tried to make him feel less than. Because an amazingly, fine specimen of a man like Bishop thought he was handsome.