kj468's reviews
402 reviews

Eh, this wasn't really for me. Maybe I need to stop listening to this series, even though they are included with Audible premium (they're some of the only queer romances on Audible premium and that's 100% why I keep listening to this series). They tend to be more dramatic and contain more sensitive material than I'm ever prepared for. To be fair, I never go out of my way to check content warnings (though I clearly should for these books, because wow), though it would be nice if the audiobooks had them listed at the beginning. Not sure if the physical/ebooks have cw listed inside.

Trauma: Both characters have a lot of trauma, both from near-death experiences that happen off-page before the book begins, but in the case of one character, are discussed pretty heavily on-page (

the character's past suicidal behavior was discussed in detail

). The other character had a previous abusive (I think? or at the very least, incredibly not positive) relationship

Healing: Both characters have significant healing journeys spurred on and facilitated by their relationship with the other. It gets close to "he cured me" without quite getting all the way there; if this were Icarus, his wax wings would work well enough that he didn't crash, but it'd be a really rocky flight, ya feel?

TW Injury: one of the characters has a significant, on-page, near-fatal accident. Some details are behind the spoiler, if anyone would like to know before reading:

Tanner, who has past trauma from working as a wilderness rescuer, goes on a poor-weather hike to look for Jax, who is late coming back from his hike, and is caught in a rock slide. He is crushed by rocks and a branch impales his arm, hitting an artery. He's saved by Jax, who stabilizes the injury long enough for the rescuers to arrive, and then is touch-and-go in the hospital for a while.n

Things I did like: two bi characters who are bi the whole time (no bi awakening, no 'gay for you' trope), strong emphasis on healing/therapy, supportive friends and family to facilitate the healing journey, no third-act breakup. I was pretty sure I knew what the third-act drama would be, but I was pleasantly surprised that, while my guess was in the general ballpark, I didn't completely guess what would happen. 

TW: suicidality, suicidal thoughts, discussions of past suicidal behavior, graphic injury with blood

I liked the premise a lot here. Both characters were likable and I was rooting for them and their relationship. I appreciated the emphasis on therapy and healing, and overall the relationship here is pretty healthy (there is one major lack of communication but they handled it well I thought). That said, it's my 5th book by this author, and while some of her other books are among my all-time favorites, I was only so-so about this one.

I found the beginning of their relationship to lack a bit of chemistry, and the middle third to be a bit slow, though the last 25% was much better. In terms of on-page pace, it's not the fastest burn -- however, when you look at in world time, it's an INCREDIBLY fast burn (

they get engaged about a month after getting together??

). That didn't really bother me until I got to the epilogue, where it was made clear how quickly their relationship moved, and I was kind of shook lol. 

themes: healing from divorce, learning to let yourself be loved, mending broken relationships with family

not vibing, cringed too much in the first 40 pages

I’m sobbing. This book is gorgeous and perfect and wonderful. 

I was so excited about the premise of this book. It's the classic "I think I'm homophobic but I'm actually jealous" reddit post, which is an excellent concept that was poorly executed here. I've read dozens of stories based off this premise and usually they hit, but this one was a flop. 

Several things struck me as problematic:

On a positive note, the narrators were doing a great job with the audiobook.

This is a fun and silly one. Very bro-y, as one might expect from the title. It’s kind of Frat Wars meets Puckboys which is a fun crossover. I liked their relationship well enough and didn’t have any major problems with either of the MCs. Lots of appearances from other Queer Collective members. Very light on characterization of the side characters on their own team. A ridiculous premise, what it says on the tin. This series is very hit or miss for me, but this is one of the ones I enjoyed more than not. 

God this book consumed me, it occupied so much of my thoughts when I wasn’t reading it and I kept wanting to stop all the other things I was doing and keep reading. I felt so seen by Alex’s neurodivergence, his journey towards letting himself be loved and have intimacy with Daniel, as well as Daniel’s… everything. This book will undoubtedly make it into the lists I make of top books I read in 2024. 

Didn’t realize how much of this book I’d forgotten lol. I enjoy this one and the audio was good. Overall fairly enjoyable, though I found the emotional drama in the third act to be messy/all over the place.