I’ve been eagerly awaiting another Boys on the Brink novel, and Forbidden Steps was just the sweet, heartwarming and gripping story I had hoped for! Jamie Deacon always creates wholesome stories with fleshed out characters to root for, and Taylor and Ben stole my heart from the very start!

Taylor has had a really rough time the past year; his father left the family bankrupt, forcing them to sell the house and his mother married her former boss taking Taylor and his sister with her to a house Taylor felt like an intruder in. On top of that, his boyfriend dumped him and left him to be bullied by his friends.

Ben fled across the world a year ago, heartbroken and devasted after a toxic relationship, only to come home to a new stepmother and a boy he’s never met sharing his room. A boy he’s immediately intrigued by, even though they are now part of the same family… But Taylor clearly wants nothing to do with him, even though he’s clearly hurting and in need of a friend.

This was such a beautiful, heart-wrenching love story that completely drew me in from the very first page. It was so full of tension, angst, passion and heart-break. I loved the enemies-to-lovers trope and how well it was executed here. I read this whole book in one sitting, with a beating heart, desperately needing to know what would happen to Taylor and Ben.

The stepmother/Taylor’s mother was perhaps a bit too much of the evil stepmother cliché, but I loved Ben’s mother the more. I also would have wanted a certain other evil person to get what he deserved, but he was just faded out of the story, leaving Ben without the closure I think he’d deserved.

But that’s just a minor detail. All in all, the characters were so relatable and real. Jamie Deacon did an amazing job capturing the complicated family dynamics and how much damage a conflict between parents can cause their children. (In case the family ties seem confusing, I want to make it really clear that there is nothing tabu about Taylor and Ben getting feelings for each other. They are not in any way related and have not grown up together.)

I recommend this series with all my heart and can’t wait to continue reading more of Jamie Deacon’s adorable books!

Rating:
4.5 heartfelt stars rounding up to 5

Get your own copy:
Amazon
Beaten Track Publishing

​Author info:
Jamie Deacon

Seventeen-year-old Luke is a player, the boy who always get girls without even trying. His one true passion is surfing. Until he meets his girlfriend’s cousin, Theo, and is overtaken by a desire he’d never experienced before.

I absolutely loved Theo from the start. He’s so fragile and wounded that you just want to hug him and tell him everything will be fine.

Luke on the other wasn’t just as likeable in the beginning. He felt so selfish, immature and lazy. And the way he treated his girlfriend, Zara, was not okay. Not even before he started betraying her. So, I definitely don’t agree with many of the choices Luke made, or the way he treated people around him. But on the other hand, I do understand how he felt unsure of what was going on between him and Theo and that he needed to let it go a bit further first. That the thing between them was too new, too fragile, to leave unfinished, and that Luke needed time to question everything he thought he knew about himself.

I also do have a sweet spot for bad boys and am willing to forgive them quite a lot, if they show a big heart in the end… And it truly is a beautiful, heart-wrenching love story. I read it in one sitting, it completely drew me in. It’s so full of tension, angst, passion and heart-breaking decisions that it was impossible to put it down. I read it with a beating heart, desperately needing to know what would happen to Luke and Theo.

Rating:
5 stars

Get your own copy:
Amazon
Beaten Track Publishing

​Author info:
Jamie Deacon

After reading Defensive Play, I was so excited to find out that there was an extra Boys on the Brink short story available for free for Jamie Deacon’s newsletter subscribers! I dived into Off Course right away, and I loved it just as much as I did Defensive Play!

Off Course is an adorable short story about seventeen-year-old Jason Connor, the star of the cross country team, and his arch enemy Tarek “Taz” Bahrani. The first time Jason laid his eyes on the new team mate Taz, he was immediately intrigued by him; suddenly his stomach was full of butterflies just because Taz smiled at him. But the connection Jason thought they had, turned out to be a scheme to gain competitive advantage. Taz’s betrayal at their first race made Jason retaliate in a way that turned them into sworn enemies ever since. So when an injured ankle leaves him stranded in the woods with no means of calling for aid, the last person he wishes to find him is Taz… But what really happened that day six months ago? Who betrayed who? Forced together in the woods as a thunder storms breaks lose, they can’t avoid talking about the event that drew them apart, and maybe, maybe find a way back to each other again.

Just like Defensive Play, this is another lovely, sweet and heartwarming story about first love. Even though it’s a short story, Jamie Deacon manages to craft characters that you immediately root for. After reading two of the books in the LGBT YA series Boys on the Brink in just one day, I recommend this series with all my heart and can’t wait to continue reading more of Jamie Deacon’s adorable books!

Thank you to the author Jamie Deacon for providing this free story, which I have voluntarily reviewed! 

Rating:
5 stars

Get your own copy:
Free for subscribers of Jamie Deacon’s newsletter!

​Author info:
Jamie Deacon

Defensive Play is a lovely, sweet and heartwarming story about first love and coming out. It’s a very quick read, a novella that can be read in a single sitting. But even though it’s only about 80 pages long, it’s amazing how Jamie Deacon manages to tell a wholesome story and describe the characters and make you root for them on those few pages! 

“One glance is all it takes to bring his defences crashing down…”

Seventeen-year-old Davey is shy, anxious and does not makes friend easily, but has nevertheless earned respect and acceptance at school for his soccer skills. He is deep in his closet though. Fearing his teammates’ rejection, he’s kept the fact that he is gay a secret from everyone. Even his own family.

But when he meets Adam at a soccer tournament, the ache is too strong to resist. One look and sparks start to flare between them and Davey has to make a choice. Should he follow his heart and take a chance on finding love and happiness with Adam, or should he stay closeted and not risk losing his teammates, the closest thing to friends he has ever known?

Reading this book was a pure pleasure. It’s emotional, sweet and realistic with such a gentle and beautiful romance between two teenage boys.

It was really refreshing to see two such different characters in a sport setting, and that both Davey and Adam felt like real teenager, with a lot of depth and that neither of them was casted as a stereotypical nerd or jock, but a little of both. The way Davey feared not being liked and respected for who he is was so relatable. And even if Adam was confident, popular and comfortable with his sexuality, he had his own heart-ache and pain to deal with.

I also really liked that there was no forced outing and that Adam didn’t put any pressure on Davey in that respect, but realized that it was all Davey’s decision if and when he felt ready for it.

Rating:
5 stars

Get your own copy:
​Amazon
Beaten Track Publishing

​Author info:
Jamie Deacon