Jax Calder does it again! I was a bit nervous starting Attractive Forces, since Jax Calder’s book The Other Brother is one of my all time favorite YA m/m romances, but luckily this book met and exceeded all of my high expectations! I absolutely loved this adorable, slow-burn nerd/jock friends-to-lovers romance!

The two main characters of this story are teenagers Jake and Logan. Jake Stenton is the smart new kid, who’s moved to a new town to start over with his mother and younger brother, trying to escape the scandal caused by his father. Logan Madison is the captain of the rugby team and the most popular guy in school, who is hiding who he truly is from everyone. Being gay is just not an option when you’re the star rugby player and the son of a homophobic Presbyterian minister. But when Jake is assigned as Logan’s chemistry tutor, the feelings that develop between them might be too powerful to control…

I rooted so much for both Jake and Logan from the very first moment and my heart ached for them in their struggles. They were both such wonderful characters, with depth and as far from any stereotype cliches you can come. Yes, Logan was a star rugby player, but he was certainly not the typical jock. And yes, Jake was a chemistry nerd, but he was also so fun and easygoing. And the banter between them and the fun chemistry jokes, as well as their mutual respect for each other, was amazing.

I love Jax Calder’s writing style and how she captures the suppressed feelings and longings between the characters. The slow burn romance was so well executed and so heart-warming! I especially loved the way she made us readers come along on Jake’s and Logan’s journey to finding themselves, understanding their sexuality and coming to a decision what’s really worth living for. It was so accurate how Jake thought he was just a late bloomer when in fact he’s on the asexual spectrum and only starts to have feelings for Logan after they become close friends.

All in all, Attractive Forces was such an adorable, gripping and heart-warming m/m romance with all the feels and amazing character growth. I read it in one sitting as it was completely unputdownable until the very end!

Thank you to BookSirens for the free ARC of the book, which I have voluntarily reviewed.

Rating:
5 stars

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Amazon
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Author info:
Jax Calder

I absolutely LOVED this book! It was such an emotional, completely addictive and swooning rivals-to-friends-to-lovers story with amazing character growth! And some truly amazing chemistry between the main characters... I read this book in one sitting, completely hooked from the very first page!

The two main characters of this story are Ryan and Cody, two seventeen boys who are bound by some very dysfunctional and toxic family ties, but have never been close. On the contrary, as the family’s trouble kid, Ryan has always been compared to the perfect Cody and never met his standards… Ryan is something of a carefree happy-go-lucky surfer guy, who doesn’t worry about the future but more about the next party or about pulling pranks on his sisters. He’s also out and proud as bisexual. Cody on the other hand is the perfect on paper son, who is a high achieving musician, talented tennis player and extremely well behaved. But he also struggles with a lot of issues, such as anxiety and being secretly gay, as Ryan will get to find out after a summer when circumstances collide, and the two boys end up spending time together at Cody’s family’s beach house.

In case the family ties seem confusing, I want to make it really clear that there is nothing tabu about Ryan and Cody getting feelings for each other. They are not in any way related by blood and have not grown up together, even though they share the same half-sisters since Ryan’s Mom and Cody’s Dad were previously married and had two daughters together, before they spit up in a very nasty divorce. After that they both remarried and had a son each (Ryan and Cody) in their second marriages. So nothing inappropriate or tabu, but complicated to say the least… especially since Ryan’s Mom and Cody’s Dad absolutely hate each other and uses their daughters (Ryan’s and Cody’s sisters) as ammunition in their own private war.

I absolutely loved Jax Calder’s writing style and the amazing rivalry and love/hate-dynamic between Ryan and Cody. I loved their banter and the humor, and not to mention the burning chemistry… Both of the characters immediately stole my heart in their own separate ways. The toxic family drama, the slow-burn and their emotional rollercoaster when realizing their feelings for each other and the consequences all felt very real and realistic. My heart ached for the struggle Ryan and Cody had to go through. Jax Calder did an amazing job capturing the complicated family dynamics between the two families and how much damage a conflict between parents can cause their children. A detail that I truly could relate too which made Cody even more real and authentic was his disgust for raisins. I feel the same way too, and it made me root for him even more.

All in all, The Other Brother was an absolutely amazing book! It was a truly adorable and emotional slow-burn enemies-to-lovers Romeo and Juliet kind of romance with all the feels and character growth. I read it in one sitting, it was so addictive and I rooted so much for all characters that I just couldn’t bear to put it down until the very end! I can’t recommend it enough!
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Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC for this wonderful book! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
5 stars

Get your own copy:
Amazon
Add to Goodreads

Author info:
Jax Calder