This was such an adorable, heart wrenching M/M hockey romance that added extra depths to the friends to lovers and second chance tropes. It dealt with difficult topics like trauma, homophobia (internalized as well) and horrible parents, but it was nevertheless a truly beautiful and sweet story with main characters that stole my heart! The Understatement of the Year is the third book in The Ivy Years series, but it’s no problem at all to read it as a standalone. It follows two college hockey players, who were once best friends and first loves, but who after a traumatic incident went their separate ways. Graham stayed firmly in the closet, letting himself be persuaded by the catholic school upbringing that being gay was a sickness and something to fear. Rikker was thrown out by his parents and sent to his Gran, who gave him a sanctuary where he could be himself and explore his sexuality without condemnation. Being a hockey player, he didn’t broadcast it though, not until he got outed to his coach and transferred to Graham’s team, making Graham’s secret harder and harder to keep…
“When he was around, nothing worked right. My eyes went where they weren’t supposed to go, and I felt the thrum of expectation just from breathing the same air that he did.” I rooted so for both Graham and Rikker. At the beginning I got a bit frustrated with Graham for not being as brave as I wanted him to be, but as I learned more about how the trauma in his past had shaped him, I just wanted to hug him and tell him that everything would be okay. That he was okay. That he didn’t have to be terrified of everything that was could even remotely come across as gay (from cappuccinos to bright colors), especially not of himself. “I was the most homophobic person alive. Because ‘homophobic’ means ‘afraid of homosexuals.’ And I was pants-shitting terrified of myself.” With Rikker it was instant love for me. He’s such an amazing, lovable character! Even though being openly gay meant so much struggle and hardship for him – getting kicked out of his home at sixteen, getting kicked off his team, getting mean comments from team mates – he was always true to himself, kind and gentle, and honorable. He truly personified the notion of “when they go low, we go high”. I rooted so much for them both and wanted them to get their well-deserved happily ever after. Graham and Rikker are now some of my favorite couples, next to Shane and Ilya in Heated Rivalry and Wesmie in HIM. This book had a lot of the same vibes as Cait Nary’s Season’s Change, with the angst and fear, the internal struggles and hidden emotions. Even though it was a YA/NA story with a lot of cuteness, it was very raw and real. It’s not so much a hockey romance as a story about finding yourself and accepting who you are, of letting yourself be loved even though you’ve been told you’re not worth it and that your love is shameful. “Getting along together was never the problem with you and me,” he said. “We’re both easy. It’s just the rest of the world that’s hard.” All in all, this was a heartfelt and beautiful slow burn romance with lots of depths and emotions, the perfect amount of steam and sweetness, and amazing characters to root for! Rating: 5 stars Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Sarina Bowen
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5/8/2023 0 Comments The New Guy by Sarina BowenSarina Bowen does it again! Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy is one of my absolute favorite m/m romances, and I was curious to see how Sarina Bowen would match that book with this new one on her own. Let me tell you that she nailed it! The New Guy is such a wonderful and sweet m/m hockey romance with two amazing main characters to root for, and some added layers of grief and the struggle of being a single parent. The New Guy is the first book in Sarina Bowen’s new series Hockey Guys, and follows two main characters – the closeted hockey star Hudson Newgate and the out but widowed athletic trainer Gavin. Hudson’s nickname “New Guy” comes not only from his last name, but from the fact that he keeps getting traded. The first time he got traded was immediately after telling the management that he was bisexual, which is why he’s decided to stay in the closet for his remaining career. Especially since his agent and father keeps telling him to stay quiet to not risk anything.
Hence, Hudson keeps to himself, and stays away from socializing with his teammates and avoids anything that could risk exposure. Like hooking up with a guy at a bar. Definitely not doing that! Until he meets this gorgeous guy at a bar, realizing too late that he lives in the same team-owned building… Gavin lost his husband two years ago and ended up being a grieving widower with sole responsibility for the daughter his husband adopted before they met. Being a single parent, he really needs the new job to support his daughter. Until he meets this gorgeous guy at a bar, realizing too late that he is a hockey player at the new team he will start working for… I read this book 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! It was such a perfect forbidden romance story with lots of depths and added layers. Like Hudson’s toxic relationship with his dad, Gavin’s problems with this late husband’s parents (especially the “monster in law”) and how they were threatening to take his daughter from him, Hudson’s loneliness and longing for being able to show his true self and the way Hudson and Gavin were immediately attracted to each other and had such a sizzling chemistry, but it still felt like a slow burn romance with true relationship development. All in all, this was a both heartwarming and heartbreaking story with a perfect balance of hockey and romance, fun banter, vulnerability, steam and sweetness. Highly recommended! Rating: 4.5 stars rounding up to 5 Get your own copy: Author links Author info: Sarina Bowen 10/23/2022 0 Comments Epic by Sarina Bowen and Elle KennedyCuteness overload! This novella was a pure joy to read, it really warmed my heart and made my day! I’m so happy that Jamie got his moment of glory and for the wonderful wrap-up of this series. Epic was nothing less than an epic conclusion of one of my all time favorite mm romances. If you haven’t read this series yet, I truly urge you to do so!
10/23/2022 0 Comments Us by Sarina Bowen and Elle KennedyHim is easily one of my absolute favorite m/m romances, which I first read in 2020. I’ve always planned to continue the series, but I was so scared to be disappointed that something always kept me from buying Us. Not until I saw the new gorgeous editions of the series and just had to get them. And let me tell you, I needn’t have worried at all! Us is a perfect sequel that made me fall in love with Wes and Jamie all over again! It made their epic love story even more relatable and amazing, by adding depth and struggle, while making their love for each other even stronger. I absolutely loved this book! Please note that this review contains spoilers for Him, so please don’t read it unless you’ve read Him first.
Him ended on a blissful note with Wes and Jamie getting their happy ending by being bold enough to admit their love to each other after years of friendship (and a few years of estrangement). In this sequel, we get to see how secrets and hiding affects the relationship, no matter how strong the love is. This book was much darker, with Wes and Jamie struggling with miscommunication, distrust and jealousy when seeing the other one pretending to be into women, and the toll it takes to always have to hide your true self. In addition, Jamie struggles with his work with his team underperforming and his colleagues being homophobic idiots, as well as depression when getting sick. But even though Us deals with a lot of heavy topics, it’s truly an absolutely amazing and heartwarming love story! Wes never waved from his support for Jamie, and really showed how deep his love was. At times I got a bit frustrated with Jamie, and how he changed so much from the easygoing, positive and adorable west-coast surfer guy to a grumpy and quite selfish person at times. But it made it all so real and relatable, and added a whole new layer of depth to the relationship between Wes and James, and made me love Wes even more for standing by his man no matter what. Just like in Him, the love and support from Jamie’s family was one of my favorite things in the book. That family is just the sweetest, funniest and most supportive family ever! I love their banter and snarky comments, but also how they always have each other backs. I also really loved Blake, the nosy neighbor who in the end turns out to be nothing but a big, wonderful, goofy, protective friend. All in all, this was such an honest, tender and beautiful story showing the importance of communication and the danger in keeping things secret. But most of all, it showed Wes’s and Jamie’s unwavering love and the courage it takes to put that love first. The steamy parts were perhaps a bit too explicit for me, but other than that, Us was the perfect sequel which added new layers to one of my all time favorite mm romances! Rating: 4.5 stars rounding up to 5 Get your own copy: Amazon Book Depository Author info: Sarina Bowen Elle Kennedy 10/22/2022 0 Comments Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle KennedyThis is my second time reading this book and I loved it even more this time around! I still think that the steamy parts are a bit too explicit for me personally, but Wes’s and Jamie’s love story completely stole my heart with their relationship development, their sizzling chemistry, the perfect execution of the friends-to-lovers and second-chance-romance tropes and all the feels! I’m definitely change my rating to 4.5 stars rounding up to 5 after this reread! “I have the same damn weakness I’ve always had… My weakness is him.”
Original review from October 15th, 2020: Him is easily one of my absolute favorite m/m romances! I read this book in one sitting, it was completely unputdownable. This friends-to-lovers, second chance romance is so sweet, funny and steamy, with an absolutely sizzling chemistry. Jamie and Wes are both college hockey players, who’ve been best friends since they were young teens; meeting up every summer at the hockey camp at Lake Placid. Wes has loved Jamie since he was 13, but he knows he can’t do anything about it with Jamie being straight. “Jamie Canning was my first crush and my first love. But he was never mine to have.” Then last night at summer camp, a bet derailed and everything changed between them, making them lose contact. Now, four years later, fate brings them together when their college hockey teams play for the championship. And even though Wes fears facing Jamie again, he can’t miss this chance to make amends. Even though the book is set in a hockey environment, don’t worry if you are not into sports, this is not a sports jock kind of book! There were some parts that were a bit too sexually explicit for me (I’m more into YA…), and the cover is a bit on the cheesy side, isn’t it? But apart from that, this is such a sweet romance story about a guy falling for his best friends, about taking chances and putting yourself out there with the risk of getting hurt, but potentially to find love. Rating: 4 stars changed to 4.5 stars rounding up to 5 after reread on October 22nd, 2022 Get your own copy: Amazon Book Depository Author info: Sarina Bowen Elle Kennedy |
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September 2023
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