Like Real People Do by E.L. Massey

This was such an adorable, sweet and heartwarming read! Fun and witty, with the sweetest main characters, a perfect slow burn romance and awesome side characters. I binged it and the second book in the series in just one day, completely smitten!

The story is about Eli and Alex and their friends and the Hell Hounds hockey team. Eli is recovering from a devastating accident that derailed his Olympic figure-skating dreams and caused a seizure disorder, for which he has a service dog, Hawk. Growing up a mixed-race and gay figure skater in smalltown Alabama, and now disabled too, Eli’s learnt to avoid the hockey jocks. Especially the big shot out-of-control ones like prodigy Alexander Price. But after an antagonistic introduction, he’s surprised to learn that he actually enjoys spending time with Alex and his hockey friends. Alex on his side is trying to hide his big secret of being gay, while dealing with an anxiety disorder and the expectations of an expansion franchise on his shoulders. But being with Eli is soothing and fun and maybe, just maybe, coming out wouldn’t be a complete disaster after all?

This was such a marvelous read! It’s difficult to give it justice and explain exactly what made it so different, but it just had the perfect wonderful and relatable characters with so many flaws, over-the-top feelings and vulnerability, and the cutest plotline and writing style. Eli totally stole my heart and the chemistry between him and Alex was amazing! Their slow burn friends-to-lovers romance was pure perfection. It was like watching your two sweetest and kindest friends fall for each other.

It had such wonderful queer, fun and adorable romcom vibes, but it was also filled with some truly great mental health representation. The realistic and genuine way in which Alex and his anxiety disorders, as well as Eli’s seizures, were portrayed was just amazing. The beautiful way in which E.L. Massey included these parts into the story really helps normalize mental health issues and made me love the characters even more. And Hawk, the amazing service dog, truly added to the story! Not to mention the adorable Hell Hound hockey players and the way they stood up for each other and Eli and Alex, as well as Eli’s best friend Cody. And the cooking vlog part – loved it!

All in all, this was a completely adorable, sweet, tender, witty, thoughtful and heartwarming story about friendship, falling in love, dealing with mental health issues and being true to who you are. It’s a story that deals with difficult topics in a both honest and fun way at the same time, and I cannot recommend it enough! 

Rating:
​5 stars

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Author info:
E.L. Massey