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teenykins's review against another edition
3.0
This is an incredible story!! It's beautiful, it's angsty, it's well written, it has all the feels!
So why am I giving it 3 stars only? One I'm not very fond of the narrator's voice. I'm sorry but the voice IMO doesn't work for MCs under 30yo and another is that even though I do like (not love because of reasons that will be mentioned) exhibitionism, I don't like 3-ways and it seems that most times that kink goes hand in hand in inviting a 3rd to the party.
I loved Dylan and Angelo, even though I wanted to smack them sometimes and their lives, their relationship, their falling in love felt real but on the same time I felt a disconnected as well.
But that is just me and everyone should really read this!!!
P.S.: Can't say that I cared about how much Eddie and Sam were mentioned throughout when it was supposed to be Dylan moving on from the happenings with them.
So why am I giving it 3 stars only? One I'm not very fond of the narrator's voice. I'm sorry but the voice IMO doesn't work for MCs under 30yo and another is that even though I do like (not love because of reasons that will be mentioned) exhibitionism, I don't like 3-ways and it seems that most times that kink goes hand in hand in inviting a 3rd to the party.
I loved Dylan and Angelo, even though I wanted to smack them sometimes and their lives, their relationship, their falling in love felt real but on the same time I felt a disconnected as well.
But that is just me and everyone should really read this!!!
P.S.: Can't say that I cared about how much Eddie and Sam were mentioned throughout when it was supposed to be Dylan moving on from the happenings with them.
steiner's review
3.0
I liked a lot of things about this book - Garrett Leigh is never bad. So rare to see characters in money trouble in romance. We often enjoy romance for escapism but that doesn't have to mean reading about perfect lives.
There were a few things that could have been tightened up and I hate when books end at 90%. There should be a way for previews to be tagged as 100% plus. I like to pace myself based on my progress.
I didn't think the greedy gay uncle plot was very well explained. I didn't understand why it was in his interest not to sell the family business. I don't think the idea of the close Italian family meshed well with the uncaring family dynamic. More background might have helped.
I also didn't like that a financial adviser made a comment to the mother about how alone her son was. This seemed unrealistic and unprofessional.
There were a few things that could have been tightened up and I hate when books end at 90%. There should be a way for previews to be tagged as 100% plus. I like to pace myself based on my progress.
Spoiler
I didn't think the greedy gay uncle plot was very well explained. I didn't understand why it was in his interest not to sell the family business. I don't think the idea of the close Italian family meshed well with the uncaring family dynamic. More background might have helped.
I also didn't like that a financial adviser made a comment to the mother about how alone her son was. This seemed unrealistic and unprofessional.
haletostilinski1's review
4.0
3.75 stars rounded up
I really did enjoy this story and Angelo and Dylan together. They were scorching hot together and their connection was really good and lovely.
I think my biggest problem is not even that there is a threesome in this it's more that they talk about others they find attractive with each other like they wouldn't mind being with more people in the future - but nothing else happens with anyone so I was unclear if they were monogamous or their relationship was an open one.
As one who isn't a fan of open relationships it bothered me because I have no idea if Angelo and Dylan are just them together (even when they had thoughts like "he was the only one for me, no one else compared" or "I was in love with him" there were still comments made that made it unclear if they were joking or serious about them still "playing" with others at the club? idk) or if they have threesomes occasionally like they did at 30%. I mean neither had thoughts of being bothered or jealous of them with someone else in a sexual way (with romantic feelings, a tad, but even then...not much).
So I have no idea, and that bothers me, that it isn't clear. I mean I can assume that they're monogamous but at the end there was a preview for them which tells me there will be another novel with them - and who knows if it'll be just them in that book? Idk, it bothers me, while I get it might not bother others, but yeah...just a little clarity would have been nice.
I spent like...the whole book worried a threesome would happen again. And the characters didn't help to dispel that worry.
But despite all that...this was an interesting read, and fun during the sexy times between Angelo and Dylan and hot - I don't mind people looking at them having sex (I just mind anyone else involved *sigh*).
If you don't mind threesomes and a potentially (?) open relationship then I think you'll enjoy this a lot.
I was actually expecting a ton more angst than what was in this. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of Garret Leigh angst, but it wasn't unbearable angst.
I felt so bad for Angelo - having that disease would freak me out all the time, wondering if I would get exhausted at any moment, and so on - and what he had to deal with, but it was awesome seeing him learning to deal with it and get better at managing his disease and being able to live life almost normally with Dylan.
Dylan, I felt we didn't get as much of him as with Angelo. We got stuff, but he wasn't really focused - maybe because he didn't have as much angst in his life as Angelo, but I think characters can be just as interesting without a ton of angst, so I would have loved more with Dylan and his life, and maybe more on his father and his mother who left them.
Not that Dylan was an absent character, he had plenty of characterization and complexity - just not a ton of focus on him. This mainly felt like Angelo's story and journey.
Dylan did have some stuff of his own to deal with, but it wasn't as big as Angelo's so it wasn't focused on that much.
So overall I enjoyed this (although I wasn't that impressed by the threesome and didn't much care for it. But maybe that's because with romantic couples threesomes really isn't my thing, idk *shrug*) and it was well written with well developed, complex characters.
I dunno if I'll continue the series. Maybe. But if you haven't read this book yet and you wish too (and can either get past threesomes or don't mind them and love them) then I recommend this book. It was good.
I really did enjoy this story and Angelo and Dylan together. They were scorching hot together and their connection was really good and lovely.
I think my biggest problem is not even that there is a threesome in this
Spoiler
at 30%, where it's early on in them knowing each other and before any commitments are madeAs one who isn't a fan of open relationships it bothered me because I have no idea if Angelo and Dylan are just them together (even when they had thoughts like "he was the only one for me, no one else compared" or "I was in love with him" there were still comments made that made it unclear if they were joking or serious about them still "playing" with others at the club? idk) or if they have threesomes occasionally like they did at 30%. I mean neither had thoughts of being bothered or jealous of them with someone else in a sexual way (with romantic feelings, a tad, but even then...not much).
So I have no idea, and that bothers me, that it isn't clear. I mean I can assume that they're monogamous but at the end there was a preview for them which tells me there will be another novel with them - and who knows if it'll be just them in that book? Idk, it bothers me, while I get it might not bother others, but yeah...just a little clarity would have been nice.
I spent like...the whole book worried a threesome would happen again. And the characters didn't help to dispel that worry.
But despite all that...this was an interesting read, and fun during the sexy times between Angelo and Dylan and hot - I don't mind people looking at them having sex (I just mind anyone else involved *sigh*).
If you don't mind threesomes and a potentially (?) open relationship then I think you'll enjoy this a lot.
I was actually expecting a ton more angst than what was in this. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of Garret Leigh angst, but it wasn't unbearable angst.
I felt so bad for Angelo - having that disease would freak me out all the time, wondering if I would get exhausted at any moment, and so on - and what he had to deal with, but it was awesome seeing him learning to deal with it and get better at managing his disease and being able to live life almost normally with Dylan.
Dylan, I felt we didn't get as much of him as with Angelo. We got stuff, but he wasn't really focused - maybe because he didn't have as much angst in his life as Angelo, but I think characters can be just as interesting without a ton of angst, so I would have loved more with Dylan and his life, and maybe more on his father and his mother who left them.
Not that Dylan was an absent character, he had plenty of characterization and complexity - just not a ton of focus on him. This mainly felt like Angelo's story and journey.
Dylan did have some stuff of his own to deal with, but it wasn't as big as Angelo's so it wasn't focused on that much.
So overall I enjoyed this (although I wasn't that impressed by the threesome and didn't much care for it. But maybe that's because with romantic couples threesomes really isn't my thing, idk *shrug*) and it was well written with well developed, complex characters.
I dunno if I'll continue the series. Maybe. But if you haven't read this book yet and you wish too (and can either get past threesomes or don't mind them and love them) then I recommend this book. It was good.
knrt_17's review
5.0
Garrett Leigh is one of my favourite authors in the mm genre. This story was amazing. Dylan and Angelo had to fight hard for their story. Loved it and can’t wait to read the rest of this series.
codyjames's review
4.0
The beginning of a 4 part series of novels that are all loosely linked together (though I’d say it’s 5 parts considering how tightly wound The Sex Coach is with all these characters). In this we meet Angelo, an ex ballet dancer who is working sun up to sun down to save the cafe his father ran into the ground before he died. In an effort to to let off some steam, he frequents a local club that is...uh...let’s say adult. And has a very adult interaction with Dylan. Before I go anyyyy further I should say this is easily, hands down, no comparison, Leigh’s steamiest book. Even I, who has grown used to Leigh’s steamy content, was not prepared for the LEVEL of steam. But anyway, then we have Dylan, a tax creditor who also chooses the let off steam at the same club. After their encounter, Angelo finds himself in Dylan’s office, and the two strike up a friendship that grows in a very Leigh way. I liked the emphasis on Angelo’s health issues as they were touched upon in The Sex Coach but never fully explained. Dylan didn’t do a lot for me, I gotta be honest. Even with his incident towards the end of the book which seemingly came from nowhere, he is lower tier when it comes to Leigh’s boys. Angelo though was so lovely to read about, and I loved the times when I got to read from his perspective.
xiaxia's review
3.0
*shrugs*
There was something off about this book that stopped me from loving it. I enjoy GL's writing, I have enjoyed it ever since [b:Rented Heart|29553199|Rented Heart (Rented Heart, #1)|Garrett Leigh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1458396552s/29553199.jpg|49859665]. I like the flawed characters she builds. I liked Angelo and Dylan's struggles and how they defined their journey.
However I couldn't connect so well to the MCs as to give this book 4 or 5 stars. It felt to me that the book might have been written too fast and maybe it needed one more rewriting to strengthen some of the scenes before being published. I'm adding the scenes I'm referring to under spoiler.
1. Dylan in the beginning
During the second part of the book we focus on Dylan's anxiety. He didn't come as such an anxious person that would have panic attacks in the first part of the book. Just someone who was suffering because he had to let go of his best friend. The book focused on Dylan's anxiety in the second part as if he had been an anxious person all along. Again, he didn't come out to me like this in the beginning.
2. The club scene where Dylan has a panic attack
Where did the panic attack came from? It just sprang on the page, sex, bang, panic attack. One moment Angel and Dylan were doing their mild BDSM thingy, then Angelo asked Dylan what was wrong with him, then Dylan had a panic attack. I didn't notice anything before Angelo. I needed one or two extra sentences to show how Dylan's behavior was beginning to change, what did he do that it triggered Angelo and made him ask Dylan what was wrong?
3. The hostage situation
Felt pointless.
4. The scene in Dylan's office where Angelo informs him he was the one that banged him in the club when Dylan had his blindfold on
I lol-ed. I also considered it a lame move undignified for Angelo's character who was a cool dude.
“Thanks for your help today, Dylan, but I gotta say, you did more for me a week ago when I railed you at Lovato’s. You have a nice day, now.”
5. The stalking
Everyone is a stalker in this book. Angelo, Dylan, Dylan's friend Sam. I'm giving the side eye to Rhys as well who pops up everywhere.
6. Dylan's job and Angelo's debts
I am a financial fraud auditor that works every day with numbers, invoices, amounts - I got so confused at times by the financial stuff in this book that I skimmed the pages when the DRO discussions were beginning.
The sex scenes were hot, GL knows how to write 'em.
She's still on my auto buy even if I gave Dream 3 stars.
Still recommend the book, maybe it's me, not the book.
There was something off about this book that stopped me from loving it. I enjoy GL's writing, I have enjoyed it ever since [b:Rented Heart|29553199|Rented Heart (Rented Heart, #1)|Garrett Leigh|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1458396552s/29553199.jpg|49859665]. I like the flawed characters she builds. I liked Angelo and Dylan's struggles and how they defined their journey.
However I couldn't connect so well to the MCs as to give this book 4 or 5 stars. It felt to me that the book might have been written too fast and maybe it needed one more rewriting to strengthen some of the scenes before being published. I'm adding the scenes I'm referring to under spoiler.
1. Dylan in the beginning
During the second part of the book we focus on Dylan's anxiety. He didn't come as such an anxious person that would have panic attacks in the first part of the book. Just someone who was suffering because he had to let go of his best friend. The book focused on Dylan's anxiety in the second part as if he had been an anxious person all along. Again, he didn't come out to me like this in the beginning.
2. The club scene where Dylan has a panic attack
Where did the panic attack came from? It just sprang on the page, sex, bang, panic attack. One moment Angel and Dylan were doing their mild BDSM thingy, then Angelo asked Dylan what was wrong with him, then Dylan had a panic attack. I didn't notice anything before Angelo. I needed one or two extra sentences to show how Dylan's behavior was beginning to change, what did he do that it triggered Angelo and made him ask Dylan what was wrong?
3. The hostage situation
Felt pointless.
4. The scene in Dylan's office where Angelo informs him he was the one that banged him in the club when Dylan had his blindfold on
I lol-ed. I also considered it a lame move undignified for Angelo's character who was a cool dude.
“Thanks for your help today, Dylan, but I gotta say, you did more for me a week ago when I railed you at Lovato’s. You have a nice day, now.”
5. The stalking
Everyone is a stalker in this book. Angelo, Dylan, Dylan's friend Sam. I'm giving the side eye to Rhys as well who pops up everywhere.
6. Dylan's job and Angelo's debts
I am a financial fraud auditor that works every day with numbers, invoices, amounts - I got so confused at times by the financial stuff in this book that I skimmed the pages when the DRO discussions were beginning.
The sex scenes were hot, GL knows how to write 'em.
She's still on my auto buy even if I gave Dream 3 stars.
Still recommend the book, maybe it's me, not the book.