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lauwbinx's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Biphobia, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, and Outing
Minor: Bullying
wildatheart1339's review against another edition
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Outing, Biphobia, Homophobia, Cursing, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Chronic illness, and Alcohol
nickoliver's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was in a very interesting mood when I decided to read this book. Basically, I really wanted to read something that was both queer and smutty. I'm an asexual with barely any libido or sexual desire, so for me to actively seek out something smutty is not something that happens a lot. Usually, smut is just something that happens to be in a book I'm interested in, not something that's the entire reason I even pick up a book. So I literally just went on this list I have on Amazon where I put every single Kindle Unlimited book that sounds interesting and picked the first one that I knew fulfilled the criteria. I didn't even read the synopsis again; I literally went into it more or less blind. To my surprise - and also relief -, the book was a lot better than I anticipated.
I was a bit worried at first. Mlm romances written by women are not something I like to read on a normal day. And the synopsis already sounded a bit problematic. A straight dude pretending to be gay because he was too chickenshit to break up with his girlfriend? Yeah, that sounded skeevy. I also wasn't sure if this was going to be a "gay for you"-story or not. I was pretty sure I'd heard it wasn't, but I couldn't be sure, so that had me worried, too. I had heard some good things about the book, though, so I decided to give it a try.
In the end, my worries were for nothing.
For one, Damon criticised Maddox a lot for pretending to be gay and explained how his behaviour was harmful to actual gay people. He talked about how people like Maddox were the reason people like him weren't believed to be gay by others, especially women. Damon was generally someone who constantly challenged toxic things that people said or assumed, and I was pleasantly surprised! For example, he had some things to say about bisexuality that I really appreciated, like that it wasn't always strictly a 50/50 attraction and that Maddox wasn't less valid as a bisexual just because he had only been attracted to two men in his life. (Btw, I was also happy that Finley didn't forget that bisexuality existed in the first place. A lot of the times when I read books about a character who realised they were queer, they were always stuffed in the "gay" box without even given the possibility to be anything else. So I loved that!)
In general, I really loved the characters, especially their relationships. I loved their dynamic and the bantering way they talked to each other and had to laugh out loud many times. I'm fairly certain the humour in this book was one of the reasons why I flew through it so fast. The only character I had trouble with - apart from Eric, but he wasn't one you were supposed to like, anyway, so I don't count him - was Stacy, Damon's sister. I did like her for the most part, but she had a habit of crossing lines in the wrong situations and also constantly played pranks on Damon, which just felt really childish and immature after a while. She was annoying at times and made me wish she wasn't quite as focal as she actually was.
The romance between Maddox and Damon was pretty good. I thought at first that it was a bit rushed, because Maddox realised he was attracted to Damon after knowing him for about two days. Especially seeing as Maddox didn't realise for a while that he was into guys, I didn't expect him to be aware of his attraction quite so early. However, it was purely physical at first; the actual "falling in love" portion of the story developed rather nicely and slowly. So I wasn't that bothered by the way the relationship progressed after a while.
The only thing I thought could've been done better were some of the subplots. Both Maddox and Damon had things going on aside from their relationship, and both of those things didn't feel like they were being paid enough attention to? In Damon's chapters, part of the plot was about the relationship between him and his (former) best friend, Eric, and how it had changed since he had come out, and some things that had transpired between them. Damon was hesitant to start anything with Maddox because of something that had happened with Eric, and you were constantly being made aware of that. But I felt like after all that build-up, the way that issue was resolved was a bit too awkward?I wished we had gotten to see a more descriptive blow-up between Damon and Eric and more of how that impacted their families.
Maddox's subplot, on the other hand, had to do with his family. A lot of his chapters dealt with that certain plot point, but I felt like it was often pushed aside a bit for the romance part of the story. It's not that Finley suddenly forgot halfway through the story that this was a thing that happened, but instead of showing us certain scenes, we were merely told about them, which bothered me a bit. Especially since it was a pretty big thing that should've shifted Maddox's world a little bit, but he was okay with the situation very quickly. A little too quickly, to be honest.
The book also had some cissexist comments that, for example, equated genitals with gender. I wished to God authors would stop doing that, but alas, I keep picking up books that do this. I think it's just two comments in general, so it's not that bad, but it still left a sour taste in my mouth.
Overall, though, I really enjoyed the story. It was really laugh-out-loud-funny, really good at setting up the relationships between characters, and some of the discussions the characters had were pretty great! Especially the way it called out biphobic behaviour and notions that people had. I did wish that the subplots had been developed a bit more and those cissexist comments hadn't been there, but I still liked most of the book.
Also, btw, the story wasn't "gay for you". Maddox was bi and while yes, Damon was the first man he'd ever fallen in love with, it was more a case of not realising that what he had felt before had been genuine attraction. Maddox had hooked up with a guy before, but he had dismissed his feelings back then. I can see why people shelved it as "gay for you", because Maddox identified as straight at the beginning of the novel and Damon essentially made him realise he wasn't; but it wasn't like Damon was the only man he'd ever found attractive. Though I do admit that Finley seemed to have toyed the line a bit. (less)
I was a bit worried at first. Mlm romances written by women are not something I like to read on a normal day. And the synopsis already sounded a bit problematic. A straight dude pretending to be gay because he was too chickenshit to break up with his girlfriend? Yeah, that sounded skeevy. I also wasn't sure if this was going to be a "gay for you"-story or not. I was pretty sure I'd heard it wasn't, but I couldn't be sure, so that had me worried, too. I had heard some good things about the book, though, so I decided to give it a try.
In the end, my worries were for nothing.
For one, Damon criticised Maddox a lot for pretending to be gay and explained how his behaviour was harmful to actual gay people. He talked about how people like Maddox were the reason people like him weren't believed to be gay by others, especially women. Damon was generally someone who constantly challenged toxic things that people said or assumed, and I was pleasantly surprised! For example, he had some things to say about bisexuality that I really appreciated, like that it wasn't always strictly a 50/50 attraction and that Maddox wasn't less valid as a bisexual just because he had only been attracted to two men in his life. (Btw, I was also happy that Finley didn't forget that bisexuality existed in the first place. A lot of the times when I read books about a character who realised they were queer, they were always stuffed in the "gay" box without even given the possibility to be anything else. So I loved that!)
In general, I really loved the characters, especially their relationships. I loved their dynamic and the bantering way they talked to each other and had to laugh out loud many times. I'm fairly certain the humour in this book was one of the reasons why I flew through it so fast. The only character I had trouble with - apart from Eric, but he wasn't one you were supposed to like, anyway, so I don't count him - was Stacy, Damon's sister. I did like her for the most part, but she had a habit of crossing lines in the wrong situations and also constantly played pranks on Damon, which just felt really childish and immature after a while. She was annoying at times and made me wish she wasn't quite as focal as she actually was.
The romance between Maddox and Damon was pretty good. I thought at first that it was a bit rushed, because Maddox realised he was attracted to Damon after knowing him for about two days. Especially seeing as Maddox didn't realise for a while that he was into guys, I didn't expect him to be aware of his attraction quite so early. However, it was purely physical at first; the actual "falling in love" portion of the story developed rather nicely and slowly. So I wasn't that bothered by the way the relationship progressed after a while.
The only thing I thought could've been done better were some of the subplots. Both Maddox and Damon had things going on aside from their relationship, and both of those things didn't feel like they were being paid enough attention to? In Damon's chapters, part of the plot was about the relationship between him and his (former) best friend, Eric, and how it had changed since he had come out, and some things that had transpired between them. Damon was hesitant to start anything with Maddox because of something that had happened with Eric, and you were constantly being made aware of that. But I felt like after all that build-up, the way that issue was resolved was a bit too awkward?
Maddox's subplot, on the other hand, had to do with his family. A lot of his chapters dealt with that certain plot point, but I felt like it was often pushed aside a bit for the romance part of the story. It's not that Finley suddenly forgot halfway through the story that this was a thing that happened, but instead of showing us certain scenes, we were merely told about them, which bothered me a bit. Especially since it was a pretty big thing that should've shifted Maddox's world a little bit, but he was okay with the situation very quickly. A little too quickly, to be honest.
The book also had some cissexist comments that, for example, equated genitals with gender. I wished to God authors would stop doing that, but alas, I keep picking up books that do this. I think it's just two comments in general, so it's not that bad, but it still left a sour taste in my mouth.
Overall, though, I really enjoyed the story. It was really laugh-out-loud-funny, really good at setting up the relationships between characters, and some of the discussions the characters had were pretty great! Especially the way it called out biphobic behaviour and notions that people had. I did wish that the subplots had been developed a bit more and those cissexist comments hadn't been there, but I still liked most of the book.
Also, btw, the story wasn't "gay for you". Maddox was bi and while yes, Damon was the first man he'd ever fallen in love with, it was more a case of not realising that what he had felt before had been genuine attraction. Maddox had hooked up with a guy before, but he had dismissed his feelings back then. I can see why people shelved it as "gay for you", because Maddox identified as straight at the beginning of the novel and Damon essentially made him realise he wasn't; but it wasn't like Damon was the only man he'd ever found attractive. Though I do admit that Finley seemed to have toyed the line a bit. (less)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Biphobia and Terminal illness
Minor: Transphobia
Note to the transphobia: There was a scene where the characters equated having a dick with being a man. Note to the terminal illness:
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