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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
I actually purchased a copy of Everything For You by Chloe Liese at my local Wal-Mart. It was a complicated, but absolutely necessary purchase for me. Complicated, because it was immediately apparent that this book was an installment in a predominantly M/F romance, and when I encounter those I tend to avoid. This may seem silly, but they typically pander even more to a heteronormative imperative than other M/M books and usually feel like they aren’t written for queer people as the target audience. The purchase was necessary, however, because at my local Wal-Mart it is very rare to see any queer themed novels, so obviously I had to jump on the opportunity.
As the novel opens, we meet Oliver Bergman, who is moping around his parent’s home as his family convenes for a celebration. Oliver is a sophomore in college, pre-med, and the star of his university’s soccer team. He has recently discovered that his boyfriend has been cheating on him and when he receives an offer to play professional soccer with Galaxy, the decision is an easy one to make (and also makes him somewhat difficult to sympathize with, as in the opening chapter it’s revealed he comes from what appears to be an incredibly progressive family, is apparently incredibly smart and athletically talented, and has an amazing ass. My tears were filling buckets.)
And then there’s Gavin, the grump captain of the Galaxy team. He’s ten years older than Oliver, out and proud, but not known for his social skills or charisma. When Oliver is named co-captain of the team, the friction becomes too much to ignore. Oliver has a self-proclaimed competency kink and is unable to resist Gavin’s gruff nature. Gavin protests against Oliver’s sunny disposition, in part because Oliver reminds him of his own former glory, but also as a thinly-veiled way of keeping the desire he feels for the younger man at bay. I actually enjoy the pairing of these two leads even if I wasn’t totally sold on the novel as a whole.
I love the grumpy lover trope and an age-gap, so I should have been all in, but I was definitely apprehensive. Oliver suddenly being unable to ignore the secret crush he has harbored on Gavin (based solely on his physical qualities since the story makes it evident his behavior is less than attractive) after he utters the word cock in a way that isn’t sexually suggestive…well, that’s certainly a narrative choice.
I’m always of two minds about sports-themed romance novels in the M/M space. It’s a pretty common choice (you’d think the NHL was strictly made up of dom tops and power bottoms) so it definitely speaks to a certain audience of people and is great for queer readers who maybe don’t feel represented in the sports world. On the positive, I love that it offers an opportunity to create dialogue around masculinity and toxicity. Unfortunately, however, this is often done in an exaggeratedly cartoonish way that doesn’t feel natural (even in a romance novel.) Although there were certainly moments of this, I think Liese does a good job overall of avoiding this sickeningly sweet approach (she uses Stevia, but with extra packets.) Conversely, I feel like sports-themed MM romances (of which there are surprisingly many) often push male identifying queer characters into this space of performative masculinity with a creatively imposed sense of liberalism that never seems to extend to any “femme” gay protagonists….we’re always given some sort of butch fantasy, which sure is great it is what expected of the subgenre, but I would love to see a character with a more freer tie to masculinity operating in these spaces while navigating a romance as well.
Ultimately, I think my initial apprehensions were maybe slightly unfounded, but the novel as a whole didn't click for me. I couldn't feel myself growing anything attachment to Gavin. I appreciate the grumpy/sunshine trope, but with most of the information about Gavin's life being revealed in the final pages of the novel....it didn't give me much of a chance to develop a connection with him. I didn't feel the emotional connection between the two men. More effort on Gavin's part would have been nice, and maybe one of them having a relationship with queerness beyond liking the soundtrack of Hamilton (which...girl. lol.) and getting called a slur at one soccer game. Liese does get major props for tackling Oliver's anxiety in a thoughtful way! If we had seen some similar vulnerability from Gavin throughout the narrative then this would have worked better for me.
I definitely think book will work for many readers (the current GR rating attests to that) and reach audiences who are new to M/M romance so that is definitely a positive!
As the novel opens, we meet Oliver Bergman, who is moping around his parent’s home as his family convenes for a celebration. Oliver is a sophomore in college, pre-med, and the star of his university’s soccer team. He has recently discovered that his boyfriend has been cheating on him and when he receives an offer to play professional soccer with Galaxy, the decision is an easy one to make (and also makes him somewhat difficult to sympathize with, as in the opening chapter it’s revealed he comes from what appears to be an incredibly progressive family, is apparently incredibly smart and athletically talented, and has an amazing ass. My tears were filling buckets.)
And then there’s Gavin, the grump captain of the Galaxy team. He’s ten years older than Oliver, out and proud, but not known for his social skills or charisma. When Oliver is named co-captain of the team, the friction becomes too much to ignore. Oliver has a self-proclaimed competency kink and is unable to resist Gavin’s gruff nature. Gavin protests against Oliver’s sunny disposition, in part because Oliver reminds him of his own former glory, but also as a thinly-veiled way of keeping the desire he feels for the younger man at bay. I actually enjoy the pairing of these two leads even if I wasn’t totally sold on the novel as a whole.
I love the grumpy lover trope and an age-gap, so I should have been all in, but I was definitely apprehensive. Oliver suddenly being unable to ignore the secret crush he has harbored on Gavin (based solely on his physical qualities since the story makes it evident his behavior is less than attractive) after he utters the word cock in a way that isn’t sexually suggestive…well, that’s certainly a narrative choice.
I’m always of two minds about sports-themed romance novels in the M/M space. It’s a pretty common choice (you’d think the NHL was strictly made up of dom tops and power bottoms) so it definitely speaks to a certain audience of people and is great for queer readers who maybe don’t feel represented in the sports world. On the positive, I love that it offers an opportunity to create dialogue around masculinity and toxicity. Unfortunately, however, this is often done in an exaggeratedly cartoonish way that doesn’t feel natural (even in a romance novel.) Although there were certainly moments of this, I think Liese does a good job overall of avoiding this sickeningly sweet approach (she uses Stevia, but with extra packets.) Conversely, I feel like sports-themed MM romances (of which there are surprisingly many) often push male identifying queer characters into this space of performative masculinity with a creatively imposed sense of liberalism that never seems to extend to any “femme” gay protagonists….we’re always given some sort of butch fantasy, which sure is great it is what expected of the subgenre, but I would love to see a character with a more freer tie to masculinity operating in these spaces while navigating a romance as well.
Ultimately, I think my initial apprehensions were maybe slightly unfounded, but the novel as a whole didn't click for me. I couldn't feel myself growing anything attachment to Gavin. I appreciate the grumpy/sunshine trope, but with most of the information about Gavin's life being revealed in the final pages of the novel....it didn't give me much of a chance to develop a connection with him. I didn't feel the emotional connection between the two men. More effort on Gavin's part would have been nice, and maybe one of them having a relationship with queerness beyond liking the soundtrack of Hamilton (which...girl. lol.) and getting called a slur at one soccer game. Liese does get major props for tackling Oliver's anxiety in a thoughtful way! If we had seen some similar vulnerability from Gavin throughout the narrative then this would have worked better for me.
I definitely think book will work for many readers (the current GR rating attests to that) and reach audiences who are new to M/M romance so that is definitely a positive!
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Me, reading this, "oh it gives ted lasso vibes". Me, getting to the acknowledgements, vindicated. Lovely.
This book was worth reading almost the entire series for. I had so much fun!
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Meh! I finished it, that’s about all I can say. Miscommunication or it should be said lack of communication is my least favorite trope. All would’ve been fine if the MCs had actually talked to each other and expressed their feelings. This book was fine for listening to while I’m on a beach vacation. I probably won’t remember the plot next week and it’s one that I would never reread.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes