Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Caulky by K.M. Neuhold

2 reviews

madscientistcat's review

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted fast-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

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

galleytrot's review

Go to review page

  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

READ: Jul 2023 
FORMAT: Digital 

BRIEF SUMMARY: 
In this contemporary romance, Ren is on the rebound after getting blindsided by a breakup, and out on the prowl he meets Cole, whose physique promises for a perfect night of gratuitous manhandling. Ren is ready to write off relationships altogether, and Cole is a commitment-averse kind of guy, so a fling should be no problem; especially since Ren has made anonymous friends with someone on the M4M app, helping him vent through the emotional portion of his rebound. But then Cole shows up to begin work as Ren’s contractor, and the perfect night they’d had together looms large, forcing their sexual compatibility to inch towards the scary boyfriend territory one hookup at a time. 

ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3 / 5⭐ 
So the characters in this book boast having this fantastic chemistry together, and I’m sad to say that I simply didn’t feel it. I think the reason for this is because the characters themselves were kind of on the boring side, falling flat to me. I was never invested in their personal stories, and that left me feeling disconnected to this book. 

Ren isn’t quite sure what went wrong in his relationship, although in retrospect he can see there were plenty of signs of trouble in paradise, that he was settling for convenience and comfort but not love. If five years together can so easily amount to nothing, then what’s the point in putting in all that effort when the next guy could just up and leave without warning, too? 

Cole has never had a problem keeping a steady stream of guys under his belt, but he has never experienced a romantic connection to any of them. Watching other men get tied down or heartbroken has been enough to keep him firmly and unapologetically in the camp of one-and-done. The concept of even wanting to date is completely foreign to him. 

A renovation project ensures that Ren and Cole spend some unexpected time in each other’s proximity, and the moment it’s professional to do so, they find themselves tangled up in each other’s limbs and still hungry for more. A third hookup couldn’t be a fluke, a fourth is downright egregious; both men find themselves reevaluating what they can (or even should) expect from one another. An anonymous connection online throws an additional layer of confusion into the mix, because there’s a chance that someone else out there could actually be their Mr. Right. 

TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3 / 5⭐ 
I’m going to say something I absolutely never in a million years thought I would say in a romance review, so buckle up, here we go: I think this book has too much sex in it. I am shocked that I would ever make this admission. Once these boys get over their compunctions and regularly get into each other’s beds, the story reaches a point where nearly every scene is punctuated with a round of rowdy rutting. Sure, they explore new acts and positions often enough, but there are also a number of scenes that don’t bring anything new to the table. 

Now, I am not prone to complaining about more of what’s typically a good thing. Ostensibly, it’s the sex that I’m here for, and having more of it is normally a-okay by me. In this instance, I’m thinking the problem falls back to me not really caring about the characters. 30% of the book in, we devolve into a story that’s half scenes of things happening, half sexy-fun-time filler/padding. I was left feeling like I was grinding my way through this story, and certainly not the fun sort of grinding. 

FINAL THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3 / 5⭐ 
This book was not a bad book; I just didn’t find it especially enjoyable. It mostly boiled down to me not caring about the characters, and in the end, I don’t know if that’s on me or the author. 

This book has representation for gays. There is little else in the way of diversity. 

The following elaborates on my content warnings. These may be interpreted as spoilers, but I do not go into deep detail.
This book contains: alcohol use; grief; back injury, drug use (painkillers); and not much else, this one’s pretty innocuous as far as content goes.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...