Scan barcode
kjnrose's review
3.0
The characters seemed okay, but I just couldn't get into this book. I was able to finish it but definitely would not read again.
inmyhumbleopinion's review
4.0
Building Up to Love is a complicated story about love, acceptance and second chances. Logan has a lot of groveling to do if he wants Jared’s forgiveness after the way he broke his heart and screwed with his self-image for years afterward. Though a little slow this is a really good story.
reedkaye's review
5.0
This is the first book I’ve read by this author but I will be reading more. Right from the beginning I was obsessed with this story. My heart broke for Jared. I felt he had not found his place in the world and he was not really comfortable with himself. Yet he was a great guy. When Logan appeared into the story and more and more of their history came to light I was shocked. I didn’t feel Logan was really that guy. I had a hard time seeing him do the things described. I found out why he was the way he was but I still wasn’t sure he could pull off those actions.
I think the story flow is great. The character development is good. I got a feel for the characters and could picture them living these lives. Bringing in Gage and Melissa added so much to the story. Their situation brought a little humor to the story. I really liked that the secondary characters felt so real and fit so seamlessly into the story. Logan’s parents, the agents, Morgan and the rest really gave the story depth. I didn’t see where this is part of a series but I sure wish it were. I’d like more of these characters. I was given a arc copy by Hidden Gems and this is a voluntary review. Thank you Hidden Gems for providing me with a new author.
I think the story flow is great. The character development is good. I got a feel for the characters and could picture them living these lives. Bringing in Gage and Melissa added so much to the story. Their situation brought a little humor to the story. I really liked that the secondary characters felt so real and fit so seamlessly into the story. Logan’s parents, the agents, Morgan and the rest really gave the story depth. I didn’t see where this is part of a series but I sure wish it were. I’d like more of these characters. I was given a arc copy by Hidden Gems and this is a voluntary review. Thank you Hidden Gems for providing me with a new author.
vj1990's review
2.0
2 Stars
Quick Summary
Jared is a contractor in construction who just got out of a relationship because his girlfriend moved away. When he meets his ex Logan who is also his new client, he is not happy. Logan, on the other hand, wants to apologize for the hurtful things he said when they broke up in college and reconnect, but Jared is determined not to be receptive. However, Logan's job as a defense attorney puts him in danger, so he asks for Jared's help and over time, they begin to rekindle their old relationship.
Review
This book perfectly explains why I am so hesitant to read books in the second chance romance genre. There is such a huge danger of the book just losing the spark of passion and the journey of falling in love. Instead of seeing why Logan fell in love with Jared again or vice versa, this book just came off to me as a lot of Logan apologizing until Jared finally forgave him. It didn't really have any true "romance" in it, because I honestly could not tell you why Jared and Logan fit and were right for each other. There was really no chemistry between them that I could see. Plus, I thought Logan was kind of a jerk in college and got off way too easy for the legitimate hatred that poured out of him. I do understand the influence of parents on upbringing, but I feel like college is all about taking responsibility for your words and actions. At that point, being ignorant is a choice, especially about an identity so integral to your boyfriend. I kind of felt like Logan got off really easy and he didn't quite deserve Jared. On a positive note, biphobia was pretty decently represented. There are definitely people that hold such strong views about bisexuality, and the book did a good job bringing attention to the fact that it isn't just the fundamentalist Bible-clutchers who are capable of hate.
The book was also quite long and sometimes boring to read. There were many dialogues and not too much of Logan and Jared just being a couple, which is my favourite part.
I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Quick Summary
Jared is a contractor in construction who just got out of a relationship because his girlfriend moved away. When he meets his ex Logan who is also his new client, he is not happy. Logan, on the other hand, wants to apologize for the hurtful things he said when they broke up in college and reconnect, but Jared is determined not to be receptive. However, Logan's job as a defense attorney puts him in danger, so he asks for Jared's help and over time, they begin to rekindle their old relationship.
Review
This book perfectly explains why I am so hesitant to read books in the second chance romance genre. There is such a huge danger of the book just losing the spark of passion and the journey of falling in love. Instead of seeing why Logan fell in love with Jared again or vice versa, this book just came off to me as a lot of Logan apologizing until Jared finally forgave him. It didn't really have any true "romance" in it, because I honestly could not tell you why Jared and Logan fit and were right for each other. There was really no chemistry between them that I could see. Plus, I thought Logan was kind of a jerk in college and got off way too easy for the legitimate hatred that poured out of him. I do understand the influence of parents on upbringing, but I feel like college is all about taking responsibility for your words and actions. At that point, being ignorant is a choice, especially about an identity so integral to your boyfriend.
Spoiler
Logan says some really hateful biphobic things to Jared before breaking up with him.The book was also quite long and sometimes boring to read. There were many dialogues and not too much of Logan and Jared just being a couple, which is my favourite part.
Spoiler
Also, it is totally uncool (in my opinion) for a brother to continually give someone who said such hateful things about your family access to that person, even if they were your roommate. I have a brother, and that is totally not okay. Personally, I think a fair reaction is something along the lines of an interrogation and dissection of that person's entire life before giving them any sort of help, but hey, that's me.I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
bwagner's review
4.0
This is a new author for me and I know I will be looking for more from her. This is a well developed story that kept I had a hard time putting down. The characters are connectable and made the story engaging. I didnt regret picking this book up and neither will you. A great book to warm your night. I highly recommend this book.
melaniebopp's review
1.0
I...do not like this book. I wanted to, and I will be trying this author again to see if it's just their writing style I don't enjoy, but let's just get into this.
Jared and Logan were together once upon a time, but when Logan found out Jared was bi and not gay, it ended badly (with comments about how bisexuals are gross whores who can't make up their mind, etc etc etc). Jared is left with a broken heart and endless trust issues. a decade or so later, they are thrown back together in a twist of fate that has defense lawyer Logan with mob assassins after him and construction company owning Jared somehow saving him in a variety of ways, including shooting someone with a nail gun. You know, as you do.
So let's talk about the problem I have with this.
There are major issues with the representation of the LGBTQIA+ community here. First of all, I have a hard time rooting for a relationship where one of the two players starts off in such a bad place, but even more than that is the overall, well, anti-normalization of the gay community. It's pretty gross, honestly. At one point, one hero actually thinks that the cops were being surprisingly professional seeing as they are there to interview witnesses to an assassination in a gay bar. Really? Are gay bars really that uncommon? I mean come on, the story takes place in Boston, it's a major city, there are tons of gay bars, and I'm reasonably certain the Boston police department has talked with gay people, you know, once or twice. At least.
On a side note, apparently Jared's cuts start healing in a couple of hours. He must be an X-Man....
Jared and Logan were together once upon a time, but when Logan found out Jared was bi and not gay, it ended badly (with comments about how bisexuals are gross whores who can't make up their mind, etc etc etc). Jared is left with a broken heart and endless trust issues. a decade or so later, they are thrown back together in a twist of fate that has defense lawyer Logan with mob assassins after him and construction company owning Jared somehow saving him in a variety of ways, including shooting someone with a nail gun. You know, as you do.
So let's talk about the problem I have with this.
There are major issues with the representation of the LGBTQIA+ community here. First of all, I have a hard time rooting for a relationship where one of the two players starts off in such a bad place, but even more than that is the overall, well, anti-normalization of the gay community. It's pretty gross, honestly. At one point, one hero actually thinks that the cops were being surprisingly professional seeing as they are there to interview witnesses to an assassination in a gay bar. Really? Are gay bars really that uncommon? I mean come on, the story takes place in Boston, it's a major city, there are tons of gay bars, and I'm reasonably certain the Boston police department has talked with gay people, you know, once or twice. At least.
On a side note, apparently Jared's cuts start healing in a couple of hours. He must be an X-Man....
heaorgtfo's review
3.0
I received an e-ARC of Building Up to Love by J.V. Speyer from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a second chance story between a designer/contractor, Jared, and defense lawyer, Logan, who’s being tormented by the mob. They were together in college but Logan, who is gay, broke up with Jared for being bi. There was lots of biphobic language in this book so there’s a content warning. Mostly, it was Jared remembering things Logan had said to him as well as biphobic stuff he internalized over the years. I was bothered by it, but it was Jared’s main conflict and reason for staying away from Logan after they ran into each other after 10 years apart. Logan believed all the hateful stuff his parents said about Jared back in college but during their time apart, he grew up, realized all that stuff was bullshit, and was very sorry he treated Jared that way. So when they meet up again, he immediately wants to make amends. Jared’s not into it because he can’t trust Logan, but he still wants him. They have sex a couple of times, but Jared says he doesn’t want to see Logan anymore. Then Logan confesses his love in an email.
This is where the story lost me. I just didn’t feel like the story earned the “I love you” yet. It felt like Logan was cheating, trying to skip the hard part of reconciling and just using I love you as an emotional bomb to get Jared back. This whole time, Logan is being stalked in more and more lethal ways by one of his client’s mob bosses and Jared saves his life a few times. Eventually, the mob boss gets put away and Jared decides to take a chance on Logan. But again, it just didn’t feel earned. Jared goes from “I don’t trust you and I don’t want to see you” to “I love you. Let’s have sexy times forever” without much effort. There was no grovel, no major conversation, and their relationship seemed pretty shallow. There’s another ex-boyfriend of Jared’s as a secondary character who was much more intriguing. I wanted them to work it out more than I cared about Jared/Logan.
I give this book three stars. It wasn’t bad, but I had quite a few issues with it. Also, the cover bugs me because Logan is described as having light brown skin and curly hair, not some basic white bro with straight douchebag hair.
This is a second chance story between a designer/contractor, Jared, and defense lawyer, Logan, who’s being tormented by the mob. They were together in college but Logan, who is gay, broke up with Jared for being bi. There was lots of biphobic language in this book so there’s a content warning. Mostly, it was Jared remembering things Logan had said to him as well as biphobic stuff he internalized over the years. I was bothered by it, but it was Jared’s main conflict and reason for staying away from Logan after they ran into each other after 10 years apart. Logan believed all the hateful stuff his parents said about Jared back in college but during their time apart, he grew up, realized all that stuff was bullshit, and was very sorry he treated Jared that way. So when they meet up again, he immediately wants to make amends. Jared’s not into it because he can’t trust Logan, but he still wants him. They have sex a couple of times, but Jared says he doesn’t want to see Logan anymore. Then Logan confesses his love in an email.
This is where the story lost me. I just didn’t feel like the story earned the “I love you” yet. It felt like Logan was cheating, trying to skip the hard part of reconciling and just using I love you as an emotional bomb to get Jared back. This whole time, Logan is being stalked in more and more lethal ways by one of his client’s mob bosses and Jared saves his life a few times. Eventually, the mob boss gets put away and Jared decides to take a chance on Logan. But again, it just didn’t feel earned. Jared goes from “I don’t trust you and I don’t want to see you” to “I love you. Let’s have sexy times forever” without much effort. There was no grovel, no major conversation, and their relationship seemed pretty shallow. There’s another ex-boyfriend of Jared’s as a secondary character who was much more intriguing. I wanted them to work it out more than I cared about Jared/Logan.
I give this book three stars. It wasn’t bad, but I had quite a few issues with it. Also, the cover bugs me because Logan is described as having light brown skin and curly hair, not some basic white bro with straight douchebag hair.
charkinzie's review
3.0
Jared is busy with booming contracting work. His fiancee has just left him and that was the final nail in the coffin on his love life. College boyfriend, Logan, slides back into his life when their paths cross and this brings back painful memories.
When Logan and Jared were together, Logan was biphobic and cruel about the way Jared lived his life. The barbs and criticism have stuck with Jared as the years passed and eroded his trust in potential partners.
The thing is, Logan has changed. He's a defense lawyer, working his ass off and he no longer sees bisexuality as a problem.
When Logan takes on a RICO case...he becomes the target of a Mob attack. Through a twist of fate, Jared seems to be the one who is constantly stepping in to save Logan. Their feelings are still lurking below the surface and the more time they spend together, the more complex things become.
While this book wasn't my favorite, I will gladly say it was well-written. The plot was complex but I felt as though it would have felt more realistic had the book been a lot longer. Jared's hurt at the beginning of the novel was tangible but I struggled with how quickly he overcame that simply to end up back in bed with Logan. He spent years being traumatized by someone being biphobic, then seemed to move past it as soon as he saw Logan. It was a bit confusing and I was a bit uncomfortable with the bisexual representation.
While Logan and Jared's relationship was challenging, the bond between brothers Jared and Gage was charming and sweet.
This author has a lot of books and I'm sure if you're a fan of her writing you will enjoy this title!
When Logan and Jared were together, Logan was biphobic and cruel about the way Jared lived his life. The barbs and criticism have stuck with Jared as the years passed and eroded his trust in potential partners.
The thing is, Logan has changed. He's a defense lawyer, working his ass off and he no longer sees bisexuality as a problem.
When Logan takes on a RICO case...he becomes the target of a Mob attack. Through a twist of fate, Jared seems to be the one who is constantly stepping in to save Logan. Their feelings are still lurking below the surface and the more time they spend together, the more complex things become.
While this book wasn't my favorite, I will gladly say it was well-written. The plot was complex but I felt as though it would have felt more realistic had the book been a lot longer. Jared's hurt at the beginning of the novel was tangible but I struggled with how quickly he overcame that simply to end up back in bed with Logan. He spent years being traumatized by someone being biphobic, then seemed to move past it as soon as he saw Logan. It was a bit confusing and I was a bit uncomfortable with the bisexual representation.
While Logan and Jared's relationship was challenging, the bond between brothers Jared and Gage was charming and sweet.
This author has a lot of books and I'm sure if you're a fan of her writing you will enjoy this title!
werds's review
1.0
Some editing is still essential, and it didn't sit right with me how one kept pushing even though the other said no.
More...