Reviews

Hard Sell by Hudson Lin

bookschaosnart's review

Go to review page

4.0

What happens when you've got two men, one who's beginning to regret being married to his job and the other who's finally feeling like he's earned his place at his job when they unexpectedly end up on opposite sides of a business transaction? Tobin is Danny's best friend's younger brother. Danny is the best friend who's been around Tobin's family for ages. They spend time dancing around each other, their work lives, and the fear of telling Wei (the aforementioned best friend/brother). I am very excited to have the trope's of best friend's brother/business rivals feature non white people. In fact having two Asian leads added some different family dynamics that made the story more compelling. However, the characters were not likable at some times and in fact it seems like a several threads left things unfinished, yes it's a romance so the end is not necessarily a surprise in t at regard, but threads that were preventing them from being together ie, he business merger, how Tobin's roommates interacted with Danny, left the overall story a bit confusing occasionally. I'm hoping we'll see a sequel or a spin off where the lose threads are resolved or at least addressed.

zaza_bdp's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Le résumé était prometteur et ce roman me faisait très envie, seulement, je n'ai pas du tout accroché à cette histoire.
J'ai un faible pour les romances sur fond de petit frère du meilleur ami, mais là, je n'ai pas aimé que la majeure partie du temps, Tobin soit considéré par Daniel (son mec) et Wei (le frère de Tobin) comme un gosse, sans parler du regard que sa famille pose sur lui. La romance est trop froide et distante à mon goût, l'autrice nous dit et nous montre des choses, mais je n'ai ressenti aucune émotion face à la relation entre les deux héros. Beaucoup de choses m'ont paru forcées et artificielles dans cette romance, j'ai vraiment eu le sentiment de rester à distance, et à 30 % et quelques j'avais déjà envie d'en avoir terminé. :/

Le contexte professionnel est très développé, et donne l'impression (renforcée par la lecture de la note finale) qu'Hudson Lin maîtrise son sujet et connaît le monde des affaires. Seulement, c'est trop froid et impitoyable pour moi, cynique aussi, et je ne comprends pas qu'aucun des personnages ne dénoncent les actes de Cyrus West. L'appât du gain ? Hé bien moi je trouve ça franchement honteux.

Bref, une lecture décevante donc.

rellimreads's review

Go to review page

3.0

Jackie Lau posted about this series on her IG. Brother’s Best Friend/Best Friends Brother is one of my favorite tropes so I grabbed the audiobook.

I loved the history and family bonds that Lin wrote for these two. Tobin’s resistance to being treated like the baby of the family and Danny certain he has to prove his place in the world. They were obviously destined for each other, but overcoming Danny’s obsession with work was a big hurdle. Plus both of them worrying about Wei’s reaction to them. This is a good one when you’re in the mood for angstier and push/pull between the MCs.

I really felt Danny’s apology and commitment to putting Tobin first. Their HEA and the ending were wonderful.

Narration:
This was my first time listening to Tyler Tetsuda and I enjoyed his narration. He was a great fit for the characters and brought the emotions through well. Good listen.

lezreadalot's review

Go to review page

4.0

“Friends.” Danny’s voice cracked. He leaned back and cleared his throat. “It makes us friends.”

Disappointing, to say the least. But if that was Danny’s opening offer, then Tobin had a few ideas on how to counter.

3.5 stars. A fun and touching older brother's best friend romance that takes place in the finance world. It gets a little serious and a little hard-hitting in necessary ways, but the tone is overall light-hearted, and I really enjoyed my time with it.

Tobin has always had a crush on his older brother's best friend Danny, and seven years ago, during a bachelor party, they finally hooked up. They haven't seen each other until now, as professionals, on opposite ends of a business deal that could mean a lot for both their careers. Danny is established and successful, but flagging; Tobin is young and just starting to climb. This goes moderately in-depth into the financial consulting aspect, but I think the author did a good job of making it accessible and understandable for laypersons. I did enjoy the plot a lot, and I just wish we'd gone a bit more into the ethics and morality of the business. It was brought up, but we just seemed to skim over it.

But the romance! Sooooooo sweet and brimming with chemistry; I really loved them together. It has some of the expected conflicts you might think to find in a brother's best friend romance, but it didn't feel stale or played out. I love romances about a character who's pined over another for years. Despite his crush, Tobin is super independent and has a backbone, and never lets Danny walk over him. And I loved Danny's protectiveness and his urge to treat Tobin all the time, even though he does a couple stupid things. They're really sweet together, and the steam was great. The writing was good (though I must admit that there were several instances of jokes I found cringey or unnecessary) and flowed well. I really liked the secondary characters, especially Tobin's parents, and the family themes throughout. 

Listened to the audiobook as read by Tyler Tetsuda, and really really enjoyed it. This was my first full-length read from Lin, and though I didn't love everything about it, any flaws are easily surmounted by how much I enjoyed the romance. The epilogue had me in my feelings!! <3 Kudos.

tessanne's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

Umm. I was so excited when I heard about this book—m/m, and both Asian? Yes, please!

Unfortunately, I had to DNF at 25%. I was So Bored. It was repetitive and the characters were not compelling at all, despite being repeatedly told that Danny in particular *was*. Nope. Show me, don’t tell me.

And the weird dynamic of Tobin being the “baby” felt... off. Gross, maybe. Sure, he was legal for their original hookup, but the way the story was told didn’t make it feel right.

Also, when they get together again, there is zero chemistry.
It was basically like this:
Danny says, “how do you want to be fucked, Tobin?”
Tobin says, “fuck me hard.”
Danny fucks him.

Shockingly dull.
And looking at other reviews, I’m glad I stopped here.
I wavered between one and two stars and I’m settling on one.

bookish_notes's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I really liked this book and enjoyed the relationship between Danny and Tobin!! Did this book have me tearing up by the end? YES IT DID. Although I have a few comments regarding the story, overall, I enjoyed it and would definitely re-read it!

Trigger warnings include homomisia, transmisia, vehicular accident resulting in injury (not one of the MCs), blackmail, mentions of human trafficking, suggestions of sex with minors (not either MC), and lots of scenes/moments where MCs contemplate having kids someday.

I admit I knew nothing about this book before I started reading it. I like the author and have read her books before and was SUPER STOKED to see that Carina Press has TWO Asian models on the cover!!! That like, almost never happens?? And with m/m?? And in the age of illustrated covers?? I have never been more excited about seeing a cover! So of course, I was going to read this.

Soooo. Because I was so excited to read this, I may have forgotten what the blurb was by the time I started the book, so for a chapter, I mistakenly thought the MCs were Danny and Cyrus. Oops. Daniel “Danny” Ip (I don’t know why the blurb says his last name is spelled Yip when the book says otherwise, but though in Chinese they’re the same) is a guy who’s super intimidating and very good at his job. Or he was. At 35, he’s beginning to feel himself burning out but the money, the position is all he’s worked for and the thing is, he used to enjoy the grind that came with the job.

Cyrus West is the CEO of a company called WesTec and he’s the guy Danny has to convince to want to sell his company to Danny and Jade Harbour. HE IS NOT THE LOVE INTEREST. He’s also super awful. Danny’s job is buying struggling companies at a low price, do some restructuring, and sell high. I want to say this makes him a venture capitalist? The book never says the words, but, I think that’s what he is.

So, while Danny’s planning on doing his thing to win over WesTec, in walks his best friend’s little brother. Who isn’t quite so little anymore.

Tobin Lok is 26 and works at a company’s whose job is to help struggling companies find their footing again and make money. So he’s kind of like a consultant. I think. This puts Danny and Tobin at odds with what they’re looking to do with WesTec and they’re facing each other again after 7 years with basically no contact.

I admit that this book is WAY smarter than I am. I don’t really understand any of the business and finance aspects of this book and what was really happening so reading all of that was just vibes for me. No thoughts at all really. Except, I can’t say I particularly loved how quickly and neatly the book wrapped up the whole deal with WesTec at the end. It almost felt like a side note after all the stuff that the characters did the whole book to try to win over WesTec.

So let me talk about what I do know.

The tone of this book was a little strange. I think that had more to do with me going into this book not entirely knowing what it was going to be about. Because tropes like best friend’s sibling? It’s fun! Set amongst an Asian family?? DELICIOUS CHAOS.

But then there’s tropes like you have the millionaire, the business setting with a guy that’s supposedly competent at his job, and then the random human trafficking subplot that comes out of NOWHERE? It’s one step away from the dark romance vibe and it was just really weird to me. And I only say one step away because the sex in this book is completely consensual. And like, I read dark romance, but I guess I just wasn’t quite expecting this type of tone based on the books I’ve read from this imprint. The Cyrus subplot was...a lot darker than I would’ve expected. But high stakes and all that, I guess.

I will say there are moments that baffled me enough that this book is a 4-star book rather than 5 for me, and one of them is how much the characters want kids?? I think it’s because I read this too early, and the ARC I read didn’t come with any trigger warnings and I know the Carina Adores line is usually good about them so maybe they’ll be in the final version of the book? But yeah, I just had things catch me by surprise. And the kid thing is a big one for me.

There was a whole lot more going on with the contemplation and talks from both Danny and Tobin wondering if they wanted kids then I would have expected. I don’t love (okay, maybe closer to hate) books that talk about how much the MCs want kids and dreaming about having kids. And it just went on and on. I don’t know, I’m fine with kids in books? Like I loved Tobin’s niece and nephew just fine? But all the stuff that happens in the before stage where the kids don’t exist yet just super squeaks me out.

AND THEN. I think the weirdest part of the story was probably that Danny and Tobin BOTH had evidence that there was a human trafficking case on their hands and and they just...didn’t do anything with that info? They didn’t care enough to act on the info and that was a hard one to swallow. Now, I don’t know if it’s because Tobin comes from a fairly wealthy family, and Danny himself is a literal millionaire, but there’s definitely a level of disconnect I had with the two characters that turned me off from them at times. Like doing nothing about a certain someone being a sexual predator???

There’s also offhand comments from Tobin that didn’t seem necessary (Tobin thinking that audiobooks didn’t count as reading??? or calling his lesbian roommate, Ayán, a “bleeding heart liberal” because she doesn’t like Danny’s VC job). It was just a whole lot of weird moments that came out of nowhere for me in this book that made me wonder at times if the author even wanted me to like Danny or Tobin.

I think both characters are a bit messy in their own way and OVERALL, I think I really like them both by the end? When it felt removed enough from the business drama and they finally got their act together. But it did feel like a long journey to get to that point.

I really enjoyed the parts that I could relate to: the big family get-togethers for the holidays with everyone your parents know, calling older women and men “Aunties” and “Uncles” even if you’re not related to them, and family feeling a bit overwhelming sometimes with their protectiveness. I’m Chinese American and this book is just *chef’s kiss* when it comes to how seamlessly it all gets weaved into the fabric of Danny and Tobin’s lives.

I think the only thing I would’ve wanted to know is whether Tobin’s parents only speak English at home or is that only with the kids? I think it was mentioned that Tobin and his family travels to Hong Kong to visit family so they might be Hong Kongers? Do they speak Cantonese at home and how much do Tobin and his brother, Wei, know of the language? Does Danny speak the language or even understand it? I don’t think it was ever mentioned. It’s not really all that important to the story. I’m just curious because I see that a lot with other Asian families I know where first gen parents speak English with their kids but their own language amongst themselves. And the kids might understand a bit of the language but definitely not a whole lot? So I just wonder how it is for Danny, Tobin, and Wei growing up.

There’s a lot of stops and starts to Danny and Tobin’s relationship. There’s certainly a hurdle to overcome with Danny and Wei being best friends and Danny having known Tobin for years and years, even though he didn’t start being attracted to Tobin until they were way older. I think there’s a fine line with this trope? I don’t usually read it because it can go so wrong. But I think it worked here since it was Tobin who was infatuated with Danny the whole time when they were kids, Danny and Tobin didn’t hook up until Tobin was 19, and then they didn’t even see or speak to each other for another 7 years after their one-night stand.

I am excited to return to this world with book two, which will star Danny’s wealthy co-worker, Ray Chao and I guess we’ll finally see why he’s working at Jade Harbour when it seems there’s gossip around their industry that Ray is technically rich enough that he doesn’t have to work at all. I’m also interested to see who his love interest will be!

I’m not seeing anything about this book or the sequel being made into audiobooks, BUT I WANT THIS TO BE A THING SO MUCH (and pretty please cast an Asian narrator).

I’m in love that we got a m/m book with SO. MANY. Asian characters in it. And they’re actually pictured on the cover!!! I hope the sequel’s cover matches this one and gives me a handsome Ray with his love interest modeled on the cover. I really did wind up loving Danny and Tobin by the end and the story had a lot more twist and turns than I would’ve ever expected. The family is endearing and kind of reminds me of my family. The epilogue was also really great and I even got teary eyed.

***Thanks to the publisher for approving me for this ARC on NetGalley***

regencyfan93's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

At times I felt like there was a word count goal.  I skipped most of the sec scenes because didn't think they advanced the plot or built the relationship.  

Danny made worse and worse decisions.  I feel like some of those decisions and following interactions with Tobin could have been cut.

Tobin was a breath of fresh air among Danny's bad decisions.

I learned things about private equity and consulting companies.

cramer2c's review against another edition

Go to review page

Library 

reading_rainbows's review

Go to review page

  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

elemomi's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

This book was a massive disappointment. There are some elements that didn’t work for me, which is fine, but there were some references, actions by characters, and views that are actively harmful that I wish I had known about beforehand.

First, there was a one-off comment by Tobin that audiobooks don’t count as reading. I believe this was an internal comment, so other characters couldn’t correct him (more on that later), but this view is incredibly ablest and condescending. And, quite frankly, it’s incorrect.

Second, Tobin jokes at one point to his roommate and her girlfriend that maybe Danny was into
pedophilia or incest
because of their long history and age difference. His roommate’s girlfriend immediately calls out the harmfulness of that joke, but in the wider context of the ongoing right-wing rhetoric around queer people (this book was published in 2021), a comment like this is really tone deaf and perpetuates harm. This also isn’t the only time Tobin or Danny makes a reference like that, although it is the only time it’s called out.

Finally, although the book has a content warning early on that it mentions sex trafficking, that fails to take into account the very cavalier way it is handled by Danny and Ray, including failing to report it to authorities until it was beneficial for their company. Using sex trafficking as a (minor to the plot, not in horribleness) plot point is arguably a poor choice, but having your characters actively ignore it until it benefits them is categorically shitty. I don’t care if that’s true to the finance world - do better.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings