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heabooknerd's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed LOVE ME TENOR and the reality singing competition setting. I also loved the fake couple trope, as it’s pretty much my favorite type of romance trope.
I liked Trevor and enjoyed watching him gain confidence in his singing and begin to accept help and love and realize that he deserves the best in life. I wasn’t expecting the diabetes angle but I think Albert did a great job of demonstrating how it affects someone’s life, especially when it’s a new diagnosis and they’re not familiar with how to manage it.
In the beginning I wasn’t so sure about Jalen; he’s very abrasive with Trevor and he’s also super judgmental about everyone around him. But after the initial chapters he gets a lot better and I really loved his character. I especially liked how sweet he was with Trevor and how much he wanted to take care of him. He was always there for him, helping him in little ways that really make a difference for someone.
Content Warning: on page diabetic emergency; MC is disowned by homophobic family; religious based trauma
I liked Trevor and enjoyed watching him gain confidence in his singing and begin to accept help and love and realize that he deserves the best in life. I wasn’t expecting the diabetes angle but I think Albert did a great job of demonstrating how it affects someone’s life, especially when it’s a new diagnosis and they’re not familiar with how to manage it.
In the beginning I wasn’t so sure about Jalen; he’s very abrasive with Trevor and he’s also super judgmental about everyone around him. But after the initial chapters he gets a lot better and I really loved his character. I especially liked how sweet he was with Trevor and how much he wanted to take care of him. He was always there for him, helping him in little ways that really make a difference for someone.
Content Warning: on page diabetic emergency; MC is disowned by homophobic family; religious based trauma
becky_mercer93's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
gillianw's review against another edition
3.0
A decent book that was perfect for my camping trip - easy, very little drama and a cute & satisfactory HEA. I you need something you can pick up and read between activities, this would be ideal.
3.5 stars
3.5 stars
a_reader_obsessed's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
I think that anyone who enjoys Albert, who loves music, and also liked Perfect Harmony, will have no problems with this second installment.
Love Me Tenor segues into Lucas’s best friend Trevor, who’s newly out and newly disowned from his family. He has no choice but to sign a contract to be in a singing contest with already made groups, seeing as how Trevor currently has no other options for room and board. However, there’s a catch. Trevor’s group is labeled as “boys in love”, and he has to pretend to be in a relationship with his complete opposite - the seemingly straight Jalen. Totally easy peasy right? Wrong.
Going along the same vein as Perfect Harmony, this NA romance nicely showcases all the painful ins and outs of growing up, mostly by taking responsibility, going after what you want, and owning up to your mistakes. Both Trevor and Jalen are not without baggage, and forced quarters and “fake” situations allow them to slowly let down their guard, inevitably falling for one another while gaining confidence and perhaps winning an amazing chance of a lifetime.
Beware quite a bit of self shame and hate and an awful terribly bigoted family. There is plenty of nice sexual awakening and UST, as this author never fails on the smex with an added dash of pain and dominance kink thrown in for good measure. I may not always like these sorts of tough topics/tropes, but Albert is consistently relevant and delivers a reliable heartfelt romance regardless.
I think that anyone who enjoys Albert, who loves music, and also liked Perfect Harmony, will have no problems with this second installment.
Love Me Tenor segues into Lucas’s best friend Trevor, who’s newly out and newly disowned from his family. He has no choice but to sign a contract to be in a singing contest with already made groups, seeing as how Trevor currently has no other options for room and board. However, there’s a catch. Trevor’s group is labeled as “boys in love”, and he has to pretend to be in a relationship with his complete opposite - the seemingly straight Jalen. Totally easy peasy right? Wrong.
Going along the same vein as Perfect Harmony, this NA romance nicely showcases all the painful ins and outs of growing up, mostly by taking responsibility, going after what you want, and owning up to your mistakes. Both Trevor and Jalen are not without baggage, and forced quarters and “fake” situations allow them to slowly let down their guard, inevitably falling for one another while gaining confidence and perhaps winning an amazing chance of a lifetime.
Beware quite a bit of self shame and hate and an awful terribly bigoted family. There is plenty of nice sexual awakening and UST, as this author never fails on the smex with an added dash of pain and dominance kink thrown in for good measure. I may not always like these sorts of tough topics/tropes, but Albert is consistently relevant and delivers a reliable heartfelt romance regardless.
verloren918's review against another edition
2.0
Firefox ate my first review, so let's try this again. Sigh. Not that I want to spend this much time on this, but eh.
Still in the meh category. Still relatively shallow characterization, still leans on stereotypes, though not as much as the first. Was REALLY annoyed with the voices the narrator chose for both of the characters. Honestly, they were both obnoxious to listen to. Trevor is nasally and sounds like a teenager, which given his interests, is... ew. And Jalen, for some reason, has this southern drawl even though he's from LA, unless I'm missing something? It kinda felt like he was trying to "sound" black, which was all kinds of gross and they probably should've hired a VA of color if they were going to do that.
That being said, I don't know how much control Albert HAD over any of that, probably zero, so that's not impacting the score at all. The whole thing is just very bleh. Also, I was really fucking irritated that they decided to walk back Jalen's not wanting to do anal stuff at the end. Like. REALLY? There are plenty of gay guys who don't, and it's FINE, and not every couple has to have penetrative sex to be fucking, dear god. There are so many other things they can do. Stuff they'd already been doing!
One more book in the series and it's already out from the library, so I'll probably just go ahead and read even though I'm less than enthusiastic. We'll see.
Still in the meh category. Still relatively shallow characterization, still leans on stereotypes, though not as much as the first. Was REALLY annoyed with the voices the narrator chose for both of the characters. Honestly, they were both obnoxious to listen to. Trevor is nasally and sounds like a teenager, which given his interests, is... ew. And Jalen, for some reason, has this southern drawl even though he's from LA, unless I'm missing something? It kinda felt like he was trying to "sound" black, which was all kinds of gross and they probably should've hired a VA of color if they were going to do that.
That being said, I don't know how much control Albert HAD over any of that, probably zero, so that's not impacting the score at all. The whole thing is just very bleh. Also, I was really fucking irritated that they decided to walk back Jalen's not wanting to do anal stuff at the end. Like. REALLY? There are plenty of gay guys who don't, and it's FINE, and not every couple has to have penetrative sex to be fucking, dear god. There are so many other things they can do. Stuff they'd already been doing!
One more book in the series and it's already out from the library, so I'll probably just go ahead and read even though I'm less than enthusiastic. We'll see.
jackiehorne's review against another edition
4.0
Short, obviously gay Trevor isn't sure what to do after college graduation, after coming out to his religiously conservative family over break lead to them throwing him out of their home and his future job at their church. So he's glad to accept a friend's offer to be on a new TV show where several boy bands live in the same house and compete for social media attention (and ultimately a recording contract). And by the time he discovers that he's been cast as the lead singer in the "gay boy band" ("Gay is the new cute," the producer tells him), it's too late to back out.
White boy Trevor has a thing for straight jock boys (due to lots of guilt about his sexual orientation, from his religious background), and is immediately attracted to his boy band roommate, Jalen, whom Trevor assumes (because of his athletic build) is only pretending to be gay. For his part, Jalen is tired of all the stereotyping ("Just because Jalen's skin was brown, he must be hitting it with chicks and obsessing about car rims and gold-plated grills. Racist BS"), and takes his frustrations out by teasing "Mr. Prissy" Trevor. Multiracial Jalen ("I'm bringing you African American, Mexican, and Hawaiian all in one hot package") is at heart a really nice person, though, and soon takes issue with other members of the show teasing his roomie. And as the two gradually get to know one another's faults and foibles, and to make unexpectedly catchy music together, they start to develop feelings beyond simple attraction.
Albert does a great job of character construction here, highlighting how culture as well as personality can shape one's attitudes toward sex and relationships. There's a lot of appealing humor in the story, too; but even the secondary characters, who you might assume at the start of the story are going to be played entirely for laughs, get their chance to reveal unexpected nuances and deeper levels. Albert is a new to me author, a writer whose other books I'm definitely going to be searching out.
White boy Trevor has a thing for straight jock boys (due to lots of guilt about his sexual orientation, from his religious background), and is immediately attracted to his boy band roommate, Jalen, whom Trevor assumes (because of his athletic build) is only pretending to be gay. For his part, Jalen is tired of all the stereotyping ("Just because Jalen's skin was brown, he must be hitting it with chicks and obsessing about car rims and gold-plated grills. Racist BS"), and takes his frustrations out by teasing "Mr. Prissy" Trevor. Multiracial Jalen ("I'm bringing you African American, Mexican, and Hawaiian all in one hot package") is at heart a really nice person, though, and soon takes issue with other members of the show teasing his roomie. And as the two gradually get to know one another's faults and foibles, and to make unexpectedly catchy music together, they start to develop feelings beyond simple attraction.
Albert does a great job of character construction here, highlighting how culture as well as personality can shape one's attitudes toward sex and relationships. There's a lot of appealing humor in the story, too; but even the secondary characters, who you might assume at the start of the story are going to be played entirely for laughs, get their chance to reveal unexpected nuances and deeper levels. Albert is a new to me author, a writer whose other books I'm definitely going to be searching out.
rebeccabadger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Homophobia
lifeand100books's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this SOOOOO much better than book one. The characters were so wonderful and I was so happy with their story.
leelee68's review against another edition
5.0
4.5. stars.. rounded up to 5. I really enjoyed this one. I loved both Trevor and Jalen together.