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MM Romance
No Breakup
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ancient History by A. J. Truman was a funny MM second chance romance that I liked more than I expected to. I thought the characters were funny and decently developed in the time this story had to unfold. The interactions felt genuine, though they did feel a little too easy. I didn’t find there to be a strong tension in this book, and felt like it was more driven by the comedy/awkwardness than actual development. That being said, I did like the faster pace, since it kept the book from getting bogged down in the past, but I think this pace left a little too much to the imagination (meaning some things I wanted more details on were left out of the book entirely). Overall, I enjoyed this read more than I thought I would, and the romance was definitely worth the plot sacrifices and convenience factor for interactions. If you’re looking for an entertaining read, I’d definitely check this one out!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual content, Medical content, Toxic friendship
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Bullying, Homophobia
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
READ: Oct 2023
FORMAT: Audio
BRIEF SUMMARY:
In this contemporary romance, Amos is floored to find Hutch back in the halls of South Rock High a decade since the man stood him up for prom, leaving him confused, devastated, and alone after two perfect years together. They now have to navigate existing as coworkers while old hurts and guilt hang over their heads. “Once bitten, twice shy,” only holds so true when attraction and feelings long-thought dead bubble back up to the surface, and Amos must battle with the risks of putting his heart on the line again when history is known to repeat itself.
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE: 3.5 / 5⭐
I wasn’t all that wowed by this book, and in fact, I nearly walked away from it a couple times over second-hand-embarrassment overload through some cringey content. I decided to power through it, because there are later books in this series that have caught my interest more than this one did (second-chance romances rarely ever do it for me, and this book was no exception), and the best way to avoid my irritation at cameos by couples I haven’t read about is by actually reading their books rather than cherry-picking for titles within a series.
Amos is the school’s ancient history teacher, and while he adores the content of his course, he struggles with student interest and the ever-present question of why anyone would need to know these things going forward. Hutch’s career in soccer is cut short by an injury, so when his old coach and mentor retires, Hutch is more than happy to step in and give coaching a try, especially since he had to return home anyway. The school’s principal winds up pairing the two together for lunch hour observation duty, giving them a reason to interact and chip away at the emotional walls built up from their less-than-stellar departure from each other’s lives.
TECHNICAL / PRODUCTION: 3 / 5⭐
This book hits a good number of my romance-series pet peeves, including cross-series cameos and Oops! All Gay in the workplace. Could I conceive of multiple members of a high school’s faculty identifying as LGBTQIA+? Absolutely! But what gets me is that it’s established our friend-group (the four mains of the series) all started within the same hiring group where they met, and that’s the kind of coincidence that makes me raise an eyebrow. This problem is unique to queer fiction series, and it's always been something that makes me itch.
This book hits a good number of my romance-series pet peeves, including cross-series cameos and Oops! All Gay in the workplace. Could I conceive of multiple members of a high school’s faculty identifying as LGBTQIA+? Absolutely! But what gets me is that it’s established our friend-group (the four mains of the series) all started within the same hiring group where they met, and that’s the kind of coincidence that makes me raise an eyebrow. This problem is unique to queer fiction series, and it's always been something that makes me itch.
One thing this book desperately needed but did not have was a heart-to-heart between the two main characters with confessions, regrets, epiphanies, apologies, and mutual understanding. It’s wild to me that Amos learns the story of what happened a decade ago through a secondary character and never Hutch himself. It’s even more wild that, when Amos lets on that he knows later in the book, Hutch doesn’t react with any surprise whatsoever.
Something else that struck me a bit odd about this book was how Hutch’s character sort of... seems to have lived in a vacuum for all of the time he was away from Sourwood. Too often, characters were explaining memes and chat speak and terminology/vernacular to him, and he carried no friendships or memories or experiences out of his soccer days that would affect change on who he was from his teen years into adulthood. He is a walking time capsule that suddenly cracks open once Amos is back in the picture, and it’s unrealistic. I’m not even concerned about his lack of relationships over a decade; I’ve gone longer, myself. But I was not remotely the same person I was in my late teens as in my late twenties, where Hutch just coasted along in a stasis for ten years and popped out the other side as more of the same.
I have a production note relating to the audiobook, though it’s to no fault of the narrator’s. There is a direct-message conversation that goes on for an obscenely long time, which made for an absolutely awful listening experience. Toma had to state the senders’ usernames at the beginning of every single line. The semantic satiation (that phenomenon where excessive repetition makes words lose their meaning) had my brain fried long before the story’s conversation ended.
THOUGHTS - OVERALL: 3.25 / 5⭐
Overall an underwhelming read, this was my introduction to the author and I’m not sure why I went in with higher expectations. The chemistry between characters was probably fine, but I always have trouble feeling it when characters already have history together – I much prefer reading about the fresh, new forging of a relationship. It’s not a bad book really, perfectly adequate within the genre; it just missed the mark for me, personally.
This book has representation for gays, pansexuals, and nonbinary individuals. At least one character is described as non-white.
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, mentions of underage drinking; medical content, heart health issues, injury, hospitalization; past homophobia; and, conversations about the bubonic plague and a very weird nod to modern pandemics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic