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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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
I loved this, this is a 4.5 stars for me! Maybe it's because I've read actually garbage right before this, or because it's genuinely good and perfect for me, but this was everything I needed. Ergi recommended to me and said it was the good kind of trash but I unironically loved this I'M TELLING YOU MY STANDARDS ARE IN HELL
I've been in my sports MM romance phase for a while now, but I never get bored of the angry tension. The rivalry. The drama. The straight men not straighting the moment they realise the annoying asshole is kinda hot. "growl he is my sworn enemy", Jason you are a repressed homosexual (and that's ok! aren't we all!).
Savage Rivals does this so nicely too, with a dose of over-the-top-ness that only happens in fiction, with a touch of British this time (thank you for calling real football football i love you and i don't even like this sports one bit). Rich pricks school football team captain x Poor "scum" school football team captain. They hate each other, can't stand the sight of the other, and will antagonise each other at every corner. That's already pretty gay. Add in an unhealthy obsession from both of them and a school rivalry gone too far, and that's the perfect set up for the "revenge went soterribly deliciously wrong" trope that I love.
Oh you hate him so you're going to purr in his ears, plaster your chest to his back and think about him 24/7? Really? Oh that's because he is your rival... suuuuuure, jan. I love it. They had such an awesome chemistry. And I liked how, in comparison to the drama of the plot, the relationship itself was pretty unproblematic and straightforward. Maybe the most unrealistic aspect of this book was angry teenage jocks having such an healthy communication and acceptance mechanisms lol. I am not complaining, though! It was lovely and really sold me on how attached and good they are for each other.
I loved how both of them had friendships that was relevant to the story, especially on Asher's side. Talia is awesome, I love MM books that don't villify girls especially when it's a main character's former love interest. That was lovely.
I love how they behave with each other and are so protective and I love the jersey number nickname "Seven", "Ten", that was so soft. They were just adorable. I feel like it just hit all the good spots for me, with a satisfying and believable shift between rivals (can't bring myself to call them ENEMIES) to lovers. I like how they take the time to figure themselves out and are just like "ok you're hot we're doing this". I also think that their rivalry was super fun and balanced enough that I was never sure who would best who in their fights.
Their first kiss and the whole start of their "how did this happen" relationship was soooo good and the tension was perfect. I really liked it a lot. As characters I also loved both Asher and Levi to death, they had similar personalities but it didn't bother me too much, I think that they played off each other so well.
tl;dr: Very self-indulgent read with great dynamics, a fun and dramatic high school drama & an absolutely adorable couple with high chemistry <3
I've been in my sports MM romance phase for a while now, but I never get bored of the angry tension. The rivalry. The drama. The straight men not straighting the moment they realise the annoying asshole is kinda hot. "growl he is my sworn enemy", Jason you are a repressed homosexual (and that's ok! aren't we all!).
Savage Rivals does this so nicely too, with a dose of over-the-top-ness that only happens in fiction, with a touch of British this time (thank you for calling real football football i love you and i don't even like this sports one bit). Rich pricks school football team captain x Poor "scum" school football team captain. They hate each other, can't stand the sight of the other, and will antagonise each other at every corner. That's already pretty gay. Add in an unhealthy obsession from both of them and a school rivalry gone too far, and that's the perfect set up for the "revenge went so
Oh you hate him so you're going to purr in his ears, plaster your chest to his back and think about him 24/7? Really? Oh that's because he is your rival... suuuuuure, jan. I love it. They had such an awesome chemistry. And I liked how, in comparison to the drama of the plot, the relationship itself was pretty unproblematic and straightforward. Maybe the most unrealistic aspect of this book was angry teenage jocks having such an healthy communication and acceptance mechanisms lol. I am not complaining, though! It was lovely and really sold me on how attached and good they are for each other.
I loved how both of them had friendships that was relevant to the story, especially on Asher's side. Talia is awesome, I love MM books that don't villify girls especially when it's a main character's former love interest. That was lovely.
I love how they behave with each other and are so protective and I love the jersey number nickname "Seven", "Ten", that was so soft. They were just adorable. I feel like it just hit all the good spots for me, with a satisfying and believable shift between rivals (can't bring myself to call them ENEMIES) to lovers. I like how they take the time to figure themselves out and are just like "ok you're hot we're doing this". I also think that their rivalry was super fun and balanced enough that I was never sure who would best who in their fights.
Their first kiss and the whole start of their "how did this happen" relationship was soooo good and the tension was perfect. I really liked it a lot. As characters I also loved both Asher and Levi to death, they had similar personalities but it didn't bother me too much, I think that they played off each other so well.
tl;dr: Very self-indulgent read with great dynamics, a fun and dramatic high school drama & an absolutely adorable couple with high chemistry <3
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-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
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:
Complicated
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lost a star for unnecessarily taking place in high school (I don't care that they're 18 reading about high schoolers having sex in graphic detail will never not be uncomfy for me) but gained half a star back for no third-act break-up.
After the heaviness of my last read, this is exactly what I needed. A quick palette-cleanser with almost zero stakes revolving around boys who are so obsessed with each other they've convinced themselves their rivalry is the reason they can't get each other out of their minds is exactly what the doctor ordered.
As mentioned, my one qualm with this book is them being in high school when it was completely irrelevant to the plot. It would've been just as easy to have set this in university or even just, like, the summer after high school. But that's more of a personal issue/preference.
Overall, however, very much enjoyed. Boys being clueless is a fave genre of mine, and there were also some very sweet moments. Also, I adored the side characters. Both the MCs best friends might've as well been named Valentina because they really said "ALLY!" with zero hesitation. Male friendships are so important and I feel like there's never enough good ones, especially no queer/straight ones. Good soup.
After the heaviness of my last read, this is exactly what I needed. A quick palette-cleanser with almost zero stakes revolving around boys who are so obsessed with each other they've convinced themselves their rivalry is the reason they can't get each other out of their minds is exactly what the doctor ordered.
As mentioned, my one qualm with this book is them being in high school when it was completely irrelevant to the plot. It would've been just as easy to have set this in university or even just, like, the summer after high school. But that's more of a personal issue/preference.
Overall, however, very much enjoyed. Boys being clueless is a fave genre of mine, and there were also some very sweet moments. Also, I adored the side characters. Both the MCs best friends might've as well been named Valentina because they really said "ALLY!" with zero hesitation. Male friendships are so important and I feel like there's never enough good ones, especially no queer/straight ones. Good soup.