Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I get why it’s filthy. It’s quite explicite, double bi awakening by sports bros. I feel like when they finally awakened they both dropped 30-50 iq points, or love just made them stupid or whatever. Well, it was kinda cute, both mmc are annoying in my personal opinion, but i’ve read it.
This was a slow burn romance that built over time. I thought that Reggie was a bit of a slow minded character for my taste. He was overly sweet and it took him a really long time to realize that his feelings were actually bi-curiousness, he just always seemed to need Owen and Fox to point things out to him. Overall this was a quick and enjoyable read.
You know how we say "this character is a sweet, gentle giant with a heart of gold and really nice"?
Well, you haven't seen anything if you haven't read Reggie and Everett's story.
Reggie is a huge teddy bear and along with being nice, sweet and gentle, he is goofy and really innocent. That makes the whole package and really establishes the teddy bear part.
He is doing everything for Everett just to make him feel safe and loved.
You might think that Everett doesn't deserve it but if you pay attention and consider his past, you can see that Everett also goes the extra mile for Reggie.
They are amazing together and really cute when they both explore their sexuality as straight guys that feel attracted to each other.
P.s. they are pretty filthy too. ;)
Thank you @gayromancereviews for the ARC!
Well, you haven't seen anything if you haven't read Reggie and Everett's story.
Reggie is a huge teddy bear and along with being nice, sweet and gentle, he is goofy and really innocent. That makes the whole package and really establishes the teddy bear part.
He is doing everything for Everett just to make him feel safe and loved.
You might think that Everett doesn't deserve it but if you pay attention and consider his past, you can see that Everett also goes the extra mile for Reggie.
They are amazing together and really cute when they both explore their sexuality as straight guys that feel attracted to each other.
P.s. they are pretty filthy too. ;)
Thank you @gayromancereviews for the ARC!
Everett seems like a no-nonsense kind of professional athlete, who by his own stupidity, finds himself with an embarrassing injury. He goes to Reggie for rehab and something about the two spark from the offset. Both men have differing personalities; Everett a grumpy and closed off while Reggie, while big, is a sweetheart. I enjoyed watching Everett not only overcome his harsh nature, especially with an honest Reggie who is honest and straightforward. Both men can't deny their attraction, while both identifying before they'd met each other as straight. It's a great book with wonderful characters!
2.5 stars
A sweet, steamy and low angst double bi-discovery? Yes. Please. Give. It. To. Me. This one had a lot of things I love in books, it just didn’t really work for me, sadly.
Brief summary
Everett has a broken tailbone and he needs an athletic trainer so he can go back to being healthy so he can play Tennis. He’s only 23 and is just starting his profesionnal career. His athletic trainer turns out to be Reggie. They both thought they were straight but they’re attracted to each other and they end up being friends, but instead of just staying friends, they fall in love with each other.
First, I really enjoyed how Everett seemed to be so lost and he didn’t know what he wanted in his life. He’s young and he never knew anything else other than Tennis and he thought that it’s the only thing he had in life (his parents died when he was 16 and he feels alone since then) and he clung to Tennis because he didn’t know what else he could do in life, which felt so realistic to me. Also, I loved how Everett discovered that he can have more in life, like love, it was so sweet and heartwhelming.
Second, the double bi-discovery trope is one that is hard to pull (both Reggie and Everett thought they were straight before they met) but it was super well done here. I liked how they both were instantly attracted to each other and they didn’t know why but they just were and they didn’t know what to do about it. I liked how they were in denial at first and saying how they were just friends when they were more than that, but they both didn’t want to admit, it felt so realistic. The bi-discovery had a really good progression and felt very realistic to me, I enjoyed it, a lot. Also the sex scenes were hot and I enjoyed them.
Third, I really liked the chemestry between Reggie and Evrett, they had a really good banter and they complimented each other very nicely. They were really good together and were super supportive of each other, which I really enjoyed. Also I loved how they became friends first and they spent a lot of the book being friends, before they got together, it really helped to establish their chemestry and it made the transition from friends to lovers very smooth.
Fourth, now comes the part I enjoyed less. I didn’t like how Reggie was always pushing Everett for things that Evrett didn’t like. Evrett kept saying how he didn’t like public attention yet Reggie always wanted that, which I felt disrespectful to Everett, because he said he didn’t want that and how it made him uncomfortable. Also I didn’t like how Everett felt a little like he had to come out just so he could keep Reggie, thats just not a trope I enjoy in books. Coming out should be on your own terms, not because you don’t want to lose your partner. Also, this book was just not made for me. This book read exactly like an Hallmark movie, with a cheesy romance, some very dramatic scenes and some dramatic public love declaration scenes. Which are things I just don’t really enjoy in books. So this one is on me, I’m just not the right audience for this book and I really wish I enjoyed it more than I did because it had a lot of things I love in books.
I didn’t love this book as much as I wanted to but it still had things I really enjoyed about it and I had a good time reading it.
I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest review.
A sweet, steamy and low angst double bi-discovery? Yes. Please. Give. It. To. Me. This one had a lot of things I love in books, it just didn’t really work for me, sadly.
Brief summary
Everett has a broken tailbone and he needs an athletic trainer so he can go back to being healthy so he can play Tennis. He’s only 23 and is just starting his profesionnal career. His athletic trainer turns out to be Reggie. They both thought they were straight but they’re attracted to each other and they end up being friends, but instead of just staying friends, they fall in love with each other.
First, I really enjoyed how Everett seemed to be so lost and he didn’t know what he wanted in his life. He’s young and he never knew anything else other than Tennis and he thought that it’s the only thing he had in life (his parents died when he was 16 and he feels alone since then) and he clung to Tennis because he didn’t know what else he could do in life, which felt so realistic to me. Also, I loved how Everett discovered that he can have more in life, like love, it was so sweet and heartwhelming.
Second, the double bi-discovery trope is one that is hard to pull (both Reggie and Everett thought they were straight before they met) but it was super well done here. I liked how they both were instantly attracted to each other and they didn’t know why but they just were and they didn’t know what to do about it. I liked how they were in denial at first and saying how they were just friends when they were more than that, but they both didn’t want to admit, it felt so realistic. The bi-discovery had a really good progression and felt very realistic to me, I enjoyed it, a lot. Also the sex scenes were hot and I enjoyed them.
Third, I really liked the chemestry between Reggie and Evrett, they had a really good banter and they complimented each other very nicely. They were really good together and were super supportive of each other, which I really enjoyed. Also I loved how they became friends first and they spent a lot of the book being friends, before they got together, it really helped to establish their chemestry and it made the transition from friends to lovers very smooth.
Fourth, now comes the part I enjoyed less. I didn’t like how Reggie was always pushing Everett for things that Evrett didn’t like. Evrett kept saying how he didn’t like public attention yet Reggie always wanted that, which I felt disrespectful to Everett, because he said he didn’t want that and how it made him uncomfortable. Also I didn’t like how Everett felt a little like he had to come out just so he could keep Reggie, thats just not a trope I enjoy in books. Coming out should be on your own terms, not because you don’t want to lose your partner. Also, this book was just not made for me. This book read exactly like an Hallmark movie, with a cheesy romance, some very dramatic scenes and some dramatic public love declaration scenes. Which are things I just don’t really enjoy in books. So this one is on me, I’m just not the right audience for this book and I really wish I enjoyed it more than I did because it had a lot of things I love in books.
I didn’t love this book as much as I wanted to but it still had things I really enjoyed about it and I had a good time reading it.
I received an ARC of this book, and this is my honest review.
Oh my god, this book is unequivocally a 5 star for me.
first impressions
Everything about this story is done so well. The exploration of Everett and Reggie’s sexuality both emotionally and sexually feels very realistic. I really liked the way the author handled their bi-awakening as they two grew closer. Even when they start doing sexual acts, the emotional component between them is explored in a very realistic way. Even the smut between them has an accurate portrayal of two guys learning their way around things.
And the characters themselves are SO charming, especially Reggie. Reggie is the ultimate himbo MC. He’s effusively positive, goofy, and an unexpected source of support for Everett the other MC who starts off grumpy but can’t help lightening up around Reggie.
The progression of their relationship from friends to lovers was executed flawlessly. It didn’t feel like things were rushed between them nor was it dragged out either. I thought the pacing was perfect. I hesitated wanting to read this story because I am not a tennis fan and was afraid the sports jargon would deter me, but the tennis aspect, while it plays a big part in Everett’s motivation, doesn’t really monopolize the story at all.
R Cayden says in their disclaimer that they write “easy reads” and this I can totally agree with as a first-time reader. The tennis stuff didn’t bog down the story at all, it just did enough to propel the relationship dynamic of Everett trying to figure out how to balance being a talented pro tennis star and also realizing that maybe he doesn’t want the spotlight and he just wants to be with Reggie as a normal bloke. The chapters are short and easy to read, and the story just FLIES by you. I literally shirked from some of my IRL obligations because I was so invested in Reggie and Everett’s relationship and I NEEDED to know what happened next in their story. I have never been so sure of a 5/5 rating in my life
characters
Reggie is by far my favorite MC in this story. He’s literally got major golden retriever energy/a total himbo. Even though he’s a total muscle head, he has an easy confidence to him. He knows what he wants and he’s not afraid to be complimentary and say how he feels. The support between him and Everett is EVERYTHING. Reggie is Everett’s biggest supporter and fan throughout, and the way his light boosts up Everett’s confidence and brings him out his negativity is so amazing. His devotion to Everett and Everett’s career as their personal relationship becomes to develop is SO CUTE.
Everett is also a really lovely character because even though he’s pro tennis star, his chapters are very personable. The conflict of him wanting to recover from his injury and fix his career is one important plot point, and the other of him realizing his feelings for Reggie and rediscovering his sexuality was another. Both of them felt well written and I was satisfied with the conclusion to both. I felt that the use of side characters was neither too intrusive, and it was really cool especially to see how Fox/Owen weren’t just ‘yes men’ to Reggie and gave him solid, grounding advice of when he needed to slow down.
+ loveable himbo MC Reggie
+ realistic portrayal of sexuality discovery, first-time sex between men
+ very well paced progression of both the sexual nature of Reggie/Everett’s relationship and the emotional one; even though things get handsy, they still take their time to wade into things. They become good friends first but there is still an emotional slow burn
+ hot dirty talk, smut scenes (of which there is a plethora), scent kink is one of my favs and it shows up so many times
+ even though this has a sports element, the sports doesn’t bog down the storyline. In fact, many of these are just a few pages or timeskipped over. The crux of the story is Reggie and Everett’s relationship and how they fit each other into their lives given their circumstances
+ a fun entertaining read, chapter count may be high but the chapters are short and divided well
first impressions
Everything about this story is done so well. The exploration of Everett and Reggie’s sexuality both emotionally and sexually feels very realistic. I really liked the way the author handled their bi-awakening as they two grew closer. Even when they start doing sexual acts, the emotional component between them is explored in a very realistic way. Even the smut between them has an accurate portrayal of two guys learning their way around things.
And the characters themselves are SO charming, especially Reggie. Reggie is the ultimate himbo MC. He’s effusively positive, goofy, and an unexpected source of support for Everett the other MC who starts off grumpy but can’t help lightening up around Reggie.
The progression of their relationship from friends to lovers was executed flawlessly. It didn’t feel like things were rushed between them nor was it dragged out either. I thought the pacing was perfect. I hesitated wanting to read this story because I am not a tennis fan and was afraid the sports jargon would deter me, but the tennis aspect, while it plays a big part in Everett’s motivation, doesn’t really monopolize the story at all.
R Cayden says in their disclaimer that they write “easy reads” and this I can totally agree with as a first-time reader. The tennis stuff didn’t bog down the story at all, it just did enough to propel the relationship dynamic of Everett trying to figure out how to balance being a talented pro tennis star and also realizing that maybe he doesn’t want the spotlight and he just wants to be with Reggie as a normal bloke. The chapters are short and easy to read, and the story just FLIES by you. I literally shirked from some of my IRL obligations because I was so invested in Reggie and Everett’s relationship and I NEEDED to know what happened next in their story. I have never been so sure of a 5/5 rating in my life
characters
Reggie is by far my favorite MC in this story. He’s literally got major golden retriever energy/a total himbo. Even though he’s a total muscle head, he has an easy confidence to him. He knows what he wants and he’s not afraid to be complimentary and say how he feels. The support between him and Everett is EVERYTHING. Reggie is Everett’s biggest supporter and fan throughout, and the way his light boosts up Everett’s confidence and brings him out his negativity is so amazing. His devotion to Everett and Everett’s career as their personal relationship becomes to develop is SO CUTE.
Everett is also a really lovely character because even though he’s pro tennis star, his chapters are very personable. The conflict of him wanting to recover from his injury and fix his career is one important plot point, and the other of him realizing his feelings for Reggie and rediscovering his sexuality was another. Both of them felt well written and I was satisfied with the conclusion to both. I felt that the use of side characters was neither too intrusive, and it was really cool especially to see how Fox/Owen weren’t just ‘yes men’ to Reggie and gave him solid, grounding advice of when he needed to slow down.
+ loveable himbo MC Reggie
+ realistic portrayal of sexuality discovery, first-time sex between men
+ very well paced progression of both the sexual nature of Reggie/Everett’s relationship and the emotional one; even though things get handsy, they still take their time to wade into things. They become good friends first but there is still an emotional slow burn
+ hot dirty talk, smut scenes (of which there is a plethora), scent kink is one of my favs and it shows up so many times
+ even though this has a sports element, the sports doesn’t bog down the storyline. In fact, many of these are just a few pages or timeskipped over. The crux of the story is Reggie and Everett’s relationship and how they fit each other into their lives given their circumstances
+ a fun entertaining read, chapter count may be high but the chapters are short and divided well
This is THE CHESSIEST book I've ever read in my whole life. I smiled through most of it cuz it was just that damn cheesy, which usually makes me mad. The characters were little caricatures and they said the most unbelievable things. The whole book screams written by a woman to the extreeeeme and a lot of it was weird like how Reggie is the biggest baby ever even though he's a gym owner and a great trainer with no training and is so fucking childish it's insane. And the jargon they used was just so silly! These guys were stupid and annoying and lame but whatever, the book really amused me and I finished it so that is nice.
Just OK. A bit too much dudebro behaviour and somehow Reggie didn't really gel with me.
R Cayden writes amazing characters. Every book I've read by this author has proven it and yet, I am always surprised by how much I fall in love with the characters in their books. Filthy Bromance was no different.
For my full review please visit:
http://www.mmromancereviewed.com/2021/11/filthy-bromance-by-r-cayden.html
For my full review please visit:
http://www.mmromancereviewed.com/2021/11/filthy-bromance-by-r-cayden.html