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a_reader_obsessed's review
3.0
3.5 Stars
I really didn't know what to expect with this due to all the varying reviews, but what I got, I quite enjoyed.
This was a marked difference from [b:Weight of the World|31701675|Weight of the World|Riley Hart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472500671s/31701675.jpg|52382963], the last book I read from Hart and McCormack, and for me this was a refreshing change of pace from their usually heavy handed fare.
So, this starts off pretty quickly setting up a fake boyfriend scenario. Acquaintances, Gary and Travis, somehow find themselves boyfriends, each having their own reasons to carry on the charade. Gary, having just had a terrible breakup with a cheating boyfriend, wants to portray himself as having moved on and what better person to be his rebound guy but gorgeous man whore, Travis? Gary knows in reality he could never score such a catch, but why not have some sexy fun in the meantime, right?
Travis in turn, is desperately trying to get financing to open his own massage business, but it seems his potential investor wants to see if he’s a reliable, sure thing. What better way to show responsibility, caring, and maturity than being in a stable committed relationship? What Travis doesn’t bargain for is that the shy insecure Gary is hiding a wildcat underneath his timid facade.
Of course, as all fake relationships go, the no frills sex is hella hot because having some fun when no promises are made and no games are needed to be played totally takes the pressure off. Feelings are desperately fought on both sides, but as familiarity and increased intimacy develop, it gets harder and harder to keep those lines drawn sharply. Duh.
This is not all light fluff and fun, as both Gary and Travis have plenty of personal issues to work through, all of which play a number on their own thoughts towards relationships and love. However, they both of course, come to realize that together they’re more than apart, and love is a risk but a damn good one.
So yes, overall I really enjoyed this light hearted look at a condominium that is gay and gay friendly. It’s rife with just enough titillating gossip and drama to keep things interesting, and I definitely look forward to seeing the other supporting characters get their own happy ending!
I really didn't know what to expect with this due to all the varying reviews, but what I got, I quite enjoyed.
This was a marked difference from [b:Weight of the World|31701675|Weight of the World|Riley Hart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472500671s/31701675.jpg|52382963], the last book I read from Hart and McCormack, and for me this was a refreshing change of pace from their usually heavy handed fare.
So, this starts off pretty quickly setting up a fake boyfriend scenario. Acquaintances, Gary and Travis, somehow find themselves boyfriends, each having their own reasons to carry on the charade. Gary, having just had a terrible breakup with a cheating boyfriend, wants to portray himself as having moved on and what better person to be his rebound guy but gorgeous man whore, Travis? Gary knows in reality he could never score such a catch, but why not have some sexy fun in the meantime, right?
Travis in turn, is desperately trying to get financing to open his own massage business, but it seems his potential investor wants to see if he’s a reliable, sure thing. What better way to show responsibility, caring, and maturity than being in a stable committed relationship? What Travis doesn’t bargain for is that the shy insecure Gary is hiding a wildcat underneath his timid facade.
Of course, as all fake relationships go, the no frills sex is hella hot because having some fun when no promises are made and no games are needed to be played totally takes the pressure off. Feelings are desperately fought on both sides, but as familiarity and increased intimacy develop, it gets harder and harder to keep those lines drawn sharply. Duh.
This is not all light fluff and fun, as both Gary and Travis have plenty of personal issues to work through, all of which play a number on their own thoughts towards relationships and love. However, they both of course, come to realize that together they’re more than apart, and love is a risk but a damn good one.
So yes, overall I really enjoyed this light hearted look at a condominium that is gay and gay friendly. It’s rife with just enough titillating gossip and drama to keep things interesting, and I definitely look forward to seeing the other supporting characters get their own happy ending!
evethingiread's review
4.0
Fun, engaging, great characters and chemistry. And as always the narrator is amazing. I loved how Travis and Gary found their way to each other
alicia1566's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Solid 4.5 stars. Riley Hart is one of my favourite MM writers.
In this book I had expected some sort of miscommunication mishap to happen where the conflict was something that could have been easily resolved if the two characters just spoke to one another but that didn't really happen which made me happy..yes there were a few struggles between the two MC's that required their own personal growth so that they could get out of their own way and trust one another despite their own personal histories with broken trust in the past. But in the end you get a lovely HEA with this story and the steamy times didnt disappoint either ;)
In this book I had expected some sort of miscommunication mishap to happen where the conflict was something that could have been easily resolved if the two characters just spoke to one another but that didn't really happen which made me happy..yes there were a few struggles between the two MC's that required their own personal growth so that they could get out of their own way and trust one another despite their own personal histories with broken trust in the past. But in the end you get a lovely HEA with this story and the steamy times didnt disappoint either ;)
malday's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The story was fine. It seemed a but slow at times. There was nothing to grab me to keep me entranced in the book. I enjoyed it overall but there some times I though should I finish this. I'm glad I did bit I will really think hard before looking more into the rest of the series.
insatiablesuccubooks's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Loveable characters, great setting, supporting characters that are full, complete with depth, great chemistry between MCs.
However, there are several time skips that jump over really important development or events. They have two break ups at the 80% and 85% mark and the second isn't fully resolved. They get back together and skip to epilogue without a word about how Travis handles the smear campaign, or how Gary deals with the manipulation from his ex.
Not only that, but the entire issue the plot resolves around (Travis needing the business loan and faking the relationship for that purpose) is wrapped up off page. We don't see him get the loan offer or have the conversation about it. Nevermind that the guys going around essentially a sex worker would do way more to undermine investor confidence than his being single.
It felt incomplete and like they just wanted to hurry up and call it done, but the gaps in time and plot made it an unsatisfying read despite how much I liked the characters and setting.
However, there are several time skips that jump over really important development or events. They have two break ups at the 80% and 85% mark and the second isn't fully resolved. They get back together and skip to epilogue without a word about how Travis handles the smear campaign, or how Gary deals with the manipulation from his ex.
Not only that, but the entire issue the plot resolves around (Travis needing the business loan and faking the relationship for that purpose) is wrapped up off page. We don't see him get the loan offer or have the conversation about it. Nevermind that the guys going around essentially a sex worker would do way more to undermine investor confidence than his being single.
It felt incomplete and like they just wanted to hurry up and call it done, but the gaps in time and plot made it an unsatisfying read despite how much I liked the characters and setting.
teresab78's review against another edition
4.0
Fun
While both Travis and Gary had their baggage it wasn’t deep angst. They were playful and fun with each other and I enjoyed seeing them and their relationship grow. The sex was hot and I really enjoyed the story.
While both Travis and Gary had their baggage it wasn’t deep angst. They were playful and fun with each other and I enjoyed seeing them and their relationship grow. The sex was hot and I really enjoyed the story.
haletostilinski1's review against another edition
1.0
1.5 stars
Welp...I think I knew I wasn't going to enjoy this book from the start.
I should have stayed away from this, because the one Devon McCormack book I've read I really didn't like that much, but with Riley Hart's name attached to it, I hoped beyond hope that she would save any...well, any fuck ups that McCormack would make.
But, that didn't happen.
This was like, a textbook rom-com book. The ONLY redeeming quality to this book was that Travis and Gary were sweet, good guys. But even they were pretty one dimensional, which just angered me because their characters had SO much potential.
But man, I love the next fake-relationship book like the next person - I adore that trope, honestly. But this book did it all wrong.
It was filled with cliché thoughts and dialogue, with phrases, and the situations were so cliché they were cringeworthy for me. The "drama" was extremely contrived, too.
It was annoying how many times the characters said "sure as shit" and "sure as fuck" and "sure as hell." There's a reason in my classes I'm always told not to be repetitive in my writing. Because repetitiveness is really fucking annoying.
And the amount of times Gary and Travis think such obvious fucking things. Like you do not need to tell the readers these things! It's easy enough to figure out for ourselves! Also, a TON of telling in this book. A TON. The book wasn't terribly long - there were times when they could have included or extended a scene to give us more, more with Gary and Travis and more about their lives. I didn't even know what Gary did for a living until well into the book.
Also, I didn't need to be told over and over about how Peter's such a jackass. We're told he's a jackass before we ever see him. And what a stock asshole character he was. He had absolutely no depth to him. Hell, basically all the characters in this book had no depth to them, no complexity. Peter was just the asshole cheating ex who is smarmy and hypocritical and loves to stand on his high horse when he never earned that. He was SO fucking easy to hate. Like, I would hate any cheating asshole, of course, but giving Peter complexity would be giving us a reason why he cheated, even if it was stupid and shallow, and giving him more than stupid ~twist my mustache because I'm an evil villain~ lines? Even cheating assholes are humans with complex emotions and wants and desires, even if they did the wrong thing, even if they aren't remorseful.
If Peter was such a big part of Gary's life, if Gary was so "heartbroken" (hint: he really really wasn't. He just seemed to think he was) of Peter, then why didn't we get a long speech from Peter, as horrible as it would be, about why he had a two-year affair (with a guy that lived in the same apartment complex as him and Gary and Gary didn't fucking know for two years? Uh HUH) and why he did what he did. Even if it was a "I got bored with you" which would definitely make me hate him, but at LEAST I would know WHY he did it. We never got a why from him, just the general picture painted by Gary that he cheated, so he's an asshole. But if we barely get anything in depth with Peter, even if it's to figure out we hate him, then he's just kinda...there, and he could have been replaced with a cardboard cut out of himself and it wouldn't have made a difference in the story. Peter was a prop to add some drama, to put Gary and Travis in the situation they were in, and it was obvious.
Not only were Gary and Travis not given enough depth, and they were the MC's (!!!!) but the secondary characters? Fuck, they all barely had their own autonomy. They were all basically props to forward Gary and Travis' story along. And that's not what you want your secondary characters to be. Yeah, they're there in romantic stories to mostly compliment the MC's, but they don't have to be there just to prop up the MC's, and be in the story FOR them. They should be in the story WITH them. UGH.
The book even had the tried and true line "we feel so far apart - even if it's only a few feet" like he's saying "there was an ocean between us even though we were standing two feet from each other" like...really???
And Gary's reasons for not telling his parents that he was gay were weak and stupid. And it was made into such a big thing throughout the whole book and his whole coming out scene with them lasted like a page, two pages? His parents were there to be "worried" a few times and be sad that their son never told them anything about himself - even though they never even really tried to get him to talk to them. Asking "so how's life?" won't get your son to open up. That's not addressing the problem.
And Travis was your typical "my family was horrible to me and I look at their example and their marriage sucks so why would I want love or marriage, blegh" like that is the oldest trope for characters in the book. Travis never wanted love even though he'd never even tried to have love. And it definitely wasn't a "wired differently" thing as Gary kept thinking. This wasn't because Travis just isn't into monogamous relationships, or relationships at all, for that matter. It was because he was scared of getting hurt. Gary was scared of being hurt. Everyone's scared of being hurt.
But Gary's a relationship guy and he couldn't handle casual sex. Gary wanted more, but the minute he has more, he...gets scared of having it? That felt a tad ridiculous to me.
And their little "fight" that "broke them up" near the end was so contrived I can't...I fucking can't. I knew from the beginning that since Peter cheated on Gary that some instance would be brought up where it made it seem like Travis could have cheated on him too. So predictable.
And I actually like when, if a character was cheated on, they're scared their new partner will cheat - in fact it bothers me sometimes when characters who were cheated on don't seem insecure and worried about that. I feel like it's natural to be scared of that. But to bring up Gary's insecurities on that in such a contrived way was so ridiculous it pissed me off.
And Gary was being completely unreasonable with Travis, but he barely took any responsibility for assuming with Travis? In the end it basically turned out that it was all Travis' fault for "giving up" and "walking away"
Again, this stuff, if written well, can be incredibly interesting. But when you rush through scenes and give cliché dialogue and thoughts and give perfunctory sex scenes that are rushed and barely stir anything in me while reading, it falls extremely flat.
Also, skipping ahead a few weeks, having stuff happen, then skipping a few more weeks annoyed the crap out of me. Like, give us a few scenes of them together, just getting to know each other, in the weeks where the big events aren't happening. Give us their build up. We're missing the foundation of their relationship and it's frustrating.
This book was like...those cheesy hetero rom-com blockbusters that have no substance and are only made to make some money. They don't care about the story, they care about the money, so they dole out the perfunctory rom-com story, compete with every romance trope their is.
That is this book.
After this long ass rant, I'm obviously giving this a big thumbs down. It's not worth the wasted time reading it. Sucks, because in the hands of maybe just Riley Hart alone, or even a better writer (I love Riley Hart, but I do think their are better writers out there) Travis and Gary could have been amazing characters with an awesome love story.
Instead, we got...whatever this book was.
Welp...I think I knew I wasn't going to enjoy this book from the start.
I should have stayed away from this, because the one Devon McCormack book I've read I really didn't like that much, but with Riley Hart's name attached to it, I hoped beyond hope that she would save any...well, any fuck ups that McCormack would make.
But, that didn't happen.
This was like, a textbook rom-com book. The ONLY redeeming quality to this book was that Travis and Gary were sweet, good guys. But even they were pretty one dimensional, which just angered me because their characters had SO much potential.
But man, I love the next fake-relationship book like the next person - I adore that trope, honestly. But this book did it all wrong.
It was filled with cliché thoughts and dialogue, with phrases, and the situations were so cliché they were cringeworthy for me. The "drama" was extremely contrived, too.
It was annoying how many times the characters said "sure as shit" and "sure as fuck" and "sure as hell." There's a reason in my classes I'm always told not to be repetitive in my writing. Because repetitiveness is really fucking annoying.
And the amount of times Gary and Travis think such obvious fucking things. Like you do not need to tell the readers these things! It's easy enough to figure out for ourselves! Also, a TON of telling in this book. A TON. The book wasn't terribly long - there were times when they could have included or extended a scene to give us more, more with Gary and Travis and more about their lives. I didn't even know what Gary did for a living until well into the book.
Also, I didn't need to be told over and over about how Peter's such a jackass. We're told he's a jackass before we ever see him. And what a stock asshole character he was. He had absolutely no depth to him. Hell, basically all the characters in this book had no depth to them, no complexity. Peter was just the asshole cheating ex who is smarmy and hypocritical and loves to stand on his high horse when he never earned that. He was SO fucking easy to hate. Like, I would hate any cheating asshole, of course, but giving Peter complexity would be giving us a reason why he cheated, even if it was stupid and shallow, and giving him more than stupid ~twist my mustache because I'm an evil villain~ lines? Even cheating assholes are humans with complex emotions and wants and desires, even if they did the wrong thing, even if they aren't remorseful.
If Peter was such a big part of Gary's life, if Gary was so "heartbroken" (hint: he really really wasn't. He just seemed to think he was) of Peter, then why didn't we get a long speech from Peter, as horrible as it would be, about why he had a two-year affair (with a guy that lived in the same apartment complex as him and Gary and Gary didn't fucking know for two years? Uh HUH) and why he did what he did. Even if it was a "I got bored with you" which would definitely make me hate him, but at LEAST I would know WHY he did it. We never got a why from him, just the general picture painted by Gary that he cheated, so he's an asshole. But if we barely get anything in depth with Peter, even if it's to figure out we hate him, then he's just kinda...there, and he could have been replaced with a cardboard cut out of himself and it wouldn't have made a difference in the story. Peter was a prop to add some drama, to put Gary and Travis in the situation they were in, and it was obvious.
Not only were Gary and Travis not given enough depth, and they were the MC's (!!!!) but the secondary characters? Fuck, they all barely had their own autonomy. They were all basically props to forward Gary and Travis' story along. And that's not what you want your secondary characters to be. Yeah, they're there in romantic stories to mostly compliment the MC's, but they don't have to be there just to prop up the MC's, and be in the story FOR them. They should be in the story WITH them. UGH.
The book even had the tried and true line "we feel so far apart - even if it's only a few feet" like he's saying "there was an ocean between us even though we were standing two feet from each other" like...really???
And Gary's reasons for not telling his parents that he was gay were weak and stupid. And it was made into such a big thing throughout the whole book and his whole coming out scene with them lasted like a page, two pages? His parents were there to be "worried" a few times and be sad that their son never told them anything about himself - even though they never even really tried to get him to talk to them. Asking "so how's life?" won't get your son to open up. That's not addressing the problem.
And Travis was your typical "my family was horrible to me and I look at their example and their marriage sucks so why would I want love or marriage, blegh" like that is the oldest trope for characters in the book. Travis never wanted love even though he'd never even tried to have love. And it definitely wasn't a "wired differently" thing as Gary kept thinking. This wasn't because Travis just isn't into monogamous relationships, or relationships at all, for that matter. It was because he was scared of getting hurt. Gary was scared of being hurt. Everyone's scared of being hurt.
But Gary's a relationship guy and he couldn't handle casual sex. Gary wanted more, but the minute he has more, he...gets scared of having it? That felt a tad ridiculous to me.
And their little "fight" that "broke them up" near the end was so contrived I can't...I fucking can't. I knew from the beginning that since Peter cheated on Gary that some instance would be brought up where it made it seem like Travis could have cheated on him too. So predictable.
And I actually like when, if a character was cheated on, they're scared their new partner will cheat - in fact it bothers me sometimes when characters who were cheated on don't seem insecure and worried about that. I feel like it's natural to be scared of that. But to bring up Gary's insecurities on that in such a contrived way was so ridiculous it pissed me off.
And Gary was being completely unreasonable with Travis, but he barely took any responsibility for assuming with Travis? In the end it basically turned out that it was all Travis' fault for "giving up" and "walking away"
Again, this stuff, if written well, can be incredibly interesting. But when you rush through scenes and give cliché dialogue and thoughts and give perfunctory sex scenes that are rushed and barely stir anything in me while reading, it falls extremely flat.
Also, skipping ahead a few weeks, having stuff happen, then skipping a few more weeks annoyed the crap out of me. Like, give us a few scenes of them together, just getting to know each other, in the weeks where the big events aren't happening. Give us their build up. We're missing the foundation of their relationship and it's frustrating.
This book was like...those cheesy hetero rom-com blockbusters that have no substance and are only made to make some money. They don't care about the story, they care about the money, so they dole out the perfunctory rom-com story, compete with every romance trope their is.
That is this book.
After this long ass rant, I'm obviously giving this a big thumbs down. It's not worth the wasted time reading it. Sucks, because in the hands of maybe just Riley Hart alone, or even a better writer (I love Riley Hart, but I do think their are better writers out there) Travis and Gary could have been amazing characters with an awesome love story.
Instead, we got...whatever this book was.
melissamarie's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
4.0