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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
This was a new author to me but I was intrigued by the blurb and a M/M and sports romance why not! I am happy to say I devoured this read. Max and Jack are neighbors but also best friends. Max is a widow with a daughter and Jack is the famous baseball player who has become a support system for Max and his little one. I loved seeing how strong their friendship was and it’s beautiful to see them both work through to see if a deeper bond can blossom. The tension between these two is magnetic. There is emotion and laughs with some sexy chemistry all weaved in to make this a win of a read for me! I fell in love with these two and seeing how Jack is with Max Daughter it just melts my heart. I know have Diana on my radar! One click away!
*I recieved a Advanced review copy and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
*I recieved a Advanced review copy and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
4 stars
Jack you sweet innocent human! I want to hug you! Haha and Max.. so glad you got your head out of your ass even if it took way longer than I would have liked! Haha
And the narration was great! Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese are a power dual narration that just work!
Jack you sweet innocent human! I want to hug you! Haha and Max.. so glad you got your head out of your ass even if it took way longer than I would have liked! Haha
And the narration was great! Iggy Toma and Alexander Cendese are a power dual narration that just work!
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-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
After reading and being pleasantly surprised by The Fating, I decided to check out Roman’s other books and thought I’d start with her debut, The Shutout. Unfortunately, I found this to be overlong with too much inner monologue that made the pacing drag. In a Dear Reader note at the end Roman says, “My early readers threatened violence when I suggested shortening it, so I decided to leave it long rather than cutting anything or splitting it into two books.” I think Roman should have followed her initial instinct to shorten it. I was also disappointed this didn’t tickle my funny bone like The Fating did, and I wasn’t expecting all the angst in the first half or the melodrama in the second half. While I generally like angst, I don’t care for excessive, drawn out sentimentality. At times, I was reminded of Tal Bauer whose particular schmoopy style is not my cup of tea.
I also want to add that the ‘bisexual/demisexual awakening’ note in the blurb (on Amazon) is misleading. The possibility of Max identifying as bi is only mentioned once—In a one-sided conversation with his dead wife Max says, “What if…what if I was bi and you didn’t know it?”—and is never brought up again. Later, Max tells Jack, “I’m attracted to you. Not other men. Not any women. Only you. Whatever you call that, that’s what I am.” I would call that ‘gay for you’, which is a trope I personally don’t have any issues with, but I know many other readers do. So it’s odd that Roman would mislabel the book in that way because those readers will be disappointed if they go in expecting a bi-awakening and get bi-erasure instead. Also, demisexuality is not mentioned in the book at all, so whether there is a demisexual awakening is entirely open to reader interpretation.
Despite all my criticisms, I did enjoy reading this for the most part and I would pick up another of Roman’s books in the future.
MM contemporary romance, friends to lovers, neighbors, gay for you, pining, secret relationship. Max is a lawyer, widower, and single dad to his 9-year-old daughter. Jack is a closeted gay MLB pitcher. Both men are in their 30s. Set around Christmas (but is not a ‘holiday romance’) during the off-season (so there’s very little baseball content). Standalone, 1st person dual POV, 135k words, Kindle Unlimited.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Outing
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, Sexual harassment
Minor: Death, Grief
My initial rating was 3 stars back in 2022 when I first read the book, but honestly I kept finding myself thinking about these characters. I went ahead and listened to the audiobook this time and I bumped it to 5 stars because this book lives rent free in my head. The spice is spectacular, and I love that while it is heartbreaking to initially read I really felt like the author captured some real life reactions of a straight man and what may have gone through his head. As much as we would love to live in a perfect world where everyone was just accepting and no one had any baggage or loved a life where bigotry was at the least something a man has been around and at worst something he may have participated in, it was really nice to have a bit of real world reactions to the possibility that maybe someone isn’t quite as straight as they once thought. It can be a mindfu€k for sure.
Anyway I actually really enjoyed the story again and I will definitely give it a reread sometime in the future.
Anyway I actually really enjoyed the story again and I will definitely give it a reread sometime in the future.
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:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this story. I don’t understand some of the reviews I’ve seen.
Jack and max were both so open and vulnerable. And the side characters all had purpose and they moved the story well. I was annoyed at the sex tape thing, i wish we had a different problem to resolve, it also seemed like the resolution was a bit too dreamy and unrealistic. We don’t even get a conversation with Jack’s dad? I don’t know. But all in all, great story and amazing epilogue.
Jack and max were both so open and vulnerable. And the side characters all had purpose and they moved the story well. I was annoyed at the sex tape thing, i wish we had a different problem to resolve, it also seemed like the resolution was a bit too dreamy and unrealistic. We don’t even get a conversation with Jack’s dad? I don’t know. But all in all, great story and amazing epilogue.
Story of Jack and Max
This book was a friends/single dad to lovers MM romance.
Jack plays in the MLB and Max is a single dad and lawyer.
They have been friends for a few years until one night things start to change. Their HEA was great. Make sure you read the epilogue, so funny!!!
Narrators were awesome! Alexander and Iggy’s performance was amazing as per usual, love everything they do.
This book was a friends/single dad to lovers MM romance.
Jack plays in the MLB and Max is a single dad and lawyer.
They have been friends for a few years until one night things start to change. Their HEA was great. Make sure you read the epilogue, so funny!!!
Narrators were awesome! Alexander and Iggy’s performance was amazing as per usual, love everything they do.
DNF at 25%
Wow. Max is an absolute asshole. I understand being freaked out by your best friend kissing you, but shutting him out then hoping he comes back is just so emotionally annoying.
I get bi-awakenings but this one was just too much internalized homophobia.
Also not a fan of the author's writing style. Too much internal character narrative that feels like we're just being told what the character feels, not enough scene direction or dialogue with subtext. It felt like reading a really long soliloquy.
Wow. Max is an absolute asshole. I understand being freaked out by your best friend kissing you, but shutting him out then hoping he comes back is just so emotionally annoying.
I get bi-awakenings but this one was just too much internalized homophobia.
Also not a fan of the author's writing style. Too much internal character narrative that feels like we're just being told what the character feels, not enough scene direction or dialogue with subtext. It felt like reading a really long soliloquy.
This was an absolutely fantastic book. This had some wonderful characters and so many emotions throughout; I felt like it was a complete emotional roller-coaster. It's well written and a great storyline. I loved the epilogue.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes