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A review by anya_doesntmatter
Don't Twunk with My Heart by Renae Kaye
4.0
After being abused by an ex boyfriend Kee takes a year hiatus from dating, clubbing and hanging with his friends. During that time he makes dramatic changes to himself, gone is the long hair and lithe body replaced with close cropped hair and lean muscle. Bolstered with a new attitude and appearance Kee, finally returns to the social life. While out celebrating Vinnie’s birthday Kee meets Tate. Tate is the polar opposite of what Kee usually takes home and after a night of hooking up their relationship turns into more.
These two make me smile. Tate works hard and plays hard. He's adventurous, a shoe whore, and a dance whore (everything I can relate to LOL). He puts Kee at ease which makes it possible for Kee to open up and discuss his insecurities. Tate has his own issues as well and Kee helps him overcome them in a very unique way. His secret weapon? Jay & Liam
Jay & Liam
Are the MC’s from book 1. You do not need to read [b:Loving Jay|21523072|Loving Jay (Loving You, #1)|Renae Kaye|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395335369s/21523072.jpg|40847742], but I highly recommend you do (Jay is… something else). I absolutely adore Jay and Liam and I enjoyed every time they appeared on page (which is frequent). Jay is essentially our guide in this story. He explains what twunks and twanks are and he points out the hurdles that both Kee and Tate will have to overcome.
The opening sentence of the blurb says it all. Kee, doesn’t know who he is anymore.
I had mixed feelings as I turned the pages, meaning I enjoyed the story while reading it, I was fully engaged (Jay has that effect on me) but there was something niggling at me that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It finally dawned on me what my issues were. Renae Kaye, touched on heavy subject matters and in my opinion, they were made light of/ downplayed. I'm not sure if it was done to keep the story low angst or because Kaye wanted the focus to be on the romance.
Issues such as:
Ageism Anorexia Abuse: both mental &physical are the biggies that our MC’s are dealing with.
She raises ageism and deftly handles Tate’s concerns of being a twank via Kee having Liam explain why he loves Jay and what would make him stop loving Jay ( the answer of course being nothing).
She brings up anorexia and tackles that issue by having Kee & Tate sit down for a heart to heart. During their discussion Kee explains to Tate that he likes him regardless of age and weight. He thinks Tate is too skinny and in the end
Kaye handles ageism and anorexia well, however, she drops the ball in regards to Kee’s abuse and battery. Kee, changes his outward appearance, cutting his hair, putting on muscle (becoming a twunk), but its not made clear that he does these things because he really wanted to or because Matt the rat, the abusive ex, made fun of his appearance. I would have rather Kee make these changes for himself not because of an ex’s derision ( though Kee makes it clear he likes his new body but misses his hair on occasion).
My hang ups are big ones but it didn’t take away from me enjoying the story. I laughed a lot and felt satisfied by the time I finished the book which is impressive considering the points I raise. Anyway if you’re looking for something light, fluffy and engaging, read this series. I personally love it and am looking forward to reading Vinnie's story.
If you haven't already read it I recommend you read my favorite Renae Kay book:
[b:The Shearing Gun|23004152|The Shearing Gun|Renae Kaye|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408579209s/23004152.jpg|42570605]
*ARC provided for review*
These two make me smile. Tate works hard and plays hard. He's adventurous, a shoe whore, and a dance whore (everything I can relate to LOL). He puts Kee at ease which makes it possible for Kee to open up and discuss his insecurities. Tate has his own issues as well and Kee helps him overcome them in a very unique way. His secret weapon? Jay & Liam
Jay & Liam
Are the MC’s from book 1. You do not need to read [b:Loving Jay|21523072|Loving Jay (Loving You, #1)|Renae Kaye|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395335369s/21523072.jpg|40847742], but I highly recommend you do (Jay is… something else). I absolutely adore Jay and Liam and I enjoyed every time they appeared on page (which is frequent). Jay is essentially our guide in this story. He explains what twunks and twanks are and he points out the hurdles that both Kee and Tate will have to overcome.
The opening sentence of the blurb says it all. Kee, doesn’t know who he is anymore.
I had mixed feelings as I turned the pages, meaning I enjoyed the story while reading it, I was fully engaged (Jay has that effect on me) but there was something niggling at me that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. It finally dawned on me what my issues were. Renae Kaye, touched on heavy subject matters and in my opinion, they were made light of/ downplayed. I'm not sure if it was done to keep the story low angst or because Kaye wanted the focus to be on the romance.
Issues such as:
Ageism Anorexia Abuse: both mental &physical are the biggies that our MC’s are dealing with.
She raises ageism and deftly handles Tate’s concerns of being a twank via Kee having Liam explain why he loves Jay and what would make him stop loving Jay ( the answer of course being nothing).
She brings up anorexia and tackles that issue by having Kee & Tate sit down for a heart to heart. During their discussion Kee explains to Tate that he likes him regardless of age and weight. He thinks Tate is too skinny and in the end
Spoiler
he donated Tate's coral skinny jeans, since Tate, no longer fits them by the end of the storyKaye handles ageism and anorexia well, however, she drops the ball in regards to Kee’s abuse and battery. Kee, changes his outward appearance, cutting his hair, putting on muscle (becoming a twunk), but its not made clear that he does these things because he really wanted to or because Matt the rat, the abusive ex, made fun of his appearance. I would have rather Kee make these changes for himself not because of an ex’s derision ( though Kee makes it clear he likes his new body but misses his hair on occasion).
My hang ups are big ones but it didn’t take away from me enjoying the story. I laughed a lot and felt satisfied by the time I finished the book which is impressive considering the points I raise. Anyway if you’re looking for something light, fluffy and engaging, read this series. I personally love it and am looking forward to reading Vinnie's story.
If you haven't already read it I recommend you read my favorite Renae Kay book:
[b:The Shearing Gun|23004152|The Shearing Gun|Renae Kaye|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1408579209s/23004152.jpg|42570605]
*ARC provided for review*