imme_van_gorp 's review for:

Not Like Other Boys by K.A. Merikan

4.5

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This book was almost exactly what I hoped it would be. 

It had an interesting premise and luckily decided to really stick with it. 
It didn't feel rushed, and everything was pretty well developed. 

I loved the dynamic of the school freak and the popular quarterback finding out that they have a lot in common, and therefore slowly but surely fall for each other. 
But as much as I love that dynamic, it can maybe be a bit boring sometimes, and therefore I was excited that this book had a bit of a twist to it: 
Namely, the book begins with the quarterback accidentally hurting the freak, resulting in him losing an eye and even almost dying. Pretty heavy stuff. So, what happens next? The freak blackmails the quarterback into giving him a blowjob so he will keep the secret of who caused the accident. The quarterback agrees, and here begins their reluctant romance.... 
Maybe this all sounds a bit weird. I totally get that. But trust me: it somehow works. 

"Just knowing you're there is so important to me, honey. You can't even know how much. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." 
That declaration forced all the air out of his lungs. "That's not true. You're ill because of me," he uttered, closing his eyes as a wave of guilt washed over him like a furious storm.
"I would have never found you if it wasn't for that." Ethan's voice was shaky and became more quiet. "You're worth losing an eye for."

Ethan is the school freak: he dresses in all black, wears animal bones as jewellery, and his passion and hobby is creating art with taxidermy. Unsurprisingly, he has zero friends. 
Ethan has always had a crush on the super-hot quarterback, but when he actually gets to know him better, he learns that he also loves him as a person. He becomes pretty much obsessed, which I adored. 

Robert is the most popular guy in school: a quarterback, hot as hell, kind, talented, smart. He pretty much has it all. Unsurprisingly, he is loved by everyone. 
Robert never really paid much attention to Ethan, barely recognizing his existence, but when he is forced to spend time with him, he realizes he actually really likes him, and thinks he is pretty damn special. He creates a certain fondness for him that I found very cute. 

Robert and Ethan have a sweet relationship: they truly care about each other and support each other's passions. They are really well-suited, and love spending time with one another. They were honest with each other and always took care of the other. It all actually seemed like true love to me. 
The only times I didn't really love their relationship was when Ethan was being super dense or entitled (which happened quite a bit), but Robert usually responded pretty well to it, as he mostly told Ethan off when he did that. 

I did think the book started to drag a little bit near the end; for a big part because there was a lot of smut at that point, whereas there hadn't been before. 
Although, speaking of smut: I just want to say that the first time these two had penetrative sex; holy hell. That was written so well. They were both virgins, and it was so tender and soft, but also passionate. It was so good. I don't usually feel the emotions during sex scenes, but here I did. 

Anyway, long story short, the chemistry here was pretty damn good, I loved Robert so much, the tropes were my favourites, and I really enjoyed reading this. It was cute and made me swoon.