Scan barcode
A review by oceaneanagonye
Pippin & Nacho by Courtney W. Dixon
4.0
"Being with you like this isn’t hard. Making love to you is as easy as breathing. You pull me out of my head and teach me the rightness of us and how we’ve always belonged together.”
"Pippin & Nacho" is the second entry in Courtney W. Dixon's Alpha’s Rejects series. If you haven't read book one, "Stix & Stone", I would recommend you do so to fully appreciate the cameos and established relationships. However, it can definitely still be read as a standalone.
This book follows besties and former foster brothers Sam and Nate as they struggle to make it day-by-day, skating and working just to make it through. Even though Nate is smaller and younger, he's always been the leader in their friendship, taking charge and caring for Sam in the darkest of times. Sam, to his credit, is amazing just for surviving every day. His biological parents had him tortured through conversion therapy as a child before he even understood his own sexuality. As a result, Sam struggles with some pretty severe mental health disorders including iatrophobia (fear of doctors) that keeps from getting the help he needs.
One of his main struggles is ADHD. As an AuDHDer myself (and having close loved ones with severe ADHD) it was nice to know that Courtney took Sam's condition so seriously. She researched on her own but also met with people who have ADHD to get their firsthand experiences. This helped with the authenticity of Sam's depiction. I think the representation was respectful and accurate.
I loved the themes of mutual pining, co-dependency, and hurt/comfort. We start off the book with one of my favorite tropes, comforting someone after a nightmare. Swoon. Nate is the type of best friend everyone should have. He's fiercely loving and protective and just wants to give Sam a better life. He has his own thorns in his side from poverty, stress, and trauma, but he keeps Sam front and center in his life. Their story is heartbreaking, but beautiful because, in the end, they have each other and their amazing group of friends.
Please heed the trigger warnings on this one. This book contains some pretty heavy scenes.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone in search of a best friends-to-lovers romance with a young skater vibe and mental health rep.
"Pippin & Nacho" is the second entry in Courtney W. Dixon's Alpha’s Rejects series. If you haven't read book one, "Stix & Stone", I would recommend you do so to fully appreciate the cameos and established relationships. However, it can definitely still be read as a standalone.
This book follows besties and former foster brothers Sam and Nate as they struggle to make it day-by-day, skating and working just to make it through. Even though Nate is smaller and younger, he's always been the leader in their friendship, taking charge and caring for Sam in the darkest of times. Sam, to his credit, is amazing just for surviving every day. His biological parents had him tortured through conversion therapy as a child before he even understood his own sexuality. As a result, Sam struggles with some pretty severe mental health disorders including iatrophobia (fear of doctors) that keeps from getting the help he needs.
One of his main struggles is ADHD. As an AuDHDer myself (and having close loved ones with severe ADHD) it was nice to know that Courtney took Sam's condition so seriously. She researched on her own but also met with people who have ADHD to get their firsthand experiences. This helped with the authenticity of Sam's depiction. I think the representation was respectful and accurate.
I loved the themes of mutual pining, co-dependency, and hurt/comfort. We start off the book with one of my favorite tropes, comforting someone after a nightmare. Swoon. Nate is the type of best friend everyone should have. He's fiercely loving and protective and just wants to give Sam a better life. He has his own thorns in his side from poverty, stress, and trauma, but he keeps Sam front and center in his life. Their story is heartbreaking, but beautiful because, in the end, they have each other and their amazing group of friends.
Please heed the trigger warnings on this one. This book contains some pretty heavy scenes.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to anyone in search of a best friends-to-lovers romance with a young skater vibe and mental health rep.