Him (Him, #1)

by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy

A m/m romance collaboration between Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen. USA Today bestseller!

They don’t play for the same team. Or do they?

Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Nobody died.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever.

Jamie has waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more questions—can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his old friend…and a big one to learn about himself.

Warning: contains sexual situations, skinny-dipping, shenanigans in an SUV and proof that coming out to your family on social media is a dicey proposition.

• ISBN10: 1942444877
• ISBN13: 9781942444879
• Publish Date: 1 August 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Tuxbury Publishing LLC
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 356
• Language: English

Reviews

[The Romantic Comedy Book Club]

This was going to be a mini review but then I started writing it and realized that wasn’t happening! First and foremost, If you are unsure that M/M romances are for you, this is not the one to start with! This is a VERY open door romance and it is hot! Bowen and Kennedy are a force of nature when paired to write a sports romance. Throughout this incredible series you witness the two bring what they are best at - Bowen’s obvious zany humor and Kennedy’s heart. This book was just - I don’t even know how to describe it but I wasn’t expecting it to be as extraordinary as it was. I couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t put the series down! I read Him, Us, and Epic in less than two days. I just found out there is a bonus “love letter” that I fully intend to read after I finish this review.

 

Him kicks off a love story that anyone would envy. Wes has been in love with Jamie since he was 13 years old, even if he didn’t understand how deep his love was until he was 16. Each summer only confirmed more and more that his heart belonged to his best friend, except his best friend was straight! The ultimate of unrequited love, Wes kept his attraction under wraps for as long as he could but when they reached their final summer of hockey camp, he decides to go big or go home - making a bet with Jamie that would change the trajectory of their friendship forever. Fast forward to four years later, Jamie’s college team is gearing up to head to Boston for the Frozen Four. Unknown to him, Wes’s team is also competing to be in the championship. Having dropped out his life after summer camp, Wes needs to apologize and clear the air with his former best friend. Restarting an old tradition, the two meet up again and make amends only to go their separate ways after Jamie’s team loses and is out of the championship. Apparently absence does make the heart grow fonder as the brief reunion wasn’t enough for Wes. He realizes quickly that he needs time with Jamie more than he needs his next breath. Learning through their quick connection that Jamie still teaches over the summer at the camp where they met, Wes signs up to volunteer. He knows he can never have what he wants most in the world but little does he realize that hope has a funny way of making the impossible possible.

 

Wes and Jamie’s story is just too wonderful for words. It isn’t simple, straightforward, or easy. It is messy, complex, heartbreaking, and eye opening. I once heard someone say that being gay doesn’t mean you come out once, you literally come out every single time you meet someone new. We witness acceptance and we witness hatred/ignorance through the eyes of these characters.

 

The spice is off...the...charts in this book! Bowen and Kennedy's spicy scenes are like a fire in a chemical lab (out of control and explosive). There are moments that are so insane I had to fan myself!

 

As I couldn’t let Jamie and Wes go, I jumped right into Us. As I read them back to back, I am trying to make sure I don’t add any crossover but will say if you thought this was funny, dramatic, and generally an emotion whirlwind, you haven’t seen anything yet. 

[lessthelonely]

4/5 stars.

This book was a delight. If you want to know something interesting, I usually try to get away from books like this one - the ones where it's very clear that I'm going to get smut. I am starting to warm up to smut and to make myself understand what I like. I realized I like smut when it's not just about the sex, but about the emotion as well. So...

This is a childhood friends with a little misunderstanding, but not one of those annoying ones where you just want them to talk to each other. They were friends, they had a little "falling out" (if you can even call it that), they got separated and now they find each other again, and old feelings resurface, especially for Wesley. The romance is the best part of the book, followed by the smut - which there is quite a bit of, friends! Strap in. I found myself excited to keep reading and get to the next moment, and I'm starting to enjoy waiting for the big moments even if there isn't that much pining before the first one.

I will murder people for the slow-burn type of pining. This book mostly delivered and I can't complain about much except for the fact that the authors tried to grab a couple of straight-acting guys and make them fuck each other. You'll see a lot of very "straight boy who thinks they're hilarious" things here, and I will grant the book the fact that yes, they are often hilarious. But though I know these dudes are in a mostly heterosexual field (hockey), I don't think anyone who is gay or even bi would act this much like a straight dude.

But this was very cute, very satisfying! I don't think I'm going to be grabbing the sequel, which existence I only found after I finished this book, which was yesterday. Anyways, now you know that if a romance book fulfills the requirements I mentioned, it's at least a guaranteed 4/5 stars.

[FranJessca @ A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog]

I hardly read M/M Romance, but thanks to the Romanceopoly Challenge created by the lovely ladies at the Under the Covers Book Blog and Jessica at Peace Love Books, I’m now starting to branch out to read it more often. I also got the recommendation of reading Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy from them too. Thank you, ladies!Holy Moly! I loved this book! It didn’t take me long to read it because I had a hard time putting it down. I loved the story, and I loved the characters! The gist of the story is that both characters Jamie Canning and Ryan Wesley were best friends that attended a summer hockey camp together for years.

At 18 years old Ryan made a bet with his best friend Jamie who happened to be very straight that crossed boundaries with their relationship that he regretted. Now in college, they end up facing off with each other during their college hockey game. They hadn’t seen each other since that incident four years ago. Jamie has been confused since then due to his best friend Ryan never talking to him again. He has waited a long time for answers. Now he is going to finally get those answers and finally realize the truth about his best friend, Ryan. After their hockey game, Jaime goes back to the same summer camp, but as a counselor this time. Ryan also decides to tell him the truth. Six weeks with a best friend may lead more into just friendship with Jaime though. Jaime may realize he thinks more about Ryan than just friendship too. First off, this book has a lot of STEAM to it.

You will need a COLD shower after reading the scenes between Ryan and Jaime. This book is one of those where the friends are confused with their relationship with each other. Ryan is in love with Jaime, but Jaime is straight. Jaime though is baffled by how Ryan has been acting around Jaime back when they were younger and what happened during the bet. Jaime is confused now as an adult when it comes to Ryan. He has some feelings towards Ryan. Who wouldn’t have feelings for Ryan? Ryan is gorgeous! I love the angst between these two and the love between the two because of their friendship and how they buy gifts for each other back in camp and how they were trying to get their friendship back in camp.

Seriously these two were meant for each other. I have found two new authors too. I loved how both of these authors kept me swiping my kindle and keeping me engaged in the story between the characters and how I wanted these two characters to get together finally. They both deserved happiness. I look forward to diving into the second book, which continues Jaime and Ryan’s story. I’ve also added several more books to my TBR from both Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy’s other books they’ve written. I love finding new authors to read. 🙂

Story Rating: 5 stars

Steaminess Rating: 5 stars

Standalone or part of series: First book in a two book series.

Do I recommend this book? Most definitely YES! If you are a fan of M/M romance books I highly recommend this book!!!

Will I read other books from the authors? HECK YES!

Trope/Elements: Friends to Lovers. Both characters are hockey players.

[maggiefan]

Wow, it was such a great experience! So so so so cute!!!

[Romance Schmomance]

I don't even know where to begin! I am completely blown away by Jamie and Ryan's story and wish that I could re-read for the first time. I've been on a bit of an Elle Kennedy kick and decided to dive into HIM before I finished the final book in her Off-Campus series. I had a 7 hour drive home and this book totally made the drive go by quickly. This was my first M/M read for the year, it has honestly been a long time since my last one, and this one was recommended so highly. I'm still raving about it and will soon be devouring book two in their duet, Us.

CHECK OUT THE REST OF MY REVIEW : HERE

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[Linda]

Bowen and Kennedy sure do know how to tell a great story! Him was so well done! I was rooting for Wes and Jamie so hard.

[journalingirl]

All the stars.

[KitsuneBae]

There was a lot of hot sex.

[Jack]

Review toe come. This was cute and a little cheesy at times, as well as super hot.
Enjoyable over all!

[Angie]

I loved Him. Like, absolutely loved! Wes and Jamie were best friends through middle school and high school even though they only saw each other for six weeks every summer during hockey camp. Then during their senior year, things happen, and they haven’t spoken in four years. The two are reunited during a championship game, then both of them work as coaches at the same summer camp. It’s there that Jamie finally learns why Wes cut him out of his life, and they regain something much more than friendship.

Him gave me all of the happy, tingly feels. All of them. Right from the beginning. I had to know what happened at camp to drive them apart, and it’s slowly, agonizingly revealed. I was shocked! I was expecting something along those lines, but not quite like that! Holy crap! And once the truth was out, I was mentally yelling at them to get to kissing! There’s so much tension! And so much kissing! And so much beyond kissing! It is intense! Feeeeeelings!

I also loved how Wes and Jamie actually talk things out in Him, rather than giving each other the cold shoulder and ruining things like they did so many years ago. It’s not like it’s all sunshine and rainbows for them. They have problems. They jump to conclusions and have misunderstandings, but they talk about it! Then realize they’re being stupid and get back to kissing! And I loved how Jamie puzzled over his sexuality, and realized that he’s bisexual! He uses the word! He labels himself! He accepts it! Others accept it! Hooray for being bisexual!

There are many, many things about Him that gave me the warm fuzzies. Obviously, the friendship and eventual romance between Wes and Jamie. Then there’s what Wes’ college coach did for him that made me go “AAAWWW!” And then there’s Jamie’s mom’s house warming gift which was adorably hilarious! And then more Wes and Jamie!

Clearly, I really, really, really loved Him. I have zero complaints. Zero. But I do have a lot of feelings. Lots.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.