Eve1972
Written on Nov 24, 2018
~WRITING - PLOT - PACE~
To say I was excited to start this book would be an understatement. I really enjoyed this author's other two books, and this book was no different. Miz Crow has such an easy way to her writing that you can't help to be sucked into the story and fall in love with her characters. The pace was perfect. It was told in a dual POV format. The plot was engaging, and the ending sweet.
That said, this had a couple "personal taste" things that dropped me rating from a 5 to a 4. They were not HUGE issues for me, but rather just small issues that I personally wasn't crazy about. I am not a huge fan of one character being in love with the other and having to watch him be with others. Hayden never saw Dean having sex with anyone or anything like that, but he did see kisses and knew Dean got around. This would have been less of an issue for me had Hayden not been a virgin. I think we all know at this point how much I hate virgins in stories, however, in this case, Hayden being 18 and having just came out the year before made his virginity realistic. Nevertheless, I personally would have liked to have seen him have a little more experience since Dean was pretty much a manwhore. Again, just my personal issues and most readers won't care.
~HEROES~
HAYDEN...I ADORED Hayden. He was sweet. He was geeky. He was a great friend. He wore his heart on his sleeve. He was completely adorkable, and I loved that he didn't just fall right back into Dean's arms and Dean had to work for it a bit.
DEAN...Dean, I liked just a smidge less. He was a bit of a jerk throughout the book. Especially near the end, but I still thought he was a great hero. His reaction near the end was SO over the top, but he made up for it in the end.
~SECONDARY CHARACTERS~
There were some intriguing secondary characters in this one for sure. I wonder if Nico and Levi are going to be an item? I was also intrigued by Cash and was left curious as to what his story is. Of course, I also loved Dean's sister (and Hayden's BFF) Reese, and the Moms were cute as well.
~HEAT LEVEL~
LOW to MEDIUM...This couple doesn't actually do the deed until fairly late in the book, but we get plenty of on page sexual chemistry and other sexual acts that were smokin' hot.
~ANGST LEVEL - SEXUAL HISTORIES~
LOW...I think most of the angst comes in at 75% into the book. I will admit, I might have shed a tear on behalf of Hayden (sniff). Other than that, I felt the book was pretty easy peasy. As I mentioned above Hayden was a virgin, and Dean got around with both women and men. There is a tiny smidge of OW and OM drama. Even calling it "drama" is a bit of stretch. Hayden goes out on a date with Levi and they kiss at the end of it. This is after him and Dean kiss, but Dean tells him it was a mistake and Hayden is determined to give Levi a chance. That said, after the one date Hayden tells Levi he isn't interested, and they remain friends. There is also a chick that Hayden slept with three years prior that comes on to him a few times. He finally gets through to her that he isn't interested. That type of thing usually annoys me, but in this case, it didn't because we get Dean's POV and he clearly isn't interested in her.
~IN THE END~
Did I enjoy it? Completely!
Was it perfect? Pretty much. Like I mentioned above, I had a couple small issues, but overall it was a hit.
Would I recommend it? 100% YES!
Who would enjoy this book? Readers that love sweet M/M books.