jamieb_19's Reviews (252)

Eric and Donovan have been best friends since they were kids. Throughout growing up and into adulthood, they were each other’s person and would do anything for each other. When Eric finds himself in a situation where he’s injured and without health insurance, Donovan suggests they get married so Eric can use his insurance. At least until he’s back on his feet and can find another job. They do everything else together, so why not this? It doesn’t have to change anything between them. Except Eric starts to discover he’s probably not as straight as he always thought he was. As he starts to explore that with Donovan, the idea of this marriage having an expiration date becomes less and less appealing.

I thought this was cute. If you like codependent besties, Eric and Donovan have you covered! These two guys were soulmates, even before they gave in to any sexual or romantic desires. It was one of those situations where everyone around them knew they were perfect together and were just waiting for Eric and Donovan to catch up. A major benefit of them being so close is that they communicated so well. There were no secrets between them and very few boundaries. Eric was the type of guy who would just blurt out what he was thinking, and they both loved indulging each other, so it made the perfect recipe for Eric to explore his newfound attraction to guys in a safe and comfortable space. Donovan was a little more cautious only because he’d spent so long making sure Eric never felt uncomfortable by the fact that Donovan was gay. But I loved how Eric always went out of his way to reassure him that he could never be uncomfortable around him.

The story overall was very low angst. Just two besties with big hearts who only wanted to make each other happy at all times. It was sweet and very steamy. Once these two got going, they were pretty insatiable! I loved seeing them figure out they were actually in love. And I also loved the little found family that the Jilted Exes found, there were several great scenes featuring those three and their friends/partners!

After listening to Bat Boy, I was quite curious about Maclain and Girard because their sort of frenemies situation was very heavily hinted at throughout that one. And given what I knew of them from that first book, this one was about as angsty as I expected. Maclain was very prickly and went hot and cold in the blink of an eye. He had his reasons, and fear was a big motivator for a lot of his actions. I liked that Girard was one of the few people who was able to slowly chip away at his walls. They had some very sweet moments, and then Maclain would shut down again; this pattern happened for much of the story. But Girard never gave up, and his persistence paid off. The ending was very sweet, actually brought a little tear to my eye in that last chapter. And while the resolution with Maclain's dad was sad, I was glad that Maclain finally embraced the found family he hadn't even realized he had. 

This story centers on F1 driver Travis Keeping and F2 driver Jacob Nichols, who have been in a secret relationship for a year, when Jacob is involved in a terrible crash that leaves him in critical condition. But since no one knew they were together, Travis is left devastated and begging for scraps from anyone who is willing to help him stay up to date on Jacob’s condition. He’s convinced everything will be okay once Jacob wakes up, but is left heartbroken when that’s not the case. Afterward, separated and miserable, both men set out on a journey of self-discovery and healing that may end up leading them back to each other.

You’re thrown right into the thick of it at the start of this book. We don’t know anything about Travis or Jacob when the accident occurs, and we meet Travis, whose life has just been turned upside down. The first part of the book is told only from Travis’s POV and alternates between him dealing with the aftermath of Jacob’s accident and reflections on key moments from the start of their relationship. It’s angsty and quite sad seeing Travis fear that he’s going to lose Jacob, and desperate for a way to be with him at the hospital. Things go from bad to worse for Travis, though, when Jacob wakes.

The second part is told from Jacob’s POV while he heals after the accident. He’s lost and angry, and regretful over what happened between him and Travis, and he has a lot of work to do on himself before he has any hope of winning Travis back. Then the third part flips between Travis and Jacob’s POV as they start to find their way back together. It’s kind of wild to me that this is a romance where the main couple spends about 90% of it apart from each other. Outside of the few chapters of reflections on their early days, which were cute, there are truly only a few chapters in the present timeline where they’re actually in the same room. I wish we had gotten to see more of either the beginning of their relationship or more of them once they start to reconnect. I just wanted more.

I appreciated the individual growth of both characters, though. Travis was a loner, and his world revolved around Jacob, but once he no longer had Jacob, he was forced to let other people in and ended up forming some great friendships. Jacob had a lot of work to do to get out from under the thumb of his awful family and finally accept his sexuality. There were times when I was quite mad at him, but I thought his character arc was good. I just really wish things between Travis and Jacob hadn’t felt so rushed at the end. For all they went through from the time of the accident and their many months apart, things wrapped up a little too quickly.

Super cute! Jax Calder writes some of the best novellas, she can pack so many feels into not a lot of pages. I love single dad romances and this novella had 2 of them! It was hilarious that the entire town was trying to basically  pimp Jeremy out to Dustin when Dustin moved to town. These guys had instant chemistry, I loved their banter and how spectacularly their fake date to get everyone off their case backfired. 

They were so sweet as they got to know each other and there was plenty of spice too as they ended up in a friends with benefits scenario (even though they were actually falling pretty hard for one another the whole time). 

There’s a teensy bit of angst near the end that results in an amazing grand gesture!! And another cute surprise at the end. I really enjoyed this one!

Very cute, low angst story. I liked how Brady and Kellan crushed on each other as they skirted around a friendship. Brady thought he might be gay but it wasn’t until he started crushing on Kellan that he was able to confirm it. They were really sweet together and I liked how Kellan helped him explore and confirm his sexuality. 

They both really liked each other but they had to try and fight if given the no fraternization rule Kellen’s father had. That was the main source of the angst but it was still pretty low angst overall. 

I listened to the audiobook and I thought Iggy Toma and Kale Williams did great jobs with these characters.

When his adopted daughter’s grandparents inform him they’re coming for a visit and make an offhand comment about how nice it would be if his daughter had more than one parental figure, Brenden, in a moment of panic, tells them he’s in a serious relationship. The only problem? He’s very, very single. But luckily, his good friend, Travis, has always had a soft spot for him and agreed to be Brenden’s fake boyfriend while the grandparents are here. What started as fake quickly begins to feel very real, but are they brave enough to finally admit it?

This was a very cute story. It was full of lots of things I love in a romance novel - single dad, small town with quirky/meddling townspeople, grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, and only one bed, to name a few. Brenden was so sunshiny and was a great dad for May, but he kept a lot of anxiety and lingering grief locked away because he didn’t want anyone to think he didn’t have his life completely together. I liked seeing him let down his guard with Travis and start to let other people help him carry some of that. I also loved Brenden’s relationship with May. She was a good kid and was a great supporting character in this story.

I’m a fan of grumpy characters who have a secret soft spot for the sunshine character. Travis was so good to Brenden and May, always there when they needed him. It was clear as day that he cared deeply about them, even before the fake dating began. It was only amplified when they started to pretend they were boyfriends. These two were so gone for each other even as they continued to insist they were just keeping up the fake dating ruse. I wouldn’t say there was miscommunication, but there was certainly a lack of it from time to time, as they each assumed what the other was feeling vs. talking about it. But I get why, in their heads, they thought it was best that way. What’s important is that they got there in the end, complete with a pretty epic grand gesture that I loved!

I had wanted to read this novella before reading Himbo Hitman, but ran out of time, so I decided to pick it up immediately after. It was fun to see the Perry moments after having read his story! 

I've loved Elle since she was first introduced in the Accidental Love series, and it was nice getting to know Margot better. They worked so well together. Elle was a little lost, and I liked how Margot helped her figure things out. 

This was a short novella, so things moved fast, and we missed a lot of their relationship development. While I would have happily read more about them as they fell for each other, I enjoyed the bits we got here! 

I had a blast reading this book! The idea of a sweet golden retriever himbo, like Perry, taking up a life of crime as a hitman to make a quick buck, but then having everything go horribly wrong, is just so funny. And I thought it was executed so good. Perry was a riot. He may have been hopeless as a hitman, but you just had to love the guy. Just ask St. Clare! Perry shot the guy’s ear off, and he still managed to fall in love with him.

I loved the banter between Perry and St. Clare right from their meet shoot, and it was so fun seeing them fall for each other as they worked hard to get themselves out of the giant mess they were in. It may not have been the ideal situation to find your person, but it worked for them. They were so cute together and had great chemistry. Perry was the kind of guy who would do anything for the important people in his life, and I loved seeing St. Clare become one of those people to him. Perry may not have always made the best choices, but his heart was always in the right place.

I also loved all the twists and turns this story took. This book is much longer than your usual Saxon James book and was pretty plot-heavy, but it was such a fun ride. There were so many parts where things just kept happening, and I couldn’t put it down because I needed to see what was going to happen next. And there were so many surprises along the way. Just when you think you may have things figured out, you’re hit with another twist. I loved it. There were suspenseful and action-packed moments, but the humor and chaos of Perry were still there to bring levity.

If you’re looking for a fun book that’ll make you laugh and keep you guessing, you should definitely give Perry a chance!

I picked this up because I liked the narrators and didn't realize at the time that it was related to Booklover, which I had listened to last year. So that was a nice surprise to get to revisit with Jamie and Briar. This book is about Jamie's best friend, Jeremy, and his brother, Aaron. Both characters you meet in Booklover. 

Jeremy and Aaron hooked up one night about 15 months ago, but never told anyone. No,w Aaron is back in Burlington for the summer working as a clerk in the law firm where Jeremy is also employed as the receptionist for the summer. Aaron is determined to focus on his clerkship to prove he has what it takes to become a lawyer, and Jeremy is determined to focus on living it up and avoiding his real-life issues at all costs. The two are complete opposites, but despite that, they can't seem to stay away from each other. Jeremy knows it's a bad idea; he can't offer Aaron any sort of future, and if Jamie found out about them, he could jeopardize all of their relationships with him. But he's never been known for walking away from a bad idea, and this time, not walking away may turn out to be the best thing for both of them.

These guys were sweet together. I wasn't sure what to make of Jeremy at first, with his devil-may-care attitude. He seemed about as deep as a puddle. But then we learn what he's running from, and his behavior makes a lot more sense. Then you have Aaron, who has put immense pressure on himself to be the best lawyer he can be. They're both kind of a mess, but they complemented each other well and helped to balance each other out.  I enjoyed seeing them help each other as they navigated the challenges that were thrown at them. 

There was a good balance of humor, spice, angst, and emotional scenes. And I enjoyed Stephen Dexter and Tim Paige's narration as Jeremy and Aaron, respectively. It seems a few of the side characters are featured in other books in the series, so I'll have to check those out too! 

Could this book have been any cuter? Jordan and Hennessy were just precious, and I was giddy the whole way through. Jordan was adorably awkward, and I loved his nervous rambling. It’s not surprising that Hennessy was utterly charmed by him from the start. Their meet-cute was adorable. Jordan first had his eye on Hennessy as the cute guy who rode the same bus as him, but it wasn’t until Jordan’s friend convinced him to attend a local asexual/aromantic support group that they properly met. I loved how the "getting to know you" phase of their relationship plays out in five-minute bus rides. It was so unique and added a sense of urgency and sort of forced them to be authentic because there wasn’t time for anything else. Eventually, they started spending time together outside the bus, but those moments they shared every day after work on the bus were really special.

In addition to the sweetest love story, the asexual representation in this book was excellent. I liked that we had Hennessy, who’s known for years that he was ace, and then we have Jordan, who is just starting to accept that the label might apply to him. It was interesting to see the contrast in those two experiences and the way Hennessy was able to help Jordan on his journey. There was a whole lot I could personally relate to, and I found the book to be very validating in terms of my own experiences. I think this book would be great for anyone interested in learning more about the asexual experience and how it might look different for different people.

Another thing I loved about this book was all the secondary characters. Merry, Angus, Michael, Vee, and let’s not forget the Soup Crew! They were all fantastic, and I loved how they all sort of blended into one friend group by the end. All the characters were so well-rounded and created such a sweet found family. This book was just a delight, and I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it. I swooned, laughed, and even shed a few tears. I won’t be forgetting Jordan and Hennessy anytime soon!