November, December, and January are typically months when I dive back into romances. I like things sweet and quick-moving as work at school intensifies. For a lot of genre romances though, I don’t think there’s a ton to say in long form review formats. At least, not for the type of reviews I like doing. So here’s a bundle of mini reviews for anyone looking for dudes making out this winter. And yes, I am on the bandwagon of reading a bunch of Rachel Reid books now that the Heated Rivalry TV show is out. You will find no shame from me here.
That said, even though a few of these are 5/5, none come close to being as good as my favorite romance of the year, Looking for Group by Alexis Hall.
The Nightmare Before Kissmass – Sara Raasch
I’ve had this book set aside for the holiday season for almost nine months now. After DNFing another of Raasch’s romances, I worried this would be a flop despite several recommendations from friends. It was kind of delightful. There was a good amount of camp and corniness (everyone is rather over the top), but the character’s personalities and dynamics are a lot more interesting. Not a lot of note here other than some fun references to how Christmas is both super industrialized and also slowly cannibalizing other holidays (it feels like Halloween and Christmas decorations exist in stores side-by-side now during October, and this book captures that feeling in it’s plot). Content warning for absent, dead, and/or emotionally abusive parents depending on which character(s) you’re focused on. I do think it was around 75 pages too long though. 4/5
Game Changer – Rachel Reid
I picked this up in part because I’ve heard nothing but glowing things about the Heated Rivalry TV show (based off book 2 of this romance series). This book was … infuriating? The first half was painfully bad. The main character felt like a caricature of a neanderthal who couldn’t string an intelligent thought together, and the romance of him making smoothies for a superstar hockey player was not done well. The second half saw characterization go way up, and it had and honest-to-god investigation about what it feels like to be in a relationship with a closeted guy that was far more nuanced than a pulpy romance had any right to include. The two halves existed in different universes. In the back half, my only real complaint is that the author is clearly a woman who doesn’t really understand gay sex. ⅕ for the first half, 5/5 for the second.
Heated Rivalry – Rachel Reid
Did I read the sequel? Damn right I did. Probably will continue with the others as audiobooks become available at the library. These are well done and mindless reads that are excellent for the audiobook format. This book followed rival hockey superstars as they navigate an enemies to lovers storyline. Again, Reid has no clue about a lot of the important elements of what it means to be gay, but she does a great job with executing romance genre conventions at a high level. 5/5
Tough Guy – Rachel Reid
Look, when a series is hitting and the audiobooks are available right away from the library, it’s hard to say no (sadly, the others are all multi-month waits). This one might have been my favorite of the three? It’s a lot less in line with mainstream sensibilities though. You’ve got a very fem presenting lead, the other lead is a main character with anxiety who struggles with sexual performance, and the book generally has a broader view of what queer can mean (other than that they’re still monogamous dudes) than a lot of romances written by women. Reid still doesn’t understand gay sex, but at this point it’s clear that isn’t impacting my enjoyment. Will this book end up in the TV show? I kind of doubt it, but I really hope so. 5/5
Love and Monsters – Max Walker
A pretty standard steamy romance with a subpar stalker plot thrown in. The book was enjoyable enough, but the flowery language, saccharine character dynamics, and poor tension in thriller elements mean that I won’t be chasing this author down any time soon. I don’t regret listening however. A good book for the gym. 2/5
A Dash of Salt and Pepper – Kosoko Jackson
As with most romances, I felt the characters were a little forced at the start, both in personality and interaction. Typically characters either fall in love instantly (Love and Monsters) or hate each other initially (this book). In this case, the attraction was there, but personalities clashed quickly. The book handled an age-gap well and did a great job of growing the chemistry as the story progressed. I had a few nitpicks (I think the heartless big city angle is too played out for it to play such a large role in the story), but overall had a great time with this one. 4/5
Cocky – Sean Ashcroft
A Reporter/Athlete romance that was the correct length. It was a sweet and casual story where nobody could possibly understand how someone could love them. There’s a mediocre investigative subplot you can mostly ignore. Lots of stupid and corny jokes. I liked it a lot, but it isn’t winning any awards. My only complaint is by god can the narrator stop telling me that their relationship was more than just the sex. One doth protest too much, it seems. 3/5
You’ve Found Oliver – Dustin Thao
This is a magical realism time travel romance that I floated in and out of enjoying. On one hand, I thought it was sweet and mostly avoided from pushing too hard on overly sweet language. There was some fun philosophical rambling, and perhaps too much secondhand embarrassment for my liking. Bittersweet ending that I think was meant to hint at a happy ending. However (spoilers ahead) it left me wondering about the ethics of dating somebody you met in another timeline and whose current iteration has no idea of this past. Feels ethically dubious. 3/5
Marked for Plot 