Reviewed by Amber

TITLE: Him

AUTHOR: Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy

PUBLISHER: Rennie Roads Books

LENGTH: 276 pages

BLURB:

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, skinnydipping, shenanigans in an SUV and proof that coming out to your family on social media is a dicey proposition.

REVIEW:

“Desire is chemistry. And in a biochem class I took once, they taught us that all chemistry is just electricity. We’re all just bags of charged atoms walking around bumping into each other. My electrons went seriously haywire for his tonight, though. Particles collided.”

I honestly don’t know what it was about this story. The surface gay for you aspect, the two dedicated athletes having feelings for each other, or the need to know what happens to these two men…but holy hell this whole book had me from the beginning. And what I came to realize was that my appreciation for this story had everything to do with how well written it was…these authors(BOTH new to me) absolutely KILLED this story. There was no fluff here…no superficial attraction….everything about these two men was all emotion, real emotion…so much so that you actually feel it….I’m stunned…I’ve re-read this story several times because I wanted to make sure and it only amplifies how friggin good it really is….

Ryan Wesley(Wes) and Jamie Canning have been best friends since their first stay at Hockey camp when they were just kids. Wes doesn’t know when or how it happens but he knows he feels more than friendship for Jamie after years of summer camp with him. With their crazy young competitive hormones raging they make a bet that causes an irreparable rift in their friendship.

Flash forward 4 years and Wes is still in love with his friend Jamie who he hasn’t seen/spoke to in 4 years. Circumstances arise that bring them together again and the spark that made them such good friends ignites on a whole new different path.

The writing in this story was exceptional. I LOVE gay for you but this wasn’t really that trope…it was more like a dormant bisexual…but that doesn’t take away from anything. These men were made for each other….they do not shy away from anything. They want to feel, explore, and share everything with each other. The way it all comes together is remarkable.

Both of these authors are new to me, like I said but with this story alone I will actively seek out ANY and ALL stories they write within this genre. It was so friggin good….I don’t think I could recommend it enough.

RATING: 

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