Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Taking Him On
SERIES: Checking Him Out #2
AUTHOR: Debbie McGowan
PUBLISHER: Beaten Track Publishing
LENGTH: 250 pages
BLURB:
It’s almost a year since Noah told Matty they needed to cool it, believing it was the sensible thing to do. After all, they were too intense, and they were both failing uni.
Now, with Matty just weeks away from taking up his place at a prestigious London dance academy, Noah is desperate to make the most of the little time they have left. It’s only a temporary separation, and they are forever. Or so he’d thought.
A novel about Noah and Matty from Checking Him Out.
REVIEW:
Debbie McGowan is a new author to me and I do enjoy new adult stories so I thought I’d give this one a try.
It is the second book in a series, but the description said it could be read as a stand alone. I think that is true for the most part, but there are two characters in it, Sol and Adam, that I assume are from the first book. I wish I had read it to get the background on these two… In fact I’ll probably go read it at some point.
This book is about Matty and Noah. Noah is the younger brother of Adam, they also have a sister named Lily. Their parents are originally from New Zealand living illegally in England. This causes the family to move around quite a bit. At the beginning of the story, Adam and his husband Sol, along with Noah and Matty, are living in a large farm house that Adam and Sol purchased after their parents moved out. Matty is a student that moved in with them a year and a half ago when his drug addicted parents abandonded him yet again. Both of the boys attend a local college, Noah studying English, Matty studying dance. Matty has plans to attend a dance academy in London, possibly leaving Noah behind which is causing some stress between them. Their relationship seems to be rather new, they are together as a couple at the beginning of the book but it felt like a recent thing. Matty has issues stemming from his parents drug abuse, ADHD, short attention span, and some serious trust issues. Noah seems pretty steady, but has issues with his brother and his slightly controlling ways.
So this story rambles along, without a clearly defined plot. I liked it for the most part, but I kept waiting for something to happen. There is some drama involving Matty’s parents, and the boys go on a camping trip that ends in some drama, but it’s a long story that doesn’t really have a beginning, middle and end. I felt like it just started in the middle of an existing story, we follow along for a few months and then we drop out and the story continues.
I did like the characters, especially Matty and Noah, and I loved watching their relationship grow. They are very young and sweet, and falling in love, and experiencing a sexual relationship together. I liked Adam and Sol and the way they attempted to parent the two younger boys. I liked Adam and Noah’s parents, they come in and out of the story frequently adding some interest and drama with Lily the younger sister. Noah’s best friend Jesse was a good addition as well, even the people the boys meet on their trip added to the cast of characters.
Overall I like this book, I like the characters, the writing was good, the committed relationship between Noah and Matty was good, I just wish there was a little more to the plot. If you are looking for a nice easy read, with some interesting characters and good sex, I would recommend this book. If you are looking for an action packed plot, maybe this isn’t the book for you. I will go pick up the first book to get Adam and Sol’s story, and I would probably read other books by this author.
RATING: 
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