Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Out on the Serve
AUTHOR: Lanes Hayes
SERIES: Out in College #7
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 220 pages
RELEASE DATE: July 6, 2020
BLURB:
Roommates to friends to lovers…
Elliot-
I need a roommate fast. Even a temporary one. Beggars can’t be choosers. Going pro after graduation has been intense, and time is precious. Thankfully, Braden seems cool. He’s a little quirky…and very sexy. Of course, I would never get involved with a roommate. That’s a bad idea. Isn’t it?
Braden-
Moving to Long Beach seems like a no brainer. It’ll be a perfect chance to wind down before grad school and a nice respite from my folks. Plus, my new roommate is a great guy. A little messy, but sweet. Gotta admit, I like him more than I should. And we’re off to a strange start when a mutual friend hooks me up with his ex. Elliot’s the one I want, but going from friends to lovers is a risk. We could end up out on the serve…or we could win it all.
REVIEW:
Don’t judge a book by its cover, they say. Well, I don’t know who ‘they’ are, but heck yeah, I’m judging Out on the Serve by the scorching hot, shirtless god on the cover. Lane Hayes has once again outfitted her book with a gorgeous cover model for the latest installment of her new-adult series, Out in College. The model is a perfect representation of Elliot, the “quintessential California Beach dude” with his shaggy, sun kissed brown hair and abs I want to kick. But I digress. The question is, did I make a good judgement? Is the book as good as its cover? A resounding yes.
Braden and Elliot are twenty–three year old, recent college graduates, both skyscraper tall, handsome volleyball players, and both bisexual. Part of the appeal of this couple is how they’re physical matched in size, virility, and strength. But that’s where the similarities end. Braden is an introvert with less of an inclination for peopling, while Elliot is the gregarious life of the party. Braden is picky, Elliot is laidback. Braden is tidy with some OCD tendencies, while Elliot is messy with some slob tendencies. And that could spell disaster for these two men who are about to become roommates.
Braden needs a place to crash for a couple of months before he begins grad school in the fall. Elliot just needs someone to help with the bills while he concentrates on being a newbie pro-volleyball player. What neither man is counting on – or wants – is a big ole crush on his roommate. They are both deep in lust but know it’s a bad idea to sleep with your roommate, particularly since it’s a short term, temporary housing situation. Braden needs to move back to LA at the end of the summer and there are complications with his parents.
So that’s the simple plot – do they take a chance or not? Running alongside the main storyline are sub plots involving a meddling friend interfering with an ex-boyfriend and girlfriend, and Elliot’s volleyball career where the meddling friend strikes again. Other than that annoyance, this is a nice straightforward, low angst book with no subterfuge or misunderstandings. Elliot and Braden are both likable, sympathetic characters for whom we can feel their successes and failures. The side characters include a few good friends, The Meddler, Elliot’s volleyball partner, a pair of exes, and Braden’s bi-denying mother. Oh, and one vivacious, ridiculous, hilarious, F-bomb dropping woman in the form of Elliot’s mother, Karma. There are characters from previous Out in College books, as well as an Easter egg from Hayes’ The Wrong Man.
Overall, Out on the Serve is a very enjoyable, sexy, and fun novel. The sexy times are gorgeous and these evenly matched men are smoking hot together. It’s not my favorite book in the series, but it’s certainly worth the read, whether you’re a series veteran or not. It stands alone perfectly well and there’s nothing that will make you feel you’re missing background on characters that have appeared previously. I give Out on the Serve a hearty thumbs up.
RATING: 
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