Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: The Experiment
AUTHOR: Rebecca Raine
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 293 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 17, 2020
BLURB:
When a single kiss calls your sexuality into question, there’s only one sure path to a reliable answer: further research.
Patrick
I like to think I know myself outside and in. As a developmental psychologist, I’ve spent years exploring the true foundations of my identity. So, when losing a bet means kissing my best friend, Logan, I already know I’m going to hate every second of it. All the relevant questions regarding my sexuality were asked and answered years ago. The results were conclusive: despite the odd same-sex attraction, I dislike being touched by men.
That is, it seems, until Logan is the man doing the touching. The intense desire aroused by his kiss contradicts all my expectations and I have no idea how to integrate the new information. Thankfully, I do know exactly how to uncover the truth about myself—once and for all.
Logan
I’ve put a lot of effort into keeping Patrick out of my fantasies and in the friend-zone. Our recent liplock may have unleashed my feelings for him temporarily, but I’ll get them back on their platonic track in no time. Falling for a friend, especially a sexually ambivalent friend, is a one-way ticket to heartache.
But, when the unforeseen impact of our kiss inspires Patrick to conduct an experiment into the extent of his bisexuality, I can’t resist volunteering to help. If any man is going to join Patrick on his journey of self-discovery, it’s sure as hell going to be me.
The Experiment is a high-heat, low angst, full-length contemporary MM Romance from Australian author Rebecca Raine. It features friends to lovers, gay for you, and first time gay themes. There is no cheating, no cliffhanger and a HEA ending that is sure to make you swoon.
REVIEW:
Patrick is doctoral student in psychology and he’s kind of looked at his life as an experiment. He comes up with theories and then he tests them. As the story opens, he’s made a bet with this friend Logan – who happens to be gay – on a pool game and now it’s time to pay up. He’s with Logan at a club and he has to kiss a man. He’s thought of himself as straight and he’s usually had a bad experience if he has tried anything physical with another guy. He can’t seem to go through with it. Until Logan offers himself up as the guinea pig. And Patrick accepts because he feels safe with Logan. Turns out that isn’t all he feels 😉
After the kiss and the arousal, things get a little weird between them. Now Patrick is confused again and he thinks he’s been all wrong about himself and he needs to to more experimentation to see if he really is less than straight. But Logan doesn’t want him experimenting with anyone else, so they agree that the experiment will be between them and that if it doesn’t work out, they can just go back to being friends. Patrick is hilarious in his need for “rules” of the experiment. But Logan doesn’t care as long as he gets to be the one that Patrick tries to work out his personal puzzle with. He promises that things will stop when Patrick wants – that he won’t push him too hard or too fast. Patrick gets to call the shots and decide where the road takes him and that seems to work for both of them.
After a couple of week things really get hot and heavy. Things are going along really well – Patrick and Logan are spending all their time together. In fact they can’t stay away from each other. Patrick declares himself to be bisexual but he needs to date. They spend nearly every night together and Logan suggests that they “date” beyond the experiment. But as things go on, we see Patrick’s family and understand more about why he’s trying to figure himself out and why it’s so important for him to know exactly who he is so that he doesn’t make similar mistakes to what he’s already lived through. But then his fear gets in the way.
Thankfully Patrick turns – sort of accidentally – to the right people to help sort himself out. With input from family, friends, colleagues, Patrick figures out that maybe he’s been asking the wrong thing all along. If only he can convince Logan now 🙂
This story was very cute! Patrick is soooooo in his head. He’s convinced that he can experiment his way to lasting love and a stable relationship. Of course nothing could be further from the truth. Logan has his own baggage from the past, but he’s already in deep with Patrick. The dance they do is fun and funny and poignant and a little heartbreaking. But thankfully they both grow up a whole lot during the story. I loved the style of writing and I can’t wait to read more from this author – maybe a HEA for Toni with an I? The supporting characters were also really well written and added a lot to the story – from friends to family to coworkers, they all had Logan and Patrick’s best interests at heart 🙂 Recommended!
RATING: 
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