Reviewed by Cheryl K
TITLE: The Nothing Collection
AUTHOR: Jay Northcote
PUBLISHER: Jaybird Press
LENGTH: 530 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 15, 2020
BLURB:
Three feel-good MM romance bestsellers in one collection.
Nothing Serious: friends with benefits, gay first times romance.
What happens when “nothing serious” turns into something more complicated?
Mark O’Brien is finally being honest with himself. His relationship with Rachel is over and he’s moving out of the home they’ve shared for six years. They get along, but he can’t fix a relationship when the person he’s with is the wrong gender.
Jamie Robertson, one of the removal men, is huge and ridiculously gorgeous, and Mark is smitten at first sight. When a cardboard box splits, revealing items of a personal nature that Mark never wanted anybody to see, he’s mortified. But it sparks the start of a beautiful friendship with benefits.
As Jamie initiates Mark into the joys of gay sex, the two men get increasingly close and “nothing serious” turns into something rather important to both of them. But communication isn’t their strong point. Will either man ever find the courage to be honest about his feelings?
Nothing Special: meet cute, MM romance.
When Noah’s insecurity threatens their fledgling relationship, can Sol convince Noah that he’s enough?
Noah thinks he’s nothing special. Average height, a bit on the skinny side, and cute but rather geeky, he’s relentlessly ordinary. He certainly doesn’t expect to be noticed by Sol, the gorgeous dark-haired stranger Noah usually sees on his commute home.
When a friend persuades Noah to take a big risk in a bid to get Sol’s attention, things turn out better than Noah dared to hope. But Noah doesn’t believe he’s interesting or sexy enough to hold Sol’s attention.
As Sol tries to get closer, Noah tries to protect his heart by pulling away. If their relationship is going to survive, Noah needs to accept that Sol sees him very differently to how Noah sees himself. Because to Sol, Noah is something very special indeed.
Nothing Ventured: enemies to lovers, sports, out for you, bisexual romance.
Mud, sweat, and reluctant romance. Can Aiden and Matt sort out their feelings before race day?
When Aiden agrees to run the Mad Mucker—a twelve-mile muddy slog over an obstacle course—he’s expecting it to be a bit of a laugh. The training will be tough, but Aiden could use the motivation to regain some fitness.
Matt is the sexy cousin of one of Aiden’s coworkers and a last-minute addition to the team. When he agrees to train with Aiden, Aiden suddenly finds the prospect of regular workouts a lot more appealing.
Soon attraction flares, and they embark on an intense physical relationship. Matt doesn’t want to fall in love with a man, and Aiden doesn’t want to fall in love at all, but despite their insistence on no strings, they grow closer. As the day of the race approaches, time is running out for them to work out how they feel about each other.
REVIEW:
I love Jay Northcote; this collection is far from Nothing. It is a group of short stories that are sweet, funny, and low angst. This collection is everything, actually. Each story is a standalone, so they can be read in order. What I love about Jay is, he can weave a story so well, you feel as if you are part of the story. Even in these short stories, you are drawn in and root for the guys to get their happy endings. These are the types of stories I like to read after finishing darker storylines and need to get past the book hangover.
In our first story, Nothing Serious, we have Mark and Jamie. Mark has finally admitted to himself that he is gay and ends his long-term relationship with his girlfriend. Enter Jamie into the picture as he helps move Mark into his new apartment. This is the beginning of a dance that comes complete with a dropped box of sex toys and friends with benefits agreement. As they navigate the ups and downs of the FWB, they might very well end up more than just friends.
In the second story, Nothing Special, we have Noah and Sol. This one is my favorite out of the group. I just love a meet cute in a story line. Noah is a bit insecure and confides in his friend about the guy he’s seen on the train, as he travels to and from work. In a brave move Noah posts an ad in the local paper, to get Sol’s attention. And get Sol’s attention he does. But will getting Sol’s attention be enough or will Noah’s insecurities drive them apart? I was rooting for these two throughout the story.
In the final story, Nothing Ventured, our couple is Aiden and Matt. Talk about a long road to haul… These two guys are not friends and only agree to tolerate each other for the sake of a charity race. Aiden has been a bit of a couch bunny and needs to train for this race. Enter Matt, who reluctantly agrees to help Aiden train. As the training progresses and race day approaches our guys begin to realize they are not as disinterested in each other, as they thought. Will Matt win Aiden’s heart or will they crash and burn?
Each story has great sexy times, wonderful banter, and delightful characters. If you want to see how each story ends, you should buy this wonderful collection of short stories.
RATING: 
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