Reviewed by Larissa

TITLE: Boyfriend Freeze

SERIES:  Love Notes Book 3

AUTHOR: DJ Jamison

PUBLISHER: self published

LENGTH: 205 pages

RELEASE DATE: February 4, 2021

BLURB: 

I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but you can’t be one of them…

Dear Graham,

After crossing too many lines for my self-respect, I made a promise to myself: no hookups, no sexts, no dating. For sixty days.

But I didn’t count on meeting you.

Who knew a smart, cardigan-wearing geek would be such temptation? You’re all wrong for me, except you’re also kind of exactly right.

So how do I keep my promise not to seduce the cute librarian and still get the perfect guy?

Maybe you know, because I don’t…

Already yours,

Ollie

REVIEW: 

DJ Jamison offered Boyfriend Freeze as a free book through Prolific Works during the New Year’s Winter Wonderland Giveaway.  That free version consisted of only Ollie’s POV.  Now she’s released Boyfriend Freeze as a full-length book with expanded content including Graham’s POV and a terrific epilogue that ties the HEA up nicely.  I enjoyed the free version a lot.  The full length version is even better.

Boyfriend Freeze is the third entry in the Love Notes series. Secret Admirer (one of my top books of 2020) and Naughty & Nice (a cute holiday story focused on Jonas, Ace’s frat brother (from Secret Admirer)) precede this book. We meet Ollie right at the start of Naughty & Nice, and he is a complete and utter ass. He’s mean, belligerent and invasive, snooping through Jonas’ private letters.  He acts scorned at being “dumped” by Jonas when he and Jonas were never really together.  Ollie and Jonas have a history of a few spontaneous hookups with no strings, no expectations and, at least as far as Jonas is concerned, no interest in anything more.  Jonas summed Ollie up this way: “[H]e’d been a lot of fun. In bed. Out of, not so much.”

When we see Ollie at the beginning of Boyfriend Freeze, it does not appear that much has changed.  Not Ollie’s attitude.  Not Ollie’s behavior.  He lights the match to his dumpster fire of a romantic life when he sends Jonas an unsolicited dick pic and in response, Jonas blocks him.  Jonas, who was never that interested to start with, has definitely moved on. Ollie just seems to have missed the memo.  

Jonas’ literal cock blocking wakes Ollie up to the sad state of his life.  He realizes he has turned into a snide, snarky, unhappy person.  He’s no longer desired by others for hookups and no one will even entertain anything more serious than that.  Ollie uses New Year’s to turn over a new leaf.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d grow to like Ollie.  But Ms. Jamison does a fantastic job of giving him dimension.  Unlike the MCs in the first two books, Ollie is an obviously flawed character.  It’s not evident that he has a good heart.  It’s not obvious that he has redeeming qualities and is deserving of giving and receiving love.  Exposing Ollie’s hidden layers and persuading the reader to invest in him as a character requires careful treatment and deft character exploration.  Ms. Jamison accomplishes both with seeming ease.  I came around to Team Ollie quite quickly and without much hesitation.  Pretty remarkable given I hated him at the beginning of Naughty & Nice.

Graham, on the other hand, requires no sales pitch.  From first introduction, I was a goner for Graham, hook line and sinker.  Sweet, lonely, and conflicted, he wraps you around his finger by just being himself.  He has those sexy librarian nerd vibes that Ollie finds super hot.  He’s respectful, thoughtful and freely gives of himself.  He’s dedicated, committed and just an overall kind person.  What’s not to love?

Boyfriend Freeze showcases this opposites attract romance between Ollie and Graham.  Despite how different they are, they actually fit together well.  They fill in each other’s open spaces.  Graham is an introverted intellectual with social anxiety and sweater vests.  Ollie is outgoing, hip, stylish, often outlandish, and loves people.  Graham’s been repeatedly told he’s boring.  He prefers books to people.  He’s stable, focused and calm.  Everything Ollie is not.  But Graham has a pure heart and a surprisingly open mind.  He sees Ollie for who he is behind all the brutal, snarky wit.  Ollie, for his part, pulls Graham out of his shell and falls for his mature, loving approach to life and the  people he lets into it.

At the end of the day, what I wanted most from this story was to see transformation.  While the title says the opposite, Ollie and Graham create a relationship that allows them to become something better.  They are catalysts for each other, prompting growth and change.  There’s nothing static or frozen about these two boyfriends.  

While it’s hard to rival Benji and Ace from Secret Admirer, ultimately Ollie and Graham gave them a run for their money.  Graham got under my skin from the outset.  Ollie just needed to convince me he was deserving.  In the end, he succeeded, rendering the sweet HEA with Graham even more rewarding.

RATING:

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