Reviewed by Larissa
TITLE: Falling for Trouble
SERIES: His Best Friend’s Brother Book 5
AUTHOR: R. Cayden
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 182 pages
RELEASE DATE: March 10, 2021
BLURB:
Steamy trouble with his best friend’s long-lost brother
Peyton
I thought he was a stranger when we met—a night that started in a bar, working up the courage to explore my sexuality.
But it wasn’t until Jet dropped his wallet in an alley thirty minutes later that I saw his legal name, Alastair Brown, and my heart stopped.
My friend and business partner, Noah Brown, had a brother with that name.
A brother he hadn’t seen in years, a famous DJ and party boy with a reputation for causing scandals.
Scandals like dragging a straight-laced architect into an alley, pushing me against a brick wall, and blowing my mind.
Suddenly, Jet and I are thrown together, our lives colliding.
He’s nothing like what I expected, yet somehow, exactly who I need.
But even if my tattooed party boy is willing to try for something more, will Noah accept his troublemaking brother as the one for his straight best friend?
Falling for Trouble is a steamy, low-angst MM romance with an HEA. Peyton and Jet’s story features sizzling heat, new beginnings, and a man learning to accept that he’s become a hot bear. It can be read as a standalone and is the fifth and final novel in His Best Friend’s Brother.
REVIEW:
Falling for Trouble finally gives Peyton his HEA. As you may recall if you’ve read Shared Secrets, Book 4 in this series, Peyton’s two best friends Casey and Blake fall in love with his little brother, Russell, and now are a happy triad. We didn’t see a whole lot of Peyton in that story – although we certainly heard about him a lot as the common denominator for that triad. When he does appear, it’s at the end of the story and we get to see that Peyton is a pretty cool, open-minded guy. Peyton was understandably surprised upon learning about their MMM relationship. However, he got over it quickly and then advocated for his brother and two best friends and their newfound relationship together.
You don’t need to have read Shared Secrets to enjoy Falling for Trouble, though. It can be read as a standalone. However, having visibility into Peyton’s character from the prior book predisposed me to like him and root for him in Falling for Trouble.
To be honest, I wasn’t a big fan of Shared Secrets. This book, however, is significantly better. In fact, it may be my favorite of the series. The book shows more fully developed characters that just make more sense to me. Peyton and Jet are endearing and so honest and true to each other. Their chemistry is off the charts and the ending is perfect.
When Falling for Trouble starts, we see Peyton struggling to figure himself out. Why is he so lonely when all his friends and even his brother have found their HEAs? His ex-girlfriend dumped him and called him “boring” on the way out the door. Ironically, it’s the “boring” comment that still stings months later, not the loss of his girlfriend. Peyton admits it’s not the first time a girlfriend has told him that.
Peyton starts to suspect that maybe his sexuality is more fluid than he realized. The book opens on Peyton in a bar looking to hook up with a guy. Call it experimentation. Despite his ineptness at flirting, he manages to snag super hot, tatted up DJ Jet, and have a hot tryst in the alley in back.
As you’d expect in any good romance, Peyton’s hookup isn’t some random pickup. No, of course Jet aka Alastair Brown, is none other than the estranged little brother of his business partner, Noah Brown. Peyton is adorably nervous yet confident. A mix that Jet finds irresistible. Peyton is completely oblivious to all of his great traits and qualities, including his good looks. But he also doesn’t appreciate how wonderful and special he is in supporting his friends and family, in his loyalty and willingness to put others first.
Jet sets out on a mission to open Peyton’s eyes, on two fronts. First, to convince Peyton of his own worth. Second, to help him explore his bisexuality. Jet is a classic example of looks can be deceiving. Under his gorgeous, tatted up exterior lies a deeply caring, kind, sad guy who has walled himself off from making connections. He’s a hookup only kind of guy and that works for him because it keeps him emotionally safe, but not happy.
Jet has significant emotional scars burdening him. He’s also got a host of “mistakes” he sees in hindsight when it comes to his younger brother Noah. Jet was a teenager when he came out. His parents responded by kicking him out. The estrangement essentially severed his relationship with Noah as well. The pain from that separation from Noah still lingers and Jet desperately wants to have a chance to make it right.
Well maybe fate has given him that chance by serendipitously bringing Peyton into his orbit. The author does a terrific job of developing both Jet and Peyton into multi-faceted, emotionally complex characters. We see their flaws, but also their beauty, and we intuitively get why these two belong together.
The story provides some surprising turns of events which keep the plot interesting and moves the story along. I particularly appreciated that the story didn’t fall into the expected. Instead, we saw Jet and Peyton communicating. We saw Peyton being loyal and choosing the right course, not the easy one borne of fear. We see Jet, trying, really trying, to mend his broken relationship with Noah, and his utter humility in doing so. I appreciated the authentic way Peyton and Jet as a couple, confronted realistic external challenges to their relationship.
A fairly straightforward, but still engaging storyline frames up all of this terrific character development. If you’ve read the rest of this series, you definitely will want to read Falling for Trouble. It completes the series on a high note with a feel-good ending that ties everything together nicely. If you haven’t read this series, I encourage you to read this book anyway. Even as a standalone, Falling for Trouble is a captivating, one-sitting read that’s short, sweet, steamy and satisfying. Once you start it, you won’t want to put it down. Then when you finish, you’ll want to go back to Book 1 and see how it all started. Or maybe just read Falling for Trouble again.
RATING: 
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