Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: You Again
SERIES: Men of Olympus #1
AUTHOR: Dianna Roman
PUBLISHER: Wild One Press
LENGTH: 368 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 2, 2022
BLURB:
One man looking for love in all the wrong places. Another always in the wrong place.
Brokenhearted and love-scorn, Johnny finds himself forced back into the dating pool by his overbearing mother and meddling best friend. Is it fate, interference, or a dating app glitch that keeps pairing him with his complete opposite, a handsome brick mason with a smile that makes bad decisions worthwhile?
While Aiden is seemingly perfect inside and out, Johnny is a realist. There’s no way that man’s peanut butter goes with his clumsy, nerdy jelly. If only he could convince his libido and the determined brick mason that he’s not on the market, he could get back to his safe, solitary life.
Aiden wants more than just being a pretty face and a night of fun after years of fumbling through encounters that never went deeper than the surface. When he meets Johnny, something behind the skittish photographer’s snarky facade speaks to his wanton heart. There has to be a reason they keep crashing into each other in more ways than one. Maybe attraction isn’t supposed to make sense and love, even less.
REVIEW:
You Again is a cute, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract romance. The plot centers around Johnny’s feelings after his one and only serious relationship left him bitter, distrustful, and heartbroken after his boyfriend cheated on him. After the ensuing breakup, Johnny returned to his Wisconsin hometown and to his Big Fat Greek Family. It’s now two years after the breakup and his mother and best friend, Bitsy, are hounding him to get back out there and date. To get his mother off his back and stop her attempts at matchmaking him with a woman, he tries a few dating apps but keeps getting paired up with a sexy brick mason, Aiden.
Aiden hasn’t dated anyone in two years. He just doesn’t connect emotionally with anyone and thinks there must be something wrong with him. He’s bisexual and seems to have the attributes of a demisexual individual, although that identity isn’t mentioned in the book. He badly wants to fall in love.
Johnny’s meetings with Aiden are a disaster. He won’t give Aiden a chance because he thinks he’s unworthy of another man’s affection. And he just can’t risk the same kind of heartbreak again.
Aiden: “Are you really going to deny yourself a chance at happiness because of something one person did?” Glasses back on, hand on his hip, I see the moment the defenses go back up.
Johnny: “You have to want that kind of happiness to feel like you’re being denied of it. I don’t. I have enough happiness on my own to suit me.”
That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard. I don’t know who to feel sorry for—him for being content with less or me for not being content without more.
While I liked Aiden quite a bit, I never warmed up to Johnny. For me, he was an unsympathetic character. It’s hard to enjoy a love story when you don’t care much for one of the leading men. He treated Aiden poorly. He was happy to repeatedly have what he called the best sex of his life with Aiden even though he knew Aiden wanted a meaningful relationship and a future with Johnny. I’ve waited my entire life to feel this level of want for someone — Aiden
It seemed like Johnny was just stringing Aiden along without consideration for his feelings. After every time they were intimate, Johnny rejected Aiden with complete disregard for his feelings. I understand he’s protecting his heart, but it made me sad. Near the end of the book, though, he started coming around and became significantly more likable.
I really enjoyed the secondary characters, particularly Aiden’s sister, Maxie, and Johnny’s extended family including his aunt, uncle, and cousin. The Andropolis family is an amusing, meddlesome crew. Johnny’s best friend, Bitsy, is there for him through everything.
Despite not caring for Johnny’s characterization, I still recommend You Again. Dianna Roman is an excellent writer of romantic comedy. This is her second MM romance; I loved her first book, The Shutout, giving it 5 hearts/stars, and I can’t wait for her next book. Judging by other reviewers I’ve talked to, I’m in the minority with my views on Johnny so perhaps you should take my comments with a great big shaker of salt. It might just be a me thing.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: