Reviewed by Valerie 

TITLE:  #BRAT

SERIES: SLSRY?! #1

AUTHOR:  Lynx Patt

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  306 pages

RELEASE DATE:   April 5, 2023

BLURB:   

A young-to-new adult, standalone mm romance novel from the series SRSLY?! about self-searching and bi/gay awakening…Expect a lot of scrubs and silly mistakes!

Meet Kyle Becker, the tail end of graffitied walls, broken hearts, and stolen bikes, and the bane of his principal’s existence. The guy who never gave a damn about consequences, and doesn’t care about them even now, as an 18-year-old high school senior.

Tired of tossing fruitless penalties at Kyle and worried about his future, the principal assigns him to community service in a local nursing home, Vita et Sanitas, hoping that real-life experience and socializing with the older generation will trigger a change in him.

Upon starting, Kyle is taken under the wing of Mason Brown, the residents’ and colleagues’ most adored nurse, known for his friendliness and diligence.

Given this opportunity to start anew and to decide what matters, will Kyle finally change?

REVIEW:   

#BRAT is a sweet romance between teen delinquent, Kyle, and Mason, a nurse at the nursing home where Kyle is forced to do community service as punishment for infractions at school. Kyle is a brat but Mason is a darling. He loves his job working with the elderly patients. He grew up around these people because his mom was the head nurse at the home for twenty-two years and Mason spent many days there. The patients are family to him.

There are a lot of ups and downs in the early days of getting to know each other. Kyle and Mason are opposites in almost every way: as Mason says, there’s a six year age gap, a personality gap, a moral gap, and a sexuality gap. Mason is crushing on Kyle but he’s disappointed in the younger man. At the time they meet, Kyle is immature, shallow, insensitive, and yes, a brat. But somehow they’re compatible. Mason feels like himself when he’s with Kyle, but simultaneously feels like an entirely different person. I know that sounds like an oxymoron but it makes sense within the context of the story.

At the heart of this book is Kyle’s redemption arc. Within a short period of time, Kyle comes to appreciate the elderly and it’s so heartwarming. He’s learns how valuable his time is and knows he has to spend it wisely. He realizes he can be a more mature, responsible human being instead of the drinking, stealing, fighting, school skipping, partying troublemaker he’s been.

“My courage drops. Right. I’m just human trash with no meaningful past or bright future. An awful son, student, boyfriend, and even a street artist. I don’t deserve to be Mason’s boyfriend. I’d only drag him down and stain his perfect white with my tainted black.”

My favorite part of the book was the eclectic group of nursing home residents, from the gossipy old ladies, the pathological liar, liar, pants on fire, to the poker playing old men. And there’s the artist and the blind/deaf man who teach Kyle patience and compassion.

I also enjoyed seeing Kyle overcoming his stereotypes of bisexual individuals. I wouldn’t call it biphobia or even internalized biphobia; it’s more that Kyle is uninformed. He expects people who are bi to be promiscuous and unable to commit to a relationship. Mason’s sexuality is initially puzzling to him, as is his own bi-awakening.

There’s not much of Kyle’s backstory until the end. I think I would’ve liked the book a little more if I had discovered more about Kyle earlier in the book. Also, I love angst in my romances and was hoping for more here. I was wishing Kyle was a more damaged character with troubles that led to him committing crimes and overall delinquency. Likewise, I wanted to see Mason be his rescuer. But that’s okay because I like how the book turned out.

Overall, I really enjoyed #BRAT and recommend it particularly to readers who enjoy bisexual awakening and opposites attract stories.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon