Reviewed by Ro
TITLE: Obsessed with the Heartbreaker
AUTHOR: Rina Damen
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 279 Pages
RELEASE DATE: June 19, 2023
BLURB:
I’m the most boring guy in this college, but the Heartbreaker is secretly obsessed with me. People know Henry Campbell as the Heartbreaker, the unofficial college King that everyone wants but very few get to have. He hates me and yet he often secretly watches me, and once I find out, I can’t resist the temptation of slithering back into his life. We used to be close, neighbors. Then we weren’t.
One unexpected confession triggers a longing buried deep. A jealous possessive outburst is our undoing, because once we give in, there’s no stopping us. All the yearning is coming to the surface, and I know he’s everything I want. But this can’t end well.
Heartbreakers will break hearts, and there is no world in which guys like him would end up with nobodies like me. So how do I stop craving more?
Obsessed with the Heartbreaker is a steamy MM college romance in which the good student falls for the Heartbreaker. It includes pining, jealousy, two territorial MCs, and a long-awaited HEA 😉
REVIEW:
Second chance romances are my jam but I need to see there was a connection in their history. Here we have Henry the Heartbreaker, charming and popular but letting no one really get close as he breezes through life. His opposite is his former friend and neighbor, Antony. Antony feels a lot of pressure to live up to the legacy of his mom, his deceased dad and his sister. They all rose above not enough money to make successful careers and he feels intense pressure to do the same.
Antony is still close with Henry’s family, as they are still neighbors. Connell, Henry’s father, actually paid half of Antony’s tuition, which leads to even more pressure. Connell really wants Henry to be more like Antony. “Where I was studious, he was charming. Where I was a bookworm, he was the most people-person to ever be.” It is with this in mind that Connell asks Antony for a favor.
I admit it took me a while to warm up to Henry. He is arrogant and charming, but never seemed to be charming to Antony. For a while, I could not figure out what his problem with Antony was and it was driving me crazy. Slowly, things become clearer and while Antony is still my favorite, Henry made me care about him. And bonus that Henry is a vegetarian.
Some of the plot details needed a little more fleshing out for me. The circumstances surrounding Henry’s deal with Antony, i.e. “the proof”, were never really explained. Antony went along with it but I wanted the details! “Henry Campbell didn’t do favors for free. They always had a price.”
Side characters are interesting, especially Henry’s best friend, Maddox. I want to know all about this Hellhound who gives Henry no quarter and accepts no excuses. Honestly, I loved him. Antony has amazing friends in Scott and Eliot. They all squabble and bicker like, in Henry’s words, “…a married throuple.” But what they mainly are is loyal and supportive.
This is basically a story of reconnection while figuring out what exactly it is you really want. It takes a while for both of them to understand they could have what they wanted but had to work for it all. “I finally realized that I hadn’t been alone in a long time. I’d had people by my side all this time.”
RATING: 
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