Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Not Dating Material
SERIES: Accidental Love #2
AUTHOR: Saxon James
SERIES: Accidental Love #2
PUBLISHER: May Books
LENGTH: 288 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 30, 2023
BLURB:
MOLLY
Moving to Seattle is supposed to be all about getting a fresh start and leaving the bitter man I was becoming behind.
I have new roommates–quirky, sometimes strange, roommates–a nosy, next door neighbor and a grumpy kitty for company, but even surrounded by people, I still don’t feel like I belong. Plus, it turns out the men in Seattle are exactly the same as the ones I left behind, and my string of romantic disconnections continues.
It’s not until one of my roommates, Seven, hits me with some hard truths that I realize where I was going wrong.
Maybe the men aren’t the problem.
I am.
And there’s only one way to fix that.
SEVEN
Being found tied up naked to my bed by my cute new roommate isn’t an ideal way for us to start a friendship.
But apparently a quid-pro-quo is.
He keeps his pretty lips zipped about the compromising position, and I step in as his dating coach. We go out, I note where he’s going wrong, and he magically becomes dating material.
The problem is, between my codependent brother Xander and a new best friend I can’t get rid of, Molly and I are the target of a matchmaking scheme. My life is way too busy to add another person to it, and Molly is the kinda guy who needs to be made a priority, which I just can’t do. Xander’s medical anxiety takes up too much of my time, and I’ve never found a partner who doesn’t resent it.
I’m determined to help Molly find his ever after.
But that guy will never be me.
REVIEW:
Not Dating Material starts with Seven being blindfolded and handcuffed naked to his bed by a hookup, who then non-consensually takes pictures of him as revenge. This violation wasn’t sex but it was still non-con and it really turned me off. When Molly, the new roommate in the house dubbed Big Bertha, finds Seven, he agrees to keep it quiet. In return, Seven volunteers to become Molly’s dating coach. Molly is insecure, needy, whiney, and doesn’t quite know what he wants. He likes older men but not daddies. He wants a relationship but continues to date men who only want a hookup.
Seven was the more likable of the two MCs even when he’s snarky and hardened. His protectiveness over Xander, his former foster brother, was heartwarming. Although I sympathized with Xander and his condition, I wasn’t crazy about his nosy and annoying tendencies. I didn’t perceive Molly as a sympathetic character, more like pathetic at times. For much of the book, he comes off as weak and clueless.
I liked the found family vibe among the band of misfits roommates in Big Bertha. It’s the first place that felt like home for many of them. One of the highlights of the book was Auntie Agatha, their next door neighbor who takes the young men under her wing. Molly is at his best during his interactions with Agatha.
This isn’t a bad book by any means, it just didn’t resonate with me. Ironically, the first book in the series, The Husband Hoax, was one of the more enjoyable books I’ve read this year. Judging by other reviews I’ve seen, there’s a very good chance you’ll like this book, especially if you enjoyed The Husband Hoax or like Saxon James in general.
RATING: 
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