Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Frat Bro
SERIES: Fixer Brothers Construction Company
AUTHOR: Raleigh Ruebins
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 218 pages
RELEASE DATE: September 21, 2023
BLURB:
This fall, I have one simple rule: don’t fall in love with my fake boyfriend.
I’m awful at following the rules.
One minute I was a nobody in a small Colorado town, getting by on contract work, home renovations, and a dumpster fire of a dating life—and then suddenly, my life was on TV. Fixer Brothers Construction is getting its own home renovation TV show, and I’m on camera, giving the film crew an all-access pass to my life.
The kicker: fans think I’m sleeping with Jax, my favorite, hotter-than-hell frat boy bartender at the brewery. He’s young, straight, and just a friend. But rumors spread like wildfire. Now I’m faking it with Jax, 24/7—and we don’t leave much to the imagination when we’re in front of a camera.
The fans want what they want, right?
And I want things, too. Every kiss was fake until the one that definitely wasn’t, on a night too scorching for TV. Jax has helped me through the worst time in my life as a friend, and I never let myself wish for more. But I’m only human, and when we’re together, it’s fire.
I’m addicted. And I know I’m going to get hurt. But behind closed doors, it feels so real.
And I’m desperate to know what makes this frat boy tick.
REVIEW:
Note: This is book 3 in this series. It contains major spoilers for the first two books. It can be read as a standalone, but I think is much more enjoyable as part of this series order.
Through the first two books of this series, Charlie, one of the Fixer Brothers Construction Company guys, has been dealing with his manipulative cheating ex. Finally as a result of the new reality show starring the Fixer Brothers Construction crew, Charlie is finally getting some positive feedback. He’s been looking for love in all the wrong places though. When he’s dumped again and the producer wants to generate more buzz in the run up to the show’s premier, they decide to ask Jax, the “frat bro” hot as sin sexy bartender at the local bar to be his “fake boyfriend”. Nobody is more surprised than Charlie when Jax agrees. First, everyone assumes that Jax is straight – including Jax 😉
Jax is busier than most. He’s a full time student, tutor, soccer coach, frat bro and bartender at Jade Brewery. He’s a straight A student with a plan to be a therapist. He’s there for everyone. He hasn’t let anyone be there for him. Growing up in chaos, he’s always been the supporter, not the one being supported. He and Charlie have had a friendly banter going since he started at Jade. He likes Charlie and he’s sick of seeing how badly he’s been treated by the men he’s dated. So he does what he usually does and volunteers to help his friend.
He and Charlie go on some staged outings and are filmed kissing. What shocks Jax is that he really wants to kiss Charlie. And do a lot more. What?? He can’t get Charlie out of his head and he wants a lot more with Charlie. He’s never had a connection with anyone like this – nor such an attraction that he can’t stop thinking about it. When they finally end up at Charlie’s, he’s blown away by just how much he wants Charlie. He’s tired enough that he just blurts it out. Charlie is shocked. He’s been the “experiment” of too many straight guys. He’s been the good time play toy or distraction for too many gay guys. He’s tired of being used and he’s scared to death of being hurt again. But he can’t deny his attraction to Jax and Jax’s seeming reciprocation.
Neither guy has been great at expressing themselves in the past. Jax because he’s always been the listener, not the talker. Charlie because he tends to be “too much” as he describes it and scares off potential partners with what he perceives as his “neediness”. What he really needs is someone to really see him and appreciate him for his whole self – generous heart, humor, standup guy, great friend, etc. Jax wants to be that man. Because he does see that in Charlie.
As the social media attention keep building in the run up to the premier, there are the TV execs and producers to please. What is not obvious to most is that Jax and Charlie are not “faking” this relationship and haven’t been for some time. Jax hasn’t been with a guy before, sot there is that hurdle for him as well. And Charlie is just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nobody ever keeps him. But what if this time it could be different?
I have been waiting patiently for Charlie to get his HEA. He’s such a sweetheart and he has been continually abused – particularly by his lying, cheating, manipulative ex Jim that he’s gone back and forth with forever. He’s been attracted to Jax forever and they have this sort of bickering bantering relationship going that changes a bit when they agree to this “fake boyfriend” scenario. Jax is a doll! He’s such a good guy. He is still trying to figure himself out and he is able to do that with Charlie. I loved that the angst for him was low in realizing how much he was attracted to Charlie and wanting to explore that. The reality show stuff struck me as exactly what I think about it – very manipulative for Social Media consumption 😉 I loved the rest of the Fixer Brothers guys and their SOs are there for Jax and Charlie. Both of these guys are so deserving of the really lovely HEA tht they get in this book. And honestly I can’t WAIT for Harlan’s book. He’s kind of the unknown quantity here – grump brew master type. Highly recommended. Fans of the series will love this one.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: