Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Best Served Cold
SERIES: Crimson Club
AUTHOR: Willow Dixon
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 326 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 29, 2023
BLURB:
When the guys at work dare me and the new guy to play a game of gay chicken, I figure I’ll get my first kiss and bragging rights for winning. What I don’t expect is for that game to awaken something in me. Something I’ve never felt before.
Something that makes me want more. Makes me want him.
I never back down from a challenge, but that doesn’t explain why being with Noah feels so good. Why I can’t stop thinking about him. Why he’s the only person who’s ever stirred even the slightest interest in me.
Why getting him off gets me off.
Watching Noah lose control is everything. So is knowing he can’t stay away from me, either.
Zane and Noah’s story is an animosity to lovers, double bi-awakening romance. You can expect public fun, tons of heat, lots of banter, and reluctant feels as these two impulsive and competitive guys realize that in some games, everyone’s a winner. It is the third book in the exciting new Crimson Club series but can be read as a standalone.
REVIEW:
Note: This is the third book in this series and the timelines overlap. It does contain spoilers for the previous books.
So I really struggled with the beginning of this book. It took me quite a while to care about these two. They behave with a lot of animosity towards each other at first. In fact the whole group kind of behave like teenage jerks (although I was just reading an Atlantic article about this phenomena long past adolescence). Turns out both buys have enough baggage to fill a Greyhound bus. Noah’s got a lot on him between his horrible abusive parents, his own mental health issues and trying to support his younger sister who is a single mom with two small children he helps with. River and Zane have also been through a lot. We don’t find out until quite late in the book the story behind River and Zane’s life. Both Noah and Zane have not been in a relationship before. Zane hasn’t been really attracted to anyone before, so this attraction which starts on a dare at a bar of gay chicken is a surprise to him. Noah has never been attracted to a guy before, but someone about Zane really sets him off. He’s afraid of what this means too. Struggling with depression, anxiety and other undiagnosed and untreated conditions, Noah tries to keep going despite being blindsided by his horrible mother.
The second half of the book was much better for me. Both Zane and Noah are dealing with this new situation for them. Noah is shocked that he’s turned on by a guy, but he’s also afraid. His childhood in a religious and abusive environment also has him programmed to thing he is a bad person and worthless and lazy and “wrong” because he hasn’t accepted his parents will and desire for his life. Zane isn’t good with communication either. He finds that he feels protective of Noah and their animosity has turned to something completely different. They are drawn to each other and they goad each other into moving their physical relationship further and further. They struggle as they grow closer, but they have support from their friends. Noah in particular can’t believe that these guys that he only has known as coworkers but they really have his back. It’s a wonder to him and hard for him to accept at first.
By the end of the story and the epilogue I was hopefully optimistic about this couple. I came to care about them, but I could have used less of the buildup which is probably a me thing. There are some spoilers for previous books in the series, so be warned if you’re reading these out of order. I’m looking forward to what happens to this found family going forward. Recommended.
RATING: 
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