Reviewed by Ro

TITLE: Until We Meet Again

SERIES: Roosevelt College, book 2

AUTHOR: Christina Lee

PUBLISHER: Self published

LENGTH: 183 pages

RELEASE DATE:  January 18, 2024

BLURB:

Bruce “Bones” Lanning and Emil Ettinger had a decent roommate arrangement at Roosevelt College—other than Bones leaving his dirty socks lying around—so they agree to share the same space again. Their relationship has always been ridiculous banter and competitive streaks, and they assume this year will be the same.

So why are they suddenly enjoying nights holed up in their room together?

Bones can’t figure out what’s changed, why he likes being around Emil so much and why he’s suddenly falling asleep in Emil’s bed. And as far as Emil knows, Bones is straight, so why does he seem jealous when Emil arranges a random hookup, then asks all sorts of questions about what it’s like to kiss another guy?

To put an end to his roommate’s endless queries, Emil kisses Bones, convinced he’s just goofing around. But one encounter leads to another, until Emil begins seeing Bones in a different light. Underneath the clueless, carefree facade lies a deeper emotional underpinning that allows Emil to become more vulnerable too—and maybe even admit that spending time with his roommate is the best part of his day.

Still, Emil isn’t about to become another jock’s experiment, so he makes it clear that their hookups are totally casual. Until they’re not.

Notes
The reader does not need to have read what’s come before.

REVIEW:

This is the second in the Roosevelt College series, but it stands well alone. I did enjoy getting to revisit Henry and Link from book one, XOXO, but Bruce (Bones) and Emil hold their own with this story. I was fully prepared to love Emil of the marching band, and the artistic dancing one, and I did. The fact that I was also in the marching band, standing in high temperatures in a uniform, really made me relate. I didn’t expect how much I would love Bones, the football player who can never live up to the shadow of his older brother, Brody. I felt for him right from the prologue when he was having a meal with his parents. Brody was not only the perfect son with a great life plan, he was also killed in the military, and Bruce’s parents are grieving to the point that everything with Bruce is a comparison to Brody. “When they told us Brody had lost his life in a helicopter training mission, our whole world shattered, and life had never felt the same again. Mom became inconsolable, and Dad shut everyone out.” To make it more heartbreaking, Bruce and Brody were very close. “I tried to be as worthy as Brody for my parents, but it was tough to live up to their idea of a martyr.”  In his own grief, he started emailing Brody, updating him on things happening and talking things (one-sidedly) through. It was heartbreaking when he had that flash of hope upon hitting send, only to grieve again when the email was returned. I bring this up because it explains so much of who Bruce is and why he acts as he does.

One minor niggle I had – we segued from Bruce and his parents to being at the school, and for a minute, I had no idea Bones was Bruce. It took a few pages for me to realize who I was reading about until Emil mentioned Bones as his roommate. They were roommates the previous year and despite a huge competitive streak between them and Bones constantly finding ways to wind Emil up, they agreed to be roomies this year as well. They are the classic bromance with competition as foreplay but totally oblivious because Bones is straight. One of the most incredible things about this book is that despite how conflicted and confused Bones gets about the feelings he has for Emil, he doesn’t lash out and really works to keep things on a decent basis. For his part, Emil is guarding his heart.

I loved Emil’s parents, Lark, Justin, and Leah, the friends. The football nicknames made me roll my eyes (A-Train?), but the team consists of decent, solid people.  This is a lovely new adult book in a college setting about finding yourself, standing up for yourself, and deciding what you want, not what others want for you.

RATING:

BUY LINKS: 

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