Reviewed by Ro
TITLE: Mint to Be
SERIES: Boyfriend Café
AUTHOR: F.A. Ray
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 252 Pages
RELEASE DATE: March 12, 2024
BLURB:
I’ve given up on love by the time tall, dark and handsome sweeps me off my feet — literally.
Mal
Everyone around me is sickeningly in love. And I’m happy for my friends. I really am. But when is my turn coming? Why am I still a disposable hookup?
I’m ready to give up on love entirely by the time a bunch of drunk jocks decide to jump me on my way home from the Boyfriend Café. But before a single punch can fall he sweeps in, my dashing hero, my literal tall, dark and handsome, the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen.
Please tell me this isn’t a dream.
Omari
The second I hear a scream I run toward it without thinking. My own teammates are threatening someone, and I rush in to stop them. But the man I save is … beautiful. And funny. And smart. And he brazenly gives me his phone number right then and there.
He has no idea that he just gave his number to the most hunted man at this university.
I’m Omari Carter, a football player everyone assumes is destined for the pros. Scouts are hounding me. Coach is pushing me to decide on my future. My whole family is depending on me. But Mal doesn’t know or care about any of that.
With all the expectations weighing me down, I don’t have time for love. So why can’t I walk away from this?
Mint to Be is an opposites attract MM romance with a major size difference, a grumpy/sunshine dynamic, an athlete meeting a lovable fashion nerd and spicy open door scenes.
REVIEW:
This is the fourth book in the Boyfriend Café series, starring silver-haired Mal. I loved Mal in the previous books and was so excited for him to get his story. You do not have to have read the others in the series to appreciate this book, but it does help some. The other couples, Albert and David, Trent and Graham, Rhett and Spencer, all appear in Mint to Be.
Mal is sweet, funny, sarcastic and with a killer fashion sense. He’s a loyal friend, but he’s getting tired of being the “…third, fifth, seventh…” wheel with his friends. He’s the one that isn’t graduating this year and he’s a little freaked out. “It’s a freaky proposition, doing this without the others, being the one guy left behind while they all go on to be fabulous adults with their fabulous partners.” I felt badly for him, it’s a hard place to be. And it’s not like he doesn’t want a partner, he definitely does. It just hasn’t happened. It’s because he feels like this that he turns down walking home with the others and runs into some trouble in the form of drunk football players. He is about to get a fist to the face when “I just got superhero rescued by the most gorgeous man on the entire campus.” And that’s how Mal meets Omari.
Omari is a wide receiver, famous on campus, with football scouts sniffing all over. He will make pro, and a lot of money, except for the tiny detail that he doesn’t want to play pro. He feels like everyone is depending on him to do so and he isn’t sure how to get out of it and do what his degree is in, and what he loves – culinary arts. He has a good head on his shoulders and knows how injured you can get in football. I certainly take my share of hits, and there’s more than a couple guys who’ve left the sport damaged beyond repair in their thirties. Sure, they left rich, but how much did they get to enjoy it?”
The two start off as friends, when Mal invites Omari to the Boyfriend Café as a thank you for saving him. As they start to get serious Omari is constantly pushing Mal away and telling his best friend, Scott, “It’s not serious…It’s nothing”. Even though Omari doesn’t really feel that way, he acts it. He won’t stay in Mal’s bed overnight, he runs away from anything remotely resembling a relationship. I felt so badly for Mal. The scene where the whole Boyfriend Café goes to the football game is a favorite for me.
As always, the side characters (formerly main characters in their own books!) are amazing. And Scott, Omari’s best friend, is a treasure. These people know what it means to be a good friend.
Omari’s constant hot/cold, yes/no, kept my rating from being even higher. Yes, he is under a lot of (self-induced, for the most part) pressure, but the way he clings to Mal, they have sex, and then he runs off was getting a little tiring. And a weird thing, Mal has this fabulous silver swoop hair, while Omari has dark skin, dark eyes, a close-cropped dark beard and a very large body. So I’m not quite sure who that is supposed to be on the cover.
While not my favorite in the series, it’s a decent entry. I’m thinking coming up next is either Jack or Avery. We will see if I’m right!
RATING: 
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