Reviewed by Kat
TITLE: In LOVE
SERIES: BOYS’ LOVE #2
AUTHOR: Rebecca James
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 199 pages
RELEASE DATE: February 26, 2022
BLURB:
This book is the sequel to Boys’ Love, which is free all of 2022 as part of a giveaway on Prolific Works. You can claim book one by following the link on the author’s website www.rebeccajamesmmromance.com. Reading book one before book two is strongly suggested.
A straight guy falls for his male co-star in a Thai boys’ love series.
It sounds like a TV romance, but for Rama Sathianthai, it’s reality. The chemistry between the two young actors and their popularity as a couple has won them a second season of their series, which means they’ll have to keep their budding relationship a secret. The bl industry frowns on gay actors, particularly those who want to date each other. But the couple is determined to make things work. Meanwhile, the upcoming wedding of his favorite cousin threatens to throw Rama into family drama due to his recent confession that his aunt molested him when he was an adolescent. With the cards stacked against them, Rama and Pravat worry that love might not be enough to keep them together.
REVIEW:
This book picks up as Pravat and Rama, affectionately known by their ship name Pravma, have started filming their sequel of their highly successful first series My Doctor, My Love called In Love. The fans are ecstatic to have them back together and their fan sites on the internet are clamoring with speculations of whether their ship is actually real in real life too. This makes for great free press but has the series producer Tida reminding them of the “no relationship” clause in their contract. So she adds a fellow producer’s daughter, Lin, as Pravat’s love interest on real life. But how will this affect Pravat and Rama’s forbidden love?
The more I get into this series the more the Thai Boys Love industry shows me how truly toxic it is. The overwhelming control the studios have over their actor’s lives 24/7 the more it concerns me. They push for what appears to be a loving relationship between their acting couples both on and off screen for the fan support. However they want heterosexual actors only playing these parts. And if you are gay you had better hidden it deeply in the closet. And saint-forbid you “catch feelings” with your ship partner because that is expressly forbidden per your contract! But they still push for the excessive PDA at gannets. But that even got controlled by Tida. And literally demanding that Pravat take Lin home to spend the night at his apartment so the paparazzi could get pictures. I felt that was taking things a bit too far. Tida had to have known that what they had was real. And I appreciate that she didn’t fire them for it. But the invasion into their private lives at home really bothered me.
The thing that warmed my heart is how Rama’s Dad/Pah slowly not only accepted what Rama and Pravat had together but eventually embraced and defended it fiercely. And how he immediately believed Rama when the reason for his breakdown in NYC happened. What Rama’s Aunt Sunnee did to him as a child so shortly after the loss of his Mother was disgusting and heinous. I hated that the extended family divided over believing him. But Pah was fierce against his sister and never doubted Rama. When his cousin Mark confirmed his belief at his cousin Alex and Pete’s wedding reception in Thailand Rama was thankful. But then, when Mark revealed his personal reason why he believed so strongly, Rama was shocked. Sunnee seemed to have been making her way through her chosen nephews and I worry how many more were her victims like Rama and Mark. Thankfully this coming to light chased Sunnee out of Thailand quickly and his family rallied to apologize for not believing him. Even Rama’s therapist saw a huge shift with this.
I was kinda left wondering where all this goes with Pravat and Rama at the end.
I felt a bit left up in the air as to their relationship. I know that they are deeply in love and commited to each other. And that the studios have cast them in other roles on bl apart with new ships. But I still wonder what they have to do to be able to someday be in an open loving relationship.
I know that we get Pravat’s university friend’s story next and I hope some of my questions will be answered.
RATING: 
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