Reviewed by Lady Macbeth
TITLE: Gym Bros
SERIES: Bay Area Bros #2
AUTHOR: August Jones
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 442 Pages
RELEASE DATE: September 19, 2025
BLURB:
Calyx
If I could teach yoga and never have to walk a runway again, I’d do it in a heartbeat. But tell that to my manager-slash- part-time lover. Eager to get me back to work, but willing to be patient, he asks me to help his son recover from a torn hamstring. I accept the opportunity to use my brain and my body to help get an athlete back on his feet. Samuel Ray is exactly what I expect for an amateur MMA fighter. Big. Brutal. Broody. And definitely not my type.
Samuel
With my hamstring on the mend, I need to prevent future injuries that might end my career before it even starts. Yoga will improve my flexibility, but more importantly my balance, which is something my body and my life is sadly lacking. The opportunity to work one on one with an expert is perfect—almost as perfect as Calyx. My dad called him rare and special, and he wasn’t exaggerating. He’s the most physically perfect person I’ve ever seen. It’s his prickly personality I’m not so sure about.
My guard goes up around him, but I can’t get him out of my head. It takes no time at all for him to become the object of all my salacious fantasies. The challenge is getting him to give a guy like me a chance, but I’ve never backed down from a fight, and I always play to win.
Gym Bros is a high heat, forbidden, opposites attract MM romance intended for readers 18+. It is book two in the Bay Areas Bros series, but can easily be enjoyed as a standalone. HEA guaranteed.
REVIEW:
This was my first book by August Jones and I completely fell in love with her writing.
The narration is flowing, the POVs are very well written, the readers can easily understand the MC’s thoughts and feelings and get lost in it.
The premise of the story is obviously complicated: Calyx, a high demanded model who now teaches yoga, has been hooking up with his agent, Marcus, for almost five years with no feelings involved (except for appreciation and respect). Marcus is married with children and asks Calyx to help his youngest, Samuel, with his rehabilitation after an injury while training as a MMA fighter.
At first, Calyx and Samuel don’t get along at all: Calyx is too sophisticated for Samuel (who never felt appreciated, not even by his parents) and he’s been in a funk due to his unwillingness to get back to work as a model. Samuel is in a funk too, he yearns to prove himself and he also feels a little lonely since he moved to San Francisco.
After a rough start, they find a way to work together and also start feeling attraction towards each other.
Calyx is older, he’s worked since he was a child, he’s out as a gay man, he’s confident (on the outside) but with Samuel he’s a bit of a mess. He would like to surrender to his attraction but he’s scared of the implications.
Samuel has always considered himself straight but after a “platonic” session of oral sex with his best friend, he doesn’t hesitate to embrace his attraction for Calyx and he tries really hard to win him over.
Samuel is so much adorable (and filthy during intimacy) that Calyx can’t resist anymore: their talk about being boyfriends was silly and romantic at the same time.
What prevented me from giving a higher rate:
It’s clear that the characters in this book have to face a hard conundrum impossible to solve: Samuel and Calyx are in a happy relationship but Sam is left in the dark about his own father and his boyfriend’s not strictly professional relationship by both of them. Moreover,in the past, Samuel already confronted his dad about his alleged infidelities, so their relationship is not exempt from tensions.
I feel like the resolution was partially dishonest towards one person in particular and I didn’t appreciate Rachel’s speech because, in my opinion, while she undeniably helped Samuel to see things clearly, she also diminished part of Calyx’s responsibilities in hurting Samuel’s mom.
The physical scenes are also a little too long.
I loved all the side characters: Rachel and Priya are amazing, Malcolm and Ryan are wonderful friends (I hope to get the chance to read their story too), and I can’t wait to read Evan and Deacon’s book because their relationship already seems very interesting.
And, aside from all his faults and flaws, I couldn’t really hate Marcus: I really really liked him and I feel like there’s a strong potential for a redemption arc story.
RATING: 
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