DOWN BY CONTACT is the best thing I've read all year. Now don't go rolling your eyes. I know we're only three days into 2018 but hey. My point stands.

<i>Adrián gave me big, owlish eyes. He was so boyishly adorable it was hard to hate him for long periods of time. I solved that little dilemma by reminding myself that he was a douche canoe.</i>

I've still not yet read any of Hassell's other solo works since finishing book one in <i>The Barons</i> series and honestly I need to stop wasting my breath over any promises or good intentions to do so any time soon. It'll happen but the tbr is what the tbr does, you know? Things happen. That said.. while I totally enjoyed ILLEGAL CONTACT, book two blew it out of the water.

"<i>Unlike the rest of our crap society, I don't peep sex tapes and leaked pics, okay? I take privacy seriously and that's an invasion of it. I wouldn't like it if some girl I fuck takes secret pics and suddenly has my cock on Snapchat.</i>"
"<b>Why not? Is it small?</b>"

This follow up novel had me laughing pretty much from the opening pages. If you were a fan of FAST CONNECTION from the Megtino <i>Cyberlove</i> series, I think you'll love this one, too. Because Adrián is basically Costigan in football form. Translation? He is fucking hilarious and is my precious.

<i>What was it about this kid that had me acting like a teenager all over again? I couldn't even stand his ass, and yet he had that whole badass-in-the-back-of-the-class charm that drew me in like candied bacon.</i>

The dynamic between the Predator player and Simeon, the quarterback for the Barons who we saw a lot of in book one, was perfect. A mix of hate, confusing fascination, games, oneup-manship, and (by the end, at least) real, disarming, beautiful, affection. Throwing these two at-odds adults together, who are basically oversized children themselves, and putting them in charge of sassy straight-talking youth in an effort to promote the teamwork they failed to show themselves was just nonstop entertainment.

"<i>I feel like writing apology letters to every teacher who ever had to deal with me.</i>"

But there is also a lot of wonderful dialogue about queer culture, basic human respect, and understanding mixed in among Hassell's banter and flirting, all set up to help educate Adrián's tendency to make jokes he believed to be funny and harmless until Simeon offered up a woke perspective. It does a pretty great job at keeping the narrative informative, without reading like a TED Talk or essay, and yet still being relevant as fuck to the story itself.

<i>I wanted us to fuck so he could know how it felt to be a queer in a homophobic industry, and then regret everything he'd ever said while in his feelings about something that had happened years ago. I wanted him to understand.</i>

I've talked about the funny, I've talked about the realness, but I also have to mention the hot factor. It. is. dialed. up. Watching Simeon toy with the supposed-straight boy in the early parts of the story was delicious, watching them tussle and strong arm each other around was fan-worthy, and the brief moment where Adrián hugs Simeon from behind (during a scene I'll keep from spoiling) and does a little puppy snuffle into his neck? I mean, <b>come on</b>, Hassell, you're killing me. The final chapter was perfect, too. I would have been happy seeing it close even without the epilogue but that addition just ended up being the cherry ontop of this beautiful sundae.

<i>Denial was powerful in most men, but Adrián Bravo settled on intrigued.</i>

This whole book was just delightful. Giving this five stars was a no brainer considering I highlighted probably 75% of the file. I really hope there's a book three in the works because, yeah, I can see where the author has made effort to set it up and it has great potential to be a total angst fest, but I also just want more of these characters and this series.

<i>Gavin was still looking at me like he wanted to break my neck. Or maybe that was just his face.</i>

Highly recommend.

5 "we're both messy. can't we just throw caution to the wind and be messy together?" stars

5*, what else?! Santino's books are always perfect.

Just give me two football player who hates each other, and my afternoon is pure perfection while reading the book.
Simeon was love at first read in Illegal Contact, and i was curious about his life as a gay football player, and i wanted to meet his 'enemy to lovers' friend too. Adrián was awesome, and their connection was lovely.
I liked that Gavin showed up too, and helped Simeon.

I loved every minutes of it. Every freaking minute. It was so passionate, and the sex scenes were super amazing, especially the first one (OMG!!! best first one ever!)

If you love enemies to lovers romance with m/m characters, this is your book! Read it!

Two words: Hot Damn!

Simeon of New York Barons and Adrián of New Jersey Predators are rivals – though once they were teammates before Simeon moves to Barons, their rivalry and social media taunting is legendary, and pretty much fueling the media and fans alike. It all breaks loose when they involve in dirty fight on the field. Simeon and Adrián find themselves benched and stuck together doing community service of teaching camp kids.

I will say this again … I am not such a big fan of enemies-to-lovers trope. Sometimes I find it off putting because I cannot see how two people who hate each other can suddenly fall in love. Give me friends-to-lovers every time; that makes my heart goes pitter patter.

BUT Hassell really knows how to write a convincing tale and I always end up wanting the ‘enemies’ to start dueling tongue and to christen every single horizontal (or vertical, I don’t care) spaces they can find *laugh*

I was amused with Simeon and Adrián interaction throughout – yes, sure, they fought and seemed to hate each other (well, since this book has dual perspectives, we know that they really, really don’t *lol*) but it only added up to such delicious sexual tension which I gobbled up like ice cream for dessert.

Slowly but surely the two learn things about each other – amidst of teaching the kids, arguing, and having scorching sex. I admit I was more into Adrián’s journey to figuring out his bisexuality rather than Simeon’s – maybe because Simeon was out and proud already. Simeon has no confusion whatsoever. I loved Adrián’s denial, his confusion, his reaching out, and later his acceptance.

This has been a great series so far. Are there more? Will we ever get Rocky Swoops and his homophobic ass realizes that he is actually into men as well?

4.5/5 Stars

So I recently fell hard for Santino Hassell's writing and jumped at the chance to read Down by Contact early. This Barons sequel focuses on Simeon Boudreaux and Adrián Bravo as their off-field animosity spills onto the football field. There's fist fights, community service, and two cocky men with a point to prove and I couldn't be happier with how it all played out.

Simeon is a charismatic gay QB with a kind heart and laid back manner. He's a bit of a mess which makes him all the more endearing. Adrian is a brash bisexual smart ass who at the start comes off as a huge jerk but once he opens up there's a softer more vulnerable side to him. The progression from spewing vitriol to working together to opening up is a bumpy one, but the two of them make quite the pairing.

Honestly I marvel at the way Hassell weaves hot and heavy romance with such deeply important themes. A major part of this book focuses on questioning and coming to terms with one's sexuality and it's handled with such care. This series also continues to push on the prevalent homophobia in football. Plus this time around it even addresses the smack talk and bullying online as well as locker room convos that are so often demeaning and degrading.

Overall Down by Contact was another excellent romance from Santino Hassell. Delving into Simeon and Adrián's tension filled enemies to lovers story was a hot and heavy emotional affair and both men hold down the narrative. Plus the exploration of topics like discovering your sexuality, homophobia in the NFL, and bullying add important depth. I absolutely recommend picking up The Barons series and cannot wait for the next one.

Review will be published on January 15, 2018 at One Way Or An Author!

Basically, I loved this book, and I’m mad I haven’t stumbled upon this author sooner. Down by Contact gripped me from its first page. It’s a hate-to-love romance between an out and proud gay football player for the Barons, Simeon, and a bisexual football player from a rival team, Adrián, who hides his sexuality behind veiled comments. The dialogue was on-point, the romance had a beautiful build-up, and – dare I say it – the conflict was even really good. I basically devoured this book and stayed up until 4 am in the morning to finish this glorious love story. I’m definitely going to go back and read the first book in this series, Illegal Contact, because Gavin and Noah’s story will probably be just as good.

The hate-to-love progression is done so well. It follows a beautiful progression, and with believable dialogue that employs slang perfectly. We start the book out with Adrián making a homophobic comment about Simeon on Fox News and Simeon tweeting out against him. They’re both angry at each other and this shows on the field, when Adrián punches Simeon and sprains his throwing arm. To fix this situation, their agents plan for them to teach football for a sports program to kids. Together. Obviously, both of them are stunned and more than a little hesitant. But they try to work together either way. And then… sparks fly.

“There was a hardness and a sweetness to Simeon that intoxicated me with every touch. It made me pant for him, salivate for him, and think of nothing but my aching need to feel his body completely bared against my own.”

Simeon is such a sweetheart, and definitely my favorite of the two. He’s pretty easygoing, loyal, and not ashamed of who he is. He has a wonderful and supportive family, as well as a team that doesn’t give him crap about his sexuality despite working and playing in a hypermasculine environment. I love how Simeon isn’t afraid to call Adrián out on his homophobic comments and subtle microaggressions. It’s really easy to let these comments and actions go, but noticing and pointing them out is what makes a difference. Adrián in turn learns a lot.

Adrián took a while to grow on me because of his problematic actions in the beginning, but I started liking him after he recognized his love for Simeon. After that, he grows up a lot more and starts taking responsibility. At first he’s always making crass jokes and behaves like a vapid, entertaining jock. But he’s actually quite sweet and sensitive, especially towards his loved ones. Adrián also goes through a lot in this book, as he reconciles his feelings for Simeon despite thinking he was straight his entire life. He soon realizes that his antagonistic attitude towards Simeon after leaving his team was his way of lashing out. Adrián also has to deal with his controlling father, who raised him to be a winner in everything he does. I loved seeing his character development and his evolution from jerk to loving boyfriend.

“‘I need you to tell me I won’t ruin your career be being in your life. Because no matter how hard I try to be discreet, I know somehow… I’ll screw it up. ‘Cause that’s me, boo. I’m a mess. A loveable mess, but still a goddamn mess.”

I believe the author Hassell is bisexual as well, making this book #ownvoices (although I’m not completely sure). Simeon is from New Orleans and is black (1/4 white? His father was half-white). We get so explore some of the hardships of Hurricane Katrina as well from his perspective. Adrián is Puerto Rican and lives in New York. Their families are both refreshing and loving, and Simeon’s friends are wonderful. The interactions with the kids at the program are also awesome. 😀 All the relationships were so wholesome in this book and I’m SUCH a fan.

5 stars for the love story, for the characters and their personalities, and the social commentary that is done so well in this story.

Content Warning: suicide joke (called out, thank you Simeon!), explicit sexual content

3/5 stars. This book was okay, just okay. I read the first book in the series Illegal Contact and loved that book. I had high expectations that this book would have the same vibe but I just didn't feel it. I did not feel the chemistry at all between Simone and Adrian. I wasn't into the game they were playing between the two of them, it seemed a little much. Adrian can barely kiss Simone without freaking out but can have sex with him because it's part of their "game". Their relationship seemed forced. I honestly didn't like Adrian's character. I probably would have liked it more if the paired Simone with a different character. It wasnt terrible but not as good as the first book.

I've got to be honest... I've been avoiding reviewing this. FOR MONTHS. I think because I liked it but didn't love it. I really had a hard time deciding what I felt about it. But maybe I was not in the right place for it the first time around. But on Christmas day I was free from obligation and wanted to read something that was familiar. And over the previous few days, I'd listened to the audio of Illegal Contact. That book puts me in such a good mood and I didn't want that mood to go away. I didn't want that feeling gone. So, a Down by Contact reread was in order. Plus, I felt like if I was going to do a review, I should probably read it again as it really had been months.

I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers. The bad blood between Simeon and Adrián runs deep. They're horrible to each other. They do and say things that are hurtful and terrible. And yea, they used to be friends, on the same team and probably have a little bit of an understanding on what the other can handle but sometimes it was harsh and difficult to read. And while each of them have their reasons, it's the hurt Simeon has that makes me weep. Simeon, while prone to making really bad decisions in his life, has a heart of gold and really does it for me. Adrián on the other hand, is not likeable... not at first. Not at all. Adrián is frankly a giant dick and I think part of my struggle the first time around was due to the fact that he's such an asshole, so I had a hard time getting past that. I could not reconcile Simeon's need for him, other than for sex. But now that I've had time to digest it, I see it more clearly. And as much as Adrián is a jerk, he does have qualities that are quite endearing. He just needed to stop being such a stupid child and get over himself, and maybe stop being so damn hateful all the time, learn a little bit about macroaggressions and really start to see that the things he was doing and saying were wrong and hurtful. And he does. He gets there, albeit slowly. And once that happens, it's full steam ahead for these men.

I still have some little things I wished were different. Illegal Contact, for me, still reigns supreme, but Down by Contact is a great addition to the series. There is a lot more I could say about this book, but in the end, I think people should pick it up and decide for themselves.

ARC provided by the Publisher via NetGalley

From the moment I started this story of two rival football players in the world of <i>Illegal Contact</i>, I was swept along by the author’s creative use of simple words to create complicated emotions and bring us an exciting, heat-inducing, enemies-to-lovers, coming out story that had me riveted to my e-book reader from the first page to the last.

Yes, there are other stories out there with similar themes, and I’ve read many MM romances in which a major NFL, NBA, or NHL star is outed, harassed by paparazzi, rejected by friends, family, and/or teammates. The man may have been clueless up to this point in life, but something or someone sparks his libido and he realizes he’s gay or bisexual and struggles with self-acceptance, with the relationship itself, and or with other factors that impact the relationship. This story actually falls into that category and yet it’s so much more. The characters seemed larger than life and I cared about both of them, especially Adrian, the character-most-likely-to-offend, from the moment the story opened. Simeon, bestie of Gavin and Marcus, whom we met in <i>Illegal Contact</i>, is the kind of character any reader would like. Sweet, sexy, caring, concerned, more than willing to work with the teens at the center where he and rival player, Adrian Bravo, are assigned after their skirmish on national television and their follow-up social networking comments.

Beneath Adrian’s façade is a guy who finds Simeon sexy and fun to be with and it takes a while for that façade to crack and reveal the real person within. It’s difficult to describe how much I enjoyed the story, the pace, the just-right amount of sexy times, and the heartwarming scenes of deep communication and camaraderie between the two men. Santino Hassell hit all the notes in this one and brings us a fantastic romance that’s difficult to put down. Highly recommended.

My OCD makes me read books in order, so when I discovered Down by Contact is a second in a series, I grabbed myself a copy of Illegal Contact. Then I read it in one swoop (took a nap in between). Loooooooooved it, and then immediately fell into Down by Contact. And oh boy.... 

Whoever tried to sell us that macho men crap was so full of shit, it's not even funny. Hassell is an amazingly sensitive and perceptive man. He has to be to write such detailed complexity into his characters.

Simeon Boudreaux's years long rival, Adrián Bravo, can't keep his tongue in check and his homophobic comments to himself, but when things get heated up on the field, both the Baron's QB and the Predators' linebacker are put on probation, and suspended for two months from active play, "volunteering" together at a community youth club.

Not all is as it seems, and their close proximity and having to be partners at the club, guiding the kids, forces them to open up to each other. A closeted to the point he doesn't even know it Adrián is confronted day by day by his obsession for Simeon. Then, a friendly dare escalates and emotions run high (or maybe lust runs high) and they get involved.

I absolutely enjoyed every graphic second of this romance. Adrián's misunderstood behavior is explained as he realizes the reason for his assholish act, and since it's Simeon who's the one to help him, the emotional aspect of their friendship turned romance is escalating fast and strong.

Gavin and Marcus having their parts in this story made everything that much sweeter (yup, even with Gavin's bubbly personality).

The careful weaving through the layers of the homosexuality issue astounded me. How off handed, mostly unintended slurs and little jabs, are perceived. How kindness and sensitivity are key to coexistence, how it's the base from which relationships of all kinds bud and blossom, is fundamentally etched in every interaction between the various characters.

I love that I found this series. Going to check out the rest of Santino Hassell's work.

2017 was the year I found Santino Hassell and ever since reading Illegal Contact I have been a HUGE fan of his. If I won’t keep myself in check I’ll gush over his amazing writing skills and the authentic feel of his stories all day long.

I’m not kidding when I say that Illegal Contact was EVERYTHING I could have asked for – perfect in every way – a true unicorn of a book. Down by Contact was almost as good as book 1.

Now, before we go on, I LOVED the plot of book 1 to pieces. A notorious black sheep of a football player falling in love with his personal assistant – right there ding, ding, ding – you got me. That’s a hard one to follow…..

In Down by Contact two football players on competing teams found love the unexpected way.

Simeon Boudreaux

Simeon Boudreaux has been a favorite character of mine from the very beginning. His happy, carefree persona was someone I really wanted to get to know better. Openly gay, loving the rush, and not apologizing for it either – Simeon was someone that was immediately captivating. His boyish charm was hard to resist even though some of his choices were quite questionable. But with a laugh and a smile it’s all good again.

Until Simeon goaded and pushed his former team mate Adrián Bravo on the field, during a game, in front of thousands of people. Adrián finally exploded. The ensuing PR nightmare forced those two troublemakers to work together.

That’s when things started to become VERY interesting.

Simeon had a nagging suspicion that Adrián was interested in him. Stolen glances, and his incessant interest in Simeon’s sexuality had him taking note. There was just one tiny problem, Adrián was straight as an arrow – or not…

Adrian, Puerto Rican, linebacker, and one hot mess of a guy. He was adorable, quick tongued, witty and a smarty pants that didn’t know when to stop. You just had to love him, even when he could have used a shake, or a filter on that mouth of his.

The message…

Throughout the book, Santino Hassell brought up the issue about homophobia, and the accompanying bullying in social media, as well as within a locker room. The lighthearted jokes that don’t seem to mean anything but are nevertheless passive aggressive micro aggressions toward homosexuality – suddenly had much deeper meanings.

By having Adrián Bravo struggle with his attraction toward Simeon, the question about being straight, bi, gay was suddenly front and centre. Adrián’s struggle was heart-felt, honest and ultimately timely. Standing up for his feelings, and the man he loved was the perfect way of telling everyone to take a hike.

Besides this book being exceptionally well written, with witty and authentic dialogues (OMG I can’t say it enough, Santino Hassell has a way of giving his characters a real and true voice) the characters made me fall in love with this story. I honestly wanted to crawl into the book and hug Simeon and Adrián. Actually a hug wouldn’t have been enough.

Because Down by Contact was HOT!!!!!!!!!

It might be TMI – but I’m just coming out and saying it as it is – this book turned me on! HOLYMOLY!!!!

I honestly had to control myself, truly buckle down, because the scenes were smoking hot. SIZZLE!

So, not only can Santino Hassell write an exceptional book, he makes me want to jump into the book and grab one or BOTH and have a little threesome. I’m just saying – read it to see what I mean.

And yes, I mean it – PREORDER NOW!!!

Down By Contact is the best mix of enemies to lovers, funny as hell banter, football, and sweet romance. I'm loving this series and wishing for more (I feel like Rocky has a story to tell, right everyone?!). The chemistry and clash of personalities between Simeon and Adrian had me turning pages as quickly as I could and smiling at their antics.

I hope Santino Hassell is having as much fun writing this as I'm having reading it. He builds and breaks the tension with the perfect touch and the way he writes the inner monologues are both insightful and pitch perfect for each character. Hassell seems to know exactly when to push the plot forward and when to let us spend time in the moment just as he has a good feel for how much to insert about the secondary characters (loved seeing some of my favorites from the last book!).

I know it's not realistic to expect any of Santino Hassell's series ongoing forever but I can't help it. He creates worlds and characters that are interesting to escape to and hard to leave. I am eager to see what he writes next. Until then, I have a few novels on his backlist that I cannot wait to get into.

*blog link to come when review is live*

*** I received an ARC of this book in order to provide an honest review ***

4.5 stars

Shut. the front door, y'all! After the WEEK FROM HELL I stumbled into an adorable, sassy-mouthed, steamy, sweet, and funny read that turned my frown upside down!

"'Mister Softee? Sounds like a gay-for-pay bottoming porn scene.'"

Adrian and Simeon play football on opposing teams and have a random ridiculous grudge. When it gets out of hand during a pre-season game they end up serving some community service hours together. Let the sparks fly...

Simeon is gay. Adrian is...obsessed with Simeon. I ADORED how the author honestly and realistically portrayed Adrian working through his feelings and figuring himself out. Simeon was sweet, romantic and helpful in a non-doormat way. Adrian was larger than life - funny and insecure and struggling and idiotic. I laughed out loud while reading - and I haven't laughed in more than two weeks.

"Those big, pretty eyes and wide lips flashing ridiculously infections grins had caught me then, and even now, they weren't letting me go."

Really good hate to love story! I mean...they REALLY hated each other. lol

This has Hassell's trademark gritty style but I found this couple to be really adorable and sweet together which surprised me given how they start out.

Down by Contact got a little heavy handed on messaging, even though I agree with everything and liked how it confronted things like toxic masculinity- especially in sports culture - but at times it felt like pausing for a lesson rather than a natural extension of the story/dialogue.

I also think it ended rather abruptly but that's an issue I've had with this author's writing in general and wouldn't deter me from highly recommending this book in any way. I was so absorbed by this story & characters that I forgot to eat. lol And yay for having complex friendships and female characters - something not often seen in M/M romance.

Illegal Contact (book 31 in the Baron's series) was very good but, even with my few quibbles, I enjoyed Down by Contact even more.

Really good and hot as all get out! It's Santino Hassell, though, so what do you expect?

Generally enemies-to-lovers tales are not my thing, but between this and<I> Hate To Want You </I>I am on a roll. It really is amazing to go from absolutely despising one or both of the main characters and being completely unable to see how they could possibly end up together, to being like 'of course they belong together, duh.'

This book was so great! There was such fantastic humor in it - I laughed at least once a chapters. I thought Simeon and Adrian were both likeable characters, but were unique and fit well together. The romance was swoony and their chemistry was undeniable.. I loved seeing them volunteer at the Center and teaching kids, it added a heartfelt community element that elevated the story. This was just a really enjoyable and addicting read.

Sorry, this book just did not work for me and rather than post a negative review, I will just not post one. I just could not connect with the characters and had some issues with the plot as well. 2.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review!


Yowza, this book was chock full of hotness. Fiesty dudes, getting busy with each other! Sexual tension you could cut with a knife! Emotional turmoil and angst!


Serioualy though, I loved this book so much I read it in a few hours. The first book was better, in my opinion, because, well, Gavin Brawley was super effing sexy! This one had some ridiculously heated scenes though, and definitely differentiated Simeon and Adrian from Gavin and Noah. They didn't feel like generic copies, like so many romance series following different couples each time seem to fall into.


Definitely thinking there will be a third (probably Rocky? paired with Wyatt maybe?), and will definitely be all in for that one too.

I love a good enemies to lovers story, especially one with good back and forth banter. Down to You is one of those books that gripped me from the start and didn’t let go. This is the first book of Santino Hassell’s I’ve read, and I can’t wait to read more!

Adrián and Simeon don't get along. They are on rival football teams and there is bad blood between them. When they get aggressive with each other and both end up suspended, they end up being forced to spend much more time together then they would like.

Simeon and Adrián aren’t friends, but the more time they spend together, the more they can both see redeemable qualities in each other. More than that, they are both attracted to one another, even if Adrián doesn’t want to admit his attraction. The build up to them being together… gah! I loved the slow burn! Once it finally happened, though… holy hell. HOT!

I loved both Simeon and Adrián. Both were real and raw characters. I enjoyed the banter between the two, and loved even more seeing them together for real. The last bit was a real treat. There were great supporting characters as well. Overall, I really enjoyed this story! I can’t wait to read more from this author. I think I need to go back and read Illegal Contact ASAP!

*There will be mild spoilers in this review*

Once again I am going to be odd man out. This book was really a mixed bag for me. I went into this thinking it was going to be lighter and sweet based on the first book of this series. It was not. The first 60% had me hanging on every word. It reminded me of the original Five Borough books. It was gritty and is probably the only "hate sex" book I've ever read where I felt like the characters did actually hate each other.

Simeon and Adrian end up having to coach some youth at a local community center as penitence for their bad behavior towards each other on and off the field. I had a preconceived idea of what Simeon was like from the first book so I was surprised when I found he was completely different here. I was expecting Adrian to be a jerk (and man was he) but I was surprised that I didn't care for Simeon either. (While Adrian makes a lot of mistakes they're mostly out of ignorance. Simeon came across as malicious in parts).

Basically the plot is that the two men enter into this big game of gay chicken. It wasn't the light hearted, innocent way of discovery as is often portrayed in other books. These two are resentful of their attraction to each other. Parts made me super uncomfortable. Adrian doesn't want to be attracted to Simeon and he's cruel in places. There's one scene where Simeon has given him a blow job and then tries to kiss him and Adrian gets upset and physically pushes him so hard Simeon falls back and almost hits his head. And honestly Simeon's not much better. He's so filled with anger and dislike. His inner thoughts were brutal towards Adrian. An example of what's going through Simeon's mind while they're having sex:

"Bitterness surged up from my gut with enough force to choke me. I didn't let it. Instead, I smiled and focused every once of my queer resentment on Adrian."

So......not sweet. Not romantic. But the author had me hooked at this point. I felt like I was reading something really unique and maybe a book that would invite some discussion. The entire dynamic made me sad but I thought that's it's probably a very real dynamic for a lot of gay/bi men.

But then around 65% Adrian has this total change of heart and they go from hate to love and devotion in a hot minute. So quickly my neck still hurts from the whiplash. It completely jacked up the flow for me and honestly I hated it. It turned this gritty, realistic feeling, story into romantic fluff, complete with the magical coming out as a declaration of love (which anyone who follows my reviews knows I loathe as a plot point).

One of my other complaints is the slang. I thought maybe I should not mention it because I've brought it up in the last couple of reviews on this author's work but then I decided if he can keep doing it, I can keep mentioning it. Every single book has the exact same lingo and slang. It's almost funny. Almost. You can not have characters from various part of the US, various economic backgrounds, various ethnic groups and have them all talk the same. Every time. Every book. This book contained 1 Extra, 2 Fuckboys, 5 Salties and 7 Thirsties.

My other big complaint in the social justice education. This seems to be a current trend in this genre and I can't stand it. But, I realize that's just my personal feeling and maybe other readers enjoy this. Here's where it went really wrong for me though. There's a ton of Simeon "educating" Adrian and the term "microaggression" is used three times as a part of the lectures. And then they all sit down for Thanksgiving dinner. Seriously!?! You're going to lecture me about All the things and then have your MC's celebrate a flipping fictional holiday that is essentially the beginning of an annihilation of an entire people? Ironic much? (Get out of here with that. #NoThanks #NoGiving)

So.....despite my discomfort of the dynamics between the two men, I really liked the first 65% or so. It was headed for being a 5 star read. Then it all went downhill for me and became a 2 star read. I'm just going to average it together for the 3.

**ARC received from publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**