I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I was hoping for more in this friends-to-lovers story but felt the dialogue too be choppy and distracting.

I was really looking forward to this book, but it didn't live up to my expectations. While I did enjoy Logan and the friends to lovers storyline, I didn't care for the back and forth parts of the story. It just got old really quick and I almost stopped reading the book several times.

I would read from this author again, but I don't know that I would recommend this book to readers.

I appreciated being able to experience the budding relationship between the characters. Especially with the knowledge that they grew up together. The romantic scenes were tastefully done and did not feel like they were thrown in just for fan service. This book shined a very accurate light on some of the lesser talked-about members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Playing Around is a New Adult , sexy and emotional engaging , friends to lovers romance with a HEA.

Christian and Logan are two young men of color , who born and live in a conservative , small town in the south of the United States and are heading to college . The experience it is an eye opening for them both and it will change the direction of their lives.

In summary: Playing around is an entertaining and feel good read . I wish the heroes communication skills were better , Christian’s hot and cold attitude was annoying after a while but I guess it shows how young they really are. Also, an epilogue will have been great , seeing how their families deal with they guys relationship.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review.

Best friends to lovers. Roommates. POC representation, specifically black men living in the South (YES). Bi, poly, and trans representation. I'm quite new to reading romance, but this is by far my favorite that I've read so far. While the boys sleep together quite early on, the author does a great job at keeping up the tension and suspense with how their relationship develops.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you NetGalley!

Such a great read. I adored these characters and definitely found myself rooting for their happiness.

What's interesting about this love story is the fact that these two best friends have grown up in a place where they weren't exposed to anyone different, or even anyone else of color like them. They grew up in a small town like I live in and understand, though theirs was even more conservative. College was eye opening for both Christian and Logan.

What at times made this feel way more new adult than romance for me was their maturity level. These guys are just freshmen in college, not great at communicating, and figuring so much out, about their lives in general. It was a good read and I enjoyed the ending, where they opened up more. I do wish I could have gotten more at the end, like them going home, or an epilogue or something? But I did like the story.

This book was about two longtime friends, Christian and Logan, who go to college and are roommates. They are really close and both end up getting girlfriends. They end up getting intimate with their girlfriends in their dorm room and in really piques their feelings for each other. Christian's girlfriend suggest that they might have feelings for each other and Christian talks to Logan about it--and they end up pursuing their feelings. Things start out good but get complicated the more involved they get with each other and the closer they start to feel to each other. Christian is really confused. His girlfriend ends up breaking up with him and then he is even more confused. Eventually they work everything out but it take awhile for them to get there. The writing in this book is pretty basic and so are the characters. Nothing was outstanding and I found myself skimming a lot in the middle just to get to the end to see what happened. I liked Christian and Logan--they both seemed like nice honest guys but the story seemed like it was lacking a little depth. I did like the ending though.

I’m waffling on my rating for this one. I did enjoy it, but was routinely frustrated.

So let’s just break it down:

What I liked:
- Logan, he was so loveable and honestly just needed a hug
- Sexual discovery, it’s one of my favorite tropes
- The chemistry was on point when showcased
- Friend to lovers
- The steam, super hot
- Trans/Poly/POC visibility. Definitely don’t see enough of that.



What I didn’t love as much:

- Christian’s hot and cold routine. I legit HATE when a MC just ghosts someone
- Lack of communication; they never say what they’re thinking unless confronted and forced
- The girlfriend storylines (especially Charlotte) drug on for way too long
- Lots of mentioned or on page M/F sex. Just a warning

Despite some grievances; I’d say I’m coming away with positive feelings so I think I’m going to round up. I did like them together, and I definitely wanted their happy ending. I do wish we could see more of them as they deal with their families, and try to build a life together.

“The tears fell freely, and for once, he didn’t care about looking weak. He had his strength right there in his arms, and that was all that mattered.”