Boy...the series keeps getting better and better. I loved Robby's and Matt's story. They each had a very different journey and I'm glad the author didn't hold back in regards to the harsh reality of LGBTQ youth who are cast aside by thier families. No less touching was Matt's struggle with his sexual identity, his role as a father and his need to make peace with his best friend. I love Brick and Kane and that men like them were confident enough in who they were to welcome and embrace Robby as thier friend and then thier "brother". Matt and Robby's romance had its share of bumps and bruises but it was sweet, sexy and sigh worthy.

I didn't totally love this book but maybe it is because I did not read the first two in the series. Rob is a construction worker who has a dark past, sadly, that he is trying to put behind him. He was on the streets at a young age and submitted to be owned, so to speak, as a teen by an much older man who abused him in all ways while also providing for him. Robby is still trying to get past all that he is lived through. Matt works at the same place and also has a past he is trying to move on from. HE has an ex-girlfriend, a 1 year old son and a life he is not so sure about as he is trying to figure out what he wants. Rob and Matt become friend and then become more. They become really close but do not share all of their secrets which causes problems for both of them in their new and fragile relationship. This is good story full of sadness angst and pain and how two men are trying to overcome all the problems they have faced while building a relationship together.

Robby by Jen Davis is book Three in the Cooper Construction Series. This is the story of Robby and Matt. I have read the previous books but feel you can make this a standalone book, the previous characters do intertwine into this book too. If you have been reading the others, then you know Robby is the nerdy young man who helps do the office type work at the construction site, but this book opens up his back story too along with a love interest. Matt has issues of his own and doesn't know about Robby's crush or much else going on due to his focus on own personal life and with the job.
Ms. Davis is getting me more hooked on her writing with each book.

What do I say about Robby? It's filled with angst, past abuse, drugs, sexual abuse, first time, romance, and it's a beautifully written book. Jen Davis did a great job with this book, and I have to admit I've haven't read the first two books. We have Robby who's been through hell and back. He overcame all the difficulties that were dealt to him when his parent's kicked him out. He still has hangups about his past and he's been hiding from his friends. Robby has a crush on Matt.
Matt is gay, have a child, shy, don't talk much and he loves his child. He's dealing with finances, baby mama drama, and the pressure of getting married. This book has a great flow to it and is easy to read
I loved how Kane and Brick are so protective of Robby. The book is sweet, romantic, and I truly enjoyed it.

This isn’t just a romance, it’s also about people finding themselves and being true to who they are and what they want. Both Matt and Robby are characters you love , the plot is good and has the usual angst you’d expect to keep you interested. Overall a nice story.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This was a good MM romance. I haven’t read a ton of MM but I will say I liked this one. It is perfect for those that might not be sure how they feel about trying something new. Matt and Robby were great. I like that Robby was so strong and the fact that he turned his life around for the better.

Matt was hard to get a read on. He didn’t really know him self and in this story we saw him trying to to figure out what he wanted. I really wish we saw more of him with his son. He was a big part of his reason for working so hard but we didn’t see him much or Matt’s Mom. It seemed like filler to me at times.

The overall plot was good. A crazy type ex, a man who doesn’t know who he really is, and a super sweet romance. I read the first book by this author and I loved seeing all the characters again. I will say I struggled with the POV. At times it was more like I was being told instead of really seeing the things that were happening but I still enjoyed the story. 4 stars #2OCCJD

This is one of those love stories that is so much more than just a tale of romance. This is two people fighting fiercely for what they want as the past threatens to overtake them. This story is about being courageous, moving forward, embracing the past and about a million other things. It will wring out your heart then make you happy that you are a human being.

This is about two men with challenging pasts. When they find each other, they’re at different stages of their self-discovery. There are some things they can uncover together, but other things are going to take a hell of a lot of work. Robby has had a rough start. Even though he’s still young, he’s dealing with addiction and a past that has left emotional and physical scars. Robby has an innocent crush on his co-worker, Matt… at least it’s innocent until it seems that the feelings may be reciprocated.

Matt’s life is complicated by a past that has left him with a child he adores and a best friend that hates him. He’s given up school and most everything else to try and provide his son and the woman who gave birth to him. They have a complicated entanglement but Matt wants nothing more than to be the best father he can be and continue to provide for his son.

When Robby and Matt’s lives begin to intertwine, things get even more complicated. It’s challenging enough for these two men to deal with each other’s pasts, but their friends and chosen-family have their own ideas.

Of note: I adored the chosen-family relationship or Robby, Brick, and Kane. They may seem an unlikely trio, coming from such different backgrounds, but they are fiercely protective of one another… and candid with their advice-giving. What a joy it was to read about such healthy relationships between a group of men from diverse backgrounds.

This book is part three of the Cooper Construction series, but it can be read as a stand-alone. (There will be slight relationship spoilers). I’m now looking forward to going back to read the first two!

I like the way that the construction crew Robby works for is accepting of EVERYONE. This has been an awesome series.

2* Has everything and the kitchen sink in it. Far too much happening, and in need of a good edit.

Firstly, I'm hoping that this ARC will undergo substantial editing and proofing before release, as there are grammatical errors, missing words, wrong words and typos. It made for a bit of a disjointed read on what was already a busy read.

It's the 3rd book in a series, but I had no trouble picking it up and figuring things out. Unfortunately, the blurb is far, far better than the book itself, and it's not really that true to the tale. I suspect the blurb was written first - and admittedly it sounds good - and then a tale was attempted to fit the blurb, but what I read didn't manage that. Robby might be a strong guy who's been formed by his past, but I didn't read any of the blurb in him; he wasn't alpha enough and he kept hiding behind a clipboard, so he and the blurb were at complete odds.

There's a lot going on here - a nasty Daddy of an ex who could have broken Robby, a past that could have broken Robby but who made him the guy who's survived, a former friend who tries to ruin things for Robby, a possibly ace boyfriend, the boyfriend's son and baby mama, and more, like jumping to conclusions and not thinking for oneself and not giving people the benefit of the doubt, and not listening to your instincts about the person you claim to love. It's a bit of a mess, tbh, as it's all going on at the same time and there are too many characters and too many things happening. The book didn't know what to focus on, and then more got added when Robby had an idea about what to do with an empty building, and it didn't work, because for stuff like that you need to be vetted, to have permits, have staff, etc. It really did feel like the author tried to cram too much into the tale. Sorry.

The book needs editing. It needs a competent editor to weed some of the filler out and breathe some life into it. It needs tropey dialogue like, 'stop trying to top from the bottom' removing, because there is no way that I-may-be-ace Matt was trying to top, or was a top. It needs trope-y stuff like being handed into about the LGBTQIA spectrum being handed to Matt and him being told to find himself on it. And, everyone knows that you cannot use condoms with oil...

I couldn't believe in the tale, or the about face that one character made, and it didn't really work for me. It had some bones to it, but there was just too much going on. A survivor of the streets, of abuse, and a possibly ace black man alone could have made for a decent read without all the baggage, but as it is, they both got lost in the latter of the tale.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Limitless Publishing, for my reading pleasure.