Clueless Cabot was a pretty good book but unfortunately it just didn't do it for me.

Cabot and Llyod have been friends for years. Cabot is gay and Llyod is straight ... mostly. But Cabot has been in love with Lloyd for years.

I thought the flirting between Cabot and Lloyd was sweet and funny, but Cabot could be quite clueless at times and that was frustrating. Also Malcom is the most disgusting character ever, what even!!

All in all this book is sweet but kinda forgettable? I wish it were longer and I wish the characters had been a bit more fleshed out.

Young gay professional Cabot MacCrae has been in love with his sexy best friend, Lloyd, since high school. They’re in perfect sync on almost everything. The only problem is that Lloyd is straight.

Cabot resigned himself long ago to pining hopelessly. Then Lloyd, a roofer, takes a bad fall and injures his collarbone. When he needs some TLC, there’s no question that Cabot will be the one to nurse his friend back to health. But Lloyd’s scantily clad presence in Cabot’s house brings out Cabot’s old longings.

But when Lloyd’s well-meaning mother and aunt fix Cabot up with a blind date, Lloyd reacts like a jealous boyfriend. Lloyd’s reaction makes Cabot wonder if those longings are as unrequited as he’s always assumed. What if Lloyd has been pining for him all these years? Has Cabot just been clueless all along?

This was a quick, fun romance novella! It was entirely character-driven, but in a good way.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

It's a good book with a nice flow but the characters are a bit too... dense? And (Spoiler Alert) what's with the secret crush of Lloyd? Why would he keep it secret all those years when he knew all about Cabot? I would have preferred a more realistic ending but aside from that it was a nice story.

A good one-sitting read kind of book. There wasn't really any "what will happen next?" kind of feelings, and all in all it was rather predictable. The characters were fairly interesting, though, and the story was good.

I just couldn't get into this for some reason, but I can't seem to put my finger on why, other than I didn't fully connect with the characters.

My Review: I was originally drawn to this book by the cover (honestly, you throw food on a book cover and I will want to read it), but I really wanted to pick it up because of the clear friends to lovers trope. This was a very quick read and I would have preferred it to have been a little longer. We get to know Cabot and Lloyd pretty quickly but I would have liked to have seen more of their friendship before they are forced to face feelings and emotions. I really felt bad for Cabot, everyone kept harassing him for being clueless but no one really helps the guy out either. There is some tension but not quite as much as I had hoped for, but the relationship did develop quickly. I also really liked the close knit family feel to the story as well. I did enjoy the story, I just feel like it would have been so much better if it was fleshed out a bit more.

My Rating: This was a great read if you are looking for a short single sitting book with a happily ever after ending. I would have liked a little more to it personally but it was still an enjoyable read. I give it a rating of Three Paws.

I wish it was longer! I enjoyed the characters and was hoping to see a little more character development. But for such a short book the author sure was able to pack a lot of awesome things into it.

My first read by André D. Michaels, Clueless Cabot is a m/m friends to lover’s contemporary romance. I liked the characters and the story and will look to explore more by this author and will recommend to readers of this genre.

This was okay for me. I found the lack of honest communication frustrating (on the part of both men), and I couldn't stand the character of Malcolm was one of the most irritating and unlikable characters I've encountered in a long time. :(

Separately, I liked both Cabot and Floyd, but man, they couldn't communicate for anything, and I felt like too much rested on that fact (when any adult would've talked through things much sooner, imo).

The supporting characters (especially Lloyd's family) were pretty fantastic, though, and the support and love they offered made up for a lot.

I enjoyed reading Clueless Cabot. It was an enjoyable take on the friends to lovers story. In my opinion, Lloyd was pretty clueless too. Hinting and game playing are always the best way to express one's self and to be taken seriously. Loved the characters and the slow burn realizations. Michaels' word-crafting was very well done.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3 and 1/2 Stars. I enjoyed this book and it was a pleasure to read it for NetGalley. I would have given it 4 stars because it was such a sweet story. However, I became very frustrated with just how clueless Cabot truly was. It was so obvious that Lloyd loved and wanted him. It was still an enjoyable read and I would certainly recommend it.

3.5 stars of Delightfull Clueless

Clueless Cabot by André D. Michaels is a quirky , sweet and humorous , easy to read, light-hearted short story.

It tells the tale of Cabot and Lloyd , two twentysomething best friends since they were pretweens.
Cabot is gay , think Lloyd is straight and have been secretly in love with Lloyd forever.
Lloyd is straight-ish , wants more than friendship with Cabot , have been giving hints about it , for a long time.
Yet , friendly , delightful and very clueless Cabot remains oblivious to Lloyd's constant clues and innuendos.

I had fun reading this book. I liked the heroes , the playful and bit OTT colorful plot and the supporting cast of characters. Even Malcolm , the worst EVER , blind date in history of blind dates , was ridiculously entertaining .

What I would have like to see , that wasn't ? A longer story , characters a bit more flesh out and developed .

Clueless Cabot is my first book by this author , I liked his writing style . Looking forward reading more books by him.



I just reviewed Clueless Cabot by André D. Michaels from #NineStarPress through #NetGalley and am leaving my voluntary review.

I had a hard time with this book because neither character seemed likeable and the time span was weird. There's absolutely no way this would have happened with two grown men in their late 20s. The forced plot with the blind date was also odd. Oh and the epilogue at the funeral for his dad? Um no.

The problems I have with this book are not because of the story itself, actually I always love bestfriends falling in love. The problems are in the building of the book. It took me an hour to get through the entire book, there was no building, or tension, or anything. It was a quick read I enjoyed, but it would've been SOOOO much better if it were a longer book with more background.

Clueless Cabot by André D. Michaels was my first book by this author and I loved it. The writing and story are so good! I loved Cabot and Lloyd.

Cabot and Lloyd love each other as best friends, or is it more… or less… or… two confused men trying to take care of each other like they always have (or maybe differently). – Kinzie Things

I enjoyed this novel and its messy main characters. Cabot and Lloyd have been best friends for a very, very long time. Pretty much since the moment he knew that he was gay, Cabot has known that he was attracted to Lloyd but has never acted on it. After all, that’s not how you keep a best friend.

These two characters are sure a mess when it comes to one another. Cabot is hiding the way he feels about his best friend and Lloyd is giving off a lot of “wrong” messages… he’s fiercely protective of Cabot, makes teasing remarks all the time and the two of them are practically family.

What I enjoyed about these two characters was the fact that their friendship was so important to them that they weren’t willing to jeopardize it… to the point that it almost made them miss out on something very wonderful and amazing. It takes a rather nasty blind date and an attempted sexual assault to really push things to the forefront between these two confused fellows.

One of the interesting things about this book is that there are a few serious issues woven through the clumsy push and pull of Cabot and Lloyd. Cabot is set up on a blind date which results in an attempted sexual assault. Lloyd’s family is dealing with a life=threatending illness and Lloyd has had an accident that has left him unable to continue working as a roofer. All these serious – yet still every-day kinds of things are woven seamlessly into the plot. It’s like reading about someone’s real life.

I wish the novel had been longer, it was an enjoyable read and I really enjoyed the characters!

** spoiler alert ** This is very cute. It was the perfect chaser to the angstier books I've been reading lately and I really liked it. I got frustrated with the main character a few times because he's so clueless, but it didn't detract from enjoying the story. I giggled out loud during the blind date (well, until the last part) and loved the side characters. If you're looking for a cute romp full of misunderstanding tropes, this is a good choice.

This story was a bit of an exercise in frustration, but not in an entirely bad way.

Cabot and Lloyd met and became inseparable at eleven years old, with Cabot coming out to Lloyd in his junior year of high school, and Lloyd not even batting an eye.

But there might have been a reason behind that easy acceptance, seeing as Lloyd is an MC in a *gay* romance and all. ;- )

Yeah, these two had cautiously flitted around one another for seventeen years, without ever divulging how they truly felt, but that all changed when Lloyd fell out a window and Cabot stepped up to help him recover.

Unlike Lloyd, getting dates had never been as easy for Cabot as, well, falling out a window, so when Lloyd's Ma and great aunt set him up on a blind date, he reluctantly agreed.

However, when that shit show, I mean "date", went south, Lloyd was there (and surprisingly possessive) to swoop in and save the day.

And duuuuude, let me tell you, it's been a few years since a side character has been so skeevy that made me want to take a hot shower. In Draino.

But sweet baby Jesus, Malcolm was that bitch to make it happen again. If he was based on a real person, I truly pity the author for ever having the misfortune to cross paths with such an unrepentant, entitled asshole.

The story went pretty much as I would've predicted from simply reading the blurb, without any real deviations from the expected, but I did find myself genuinely enjoying all of the side characters.

The reading voyeur in my was happy about all of the casual nudity and playful flirting between the boys, and enjoyed the limited amount of steam, once the story finally progressed to that point.

I don't really see this book curing cancer or reinventing the wheel, but I found it to be a good filler read, and would rate it around 3.5 stars.