This romance was all I needed. Real, tangible, and humorous. Where has this author been all my reading life?

4 1/2 STARS!

Jeremiah was my first time reading Jayce Ellis but it will NOT be my last. Wow. She really knows how to write a sweet but also super hot romance and I am here for it!

Jeremiah and Collin were super sweet together, the way they each tried to take care of each other in little ways, or when they'd cuddle on the couch or in a chair.

But they also had amazing, scoring chemistry. Damn, the sex scenes were so good! The theatre hand job? The teasing in the car? All the fucking?? So. Damn. Good.

I will say that I had some issues with the pacing at times, and often was confused if it had been two days or two weeks that passed. But it wasn't enough to ruin my reading experience and I was enjoying their romance so much that I was able to move past it. Still, that would be the only thing keeping this from a "perfect" 5 star.

Still, I cannot wait to read the next one from Ellis!

Jeremiah Stewart isn’t out to his family, though his friends know. He’s just never seen the point of telling his family when there hasn’t been a man worthy of introducing them to. When Jeremiah stumbles across a trio, two of whom are obviously drunk, he helps get them into an apartment downstairs. And the pretty, dark-haired man who is sober is so attractive that Jeremiah wants more. But when he gets the brush off, Jeremiah doesn’t push.

Collin Galloway’s life isn’t perfect, but he’s making do. His two closest friends keep him going forward. And after he meets Jeremiah, Collin regrets not taking a chance. But life keeps putting them in each other’s path. And eventually, they’re able to move forward.

The attraction between the men is real and intense. But Jeremiah still isn’t out and he knows he’s going to have to take that step soon. His feelings for Collin are real, and he wants Collin in every part of his life. But when the choice is taken out of his hands, things go sideways. Both men still want to be with each other, but neither knows how to proceed. If they want their forever kind of happy, Jeremiah and Collin are going to have to learn it’s okay to lean on each other.

I picked this one up because the blurb definitely piqued my interest. I’m a sucker for an MC who is only partially out, not ready to take that step with his family for a particular reason until he’s found someone he wants to really be with. Jeremiah embodies this as a character. He’s confident in who he is and what he wants, but he’s close with his family, and considering the history, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to cause turmoil until it really mattered.

Collin has his own baggage to deal with, including a healthy fear of abandonment. Ellis does a great job of piecing this together with Jeremiah’s hang ups so that the story flows seamlessly. These guys have great chemistry that sparks and jumps of the page, and it only grows as the story goes on. They have a rocky start, to be sure, and there’s a bit of slow build, at least when it comes to the sexual things. But it means that they’re in a good place when they take the relationship to the next level.

I liked how organic their relationship felt. There was a realism here as the MCs start seeing each other, and how that progressed in conjunction with the external forces pushing on them. I liked that they brought out confidence in each other, and I liked that it took them time to get to a place where they could open up with each other.

The pacing was solid throughout the story, though there were a few things that felt a little too drawn out to me. Collin’s BFF’s secret was obvious to me, but that it kept going for so long and was revealed in the way it was didn’t work as well for me because I felt like it wasn’t resolved enough for as big a stake in it as Collin had. The secondary characters were well fleshed out and added to the story, but also there were a lot of them and I felt as though some side stories were resolved too quickly and less than satisfactorily. Since this is the first of a series, perhaps that will continue on, but there’s not a clear indication. One plot point, with Jeremiah’s brother, felt entirely unresolved, which didn’t sit well with me. However, this too is an indication of real life, so I have mixed feelings about it.

All in all, this was a solid story. I loved the connection between the MCs, and I loved Jeremiah’s confidence in himself. Collin and Jeremiah are so well matched, and it makes for a nice romance. Pick this one up if you’re looking for MCs who take care of each other when they need it and find their HEA.

About a year ago I DNFed this book at 26%, but I’m happy to have given this book a second chance!

I have some issues with the sexual stuff, how it’s phrased, and sometimes pacing of scenes felt oddly rushed, but I love the friendship and chosen family. Plus Jeremiah and Collin’s emotional development was very well done!

Jeremiah is a paramedic but when a merger is happening he’s worried about his job security, especially because he’s had the same job for 10 years, making him more expensive to keep around. One night after spending time with his best friend Chucky and his girlfriend Veronica, Jeremiah runs into a drunk trio in the elevator and is immediately attracted to Collin. It takes a couple run-ins (including one when Ryan, Collin’s best friend, gets injured by a firework) before they’re able to start talking and building a relationship.

I personally wasn’t always comfortable with the ways the instant attraction was described or expressed, but I loved and appreciated how they built a personal rapport before acting on that attraction. I love the ways Jeremiah and Collin get to know one another and learn to open up and trust.

Jeremiah’s friendship with Chucky is honestly one of my favorite parts of this book. They have such a deep bond, and I love the ways they just get one another. Plus, the ways Chucky has Jeremiah’s back just warmed my heart; I love deep friendships like they share.

I was really hesitant with this book because the synopsis (or at least way I read it) implied that Jeremiah felt he had to come out to be with Collin, and I’m eternally dubious of stories where there’s a pressure for one or the other to come out in order to be together. It’s one thing to set a boundary, but to pressure someone because they’re not out in the way you want them to be or on your timetable just isn’t something I can enjoy. FORTUNATELY, that is not the case with this book AT ALL, which is all the more reason I’m glad I gave this a second chance. Jeremiah has wanted to tell his mom for an age that he’s gay, but he’s also not wanted to make a big deal about it, and just be able to bring someone home. Collin is the first person he’s wanted to bring home, and so there’s an element t the book where he’s working up the courage and finding the words to speak his truth. This is made more complicated because his brother is overtly homomisic and there’s hurt feelings that Jeremiah’s father left his moms for a man (he had been upfront about his bisexuality but when Jeremiah’s dad cheated with a man, his mom had some stuff to work through).

This ended up being a really sweet romance with great chosen family and blood family bonds. I love the friendship dynamics and the way Jeremiah and Collin’s relationship developed on an emotional level.

The writing of this book was really well done and I liked the characters but overall I just wasn't super interested in the book. I will be waiting for the next one from this author because she has such a great style.

*~~*ARC kindly provided from the publisher/author to me for an honest review *~~*

Full review to come

5 stars

As a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher ( Carina Press) for a copy of this book. This novel was enjoyable for me as I read it less than a week before bed. Jeremiah is a male-male romance filled with the complexity that many Queer men of color face when coming out. Its characters add humor to this topic and overall its romance is worth completing this short but lovely read. I gave this novel 4 stars on good reads.

I made a big reviewer error in not writing a review immediately after I finished this. I did not really care for this though and my review would have been the first one up and I hate being the first one to post with a negative review. Then.....well, I forgot about this book and now I can't remember specific issues I had with it.

Overall though it was just boring to me. Very slow. Very clunky writing in places. Lot's of internal monologues. I really didn't care for Jeremiah or his obnoxious friends and family. I liked the other MC better but also didn't like his friends.

There was nothing about this that stood out. Not in plot, characters or writing style. Easy to forget. I doubt I will try the next in the series.

**ARC provided through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

This was a well written romance about two men finding love in each other and falling in love. It didn't take me long to read and I enjoyed the story.

Good story from a new-to-me author.

Jeremiah is the first book I've read by Jayce Ellis. Based on her Goodreads and Amazon profile, she's a fairly new author.

Jeremiah was a different sort of book for me and I liked it a lot. I've somewhat recently found that I enjoy books that challenge me in one way or another. A lot of the language in Jeremiah wasn't familiar to me. That could be due to my age and the fact that I'm an over 60 years old, white female. In any case, I found some of the language used in the story challenged me – in a good way.

The romance between Jeremiah, a paramedic, and Collin, a legal secretary, was very compelling. The writer's style of writing was easy to follow, even when I was unfamiliar with some of the language/terms used in the story. Here's where I would usually say that the blurb can explain the story better than I can, but in this case, I think the blurb is actually weak and doesn't do the story justice.

Jeremiah's large family and Collin's friends provide an interesting cast of secondary characters and create a lot of complex situations that kept the story interesting. Both of them are having trying times with their jobs, family and friends.

Jeremiah and Collin both have a lot going on in their personal lives and it greatly impacts their relationship. For some reason, I can't really put into words how much better this book is than the blurb would lead you to believe. If you find the blurb at all intriguing (as I did) then don't hesitate to pick this book up and read it. It really is so much better than the blurb.

I read Jeremiah in one day with only a short break to fulfill a prior obligation; I didn't want to put it down and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

A review copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley but this did not influence my opinion or rating of the book.

***Reviewed for Xtreme-Delusions dot com***

This was my first book by Jayce Ellis and I enjoyed it immensely.

This is a queer romance between black paramedic Jeremiah and white office “drone” Collin who is stuck in a not-so-temporary temp job.

What really made this book for me were the main characters. I adored Jeremiah, this down-to-earth guy who protects who he loves fiercely, and takes care of everyone to the point of sometimes forgetting himself. Collin was such a relatable character for me, especially because he is a very anxious person who always *worries*, always needs the connection to his chosen family and the people he loves to feel grounded and safe.

I really appreciated the depiction of anxiety here, and panic attacks you can’t always get out of on your own. And I especially appreciated the things going on around this pair while they were slowly getting closer to each other. In particular the conflicts with family and friends touched me deeply, not just how they were shown and handled, but also how they impacted the characters, their lives and their decision.

I talked about this a little more in my podcast, and I will link the episode below. In general though this was a great read for me and I can’t wait to read more works by this author.

CW: blood, medical emergencies, bigotry and bigoted family on page, MC dealing with anxiety disorder and panic attacks

I tend to gravitate away from adult fiction. I prefer stories in which characters confront change and growth, and these moments tend to be more central in YA, New Adult, and even Middle Grade. It's as if the book world thinks adults are actually stable humans.

I don't want to settle into one person for the rest of my life, and I find adult fiction often features static, flat characters with concerns that don't interest me.

Jeremiah is one of the few books I've found that features characters my age who are still searching and challenging themselves. It's a romance between two gay men, and as they connect with each other, they're also reevaluating their own lives, communities, and paths. They're both deeply impacted by their parents and friendships, and these relationships are more central to their identity than careers and titles. Each is considering job changes tantamount to starting over. Basically they're grown-ass adults who are still finding their path. These are my people <3.

This is one of those soft books where I adore so many of the characters, and friendships and relationships reaching well beyond the core romance.

The title character is a strong black man, and his love interest is a waify white boy who wears lip gloss and eyeliner. The book presents a strong power dynamic, but is constantly shifting the ground beneath the expectations that come along with these dynamics. The book does explore differing levels of race privilege within queer communities, as well as potential familial rejection. There's gay and bi rep, and a strong feminist undercurrent, with scenes at a (straight) stripclub, in which the narrator tips well and is always blown away by the skills of the dancers.

You'll find enthusiastic condoms and consent! Sex is presented a bit more explicitly than I usually expect – this may be a quirk of adult romance lit that I'm not used to. These scenes lengthy play by plays, which caused a head tilt or two. For me, I'm a little too cerebral to not start to fact check whose hand is where and whether this bends that way. I'll also say that the dirty talk in this book was a little surprising to me; it often came across as kind of a winking swagger, which had me laughing with the text rather than at it.

I thought this book was really darling, and the characters gave me joy. It reads like New Adult fiction, though the character ages may pull it out of this genre.

I would recommend it to readers who loved the friendship and light in Red White and Royal Blue, and who want a charming queer black voices story, and who are happy to see a little more on-page sex than in younger contemporaries.

I can't wait for the next book in this series!

When I first heard about this I was super excited to read it but I just never really clicked with the story or either of the characters. There is a lot of internal monologue at times, which kind of slowed the story down. This is very much a "it's me not the book" kind of situation because there wasn't anything that I really didn't like; I just felt a disconnect all through the book.

Still looking forward to the next book in the series though.

I liked this one. I think Jeremiah was my fave of the two guys. Collin sort of got on my nerves sometimes...not gonna lie lol. I enjoyed how they were both in a place in their lives where they were trying to figure out their moves, what to do about their careers, how to deal with some family issues.

I felt like after awhile the pacing seemed to drag a bit, and whatever was going on with Ryan (Collin's friend) went on for too long and remained some big mystery for a bit too much time.

also, I was a bit confused by Collin's actions after Jeremiah got into a fight and arrested. Now Collin didn't actually see his man get arrested because they got separated but he assumes he did and he just leaves?? Doesn't try to find Jeremiah and see if he's ok? Like...that was weird to me. I get that he was shaken by everything that happens but you just bounce and don't try to find out where he's taken and if he's alright?? I didn't get that. Collin was way too nonchalant about that, especially for a guy who see portrayed as worrying alot! He just downplayed that way too much.

I am glad though that it was mentioned to Jer that while he wished he could reconcile with his brother, his brother's behaviour wasn't on him. Jer's brother doesn't accept him coming out as gay and honestly he shouldnt have to bend over backwards to get his bro to be cool with him. So while he isn't, we see the rest of his family being totally fine.

I am intrigued by whose story is next, though.

This is the first book by Jayce Ellis that I’ve read and I can pretty much guarantee it won’t be my last. Jeremiah was one of those books that drew me in. There was a lot going on with both Collin and Jeremiah, besides their budding attraction.

Jeremiah was being pushed out of a job that he really liked and Collin was desperately trying to find himself.

I really liked how this story played out. Jeremiah came from a large family that was close, but they all seemed to have their secrets. The only one who knew about Jeremiah was his youngest sister. He didn’t see any reason to come out until he met someone worth it. There was a lot of family history revealed during Jeremiah that made it even harder, but he would risk the fall out for the right person.

Collin didn’t have that problem. Besides the fact that he had been out for years, he didn’t have a family that seemed to care one way or the other – about anything. His only support came from his friends and things were even getting a little weird with them. Their first meeting wasn’t something to build a relationship on, but there was definitely attraction there on both sides.

It took them a while to figure things out – both for themselves personally and for their relationship. It wasn’t really a slow burn, but the emotional attraction took a little while. They were there for each other in ways beyond the physical attraction.

Along with being my first book by this author, it’s also the first book in Jayce Ellis’s High Rise series. André is next and I can’t wait to see who we’ll be introduced to.

This was my first foray into the writings of Jayce Ellis, but likely not my last.

It took me a little while to get into this book, and I'm not really sure why. Possibly because nothing much happened for some time, and the two MCs don't spend a lot of time together on page initially. We get to see them with their respective friends/family, and we spend quite a bit of time in their heads as they deal with what's going on in their personal lives.

Jeremiah Stewart is a paramedic and lives in a high rise building in which our other MC, Collin Galloway, is renting and sub-letting an apartment he doesn't live in but his two friends Lizzie and Ryan do. Jeremiah has direction and a fulfilling job where Collin has none. Collin doesn't like his job as a temp secretary in a law firm, and he doesn't like living with his parents because he can't afford the high rise apartment, which is why he's sub-letting it to his two friends. There's history with these two friends, and lately Collin has felt left out. He's not desperately looking for a boyfriend, but it sure would be nice to find someone.

Jeremiah is also gay, but not out to his family, telling himself that he just hasn't found the right one worth coming out for. I didn't like that too much, but I could certainly understand that he was reluctant to tell his mama about his sexuality unless he had to. He's out to his friends, and even a few co-workers, but that's about it. He's not actively looking for someone either, but a chance encounter piques his interest.

When the two men finally spend more and more time together, due to what's going on with Jeremiah's job, I could really see their romance grow, even if it was often at snail's pace. I liked Collin's sense of humor and was happy that he eventually found what he was passionate about, something that finally gave him the direction he so needed. I thought that they were well suited to each other, and Jeremiah became someone that Collin could lean on, and vice versa. He was an intriguing character, to be sure, and I enjoyed finding out more about him.

Both of them are treated rather horribly by those they love, whether it's family in Jeremiah's case, or his friends, in Collin's case, and I was a bit upset that neither of them got much in the way of apology for that. Sure, the situations are resolved, but Collin and Jeremiah both were quick to forgive the transgressions, too quickly for my taste. Especially Jeremiah's homophobic brother needed to say sorry a lot more than he did, IMHO.

This book's cover matches what's inside, and I was thrilled to read a book with diverse characters, something we don't find enough of in M/M Romance books. The women in this book are also pretty diverse in how they are portrayed, and do not simply exist to be plot points. I would have liked to find out a bit more about Collin's background and his odd relationship with his parents, and why he is the way he is. There are a few things we're told, and perhaps I'm greedy, but I wanted a bit more to fully understand the character. It seemed that there was more about Jeremiah, and perhaps that was the intent as this book's title is named after him.

Four solid stars for this book. I am looking forward to the next one in this series.

This book was really lovely! I enjoyed Jeremiah's perspective as the protagonist and thought his work as a paramedic was really fascinating. As was his budding romance with Collin. It felt so natural and heartwarming, and I felt like the ending worked so well. The only reason I'm not rating this a little higher was because the writing style felt a bit stilted at times but not to the extent that it got in the way of the story.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
This story was right up my alley. I love reading about regular people with everyday jobs and lives. Jeremiah and Collin are dealing with problems in their lives that plenty of people deal with. Things like family expectations, feeling left behind as your friends move on to a new stage in life while you are stuck where you are, and dissatisfaction at work. Things that were easy to relate to. The difficulties Collins has with the relationship with his best friend really got to me and had me shedding a few tears.

My favourite thing about this story is Jeremiah himself. I could say it is because he is a good guy, but really it is more about the fact that he is smoking hot. With just a few words, Jeremiah had my blood running hot. Early on in the book when the men keep running into each other and the sparks were flying, it was so exciting to read. I almost felt like I was the one doing the dating. The anticipation was exhilarating.

I really had a fantastic time reading Jeremiah. I’d definitely recommend it.


Sarah – ☆☆☆
3.5 stars

This story manages to be both playful and gritty at the same time. It’s the story of a romance that builds between two New Yorkers from very different worlds. On the surface, Collin and Jeremiah couldn’t be more different. Collin is a rich kid who has spent his twenties underemployed and probably partying too much. In contrast, Jeremiah had to grow up far too fast. He works hard as a paramedic while supporting his mum and younger siblings. When a chance meeting brings Collin and Jeremiah together, the connection is instant, and they can’t quite forget each other.

I’m still a little bit conflicted about this story. I really loved the characters, but I struggled with the writing style. The writing feels choppy, and at times I found the writing distracted from the story. Readers might want to download a sample before purchasing this one. There is a whole lot going on in this book and while the plot is manageable at the start, it slowly unravels into slightly sensational melodrama by the end.

Jeremiah and Collin are both really engaging characters but I don’t quite understand why either of them hold on to the toxic relationships in their lives for so long. I really like the growth that we get to see in them but they are both too old for the coming of age themes in this book. This story has promise and I will definitely read more from this author. I just hope the author’s writing style becomes more fluid in the future.

Sparks fly immediately between Jeremiah and the the cute, sparkly lip-glossed wearing white man Jeremiah meets as he helps get his drunk friends tucked safely away at home. But, duty calls and the overworked EMT doesn't catch the man's name. Well, at least not until the reconnect after one of the friends again needs medical assistance and a trip to the ER on the 4th of July.

Colin and Jeremiah both have huge decisions to make and dreams to catch in this lush debut romance from Jayce Ellis. The conflicts in the story-line are more internal and less about Colin and Jeremiah's romance, which is supremely hot and super sexy when they are on the page together.

A promising start from an author to watch!

CW: Jeremiah worries about coming out to his family, his brother makes homophobic statements. Alcohol use, descriptions of medical gore

A new to me author that sounded like it had lost of angst. One main character (and cover model) was a person of color, which we need more of please, and sort of an opposites attract vibe going on.

The angst was severely lacking for me.

At 82,000 words, it is a good sized book. So I am wondering how it missed out on so much. It was a good story, but it took too long for secrets to be revealed, I never really got that Collin didn't feel worthy- I assumed it was shyness, and the tension between Jeremiah and his best friend's girlfriend didn't make sense until the end, Just a lot of missed opportunities,

The story that was there was decent. And even though half the book was gone before they got together, they were some of the best sex scenes I have read. Not too long, not repetitive, a bit inventive. Well done there.

The ending was both neat and tidy- as far as the main relationship goes- but also left things unresolved.

Being that this is the start of a series, I will definitely give the next book a chance. I just hope it is meatier.