Carlton and Deion are best friends for over twenty years. Deion has a sabbatical year and will stay at Carlton for ten days. Deion will tell Carlton he will immigrate to London. He can’t stay around, he has to go somewhere else to find a relationship and start a family of his own. His love for Carlton is unanswered!

Carlton acts jealous when Deion flirts with one of Carlton’s friends. It’s a bit vague.

Then, Carlton’s fourteen-year-old niece Olivia knocks on the door and asks if she can stay.

An adoption procedure starts and the lady who will evaluate thinks Carlton and Deion are a couple and is delighted, it will certainly help their case. Carlton doesn’t deny it. It brings them into a precarious situation. Deion will stay a bit longer to help them out to make it look convincing. Only, Deion’s heart isn’t resistant.



This was a lovely narrative, with an attractive storyline. There were, for me, some ugh moments.

While the author made a lovely story, with a strong family dynamic, a good choice with words and well fluid sentences that made it comfortable to read, I also had a constant irritation while reading. Because some matters didn’t click in my mind. It almost made me stop reading.

First: the twenty years friendship with unanswered love wasn’t convincing, jeez twenty years. We didn’t get a blink what happened at that time, except that they were best friends and lived quite far away from each other. We know they had one affair, one! twenty years ago!

Second: the story was dragging, I got impatient. When Carlton and Deion talked about their connection it got all vague, extremely vague to interpret. So there was always space for doubts, not knowing what the other meant, etc. Even when one said “I love you, always have”, I mean how clear can you be? They didn’t talk, they promise they would but they didn’t. Ugh.

Third: I didn’t feel Carlton always, I really tried, but his reflections were vague. I did feel Deion though, he was mellow, kind and dedicated.

Halfway I needed to, figuratively, smack some people in the face, sorry.



So, there were several ‘ugh’ moments I had about this story. But there were more plus moments! I did like the whole concept and kept on reading because it was intriguing and entertaining. I loved the way Carlton took care of his nephew and niece, his unconditional love for them. Olivia and Trey are sweet and lovable. The adoption process was well done.

I prefer a bubble with mc’s and not too much distraction, I found it here, thank you very much!

I did get the fact they were best friends in the first place.

The author wrote this story widely and with a slow pace. Thank goodness the last part of this story was also widely developed. We can witness some beautiful moments.

Overall an entertainingly written narrative with ugh and ahh moments and a fulfilling end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I wanted to love Jayce Ellis's Learned Reactions. There's no reason for me not to love it. But for some reason I just couldn't get invested in these men and their journey. DNF

I really like Jayce's writing voice but the push and pull between these two characters frustrated me a bit too much in this story. I absolutely loved their found family they built together and how fiercely they protected it, I just wanted them to accept they *were* a family a little earlier.

Jayce Ellis does a wonderful job of dealing with a complex storyline without detracting from the romance aspect of the work. I loved that while we focussed on Carlton and Deion's romance without turning the adoption storyline into an afterthought.

This was my first Jayce Ellis work and I definitely think that if you are looking for a more realistic romance with characters who aren't in their late twenties or early thirties, this might be the work and author for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Carina Press for giving me an e-arc of this title in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect books to snuggle up with on any day.

Jayce is filling such a vital niche in the Black m/m romance space, she brings us smart, thoughtful, romantic stories that are relatable to anyone of any gender or sexual orientation. I can’t wait for the next entry in this series. Professional gay black men need love too!

I read the first installment of this series, Learned Behaviors, as well as Andre and quickly became addicted to Jayce Ellis's writing. She gives such a beautiful and nuanced depiction of the lives and loves of queer men of color.

Learned Reactions overlaps a bit with Learned Behaviors, which is a great way to prime readers for the couples to come. Carlton and Deion are the slow burn to end all slow-burns. They've been pining, unaware of the feelings the one has for the other for twenty years. A combination of insecurity and the confusion at having real feelings when they should be a pretend family leads to a denouement that is so poignant, I still get emotional thinking about it.

Olivia, or Ollie, as the fourteen-year-old girl they are trying to raise is a wonderful character, and steals the scenes she is in. She is the perfect depiction of a beautiful, brilliant, and somewhat tremendous teenager.
Ellis is such a fine writer and so far have enjoyed every book she's written. Now on to book 3!

ARC received from the publisher Carina Press via NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review.

2.5 stars. I'm so sad that the first book I've finished in almost a month has left me so underwhelmed. Especially as I quite liked the first book in this series. Maybe I wasn't in the mood for this? Whatever it was, I wasn't particularly struck by this in a negative or positive way.

It's got a premise that I'll never get tired of: best friends to lovers. Deion has been in love with his best friend Carlton for almost 20 years, and as far as he knows, it's unrequited. What's supposed to be a short term visit turns into a longer stay after Carlton's young niece shows up, wanting to live with him. There's some fake dating and found family; two things I'll never get tired of. Truly, there's nothing about the plot that I wasn't completely sold on. It's just that it moved so quickly and not convincingly enough. The romance wasn't insta-love, because the characters have quite a lot of history, and have loved each other for a long time, even if Carlton might not have used those words. But everything that happened with his niece and the adoption process was lightning quick, just a few weeks in the world of the book, and it took me completely out of the story. I wanted to buy into it but the pacing just wasn't very well done.

The romance was cute, and I'll never not love friends to lovers? It's almost always very healing to read black love that's so sweetly and so plainly written about. But I didn't fall in love with these characters or their relationship, and I'm sad to say I'm likely going to forget about them very soon.

Not a bad read by any stretch! Just underwhelming.

This is a cute friends to lover’s story. For me, it’s because Carlton and Deion have so much love and respect for each other. The niece and nephew is also a great addition to this steamy and heartwarming story. It did get off to a slow start for me but it didn’t stop me from reading. I will honestly say that Carlton was so frustrating. His issues were the main reason why they weren’t together and I kept wanting him to get some help and pull it together. In the end, I adored the way the story came together. There were some angst in this story but the ending did manage to satisfy me

For some reason, this one got off to a slow start for me. I'm not sure why because I adore this author's writing and both Carlton and Deion are great characters. I'm going to chalk it up as a "me" thing.

I loved the depth of Carlton and Deion's friendship, but I did find myself getting a little frustrated at first with Carlton's hang-ups that were keeping them apart. However, the side story with Carlton's niece (and specifically with how his parents are) made it make sense to me. I loved the way they came together around what was best for her. Although there was a good bit of angst, the ending left me with such a pleasant, happy glow. I can't wait for the next book!

A Gorgeous Besties-to-Lovers, Fake Relationship (Turned real!), Single Dad Romance❤. I felt such a Myriad of emotions..! & The depiction of Black family dynamics is Great.
I come to love Deion, Carlton; the kids- Trey, Olivia; & the whole Cast of Characters so much! DEVOURED this in 6hrs!
#My 1st by Jayce, So going for more! Stalking her books from now on😉. I'll soon read the 1st book too! Loved Carlton's newer Friends❤, they give great advice too.
[Note: Timeline of This book Runs Concurrently with The 1st book, Learned Behaviors (Jaq+Matt's book)]

Sometimes I just wanted to shake the MCs into having a FULL Adult Feelings conversation already...But that's the Angst here.
Deion; Calm & Patient; is a Philosophy Professor & had always wanted His own family. His parents live in London & I love the glimpses we do get of them!
Carlton; Complex & Caring; works in a School's Financial Department. His parents are Very Old-School. That's why, After Carl's Sis & her husband's death, even though Carl's parents were appointed guardians of the kids: Trey (Now 18+) & Olivia (14), Trey'd come to live with Carl a year ago & Now Olivia comes here too. He WAS a bachelor, but family is everything.

Deion & Carlton are 38 & met in College. They're both Out Gay & had one night together 19yrs ago but Carl wasn't ready for what being together with Deion will mean: A Serious Relationship.
In their 20 years of Friendship, Everyone knows about D's feelings to Carl. The one thing stopping Carl from making the move is His fears & the feeling of not being enough (unh, I hate his parents!).
One thing is clear, C+D are great at parenting!

Whenever Carl wanted/Needed Deion, D came. Even when He'd started dating to move on from Carl & that was Very much NOT working; Even if they're states apart; EVEN when D KNOWS Living With Carl will make him fall more in love.
~Crush, Reasons, Family, Homecoming, Talk it out (feelings steer clear), D's Love, Week passed, Olivia & Adoption, D stays...

And When Olivia comes, Deion stays for Carl. Comfort. Adopting Olivia is the right thing to do...But when the chances of that happening is more for a Couple, Carl & Deion start a fake relationship...Which Becomes more real by every day. Love (& Lust ;-) practically Shone from their every Action.
~Attorney Friend, Ol's Wrestling tryouts, Uncle D, Domesticity, Social Worker thoughts, Be real, Celibate, Almost Sex, No complex, All sides of parenting, Club alone time, Need you, Sexy times, Shopping (I HATE Homophobes!), Counselling, Retreats & Therapist, Can't say I love you..

Deion got what he'd always Wanted: a family..with Carlton. But it's not Forever, Is it? This is what Carl wants too, but Insecurities stop him From giving Deion the reason to stay forever, The one thing D wants from Carl: I love you. So D leaves, it's beyond time (I was kinda glad D did that, I liked seeing him finally take a stand. Plus, Carl needed the push!!).
But Very Soon Carl realises he'd fucked up, that he CAN give Deion everything he deserves..& C starts Planning to win Deion back!
~Broken & Truths, Realisations & Fighting for Love, The talks, D back in Town, The Proposal, Loving on him, marry & Adopt!
Yup, Carl's Swoony Surprise Worked!! The later scenes & The ending were so sweet😍. I loved seeing'em happy!

P.s. I hope we get Lawrence & Vance's book soon, the Age-Gap will be Yum!

This is a fantastic friend-to-lovers story that feels fresh due to the amazing love Carlton and Deion have for each other, but also for their niece and nephew. Touching and story and steamy.

I am going to be completely honest, because that's what you do. I didn't finish Learned Reactions. And I was pretty bummed about it! It started out so good - I adore a friends-to-lovers story and I was so glad when this turned out to be both queer and with POC-characters. Throw in some teen parenting, fake dating and I should have been hooked. But, no, I was not. Why? Because these people, and especially Carlton, were ridiculous. I didn't believe in the drama, the twenty years of unrequited love and Carlton was such a douche in stringing Deion along, never making up his mind.

Did I like some things? Yes, I did. I liked the writing, in general. I liked Carlton and Deion's friendship when C wasn't being a d*ck. I liked the adoption process and the family dynamics.

This book may work for some - for those who are looking for a lot of steam, internal angst and indecision. I'm seeing people giving this 4 or 5 stars, so it obviously worked for some.

/ Denise

I'm a huge fan of friends to lovers but it's often done with college kids or 20 somethings; Deion and Carlton having 18 years of adulthood friendship was a perfect addition to this trope. With Deion trying to figure out his life after realizing that the job he's been working towards it's actually where he wants to be and Carlton trying to figure out what he wants when his niece decides to follow in her brother's footsteps and ask him if she can live with him. Their lives both get upended around the same time when they are also finally about to have a conversation about if they can handle their friendship being more than that. The frustrations and roadblocks they encounter are so true to their characters and don't feel like things the author just threw in to make things rough, but rather extensions of their lives and previous struggles. The secondary characters aren't yes people and add spice and variety to the story forcing Deion and Carlton to see their blind spots and have those hard conversations that lead them to a happily ever after.

RATING A | Wayne Jordan

When Carlton and Deion are forced to enter into a charade in order for Carlton to gain custody and adopt his niece, Deion isn’t averse to the deception. In fact, he has been in love with his best friend, Carlton, forever, and anyone who knows them knows that they belong with each other. Well, except Carlton, who has an aversion to commitment and refuses to admit to loving someone.

Carlton is a caring family man and his willingness to take responsibility of raising his nephew when his sister passed away is admirable. When his nephew, Trey, goes off to college, he envisions a life where he can finally enjoy his single life. But getting his groove back on is delayed when his niece turns up at his door. Yeah, she wants to move in. What happens after is a series of plot twists that highlight the internal and external conflicts of the main characters.

No one is more in conflict than Deion. To me, he is the character whom I was most invested in. There are times when I wanted to tell him to grow a ‘pair’ and just move on. When he finally has the strength to do this, I applauded, knowing that the ball was now in Carlton’s court. In a relationship like this, the person who is always the one to compromise is the one who is hurt the most.

LEARNED REACTIONS is a worthy follow-up to last year’s LEARNED BEHAVIORS and is an enjoyable ‘friends to lovers’ story. I enjoyed LEARNED REACTIONS but Carlton’s resistance to Deion was a bit annoying, but maybe that is the reality of life and I wanted to see them together. However, Carlton does redeem himself and they find their happily-ever-after.

The journey there, however, is filled with must angst, drama, heartache, humor and intense sexual tension which are, to me, that hallmarks of a good read. Ms. Ellis writes hot love scenes, and they are definitely not for the ‘I-like-it-sweet’ reader. If you are looking for a great love story, LEARNED REACTIONS is definitely the book for you.

4.5 Stars

Carlton Monroe is a financial aid officer at Howard University in DC. He’s been there a long time, and he works hard. He’s an out gay black man whose “traditional” (read: bigoted and austere) parents are not really talking with him–mostly on account of him being gay. He’d always had a conflicted relationship with his parents, though, even before he came out. Once he did though, they mostly disowned him. He had a good relationship with his sister, whom his parents idealized as the golden child of their family, but she and her husband died a few years ago leaving their children, Trey and Olivia, orphaned. Carlton’s parents took custody of the kids, but Trey, who may be genderqueer, soon turned up on his doorstep–after too many fights with his stifling grandparents. Carlton took him in with no qualms, and helped him graduate high school and enter college.

So, now Carlton is a free man! No responsibilities and looking forward to spending some time with his longtime best friend, and former college roomie, Deion Jones. Professor Jones is taking a sabbatical, and has agreed to visit Carlton for a bit.

Thing is, Deion has literally been in love with Carlton for…ever. Since freshman year of college, for sure. Deion is a beautiful, virile Black gay man, and he’s always wanted a loving partner and family. He’s a little jealous that Carlton, who always professed to never wanting kids himself, has become an uncle-dad to his nephew. While Deion’s visiting Carlton Olivia turns up on the doorstep, crying and wanting to be free of her domineering grandparents. Olivia wants to wrestle on her high school team, against the boys–and Grams was having none of it. But it was also how her grandparents cut her off from communicating with Trey and Uncle Carlton that messed things up with Olivia. Deion is happy to help co-parent, for the time he’s meant to be in DC, but Carlton–with the help and advice of his friend Lawrence–is moving to formally adopt Olivia. To protect her from the toxic homelife he’d narrowly escaped with his folks. And, the social worker helping to facilitate the adoption mistakes Carlton and Deion as cohabitating partners.

It’s then that Carlton suggests that Deion extend his stay, stop sleeping on his couch, and move himself into Carlton’s plush bed. And, if they can add benefits to their friendship, all the better. Because Carlton’s been low key in love with Deion all along. He’s just been too afraid to chance anything more, because Deion’s the only constant and healthy relationship Carlton has maintained in his adult life. He might make himself out to be a Grindr fan and freewheeling bachelor, but he isn’t really that guy. He’s a homebody who thrives on late-night check-ins with Deion, whose relationships haven’t really panned out either on account of his pining for Carlton.

Their extended cohabitation and more-than-friends sexytimes are blurring the lines, however, and with Deion’s sabbatical coming to an end there are realities that need to be faced and discussed. Shame Carlton’s so tongue-tied with his affections. At first. It’s a bittersweet break, because Trey and Olivia LOVE Uncle Deion as much as he does them. His dream of being a dad is nearly complete, if only Carlton truly loved him as a partner, as a potential husband, not a pseudo-temporary-boyfriend just to finalize the adoption. Can he live without Carlton, even as a friend? Because it might kill their friendship if he does what he needs to do to protect his heart. Once Carlton gets a handle on his life without Deion in it on the day-to-day he realizes his family dysfunctions have set him up for a lifetime of happiness. It’s difficult for each of these men to change their habits, but a happy ending is on the horizon, if only they can break the patterns that have bound them in misery the past 16 years (or so).

Loved this one!! Carlton’s hot mess of a life is so chaotic, but his love for Deion is clear, even if he can’t speak to it. Their sexytimes are amazing, so steamy, and yet playful. They have been friends too long for much awkwardness, even in the bedroom. I loved the grand gesture that Carlton plans, and it was awesome to see their happy ending on the page. Deion’s future had looked so bleak, but he’s more than happy to be a dad, even to a teen girl wrestler. There are fun interactions with Jaq and Lawrence who we met in the first book of this series. Lawrence, especially, got good page time as very successful Black lawyer who happens to be a father many times over and a divorced pansexual man. I’m sure we’ll see this “daddy” find himself a partner in the next book. I absolutely look forward to it.

Learned Reactions, the second book in Ellis' Higher Education series, is a sweet best friends-to-lovers story that hits all the feels. There is no doubt Carlton and Deion belong together from the instant the reader is introduced to them.

Family is a major theme in Learned Reactions--the good, the bad, and the ugly. There are judgmental but eventually accepting parents, disapproving parents, welcoming surrogate parents...the whole gamut of parenting is covered.

The only thing I was missing was more in-depth flashbacks of their time together as college roommates. I would have liked to see more of their developing friendship as nineteen/twenty year olds.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Veronica – ☆☆☆☆
I’m not a big fan of romance stories with fake relationships but by the time the assumption is made that Carlton and Deion are a couple, things between the men are already so complicated, I actually thought playing house might help. These two are just circling around each other, Carlton terrified to admit that he loves and needs Deion, and Deion openly admitting how he feels but not prepared to force the issue.

I loved Deion, but it killed me that this wonderful 38-year-old had effectively been pining after his friend all his adult life. This made it unlikely that his dream of marriage and family was going to happen. That made me sad. I wanted more than anything for Deion to be happy. When the story switched to Carlton’s point of view and we get to experience how he feels about Deion, it gave me a little hope that Deion had a chance with Carlton. Carlton is a really good guy. He looks out for others, takes over the parenting of his niece with no notice, and he does love Deion, he just won’t admit it.

This was a story that tugged on my heart strings big time. Sometimes my feelings were warm and fuzzy and other times they were being crushed by heartache. As the story progressed, Carlton started to frustrate me. I just wanted to smack him in the head and tell him to get his act together. But by the end of the story, the frustration at Carlton and the troubles between him and Deion were totally worth it. The ending to this story is so romantic.

For me, LEARNED REACTIONS was a wonderful, emotional, and at times, frustrating romance and I totally loved it.

So… I somehow missed Learned Behaviors, the first book in Jayce Ellis’s Higher Education series. I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t matter too much though. It was easy to figure out that the books in this series pretty much overlap as far as time lines go. The author used the same technique in her High Rise series and it worked really well. I do plan to go back and pick up Learned Behaviors though because I definitely want to get to know both JaQuan and Matt.

This is the kind of book that makes you want to sit both the characters down and make them talk it out – much like their friends wanted to do more than once. The thing is, that they did talk some, but they avoided the BIG talk on a regular basis. It was obvious that Carlton had more feelings for Deion than he wanted to admit. Everyone around them saw it, including Deion. I could almost sympathize with Carlton. He had been rejected so much that he was terrified to believe in a forever that would more than likely be taken away from him. So he pretended and then he almost blew it…

I adored these men regardless of their shortfalls. I adored their connection and their devotion to both Carlton’s niece and his nephew. Carlton’s parents were awful, but Deion’s parents – as well as their more than supportive friends more than made up for it. There’s at least one more book coming in the Higher Education series – I’m hoping so anyway. In the meantime I can go back and pick up Matt and JaQuan’s story in Learned Behaviors. Stay tuned! 😉