Deion Jones has been in love with his best friend, Carlton Monroe, since they were 19. Even though he wants forever with Carlton, Deion knows it’ll never happen. Carlton is not the settling down type, or the family type, and though Deion understands why, he also knows that means that Carlton won’t ever take that leap with him. But that doesn’t stop him from being the best friend he can to Carlton and being there for him one hundred percent.
Carlton became an unexpected parent to his nephew, but now that Trey is off at college, he can jump back into his life as a single man. And the thing he wants to do most is hang out with his best friend. Deion has been his rock since they were 19, when Carlton’s parents basically told him they didn’t want anything to do with him. When Deion comes for a visit, although there are some mixed signals, they are happy to be with one another — even though Deion is constantly fighting his attraction and Carlton is constantly reminding himself why he can’t be with Deion.

But things change when Carlton’s niece shows up at his door, wanting to stay with him. Olivia’s situation isn’t great, living with her grandparents, and she wants to be able to be herself. Carlton immediately takes her in, even though it means he’ll have to jump through hoops to adopt her. He begs Deion to stay a while longer, to help get Olivia settled. But domesticity feels right to both Deion and Carlton, and their relationship becomes physical. It’s what both men want, but neither can fully express themselves. Carlton is desperate not to lose Deion and Deion can’t give himself fully over to Carlton when he can’t be sure Carlton loves him back.

Unrequited love that’s not really unrequited between friends to lovers? Yes please. This definitely intrigued me from the start, and since I’ve been a fan of Ellis’, I was looking forward to this book. And while the characterizations were spot on and the narrative tight, it wasn’t without it’s problems for me.

I love both Deion and Carlton and their relationship with each other. Both MCs are well fleshed out and fully formed. It was easy to understand exactly where both characters were coming from. And their chemistry was off the charts. It was absolutely clear that not only were these guys right for each other, but that they’ve been right for each other and were letting their own issues hold them back.

Deion is such a good guy, solid and strong and loyal to a fault. Yes, he’s in love with Carlton, and that plays into it to a degree, but the heart of it is that Carlton is his friend, and Deion is would do anything for him. Carlton would do the same, but he’s hampered by his fear of losing Deion. Deion is the only real family he’s had for almost twenty years, though before his sister’s death, they were as close as they could be given the circumstances. I just really liked both these guys, their complex backstories, and all that they were.

Though I was mildly annoyed that the inherent conflict of this story was predicated on the fact that these two men weren’t great at communicating with each other, Ellis definitely made it believable and human of them. The MCs thought things they should have just said to each other, but at the same time, I was along for the ride and understanding where they were coming from. Carlton, especially, given his past and his current situation, made a lot of sense. My heart went out to him. I did understand where Deion was coming from as well, and could understand his reluctance to jump right in.

However, where this book really didn’t work for me was the big conflict and resolution at the end. After everything these guys went through, I felt Deion’s reaction was extreme and dramatic, not really fitting the situation. He knew what Carlton’s big fears and insecurities were, and still acted in a problematic way. Then it was up to Carlton to make amends and the grand gesture. This didn’t sit well with me, because ultimately these two didn’t have a true and real conversation. I also felt that Deion was just as at fault, because of his reaction when he didn’t hear the words he wanted to, despite Carlton showing him with actions. The lack of communication here really got to me, and I would have preferred these guys have a real conversation instead of a grand gesture. For me, it would have felt more real.

Despite that, I still liked this book. Ellis’ style is tight and easy to read, drawing me in time and again. I love the characters she creates, not only the MCs, but all the unique secondary characters as well. While this book didn’t end on the best note for me, I’m looking forward to what comes from the Higher Education series in the future.

A great new addition to the Higher Education series. The book is a friend to lover, with a great storyline, easy to read, with a great flow to it. Carlton and Deion have been friends for over twenty years and Deion been in love with him but hasn't told him. I admire that Carlton is taking care of his niece and nephew. The book is romantic, sweet, some angst, and I enjoyed it.

I was a bit wishy-washy about the first book in this series, but I really enjoyed the author’s writing style and the characters, so I was interested in giving this next book a try, especially since it was a friends-to-lovers, fake relationship romance. This occurs concurrently with the first book in the series, so many events, like their coffee meetups, are now seen from Carlton’s POV. While it is the second in the series, it could easily be read as a standalone.

Deion’s a philosophy professor in Chicago who’s taking a sabbatical for the semester. He’s intending to visit his parents in London, but first he’s going to spend time with his best friend – and unrequited love interest – Carlton in DC. Carlton and Deion have been friends since college, and Deion’s been in love with him for nearly that long. Deion’s always wanted a family, and he realizes that his continued focus on Carlton is preventing him from having that. Carlton had been a confirmed bachelor before his sister’s death, but when his nephew Trey asked to stay with him rather than with Carlton’s conservative grandparents, he immediately stepped up to the plate and took him in. He was a high school senior, so he mostly just needed a place to study and someone to feed him. He managed it and launched him successfully, and now that Deion’s coming to visit for homecoming, he’s hoping to get back to the bachelor lifestyle. But seeing Deion again reawakens feelings in him as well, and it’s making things… complicated. The arrival of Carlton’s niece Olivia complicates things even more, and once he sees how good Deion is with her, Carlton asks him to stay a little longer. But as time goes on and they start meshing as a family – with a fake relationship thrown in – both men start to realize that this fake thing might be the most real thing they’ve ever had.


“I’m sorry, man. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Carlton cocked his head to the side. “Said what?”
“Teased about sleeping with you. Now’s not the time for that.”
Carlton crooked a smile and sidled closer, letting his hand fall on Deion’s hip. It felt right. More than it should have. “It’s never a good time for us, is it?”


Honestly, I wanted to shake both men at multiple points during the book. They both had valid reasons for being worried about getting into a romantic relationship and ruining their friendship. Carlton’s convinced the only way he and Deion are still such good friends is because he friend-zoned Deion. Deion’s used to going along with him, no matter what – even when Carlton lets Olivia’s social worker believe they’re together. He lets Carlton set the boundaries of the relationship and doesn’t push, and pretends it’s ok, even when he’s a giant ball of yearning on the inside. Plus, his mom doesn’t like Carlton, mostly because she’s annoyed that he doesn’t return his son’s feelings, and he’s been hung up on him for nineteen years. Carlton knows this and, given his own family issues, would never want to come between Deion and his mom. Their relationship – though it starts out “fake” – was sweet and so adorably domestic. Sure, there’s lots of steamy moments, but a big part for both men is having someone to come home to, to share dinner with, to go buy random decorative pillows with. I found their bleak moment extremely heart wrenching, though the grand gesture was a bit overdone for me, even if it was quite sweet.

“But you’re right. I took advantage of a situation, because I wanted you to stay a little longer.”
“Why?” God, why? If Carlton wasn’t interested in him, why on god’s green earth was he pushing this narrative?
“Because everything is better with you. I’m not as overwhelmed when I know you’re here. Even without Ollie or Trey or whatever, coming home and knowing you’d be waiting made the days smoother. I didn’t want to lose that.”


I really love the author’s voice, and I thought the pacing in this book was much improved. I especially loved how Carlton and Lawrence, who just happens to be a family lawyer and helps him with adopting Olivia, interacted, and how much of a reality check he gave him. It definitely makes me very interested in Lawrence’s and Vance’s book! As for cons, I’d just like to point that out college professor sabbaticals – especially for ones that are one year away from tenure – don’t work the way the book suggested, where it was basically a vacation for Deion. Normally that time would be spent hustling to publish.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book, and I’m looking forward to Lawrence and Vance’s book!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Heat Factor: 🍆🍆🍆🍆
Character Chemistry: These guys care about each other deeply
Plot: Deion and Carlton are best friends, so when Carlton needs a pretend boyfriend to smooth the process of his niece’s adoption, Deion doesn’t hesitate to agree.
Overall: I was extremely emotionally invested in this book

I’m going to be upfront here: the way Carlton treats Deion is horrible. It’s extremely manipulative and is all about making Carlton’s life easier. But I never hated Carlton, because his behavior is also entirely understandable. Instead, I was completely sucked in to the simultaneously really beautiful and kind and harmful and toxic dynamic that these two have.

Here’s the situation. Carlton and Deion have been best friends for twenty years. Deion has been in love with Carlton for those entire twenty years. And when I say they’re best friends, I mean, they have a close and intense friendship that involves regular phone calls and visits and deep emotional connection; neither man has other close friends. It’s like they’ve been emotionally monogamous for their entire adult lives. Now Deion is at a turning point in his career, he puts his feelings out in the open. Keep this in mind: early in the book, Deion tells Carlton that he’s been in love with him for years, and Carlton acknowledges that he’s always kind of known. However, before these guys can actually have a conversation about this revelation, Carlton’s niece shows up at his door, asking to stay with him. Carlton asks Deion to extend his trip, you know, until Olivia is settled. Of course Deion says yes, because he always says yes, and, of course, things spiral further and further out of control.

See? Carlton asking for this help does make his life easier and is terrible because of Deion’s feelings - but also, Deion could, I don’t know, say no sometimes.

Like I said, I got really emotionally invested in this book, so it’s hard for me to step away from just analyzing the nitty-gritty details of Carlton and Deion’s complex and messy relationship as it progressed. I would say this is a sign of a strong book.

Other strengths include:
Strong narrative voice. The prose was fresh and the story clipped along. The characters were distinct and memorable.
Even if I thought there should have been more grovel than there was, the climatic moment was beautifully done.
Ellis writes with care and confidence about family law. This makes sense, as according to her author bio, she practices family law.

I did have a huge hang-up, that probably very few other readers will care about, to wit: the portrayal of academia. Deion is a tenure track philosophy professor. He is able to drop everything and stay with Carlton because he’s on sabbatical. SIR. THAT IS NOT HOW SABBATICAL WORKS. Even if he has decided he’s not going to pursue tenure at his current institution because of toxic nonsense, he would be trying to be a visiting professor somewhere else and writing his book and presenting at approximately three conferences a week, because if he wants to stay in academia (and it seems like he does because he loves teaching) you do NOT want to fall down the totem pole into adjuncting (aka “work your ass off for years to become an expert in your field and we’ll pay you minimum wage and give you no job security or benefits!”). I am salty about this, obviously. But not just because it’s wrong, but because this wrongness perpetuates the idea that professors have these cushy jobs, which in turn is used to justify things like increasingly relying to adjunct labor (he doesn’t work, why should we pay for the time when he’s not in the classroom?) or rampant anti-intellectualism (he doesn’t work, how can he be an expert?) or even eliminating philosophy departments (he doesn’t work, this space is unproductive and does not contribute to our bottom line).

This is probably just a me thing though. As long as you’re not feeling feisty about the state of academia, and you love you so messy messy characters, I recommend this book.



I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

This is the second in the Higher Education series, but again, they’re companion novels so I didn’t feel lost jumping in here. I have to say that this was a well-written friends-to-lovers romance and I love that pretty much all the main characters are black. We need some more diversity, in all genres! Deion and Carlton have been best friends since college, and despite hooking up once, they’ve stayed that way. Deion wishes it could be more, but he doesn’t want to push and lose Carlton altogether. In the beginning of the book, Deion is in Chicago and Carlton is in D.C.; the latter invites his friend for homecoming since he’s on sabbatical and hiding his feelings is even harder when Deion is face-to-face with the one guy he compares everyone else to.

Near the end of Deion’s trip, Carlton’s niece shows up on his doorstep and Deion is asked to stay until things get a bit more settled. This leads to the two of them getting even closer, especially when they fake a relationship in order to impress the social worker reviewing their case (Carlton is working to adopt his niece). I loved the two together, because it’s obvious how good of friends they are and that they could be fantastic as more. Carlton’s relationship with his niece is adorable, and I loved seeing them open up and get to know each other better. Deion is great with kids, and it’s easy to see them as a full-fledged family…if only Carlton can get it together and admit his feelings to Deion! You know they’ll get there eventually though, and it’s heartwarming to watch their journey.

My first Jayce Ellis book and certainly not my last. Her pacing and character development were spot on, I enjoyed every page of this book and found our hero Deion a little too relatable at times - but in a good way, I think! I gave this book a Book+Main Loves Recommendation Review - the link is attached below.

Jayce Ellis is a new author to me. Not sure if I need to read the first book in series to get some insight on the couple. What grab my attention was the couple on the front of the book. They look so happy and appear to be a loving couple.

Deion and Carlton have known each other for years and have been best friends. This is a tastefully done book about friends to lovers which is one of my favorite troupes. I’ve never been in that type of relationship but I’ve often wondered how is it that others can see that their friends have feelings for each other but the two friends don’t seem to realize it.

Anyway, I rather enjoyed reading about the journey of Deion and Carlton and Carlton’s niece Olivia being the mix. Olivia was such an added delight to the storyline with Carlton wanting to adopt her.

The characters are wonderful, storyline was a bit slow at time other than that I enjoyed reading about Carlton, Deion and Olivia.

I received an ARC via Netgalley and I'm leaving a voluntary review.

3.5 Stars!

If you are my GR friend or even just follow my reviews, you'll know how much I enjoy Jayce Ellis' writing because of how unapologetically authentic to the African American queer culture it is. I have enjoyed every single thing she has written and really enjoyed this book even when one of the protagonists wore on my very last nerve.

When he was introduced to us in the Book #1, Carlton seemed like a happy-go-lucky guy and I liked him. In this book, I could NOT stand his wishy washy ways towards Deion.

Yes, he certainly had reasons for that due to some past trauma but when you have people like Deion showing you how selflessness looks like and are willing to literally bend over backwards for you, I didn't think there was a reason valid enough for such behaviour.

To make things even more annoying, Deion, in his efforts at being what Carlton needed, allowed Carlton to immerse himself in his selfishness for too long and kept making excuses for him. I kept yelling at my Kindle app and at Deion "what are you doing?! Let that man be clear and concise in what he wants from you!". But Alas, he didn't listen to me and did his own thing ... Lol!

Sooo...even though I enjoyed the writing and the overall story about found families, Carlton's antics nearly took away from that enjoyment which is why this book is getting a 3.5 star rating rather than a 4-star rating.

Moving on, Lawrence and Vance's book is out next and ba-bay, the tension between them was so delicious I'm going to be pouncing on it immediately it becomes available!

I absolutely loved this MM romance.

Such a great book with a solid storyline and great characters.

I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

A definite recommend!

Deion and Carlton have been best friends for nineteen years, ever since they were paired up as roommates for their sophomore year in college. During all these years they've stuck together, even through the drama of a one night stand and Carlton's parents kicking him out. And for nineteen years Deion has been in love with Carlton, accepting that his feelings will remain unrequited and unwilling to ask for more. When Carlton invites Deion to stay with him for homecoming, Deion accepts, even though he knows it'll hurt to be by Carlton's side but not be with him the way he wants.

Carlton's bachelor days were put to rest when his nephew Trey, a senior in high school, moved in with him. He managed to juggle his work and new family responsibilities but gave up his love life for the time being. But even with Trey off at college, Carlton hasn't gone back to dating, though he talks a big game to his friends and Deion. With Deion in his home, Carlton starts to realized what he's been missing all along but he's afraid to make a move at the risk of ruining their friendship. When Trey's sister, Olivia, turns up and asks if she can live with him, Carlton finds his life changing again, but this time he has Deion to help him navigate life with a 14 year old and a pending adoption. Now the two of them are faking a relationship for the social worker, and those barriers that have kept them apart for years are crumbling. Will Carlton take the chance to make Deion his?

Learned Reactions delivers romance and drama in spades! I could not put this book down and was racing through to find out how Deion and Carlton's story would end. This book has many of my favorite tropes: mutual pining, best friends to lovers, fake dating, forced proximity, bed sharing, and found family. While at times the characters' actions drove me up the wall I could totally understand how they were feeling and their unwillingness to jeopardize the most important relationship in their lives. Carlton and Deion truly have a beautiful and loving friendship, and a deep ride or die commitment to each other that was wonderful to read. I also loved seeing characters from Learned Behaviors (the first novel in the series) and finding out more about them.

This book deals with complex issues, specifically issues of family and belonging. Deion comes from a loving family but feels pressured, as the only child, to live up to his mother's expectations. Carlton had a difficult upbringing and his parents eventually cut him out of the family for being gay. Trey and Olivia lost their parents and were partly raised by Carlton's parents before leaving them to stay with Carlton. All of these facets of family life were written in such a heartfelt way that I felt deeply invested in all the characters and wanted the best for them. While Learned Reactions is a romance - and a very steamy and sweet one! - it's also a fantastic story about the families we choose and make.

Trust Jayce Ellis to take my second-least-favorite trope (problems could be solved by just TALKING to each other) and make it a deeply readable story that had my heart both warmed and wrenched in equal measures. Yes, a simple conversation might have gotten these two together any time over the last twenty years - but Ellis has made it clear that actually having that conversation isn't such a simple proposition, with a gentle, slow-rolled reveal of each character's back story and what they're willing to do for each other while never quite crossing that line - and why. This story, perhaps because of its deep roots in a decades-long friendship, is slower-paced than some of my previous Ellis faves, but anything lost in the lack of a plunging story arc is more than made up for in pure depth of feeling. You are absolutely immersed in feelings in this book. If you want to wallow in some yearning, Learned Reactions is where you need to be. 

And can we talk about friends to lovers? On Twitter, I said that this book had the most friends-to-lovers who have ever friends-to-lovered and I STAND BY IT. This relationship is amazing. Their friendship is amazing, their love is amazing, and watching them gently transition from one to the other like they were FATED TO DO IT is amazing. AND! In the midst of all that, there are other exceptional friendships! This book happens concurrently with the previous book in the series, and it's SO cool to watch each of the friends featured go through their own stuff - glimpses into Matt and Jaq's story that we recognize from the first book, and hints at Lawrence's story (which I CANNOT WAIT to read, FYI) going on all at the same time, expertly woven together into a seamless plotline. There's so much craft here! 

This book also has a lot of deep thought about family - one of my favorite fictional topics - and what it means, who it's for, who wants it, and how they get it. There's found family, biological family, supportive families, unsupportive ones, revelations about the nature of family, and so much more. Watching these characters discover the family they truly want is beautiful, and seeing them actually reflect on it with mature perspective is amazing. This is yet another of Ellis' books that feature characters who are grown; the men in this series are all in their late thirties (so far! HMMM), grappling with adult careers, college-aged kids, and more - and it's so refreshing. Don't get me wrong, I love young love, and Ellis writes that expertly, too (see the High Rise books!), but this is just so dang relatable. And the kids! Are so good! Olivia was an amazing character, and I adore her and want only good things for her immediately. 

To conclude: *pats book* You can fit so much YEARNING in this bad boy. A+.

Best friends obviously in love with each other but both are a bit foolish (I say that lovingly) and are each in their own way of being together. But wow, that grand gesture at the end really got me. Wonderful ending.

Thank you Carina Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

4 stars (coming out March 9, 2021!!!)

**ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review.**
#NetGalley #LearnedReactions

Pros: Black m/m romance, 2 gay Black MCs (professor on sabbatical & financial aid administrator), mutual pining for OVER 20 YEARS (I love some good mutual yearning and the length of it here just made my heartache), long-term friendship, respect, and affection (love a relationship grounded in positivity), the adoption process by a gay couple, acceptance (of children not your own, of representation outside of the "norm," of feelings you've repressed)

Cons: lightbulb a-ha moment is a bit rushed, the ending was a bit too saccharine for my tastes (definitely HEA though)

TW: talk of not being accepted by family members for gender expression, homophobic bullying, therapy sessions (solo and family), parent death (off page), parental abandonment (off page)

Link: [when filmed]

Jayce Ellis is rapidly becoming an auto read author for me with her superb glimpses into the lives and loves of queer men of colour.

I hadn't realised when I started this ons that it would have an element of overlapping on the timeframe of book one but now it makes perfect sense.

Carlton and Deion were already in their strange, mixed up non relationship when they were introduced in Jaq and Matt's story and here we get the full tale.

And there were times I wanted to shake them both so hard and make them just get over themselves.

But, at the same time, Carlton's fears that the only solid and permanent rock in his adult life would somehow find him lacking if he admitted he'd been in love with him for as long as Deion had felt the same, were heartbreakingly real.

The narrative never drags though, even while the two are not so much miscommunicating as utterly failing to deal with the serious consequences that pretending to be a family to help Carlton's adoption of his niece.

It's usually one of my most hated tropes, but Jayce gives it such weight and meaning that it would have felt completely wrong if they had just sat down and talked.

When it eventually happens, the blast point sets off a chain of events which ultimately leads to one of the sweetest chapters in the book and a fabulous ending that actually made me tear up - something I rarely do!

Wait til you read those words that pass between them and see if you can hold out better than I did!

Now, I am soooo hoping Lawrence will be next and we'll get to find out what happened with Vance.

Given the age gap, I'm betting it'll be a riot 😁

((Review will post to my blog on February 18th, 2021))

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this book. I am providing a voluntary review. All thoughts and views are my own.

Oh gosh. This story had me feeling some kinda way, y’all. Imagine my surprise when I finished it, began to format the blog post so I could write this review, and realized… Learned Reactions is book two in the Higher Education series. You best believe I was all over the author requesting an ARC for book one—which I’ll be posting a review for, ah, last week 🤣—because I absolutely had to read Jaq’s story. In fact, I also got down on my readerly knees and begged Jayce Ellis to pretty, pretty please write a book three with Carlton and JaQuan’s other friend, Lawrence, and the man who oh-so-clearly will be his love interest. 😍

Anyway, back to the story at hand. Thankfully, this series definitely operates as standalones, as I hadn’t even realized there was a book one until after reading this one. However, now that I know there is, I’m dying to see how the timelines work out… because we may or may not catch a glimpse of Jaq’s boy in this book, and things didn’t seem quite resolved. I’m kind of guessing there’s some overlap, and that makes me super excited to see how that plays out.

Okay… we’re going to try this again. Sorry, y’all, I’m having trouble focusing as these characters have me all over the place—in a very good way! Carlton and Deion were absolutely precious together, and Olivia—aka Ollie—was such a delightful supporting character. She was a fourteen-year-old through and through, but was such a sweet burst of toil and trouble wrapped into an angelic package you can’t help but love. But if I had to pick a favorite character, it would hands down be Deion. My god, my poor little heart. This boy dang near shredded it to pieces with his kindness and yearning and all-around goodness and… yeah. Carlton, on the other hand, had my hackles up through quite a bit of the story. You’ll understand why when you read, but… I’ll admit, once I understood a little better, his struggle became super relateable and I suddenly couldn’t wait for him and Deion to arrive at their well earned HEA. Which, when they finally do, you will get all the feels. I promise.

I would absolutely recommend this to all MM romance readers, but especially those who love real characters facing real, down-to-earth situations. And Ellis has such a solid, strong, and unique voice. You will lose yourself in her words and forget all else. Which… is there anything better? Isn’t that what we all look for in a good book—something to give us a reprieve from the day-to-day grind? Trust me. You’ll find that here. 💞