This book unfortunately wasn't for me. The writing and pacing was good, I just couldn't connect to the characters.

I really wanted to like this book, but unfortunately it didn't work for me.

I went into it expecting a romance, but there's actually very little romance in here. Instead we're mainly seeing the two main characters with their friends and family, and since I found it hard to connect with, or even like, any of the characters, I found those parts pretty boring.

The only thing I was interested in was seeing what would happen with the romance, and even that left me quite disappointed in the end, when it somehow managed to feel both very slow-burn and quite instalovey. I also didn't connect with the humor in this book. So all in all there were just a number of things that didn't work for me, which is unfortunate, especially since the book had such an interesting premise.

MM romances are some of my favourite books to read, so when I saw this, I jumped right into it!

This is a story about friendship, passion, and not judging someone by what they do but rather who they are.

Thank you to NetGalley and NineStar Press for the earc in return for an honest review.

A passionate complete love story that has friendship, relationship, and kinship along with wit and humor. And a happy ending I loved. I'd recommend this to any romance junkie I know. After reading Burning it Down, I couldn't wait to read more from this author.

Note: Mentions of guns, drugs, kidnapping, running away, stealing and porn

This was an entertaining book from the very beginning. Honestly, I loved the drama inflicted by the secondary characters. It was nice to read a book that did not narrow in on the two MCs falling in love and ignoring everything else in the process. Van, Thad and even That Woman were amazing characters. What I enjoyed was how the author ensured that all supporting characters had a depth to them. In fact, the two MCs only ended up getting together at the very end of the book. In short, this was an enjoyable book with loads to offer. I am certain that you won't regret buying this book :).

Henry Hughes and Cameron Jameson felt instant attraction when they first saw each other at the Coming Out Day Party. However, things went downhill as they were introduced. Henry is a former gay porn star who was known for being extremely well endowed. He has moved on from that life and is now a very wealthy businessman that also donates time and money to charitable endeavors. Cameron came from a very wealthy controlling family. After high school he left home and told his family that he was going to make it on his own without family money. He struggles financially while working in a retail clothing store. Cameron has 2 gay roommates that tend to have immature and rough behavior. Cameron and Henry keep running into each other at various events. They both are attracted to each other but can’t seem to connect as they are interpreting each other’s actions in an incorrect way. There are humorous moments such as when Cameron’s very large mother comes into town and goes to the gay bar with them. She has a very domineering personality and seems to take over the action at the bar. Many of the patrons think she is a male in drag. This novel involved a lot of drama between family and friends that have become family. At first, there seemed to be so many characters with various storylines that it was confusing but later things straightened out. Warning: This book contains a lot of LBGT and homophobic words in it and most characters are gay. Overall it is a good story.

I wanted to like this book, but in the end it was just okay. TO me, the plot felt pulled in too many different directions. This could have been a great enemies-to-lovers romance, but then there were the added layers of Cameron's family issues, his issues with Simon (and Simon's problems later once he is off with Benton), and his own struggle to figure out what is missing from his life. On top of that Henry had his own struggles of coming to terms with his past in the adult film industry, his social anxiety, and his body issues. And those don't really even include the drama from all of the secondary characters. Of which there were PLENTY.
While I don't mind the occasional insta-love, this time it felt incredibly forced. They have approximately 1.5 positive interactions before they are declaring their love. I just didn't feel their connection beyond mutual attraction.
For me, this book would be better if the plot was pared down and there was more interaction between the main characters that built up their relationship and made it feel believable.

Overall: 3.5/5⭐️

It took me a decent amount of the book to get hooked but once I did I devoured this book!! In the beginning I felt like there was so many characters and so much going on, it was confusing. But boy did I fall for those characters. Henry was my absolute favorite! I do wish there was more time of them being an actual couple. Although I understand I’m just a sucker for the mushy love lol, and it wouldn’t have aided the plot in any way. Is there a sequel tho? Cuz if so I need more Henry and Cameron!! Thoroughly enjoyed this book!!