I want to like When Robbo Met Daniel, but I think I just haven't been in the right mood to get through it. Maybe another time, but currently, this one isn't drawing me in. I never felt a connection to the characters.

Robbo is broken. He’s split up with his girlfriend. Given up on love. Forever. And now he must pretend to be happy for a friend’s week-long birthday celebration.

Daniel’s boyfriend refuses to go to the celebration with him. Another nail in the coffin for their relationship. So he brings his best friend, Sam. They notice the heart-broken straight guy has attractively filled swimming shorts and a body to draw their sunglasses-obscured gazes.

If Robbo can put aside how he thinks others will see him if he comes out and if Daniel can escape the history of his dead relationship, maybe they have chance.

When Robbo Met Daniel is a stand-alone gay romance with a curious man who’s only ever been with women and a flamboyant gay man who’s looking for someone to be kinder than his useless boyfriend. A dash of well-meaning friends and forced proximity could mean a happy ever after.
Giving this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 stars

This was a somehow fun read.
I liked the dynamics between our main characters.
The inner monologs, especially with Robbo felt accurate but that's one of my main issues with the book, there were too many inner monologs and ramblings that it made the book feeling a bit draggy.
I liked the Romance and the sexy times and the chemistry between the characters was great.
Overall this was an entertaining read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review

When Robbo Met Daniel by Liam Livings is a contemporary romance. Robbo is broken. He’s split up with his girlfriend. Given up on love. Forever. And now he must pretend to be happy for a friend’s week-long birthday celebration. Daniel’s boyfriend refuses to go to the celebration with him. Another nail in the coffin for their relationship. So he brings his best friend, Sam. They notice the heart-broken straight guy has attractively filled swimming shorts and a body to draw their sunglasses-obscured gazes. If Robbo can put aside how he thinks others will see him if he comes out and if Daniel can escape the history of his dead relationship, maybe they have chance.

When Robbo Met Daniel is a romance that works on every level. I will admit that some of the phrases and reactions were unusual to me, but they were accurate and completely in character and now I know more which always makes me happy. I like that everything was not simple, nor was everything more complicated or more drawn out than it needed to be. I liked the natural development of friendship and attraction- and how everyone needed to deal with their own issues in their own time rather than the 'love fixes everything' which is sometimes used to ignore problems for a quick happy ending. Robbo and Daniel each had things to work out for themselves and I really enjoyed that while Robbo figuring things out is part of the story, the details of the process are not all agonized over. Coming out and figuring things out is huge, but it is also very different for different people and I loved the way it was laid out but not the focus of the entire romance. I also loved the level of communication and honesty between Robbo and Daniel, I think this is what really sold the story for me and made me root for the couple even more. Being open about the stumbling blocks they might face and leaning on the support system they had made me so happy for them.

When Robbo Met Daniel is an honest and heart warming romance that leave readers confident in a happy ever after for the characters.

I liked the overall plot of this story, the main characters and their well-meaning but interfering friends, and the Spanish hacienda holiday setting for the beginnings of a new romance. The way Daniel and Robbo interacted, especially when they were alone, was sweet and often romantic. There were a couple of steamy scenes between them that I enjoyed, although we only received a quick recount the following day after they spent the night together.

My main issue with the story was the repetition of thoughts and conversations that ran along very similar lines throughout the vast majority of the book. Daniel’s frequent inner monologue and his conversations with the others was his split from his ex, Terry, and whether they would get a chance to talk things through one last time and give their relationship another go. At other times, he accepts they have split and wouldn’t get back with him anyway because of the way Terry treated him when they were together. So when things could possibly be starting with Robbo this is what holds him back from being ‘unfaithful’ at first. He does flip back and forth between these decisions.

With Robbo, it was his (and all his friends) declarations that he was straight or that he didn’t want to be labelled as anything (bi, gay, or otherwise) and his fear of what his friends and acquaintances would think about him if he did come out. Yes, these were important and life-altering points for both characters, but it was all repeated far too much. Connected to this was the motivation behind some of their unexpected actions and contrary decisions in the story. Gah! It does provide us with some angst though!

Terry’s imminent and highly anticipated arrival seemed to drag on for days. I just wanted the guy to appear so everything could have been sorted out sooner. I couldn’t for the life of me see why Daniel would even be considering patching up their relationship when it was sexless and loveless for much of its seven years. Also, I did wonder how all the people at the ‘party’ were viewed as Terry’s friends, rather than Terry and Daniel’s joint friends. Surely they would have spent time together with them as a couple? Perhaps that was another indicator of how poorly matched Daniel and Terry were.

Overall, I enjoyed the story despite being a little frustrated by the main characters at times.

This was a decent story. I do feel like it dragged a little but overall it was good. The characters were like able and the story was interesting to watch unfold. I also enjoyed that the author wrote to what he knows like the British accent.

This book introduced me to my new favorite author. It's a perfect, sweet story free of chiches. I didn't feel like I was reading converted fan fiction. The sex and emotions were real. I need more gay romanced written by men!

I had a hard time getting through this one, which is probably telling for such a short novel.

The story seemed to drag on long past its natural conclusion, and the constant back and forth in character motivations was enough to give me whiplash.

For example, I thought that the chemistry between Robbo and Daniel was palpable, but their relationship was manic and at times even toxic. One minute, the characters would be confessing their undying love for one another, and the next, they would jumping to the worst-case scenario and threatening to walk out the door.

In reality, their connection only seemed to be healthy in the way that it contrasts with Daniel's relationship with his borderline abusive ex-boyfriend.

Some highlights included the sometimes laugh-out-loud pop culture references, somewhat akin to a low-rent Amy Shermann-Palladino. The erotic scenes were also perfectly described to achieve steep steaminess, without too much cheese.

Altogether, an unsatisfying but inoffensive read.

The story was meh for me. Sorry, it didn’t work for me. I was hoping for something different. The whole time I kept thinking this could be a play on stage. I didn’t get to know the characters very well and the inner dialogue was a tad too much. Overall, the storyline was just okay, and the epilogue was good.

I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley for my honest review and opinion