CW: homophobia, islamophobia, various views in regards to being gay and various religion, bullying

This is the first book I've read of this kind of "taboo" genre. It isn't something I went out of my way too look for, but I was too curious not to have a read. I really like the way that the guys get to know each other, learn to have a friendship and it evolves - all while revolving around their faith (or lack of) and their exploration of of what that means for them.

I didn't expect to devour this so quickly, but I read it in under 48 hours and couldn't stop reading it every time I had the chance. Great MM story, with diversity through backgrounds, family origins, living experiences and outlooks on life - all while feeling that undenably pull towards the person they can't seem to get our of their head.

4 stars! (published August 13th!)

**Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.**
#HeMadeMeDoIt #NetGalley

Pros
+ Fijian author
+ m/m forbidden romance
+ gay rep, Muslim rep
+ The "forbidden" part of the romance is that the 2 MCs (both 17yo) have suddenly become brothers when their parents marry. This wasn't problematic for me, per se, because from the moment they first meet, they don't have brotherly feelings for one another. So, yes, they're technically step-brothers, but 1. they are not blood-related 2. they just started living together and 3. they never had brotherly feelings towards one another
+ Zayn (17yo): closeted and gay, religious (Muslim), straight-laced son, very close with his father (who is devoutly Muslim)
+ Asher (17yo): openly gay, loves to have a good time, very IT savvy, close with his mother, half French (his father)
+ The first half of the book is SO AMAZING (was going to be 4.5-5 stars if the book had stayed at that pace and trajectory). Zayn and Asher are attracted to one another straight off, but at first, Asher doesn't realize because Zayn is closeted. The first half of the book is them slowly realizing their mutual feelings and the struggle Zayn has with his religion and the torture he feels from keeping it from his father. I was so nervous and devastated at that point that I kept wanting to save Zayn from whatever was going to happen.

Neutral
/ If you have an issue with the forbidden step-brother trope, this will 1000% not be your cup of tea.
/ They develop a brother/incest kink, which is fine by me. I don't care what people do in the bedroom. However, again, if you can't look past that kink in the bedroom, then also don't read this book.

Cons
- Unfortunately, the second half of the book transitions from slow-burn sexual tension to an overabundance of full-out sex scenes. I am always down for sex scenes, but it was too many too fast! It cheapened/destroyed a lot of the longing/tension that was created in the first half of the book.
- As mentioned above, they have a brother/incest kink (which I don't care about if it stays in the bedroom). HOWEVER, they openly call each other "brother," "little brother," "big brother," and so on when in the company of other people, despite them and those other people knowing they are fucking. That made me cringe tbh. I'm fine with kink in the bedroom (and even out if that's the scene you're in), but to push it in the face of your parents (whose house you still live in!) and friends... cringe.
- The epilogue speeds the story along by a couple of years and I didn't want that. I didn't want to see what happened. I would have preferred to just read a second book, to be honest.

TW: homophobia, anti-Muslim bullying, incest/brother kink

It's been a while since I've read a book like this, but here goes......
.....ok. so. The smut was engaging, kinda kinky. The book had a lot of romantic moments, through the thoughts and reflections of the characters. I wish I had gotten to see more of Zayn outside of Asher and his family. I think Zayn's religious struggles were well portrayed; there were so many times he became closed off to Asher because he believed what he was doing was wrong. Asher's hacking thing seemed kind of impossible, but was convenient for the premise of the story. The relationship between Zayn and Asher developed believably; they had many arguments and it was a bit before they got together. If you like this genre/trope, you should definitely read this book.

OH. MY. GOODNESS.

Can you fall head over heels in love with a book so fast?? Because I totally just did. I loved this book most positively and absolutely, no one can convince me otherwise, it's a top favourite.

I should start of by saying, this book is definitely not for everyone and I can totally understand why, but if you're a fan of the forbidden romance trope and if you loved Feuds and Reckless Fury by K. Webster, then you'll definitely like this too because this book reminds me so much of K. Webster's amazing book!

I'm a sucker for the forbidden romance trope, and I also love the M/M romance genre, it's all I've been reading lately and I can keep reading them till kingdom come. This book is now a top favourite M/M of mine. Seriously. It's that good. It's sexy as sin, it's passionate, it's kinky, it's got everything.

Now there's also the religion aspect which I respect so so much because I have first hand experience of what that religion comprises of, my family knows, therefore I know, and I just connected so much more to Zayn and Asher because of it. When they started to talk about choices and sexuality, I was screaming at my tablet like YESSSSS SHOW THEM WHO'S BOSS!!!

Anyways, read this book, give it a try, and let's talk about it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Zee Shine Storm for the earc in return for an honest review.

I have always been a fan of Zee Shine Storm, so I decided to try out this book. Bear in mind, this is the first MM book that I have ever read in my entire life. To be honest, I pretty much enjoyed it but I found that the religious aspect is a trigger for me. I thought I could handle it, but I just couldn't. Well, I blame myself for that. In my opinion, it is not something that should be used as a plot device. If I brushed away the religious aspect, then I would say that this book is quite good. I found it really steamy and the chemistry between Zayn and Asher is just off the chart. If you're in the mood for MM romance, then you should give this book a try.

Hmm. It was an okay story about stepbrothers that become lovers. It touched upon religious, culture and sexuality themes. I liked the two characters but it was a relationship that was built on sex from the beginning. Asher’s side job was odd and then it disappeared from the story. The ending was better than the beginning of the story. Overall, it was a quick, okay, romance between two step brothers.

I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this a bit apprehensively. Smut is not something I’m one to shy away from, and this certainly is a new spin on it that I haven’t read yet. A stepbrother MLM romance…a trope that certainly exists but usually not in books if you get what I’m saying. That aside, I was hooked from the first chapter and I read this in about 3 hours.
Zany is struggling with his identity as a gay muslim when his father remarries, and along with his new step mother comes a new step brother, Asher. Drawn to Asher immediately, he tries hard to hide his attraction. He soon discovers the attraction is reciprocated. The two must navigate Zayn’s religion and his homophobic father, while figuring out how they fit together.
First of all…this might be the steamiest book I’ve read in quite some time. The spice happens almost every chapter once the two have their first time together. Zayn’s struggles with being Muslim and gay is really the driving force of this book for me. His fear of what his religion says of being gay comes through painfully, and Asher does his best to understand and help. Zayn’s chapters were a bit heavy where Asher’s were more fun and light to read. Though a lot of his feelings about Zayn’s religion and it’s relation to their lives comes from a place of privilege, he also takes every opportunity to stand up for Zayn’s anytime anyone says something about it. One mild observation: the subplot of Asher’s “business” was kind of odd and didn’t serve the story at all.
Zayn’s father from the beginning I knew I was not going to enjoy, and I was right. I understand his religion has a view of what acceptable, but that’s no reason to treat your son the way he does. Ashers mother Sienna is more tolerable, albeit complacent. I went into this book with trepidation due to the whole stepbrother thing, but I really liked the story, the romance, and the ending.

Cover: 0/10
Description: 5/10
Plot: 8/10
Grammar: 6/10
Character development: 10/10
Read it all in one sitting in about 3 hours.