☆ Slow-burn
☆ Rivals to friends to lovers
☆ Fire-cracker mc + quite and perfectionist mc / opposite attracts
☆ Forbidden romance (kind of)
☆ Entertaining family drama
☆ Fantastic chemistry
☆ Swoony, Fun, humorous
☆ Emotional, inspiring, evocative
☆ Pure, deeply moving Love

The moment I laid my eyes on this book, I was immediately intrigued. The blurb sounded really promising; the few reviews I noticed were all positive. So, I was extremely happy when my request for an arc got approved.

Now, I haven't read anything from the author before. So, I had no idea what to expect. I had minimal expectations while starting this book. But wow! Jax Calder totally surprised me. I am very surprised to see how much I loved this book. "The Other Brother" has everything I like in a MM romance book. Perfection to the core. I'm truly in awe.

*** (Ryan and Cody isn't related by blood. Ryan's Mom and Cody's Dad were previously married. They had two girls and went through a very nasty divorce. Later on both them got married for the second time. Ryan and Cody are the products of their second marriages.)

Jax Calder's characterization is praiseworthy. All of the characters are well crafted and relatable. The writing is very easy to get into. It has the perfect amount of humour to it. The friendly banter between the characters are like sprinkles on the cake. Honestly I can't find a single flaw in this book.

The family drama is very interesting. It is both funny and frustrating to see how much the families hate each other. I loved the sisters though. Their relationships with Ryan and Cody added to the perfection of the book.

This is an easy and cute book to read. But it's also very emotional. Jax Calder perfectly portrayals the complicated family dynamics between the two families. She brings life into the characters. The relationships between all the characters seems genuine. The inner struggles the boys went through had me moved. I could feel how the rivalry between the families affected them. They were trying to ignore their attraction and feelings but couldn't. In chapter 17, when Ryan desperately wanted to stay by Cody's side but still couldn't because of Cody's parents - that part literally broke my heart. I found the characters so real and lovable. I was rooting for them, hurting for them. Jax Calder did an amazing job at characterization.

"The Other Brother" is an absolutely incredible book. I wouldn't say that it's life changing or anything. But I promise you'll have a great time reading this book. I had too. For me it was a marvellous read. Not a single dull moment. I can't remember a time when I was bored while reading it. This book surprised me in a wonderful way. I have nothing but praises for Jax Calder and lots of love for Ryan and Cody.

Would highly recommend.

This was a relatively low angst book with a taboo-adjacent couple. Not related, not even stepbrothers, but the two MC's share siblings.

Their slow journey to friends and then to lovers was very sweet. I was rooting for Cody and Ryan and hated their respective parents for being such stubborn, selfish pigheads. My dislike of the parents ebbed a bit during the epilogue. Especially recommended for those who like a little well done drama

Ryan feels like he’s living in the shadow of his step sister’s step brother, overachiever Cody. Yup, their family dynamic is confusing and hostile at best with their divorced parents constantly fighting over their shared daughter’s lives.

Ryan and Cody unexpectedly end up spending the summer together, Cody tutoring Ryan and Ryan teaching Cody to surf. As the boys grow closer their friendship develops into more and they soon have to face the challenge of being together while their family feuds around them.

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this fast reading well written ya romance, and all of the drama that goes along with your parents divorcing already having children, marrying and each having child with their new spouce. For Ryan and Cody just having sisters in common keeps them from really getting to know each other, and because of their parents drama they both feel like they aren't meeting either of their parents expectations. So when they spend a summer at the family beach house and finially have time to get to know each other a romance between them is unexpected and now they have to deal with how their families will react with the news.

book was provided by Netgalley, but the following thoughts and opinions are entirely mine.

Two teenagers who aren't related, but do share family members, fall in love. The premise is simple, but it's Jax Calder's wonderful execution that makes this story worth the read.

The relationship angst between Cody and Ryan is written so well that my heart literally ached for them while they search for their happily ever after. I was particularly excited to see two people who don't appear to have much in common, but mesh together perfectly.

I also loved that there was time spent building the family dynamics and individual personalities of the main family members. The focus of the story is obviously on Ryan and Cody, but world building isn't always done as seamlessly as it is in this story.

Calder is a good writer and the story flows quite well. I do wish there could have been more time spent developing the relationship between Ryan and his two best friends. But only because I like good side characters.

If you enjoy coming of age stories and mm romance, this is probably a good pick!

I had recently read two Rugby books from Jax Calder’s Sporting Secrets series I loved both, so I was digging to find more from the author to read.
This one looked great, YA is hit or miss for me, I like it to read realistic and not OTT, and this book was done well. Ryan & Cody are both 17, they share two older half sisters, yet have no in no way blood related to each other. They are not friends, actually a bit stand-offish due to divorce between Ryan’s mom and Cody’s dad before either of them were born. There is bad blood between the ex’s which causes tons of tension and lots of areas on the kids.

The summer before senior year of High School Ryan and Cody finally are out in a situation where they get to know one another and begin to see the other for who they truly are.

I enjoyed this book and it was a nice read, different tone from the authors other stories I have read, this felt it was aimed more for a younger target & less steamy.

This was a beautiful, sweet, slow-burn YA M/M Romance.

All families bring complications but their families are especially so.

The two young men, seemingly complete opposites, come together over a summer, building friendship and finding that there is more to the other than they thought. Together they discover that when it's right, those complications aren't enough to stand in the way of love.

The writing is wonderful, with lots of laughs along the way, and just the right amount of angst (complete with a few tears) to make a lovely Happy Ending.

Thanks to NetGalley for the Arc.

This is my first book from Jax Calder and I'm so happy my ARC request got approved because it didn't disappoint. The relationship dynamics are super interesting as Ryan and Cody are family but not actually related. I loved the relationship between the MCs, they were really sweet. Also loved Mel and Kate as their sisters. I didn't care much about the parents, they got on my nerves and the change at the end was a little unrealistic for me.

The steam was on the low side but I didn't actually mind it. What I did want was Cody's POV - it would have been a 5 star read with both boys POV's.

A winner read to end the year on a high note - will check out Calder's previous work.

I liked the premise of this story. Two guys who share older sisters that fall for each other. I loved Ryan and his sense of humor and Cody was a good son/ brother that wanted to make everyone happy. The romance was definitely slow build but was worth it. I loved how they build the relationship together. My issue was the problem they had to overcome that was huge in the moment but fizzled in the end. The ending was cute, but I needed more. Overall, it was a fast paced, cute, M/M romance story that I believe others will enjoy.
I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Well, this was an absolute delight! A fun twist on the step brother trope…these two aren’t related in any way, even a step-brother level, but they share two sisters. It’s an odd dynamic and one I can’t believe I haven’t stumbled upon in my readings yet. I immediately fell head over heels for Ryan, the snarky brother who everyone looks down on and discredits. Seriously, I was getting so mad at the comments people were making about him because he’s an absolute sweetheart. The rescue scene on the beach? Swoon. My heart really went out to Cody too though, the “perfect” brother with so much expectations it’s a miracle he turned out so level headed. All the parents, across the board, are terrible parents. Ryan’s mom and Cody’s dad being the two main offenders…seriously someone needed to whip some smartness into these two years ago. The resolution was wonderful, the epilogue was teeth achingly sweet. A resounding 5 star book.

I absolutely LOVED this book! It was such an emotional, completely addictive and swooning rivals-to-friends-to-lovers story with amazing character growth! And some truly amazing chemistry between the main characters... I read this book in one sitting, completely hooked from the very first page!

The two main characters of this story are Ryan and Cody, two seventeen boys who are bound by some very dysfunctional and toxic family ties, but have never been close. On the contrary, as the family’s trouble kid, Ryan has always been compared to the perfect Cody and never met his standards… Ryan is something of a carefree happy-go-lucky surfer guy, who doesn’t worry about the future but more about the next party or about pulling pranks on his sisters. He’s also out and proud as bisexual. Cody on the other hand is the perfect on paper son, who is a high achieving musician, talented tennis player and extremely well behaved. But he also struggles with a lot of issues, such as anxiety and being secretly gay, as Ryan will get to find out after a summer when circumstances collide, and the two boys end up spending time together at Cody’s family’s beach house.

In case the family ties seem confusing, I want to make it really clear that there is nothing tabu about Ryan and Cody getting feelings for each other. They are not in any way related by blood and have not grown up together, even though they share the same half-sisters since Ryan’s Mom and Cody’s Dad were previously married and had two daughters together, before they spit up in a very nasty divorce. After that they both remarried and had a son each (Ryan and Cody) in their second marriages. So nothing inappropriate or tabu, but complicated to say the least… especially since Ryan’s Mom and Cody’s Dad absolutely hate each other and uses their daughters (Ryan’s and Cody’s sisters) as ammunition in their own private war.

I absolutely loved Jax Calder’s writing style and the amazing rivalry and love/hate-dynamic between Ryan and Cody. I loved their banter and the humor, and not to mention the burning chemistry… Both of the characters immediately stole my heart in their own separate ways. The toxic family drama, the slow-burn and their emotional rollercoaster when realizing their feelings for each other and the consequences all felt very real and realistic. My heart ached for the struggle Ryan and Cody had to go through. Jax Calder did an amazing job capturing the complicated family dynamics between the two families and how much damage a conflict between parents can cause their children.

All in all, The Other Brother was an absolutely amazing book! It was a truly adorable and emotional slow-burn enemies-to-lovers Romeo and Juliet kind of romance with all the feels and character growth. I read it in one sitting, it was so addictive and I rooted so much for all characters that I just couldn’t bear to put it down until the very end! I can’t recommend it enough!

This was a fun YA/NA read, but it didn't entirely blow my skirt up around my ears and keep it there.

Set in New Zealand, it's about two 17 y.o. guys who shared two half-sisters, but were not related to one another by blood themselves.

Ryan's mother and Cody's father had gotten divorced two decades earlier, but still couldn't be in the same room together without starting a fight. And in spite of their shared half-sisters, Ryan and Cody had rarely been around one another, so they were virtual strangers.

Until their summer at Cody's dad's beach cottage.

I adored witnessing Ryan learn that there was more to Cody than being Mr. Perfect, and Cody seeing the Ryan had hidden depths (sometimes very hidden) depths under his jokester attitude.

Their friendship began with Ryan teaching Cody how to surf, and Cody teaching Ryan how to play the guitar, then progressed from there, after their time at the cottage had concluded.

For the most part, the story had very few surprises, from the expected developing of feelings, hiding their relationship from their feuding parents, then being found out and the ensuing fallout/separation.

Although, I did enjoy the one rather large family history reveal at the end, which began to heal the rift between Ryan's mom and Cody's dad, allowing the rest of the family to finally breathe a bit easier.

Still, that external angst imposed upon the guys for most of the book was ever-present, making up nearly all of the story's angst, but it never got insanely intense, thankfully.

There was also a little steam, which was mostly relegated to PG-13 territory, so kinda "under the shirt, over the bra" feeling, but with boys. heh

The length and pacing of the story were fine, but at times a bit too "internal monologue'y" for my tastes.

Overall, it was a fun story that I enjoyed, but not really all that next level and mind blowing in the feels department.

I'd rate the book at around 3.5 stars and recommend it to fans of YA/NA.

4.75, great read, <3 music, good relationship and deals with the complicated family situation well. also nice to see accepting friends

ARC from Netgalley

This book was so sweet! It put me in a giddy mood!

I love reading MM books, and discovering new authors that write MM books as well, so when I saw this, I was super excited to read it and to discover a new author! And this book did not disappoint! I couldn't put it down, it was really good, the story was original and somewhat forbidden depending on who you ask, but that aspect made it all the more enjoyable to read.

Cody and Ryan were great characters. There's the smart, shy, can-do-no-wrong, musical prodigy Cody and the opposite all-about-the-fun jokester Ryan, that find friendship and more throughout the book. It was very sweet watching how they started to care more for one another as the book went along, and how they dealt with the complicated family dynamics along the way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jax Calder for the earc in return for an honest review.

4.5 Stars. The Other Brother is a standalone, new adult romance that follows Cody and Ryan whose parents used to be married and hate each other (Cody’s mom’s first husband was Ryan’s dad, the boys are the product’s of their parents’ second marriages). The two spend the summer before their last year of school at Cody’s parent’s beach house with the half-sister they share and become friends and develop feelings for each other. When the school year starts they embark on a relationship while keeping it a secret from their family members who don’t get along.

I really liked both Cody and Ryan. I found their dynamic as not quite step brothers very interesting. I liked that they developed a genuine friendship before becoming more. I absolutely loved the scenes of them surfing and playing the guitar together in the summer. Their relationship felt very real. I do wish the book would have been dual POV so I could have gotten Cody’s thoughts as well as Ryan’s.

In addition to the relationship between Cody and Ryan, the book very deftly deals with complicated family dynamics. I found that their dynamic with their respective parents seemed exactly how a 17/18 year old’s would be. New adult romance is one of the few sub-genres where overly involved families seem plausible because the main characters are technically children.

Thank you to NetGalley and Jax Calder for the ARC.