When Trevor Daniels is asked to compete in a reality signing competition looking for the next boy band, he is somewhat wary. Last year Trevor competed with his college a cappella group in a different show and his life has been totally turned upside down since then. He came out to his ultra-religious family, who have totally rejected him, and he learned he has diabetes. But Trevor is graduating college with no job and no money, so he decides to take a chance on the show, if only for the free room and board it provides.

When Trevor gets to Vancouver for the filming, he discovers he has been placed in the “cute, gay boy” group, Stand Out. Not only that, but the producers want to amp up the cuteness factor by having Trevor pretend to be boyfriends with Jalen Smith, another group member. The guys even have to share a room since the other two members of their group are a real life couple. The whole idea stresses Trevor out, especially since he definitely finds Jalen attractive. But Trevor still hasn’t emotionally come to terms with being gay, and his sexual encounters are always of the random hook up variety, followed immediately by soul crushing guilt for acting on his desire for men.

Putting on a show for the cameras is hard, but Jalen is a nice guy and determined to help take care of Trevor, especially when he learns that Trevor is hiding his diabetes from the show producers. Over time, the guys are drawn to one another more and more, eventually acting on their attraction. But both men have been told to pretend for the cameras, and even though each knows his own feelings are real, neither is quite sure that the other isn’t still just acting. As things heat up with the show, Jalen and Trevor’s relationship continues to grow, but the stress is also getting bigger. Both young men must admit their feelings for one another if they have any hope to be together long term, but they also must deal with Trevor’s health issues and figure out how to handle life after the show if they have any hope of a future together.

Love Me Tenor is the second book in Annabeth Albert’s Perfect Harmony series, following Treble Maker. We meet Trevor in that first book, but other than some passing mention of the events in that story, this really stands alone perfectly fine. That said, I loved Treble Maker and it was one of my favorite books of 2015, so I’d definitely recommend picking it up.

This is another great story set amid the backdrop of a singing reality show. The show isn’t as major a part of the book as in Treble Maker, and instead is a more of a backdrop to get these guys together. Even if you are not a big reality show fan, I think the set up works well here and connects this book nicely with the first in the series.

Albert does a great job helping us get to know Trevor and Jalen. Each has a well-developed back story that makes it easy to understand their insecurities and issues, but without being too much info dump. Trevor has really been struggling since coming out to his family and having them reject him. He is incredibly hurt, but he also misses them so much. And growing up in such a religious environment has really impacted his confidence and given him an incredible sense of guilt about partaking in any kind of sex. As a result, Trevor tends towards encounters with straight guys who use him, rarely even getting off until he is alone, and feeling horrible guilt when it is all over. So with Jalen we see Trevor slowly learn to accept his feelings, to be able to find happiness with Jalen without the guilt. On top of that, the rejection has taken its toll on his self confidence, and he has a hard time trusting that people he loves won’t leave him. So opening up fully to Jalen isn’t easy. It all takes time, but we get a nice growth for Trevor over the course of the book.

Jalen has things more seemingly together, but he too has issues of confidence. He needs to take care of people so badly, to be needed, and so he jumps right in to take care of Trevor. So Jalen has a particularly hard time when Trevor won’t open up to him, and takes it especially hard when Trevor doesn’t take care of himself the way Jalen thinks he should.

These two guys are really just sweet together, as well as definitely sexy. They are both in their first real relationship and learning to figure out how to work together. Set amidst the backdrop of the reality show, it gives some nice conflict as the guys deal with navigating their relationship on camera, and trying to figure out what is real and what is for the audience. I enjoyed this one quite a lot and am really liking this series. I would definitely recommend both Love Me Tenor and Treble Maker, especially to those who like young love stories and a reality show setting.

Jalen might not be perfect but he is perfect for Trevor. Trevor has so much baggage that his whole life is nearly paralyzed by it. Both have talent with more to spare. Can the two come to terms with their destiny?

I read Annabeth Albert's first book in this series, Perfect Harmony, several years ago and loved it! Love Me Tenor, the second installment, may be even better than the first, if that's even possible. I want to make clear that even though characters are referenced from the previous book-- this novel works perfectly as an independent standalone. You do not need to read the first to fall in love with this one (but you should)!

Albert is a gifted writer. Possibly the best in the M/M Romance genre. Here, she gives us a perfectly well-rounded story, wonderful characters, a steamy M/M romance -- a great novel that takes you in to it's world and engulfs you completely.

Within the first few pages I knew I was going to love it, just from the intriguing set up, grabbing me and making me devour page after page. I loved Trevor and Jalen, both unique and yet I identified with both of them fully on a personal level.

Albert's ability to write M/M love scenes so beautifully and fully real-- is one of the gifts I admire most about her. It's hard to describe but her intimate scenes are written with a care and a passion that few other writers seem to possess.

When I reached that point, I remembered how I loved that Albert included her 'playlist', or musical inspirations (at the end of the book) in the last book as well. I loved her sharing that part of her writing process with us, the readers.

I look forward to reading many more Annabeth Albert stories in the future.