That awkward moment when you accidentally fool around with a closet case. I have a strict policy against dating closeted guys. Confused straight guys? Absolutely. Guys who don’t mind being out and proud? Duh. But closet cases are a hard pass. Been there, done that, have the t-shirt with a giant picture of a broken heart on it. It would be a lot easier to stick to my dating rule if Matthew Hart could be slightly less irresistible.
Matthew
Being a closeted gay college football player is not all it’s cracked up to be. After I broke my high school boyfriend’s heart by refusing to come out of the closet, I swore off serious dating. I don’t want to hurt anyone like that again, and I’ll admit I’m protecting my own heart in the process, too. It was a lot easier to stick to my no dating rule before I laid eyes on Jax Greene. He’s exactly my type in every possible way. If there’s even the slightest chance that history won’t repeat itself, I want to see where things might lead. Convincing Jax to give me a chance though might be the toughest play I’ve ever made.
**This book is the first M/M installment of the Sexy Nerd Boys series, but can be read as a stand-alone. Recommended for 18+ due to language and all kinds of hot sex
This book got off to a rocky start. The structure was….weird. It was choppy and seemed to cut off abruptly, flipping between characters after a page or two. It took a while to get into each character, and the story.
Once I got into the swing of the book I did enjoy the characters, mostly. I liked Jax’s sassy, snarkiness. I love snark. I didn’t really get ‘nerd’ vibes. Other than the references to comic books, nothing about him really screamed nerd to me. Some work on character development would have made him a little more three dimensional, and maybe I would have been convinced. This also may be an element I’m missing from the beginning of the series, if this is a character introduced in previous books, but if so, it should have been restated anyway.
I was put off by the amount of times Jax internally and verbally declared how much he wasn’t going to date a closet case, and then went ahead and did it anyway. I get it was the point of the story (the title, duh) but it was overstated and got boring after a while.
Also boring….. The reference to how gross vaginas are. I don’t like reading about it in any books. Vaginas aren’t gross, and trying to make a character more gay by going on about how much they shudder at the mere mention of a vag, or how proud they are to never have encountered one, is overkill. (Double Gold Star… just no). This may be something I just haven’t encountered before with my real life friends and acquaintances, and it may be a real thing, but it was a huge turn off for me in this story.
What I did enjoy was Jax and Matty’s chemistry. It was really good. The heat level worked well, and I felt the passion while reading them being together. The cuddling was also lovely. Gave it a bit of an awww feel to it. While they were together, they were convincing as a couple.
I want to talk about Glitter Beard!!! Well, not talk about it really. Just post a pic of the glory of Glitter Beard. Adding two of my favourite things together will instantly endear me. I heart Jax’s Glitter Beard (and his sassy shirts).
We didn’t spend much time with Matty as an athlete. The interactions with his teammates were miniscule, and what was there was pointedly homophobic; I suppose to prove the point as to why Matty had to stay closeted. More time with his teammates and practices would have convinced me about his passion for the sport. This is not a sports romance at all, so anyone getting excited about College Football will be sorely disappointed.
The ending was a bit too clean for me. Without going into too much detail, everything was sort of glossed over and convenient.
I’m not sure if this is the author’s first MM Romance (I’m going to assume yes based on Goodreads catalogue), and I give her props for dipping her toes in and trying something different.
This novel is pretty flirty, with some serious, but there wasn’t a great deal of depth of character beyond the plot line of Jax not wanting to date a closet case, and Matty lamenting about how he just wished life was easy so he could remain in the closet and come out once he retired from the NFL. If you’re looking for something fun and light, this would be an okay read to pick up.
In my opinion, this story can be read as a standalone.
Recommended for MM Romance first timers, who are branching out from MF, and those who want something pretty breezy and light to read over a few hours.
A review copy was provided for an honest opinion
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