Review: Want Me (Extracurricular Activities #1-7) by Neve Wilder

Two roommates. One calculus exam. A whole lot of extracurricular activity. 

Nate: Living with four other guys, it's bound to happen.
Every guy's been caught taking care of business at least once, right? It shouldn't be a big deal.

But I don't know Eric as well as my other roommates, and things are a little awkward now.
He's a loner.
A mystery. Quietly confident. Smart. Sexy as hell.

I've been happily subsisting on the typical frat guy diet of booze and sorority girls.
But the way Eric looked at me that night?
There was something there.
Something that's got me curious. Something that's stirring up feelings I thought I'd left behind for good.

Something that's making me think I'm not as straight as I thought I was. 

I can't get him off of my mind.
I don't think I want to.

So when he offers to help me study for a midterm, I take him up on it.

It's innocent.
Probably. Maybe.

There's no way I could've known what it'd start... 

This is a steamy standalone new adult/college mm romance with HEA that unfolds across six "episodes" following Nate and Eric. Now bundled up in one collection with a bonus episode for a seamless reading experience. 87,000 words.

This book right here, y'alls...

Straight to the one-handed read HOF for you, lil bookie.

I bit my lip, debating whether I should just get it over with and start begging, say please. I wanted him to ruin me, make me beg, make me come. Make me do anything.

Neve Wilder was new to me but now she's on my BRING IT shelf because not only was this book hot enough to send local fire departments on high alert it also brought a surprising amount of organic  and believable relationship development.

But first let's talk about all the buttons of mine that got annihilated by Nate and Eric.

§ public sex
§ begging
§ public sex
§ rimming
§ public sex
§ big guy bottoming
§ public sex
§ bossy top
§ public sex
§ mild D/s
§ public sex in the library, the gym shower, the backseat & the woods!!!

Conclusion: #thud +

ICYMI, I'm kind of a voyeur and these two boys lit me up like a Christmas tree. On steroids. What I wouldn't give to catch them in flagrante. For science. They have so much chemistry I think they could school some chemists! 🔬🔥 = 🚀 🌑 (and maybe some astronomists?)

The whole story is told from Nate's POV and he is a delight! Honest and genuine that sometimes comes out in the most inopportune times and in the most awkward of fashions, all of which combined to make him crazy, stupid lovable. It's a testament to Wilder's writerly skills that I truly felt and sympathized with his turmoil and hesitancy over his growing feelings for Eric. Though he's not exactly new to same sex shenanigans he's never been this shaken by nor this into another guy.

I didn't know a lot about him beyond that he was majoring in structural engineering. And currently minoring in confusing my dick.

Their relationship begins very casual but Nate soon gets a taste of something that he wants seconds and thirds and fourths of, something only Eric seems able to provide. And Nate's kind of a glutton for it too. Bless him.

As much as I enjoyed the sexy times between them, and I did immensely, I thought Wilder developed their relationship realistically. It wasn't rushed nor did it sail along smoothly. I found myself fully invested in them, loved their dynamic, how relatable their dialogue was throughout and how much fun they have together once they lay their cards on the table.

Each time we got together, it was like one more layer of myself peeled back, and now I lay here feeling... not raw, and not even vulnerable or exposed-though I was all of those things with him, and more than willing to be stripped to my core by him now-but mostly I felt like all the bullshit had been whittled away and I was just me-a closer match to the thoughts that'd always been inside my head.

I would definitely read a follow up in this universe. It seems there might be a couple of secondary characters that could potentially be protagonists in future installments.🤞Plus, I would love to check in on Nate and Eric as well.

Recommended and #ProTip: might not want to read Want Me in public. If you catch me.

An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Complexity (The Kinky Connect Chronicles #4) by Harper Miller

Fairy tale endings weren’t made for people like me. Happy for now usually ain’t in the cards, either.

The dents on my wall from where my headboard kept knockin’ against the same spot was the first clue that I needed to calm my ass down. At the rate I was racking up notches and plowing through hookups, I wasn’t ever gonna find nothing real. Guess I kinda jinxed myself. I created my circumstances. You can’t get what you want if you keep falling back into the same pattern of bad habits. But then things changed. I stumbled onto somethin’ I never in a million years expected to happen. You gotta understand, I’m never the guy who wins. It was supposed to be just sex, but that shifty, rhyming and scheming bastard, Cupid, pulled a fast one.

I may have changed some stuff to protect a couple of people. But before you go believing the tabloids, make sure you understand that you’re gettin’ the lowdown straight from the source.

I needed to get this off my chest and it’s only fair that you at least get my side of it all. At some point, I might regret telling you any of this, but for now, you need to know.

*Disclaimer* This is a novella. Not a short story, novelette, or novel. This tale features an M/M pairing. If gay erotica/erotic romance is not your cup of tea and you are offended by same-sex relationships or crass language, you should bypass this story. Content is intended for a mature audience, 18+.

Complexity is the fourth installment in The Kinky Connect Chronicles. The Kinky Connect Chronicles are short erotic stories/novelettes all wrapped up in neat little bows. These stories are standalones. No cliffhangers in the lot!

Docking and pigeon peas!

I had to google one. I'll let you guess which. *exaggerated wink*

Manny is the narrator of this novella. Manny is a bisexual, Puerto Rican, personal trainer, struggling to make ends meet in New York who likes sex. A lot. He isn't picky about gender or how many people are getting served at a time and he's model hot, so... there's not exactly a shortage of people in the greater NYC area willing to climb into his bed or a bathroom stall or the gym... you get me. I'm actually wondering if underwear doesn't just disintegrate when one gets within a certain distance of Manny. Like the sun. Only for underwear.

Being inside Manny's head... was an experience. I couldn't say whether or not his voice is authentic being neither Puerto Rican nor from New York, but he holds no punches and his verbiage made me cackle, I'll say that. Many of his reactions I didn't understand. He'd get pissed in a nanosecond but I was still at the starting gate trying to figure out why, but the characterization is consistent. Consistently had me scratching my head but consistent nonetheless.

More often than not he explains himself and it mostly boils down to him getting bent over something I wouldn't ever think to, some of which may be cultural, others of which are probably gender, all of which held my interest mainly because I don't get in a bind about much. He's like a fucken rubik's cube and puzzles are in my wheelhouse. Occupational hazard.

Anywhat.

Manny's thirsty one night, alters his profile on the kinky site where he's a member to reflect his desire for cock and through a series of events meets Chris.

Chris is a pretty well known TV star and DEEP in the closet. They have chemistry in that fuck and fight way but the closetedness becomes an issue after they've been together about 6 mos.

The way the story is put together worked for me. I like flashing back to their first meeting but then there is a big time jump where Manny fell in love with Chris. I have trouble with the 'take my word for it they're in love' gambit. I like to see it and feel it for myself, and while I understand that's a tall order within the span of a novella, I still think the relationship could've been better developed.

The way Chris and Manny interact speaks to their chemistry and David seems to be able to decipher Manny, so in that sense it's clear they have a connection. Do I think they'll have longevity? Eh. Maybe?  

The sex is medium hotness with some dirty talk, bossiness and the aforementioned docking. I know it says "kinky" in the series title and they meet on a "kinky" website but... can we just agree to disagree? 

Manny's family dinner scene was one of the things I liked best about this story. The support they give him is heartwarming. The ending is both tiddy and surprising. It definitely leaves the possibility of a sequel but doesn't leave you dangling from a cliff. 

Recommend to MM erotica fans.

A review copy was provided.

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