For The Fans by Nyla. K

Title: ⟫ For The Fans

Author: ⟫ Nyla. K

Rating: ⟫ 5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Kyran Harbor is everything I’m not.

Rich. Popular. A superstar football player who’s awfully broody for someone who has it all. Basically, he’s a preppy jock who hates me. Oh, and he’s also my stepbrother.

That’s right. We’re stuck together, sharing a school, a house… A bathroom. Honestly, I wouldn’t care… If he wasn’t such an uptight control-freak who messes with me just because we’re different.

I had every intention of avoiding him when we got to college… Until abrupt misfortune forces us both into a compromising position.

Now the grouchy jerk I was hoping to evade might be the only person who can help me out of it.

Avi Vega is everything I despise.

A dreamer. A flake. An artist who smokes too much weed and thinks aliens exist. And by some sick cosmic joke, he’s now my stepbrother, following me on what should’ve been my escape plan.

It was already a disaster. Add a sudden financial disruption to the mix, and let’s just say my options are heavily limited.

If I want to stay an all-star quarterback on the way to the NFL, I’ll need to do something drastic. Unfortunately for me, and my desperate desire for control, the perpetually smiling stoner has a plan.

Maybe we can stop hating each other just enough to pull this off. As long as we remember we’re only doing it… for the fans.

**For The Fans is a full-length standalone MM forbidden romance with an HEA. This book contains sensitive subject matter that could make some readers uncomfortable. Please heed foreword warnings and proceed with caution.

Review: ⟫ I wasn’t expecting this story – not in any way, shape or form. I certainly wasn’t expecting to feel so much for both Avi and Kyran. The premise was interesting enough to grab my attention, and initially, the story (although good) followed a well-worn path. Stepbrothers are forced into proximity to each other, then forced to rely on each other and get physical. I was also a teeny bit squeamish about the whole thing with Kyran being paid to do things with Avi.

But very quickly, the story became so much more than that. It was obvious something was going on with Kyran – the way he bolted from what he was doing with Avi, the confusion and anger he displayed – it was intriguing and mysterious and kept me reading.

The sex scenes were hot, and the banter between the two of them was even hotter – Not_His_Baby has got to be one of the best handles I’ve ever seen. But what kept me reading and interested throughout was what was beneath all of the sex and chemistry between the two men – Avi’s insecurities, and Kyran’s need to be perfect. And that is where this book hits you with both barrels.

I appreciated the fact that the author provided warnings on her website although I chose to go in blind. I would definitely recommend reading the trigger warnings if you have any concerns about reading this story because although I think the entire situation/reveal was handled very well, I don’t have the same experiences in my background and YMMV.

I really enjoyed reading this story – much more than other books I have read by the author – and I especially liked the fact that Kyran took some time to figure things out for himself. Avi wasn’t his saviour even though he called him his Angel. The way he confronted the people who had hurt him in the past was also handled very well – he got to speak his truth and it made me feel so happy and almost triumphant for him.

Totally unexpected, hot, steamy but also thoughtful, this was a very good read.

Follow the River by CE Ricci (River of Rain #1)

Title: ⟫ Follow the River (River of Rain #1)

Author: ⟫ CE Ricci

Rating: ⟫ 3.5/5

Blurb: ⟫ Follow the River is a full-length, mature, new adult bully/enemies-to-lovers MM (male/male) romance with dark themes. There will be triggering content for some readers. SPECIFIC TRIGGERS WILL NOT BE LISTED at the beginning of the book as they will be spoilers, so please be advised that if you have triggers, any at all, this book might not be for you.

I've never been one to back down from a challenge.

Rather than shy away, I grit my teeth and use it as an opportunity to prove myself.

Not just in football, but also in life.

Even when I was thrown through a loop in discovering I was bisexual, I embraced it. Owning it so no one can use it as ammunition against me.

But when Ciaráin Grady comes barreling into my life with his venomous tongue and amber eyes brimming with disdain, I realize every test of my character and strength could never have prepared me for the trial he holds.

One that toes the line of love and hate.

It's all-consuming and toxic.

Yet under the layers of revulsion he masks his face with, I see it. A glimmer of lust from deep within his secretive, broken soul.

And when we're thrown together under heinous circumstances, the distinction between enemy and lover begins to blur.

So...what is Ciaráin Grady to me?

I'm only certain that he is the greatest challenge of my life.

Review: ⟫ Firstly, I think I need to say that I am one of those people who feels that the author should have listed some of the triggers, simply because the warnings given were too vague. That’s my personal opinion and I know that others will disagree and that’s cool – that’s the point of opinions, right?

Some of this book really did shock me. I expected some of it – it’s enemies to lovers and listed as dark, so I wasn’t expecting sunshine and roses. However, I really wasn’t expecting what I would describe as outright sexual assault between the two main characters. I thought that River’s excusing of Rain’s actions by saying that he didn’t say no or fight him off were a dangerous thought process to have and more than potentially triggering for people.

The relationship between the leads was difficult and verging on toxic. There was more than one occasion when I found myself thinking that they should just leave each other alone because they were so bad for each other. However, the chemistry between the two of them was obvious and there was an almost morbid fascination in seeing just what they would do to each other.

When they were at the cabin and had begun to admit that this wasn’t simply a FWB situation – or more like enemies with benefits – I thought that some of their interactions were incredibly sweet. They were both such damaged creatures, with a skewed view of each other that a straightforward conversation might have aided, although probably not fixed.

I did sometimes find myself getting confused between Rain and River as in who was saying what, and their voices were occasionally too similar for me to differentiate between them. The sex between them was scorching – almost obviously with the chemistry between them – and there was no denying that there was something powerful there.

I feel that there should also have been a warning that this ends on a cliffhanger. This didn’t affect me as such because the following book was available immediately, but I think it would have irritated me a lot if that hadn’t been the case.

The writing was solid, the ‘mystery’ intriguing, and the chemistry between our two leads was strong, but overall I’m not sure I’m pleased to have read this story, not like I felt after reading Iced Out by the same author. If you do decide to read, do so with caution – the content is darker than you might expect, with explicit descriptions of child abuse that I’m still not sure were absolutely necessary.