Getting Him Back by K. A. Mitchell

* * 1/2

An unexpected fresh start leads to an unlikely-but-absolutely-perfect pairing in this male/male new-adult novel from bestselling gay romance author K.A. Mitchell 

Ethan may have followed his high school sweetheart to college only to get dumped his first day there, but he's not going to let that stop him from exploring all his new life has to offer. Sex-only hookups, his photography, new friends and a campus-wide game of zombies vs humans all help keep his mind off his broken heart and move him toward building a new, better life without his ex.

And then there's Wyatt. Mysterious, grouchy—hot. And possibly not gay. But Ethan's not going to let that stand in the way of figuring out what makes Wyatt tick. New college goal? Get Wyatt into bed and into Ethan's life.

Step one: arrange a "tutoring" date. Step two: "accidentally" bump into Wyatt as often as possible. Step three: explore the sexy body under that ever-present hoodie. And when their friendship deepens into something neither of them expect, convince Wyatt he's not just a pity fling or a one-time hookup, but that Ethan is in it for the long haul.

This book is approximately 43,000 words.

Review:

Alright.  Let’s clarify things.  I feel that the description of this book is misleading.  A few things you should know – there are no sex-only hookups.  Barely a promise of one.  Photography is mentioned twice, maybe three times.  And most importantly, those first few steps to get Wyatt into bed had absolutely nothing to do with getting naked with Wyatt and everything to do with Ethan trying to get information on his ex, Blake, so he could convince him to get back together.  But things never stay true to the original plan in a book.  In his attempt to get back together with Blake, Ethan realizes that Blake’s quiet and cranky roommate is kind of hot and intriguing. 

The two things I enjoyed most about this story were the pace and Ethan’s development.  This was a quick read and I absolutely loved that.  I love a writing style that engages me so much that I can’t wait to get to the next word, next page or next chapter.  As for Ethan.  He’s a little needy and clingy with Blake in the beginning but as the story progresses he does an admirable job of learning his self-worth and gaining independence.

Unfortunately, the romance between Ethan and Wyatt just didn’t work for me.  It was just too fast to be believable.  By the end of this book I would have bought a Happy For Now ending where the MC’s were still getting to know each other and wanted to see where it all goes.  Instead I saw two kids that had barely exchanged any words yet are declaring their love for each other. 

If you are a fan of insta-love I would recommend picking this one up.  It will be a quick and satisfying read.  But if you are like me and really need a slow burn in order to buy the romance of it all, this might not be for you. 

Nat

Off Campus (Bend or Break #1) by Amy Jo Cousins

* * * *

Everyone’s got secrets. Some are just harder to hide.

With his father’s ponzi scheme assets frozen, Tom Worthington believes finishing college is impossible unless he can pay his own way. After months sleeping in his car and gypsy-cabbing for cash, he’s ready to do just that.

But his new, older-student housing comes with an unapologetically gay roommate. Tom doesn’t ask why Reese Anders has been separated from the rest of the student population. He’s just happy to be sleeping in a bed.

Reese isn’t about to share his brutal story with his gruff new roommate. You’ve seen one homophobic jock, you’ve seen ’em all. He plans to drag every twink on campus into his bed until Tom moves out. But soon it becomes clear Tom isn’t budging.

Tom isn’t going to let some late-night sex noise scare him off, especially when it’s turning him on. But he doesn’t want any drama either. He’ll keep his hands, if not his eyes, to himself. Boundaries have a way of blurring when you start sharing truths, though. And if Tom and Reese cross too many lines, they may need to find out just how far they can bend…before they break.

Warning: This book contains cranky roommates who vacillate between lashing out and licking, some male/male voyeurism, emotional baggage that neither guy wants to unpack, and the definitive proof that sound carries in college housing.

Review:

After more than a summer of sleeping in his car and driving a cab to make cash and save money for school, Tom Worthington is excited to finally have an actual bed to sleep in.  But when he arrives at the off-campus housing he’s been assigned to, he finds his bed has been converted into a couch.  Apparently his new roommate wasn’t expecting company for the school year. 

After a vicious on-campus assault the year before, Reese Anders was promised a private room in the off-campus housing usually reserved for adults.  Needless to say he was unhappy and extremely displeased to find an oversized jock standing in his doorway and expecting to sleep in his room.   

No amount of complaining will help the situation.   There is not enough available housing for Reese to have a single and Tom has nowhere else to go.  So they’ll have to figure out how to live together until the next school year.  Tom is cool with that.  He just wants to keep his head down and get through the next three semesters.  But Reese?  He is determined to have his own space.  His safety and peace of mind depend on it.  So what should scare off an assumedly homophobic jock more than anything?  Purposely bringing guys back to their room for a good time, of course.  But what Reese doesn’t understand is that Tom is not only not homophobic, he’s not all that straight either.   Tom knows what Reese is doing but he’s too desperate for a room and a bed to be scared off.  Plus, listening in is kind of hot.  Not that the very reserved Tom is going to admit that to anyone but himself. 

This book is told through Tom’s POV (third person).  Because of this, the reader becomes intimately aware of the kind of person Tom used to be and the young man he’s become thanks to the criminal actions of his father.  A once overly privileged and careless young man has become so careful and overly focused that his paranoia uncomfortably leaps off the page.  But that same watchfulness allows him to be super aware that his roommate is negatively reacting to their room situation because he’s afraid of Tom.  Mostly Tom’s size in comparison to Reese’s smaller stature.  And because Tom has become so much more conscious of others, he does everything he can to alleviate that fear.  Even to the extent of making himself physically smaller when he’s in the same room as Reese.  Reese is just as watchful as Tom in some ways.  And as he becomes more comfortable with Tom he also sees more of things that Tom doesn’t want anyone to see.  At one point Tom finds out that Reese had been purposely leaving apples on his desk because he saw that Tom was financially struggling and couldn’t always afford or fit in a healthy snack or meal.  It was a very short but sweet moment that said a lot about both of these characters.  As Tom and Reese get to know each other and eventually begin a relationship, it’s amazing and beautiful to see the lengths they will go to make the other feel safe.

Sweet moments aside, there has to be a conflict in every romance.  No relationship can survive the PTSD that both of these men are experiencing without some professional help.  The problem is that they are both resistant to that help. Tom especially since he is convinced reaching out will make him vulnerable to the press that hounded him after his father was arrested.  Tom’s acceptance of his issues and his fear of seeking help is more than a little frustrating.  Especially since Reese shows more willingness to face his fears and try.  The conflict in this story is honest and messy and sometimes unflattering.  Tom’s and Reese’s issues are the kind that they will be working on for a lifetime.  But, in the end, their willingness to do so is what makes their story so beautiful and so relatable. 

I’ve read this entire series (more reviews to come!) and I have found that Amy Jo Cousins has an amazing knack for writing characters with frightening realistic personality traits that will drive you nuts.  And yet you fall in love with those characters because they are so ridiculously human it’s impossible not to.  Off Campus is a great contemporary New Adult romance featuring two young men that are determined to make a relationship work in spite of and because of their individual traumatic experiences. 

Nat

Looking For Love by Ashelyn Drake Blog Tour

Today, we're very happy to have Ashelyn Drake join us to celebrate the release of her latest, Looking For Love. We're all about music over here so we thought it would be fun to have Ashelyn share with us some of the music that helped inspire her book. 

Welcome, Ashelyn!

I know a lot of writers like to have music playing while they draft and/or revise. I don’t. I’d sing along instead of writing. But I do like to listen to music before I write to get me in the mood for whatever kind of book I’m working on at the time. For Looking For Love, I was listening to a mixture of music—some from old playlists and others that were on the radio.

Here are some of the songs that contributed to my inspiration while I wrote and revised Looking For Love:

The Heart Wants What It Wants by Selena Gomez

Not Alone by Red

Start Again by Red

Someone by Kelly Clarkson

Use Somebody by Kings of Leon

Be Your Everything by Boys Like Girls

Yours to Hold by Skillet

There you have it! What are some songs you like to listen to when you’re in the mood for a little romance?

Thanks for stopping by, Ashelyn! Now here's a little more about the book. Don't they look so sweet on the cover?

Looking for Love Synopsis:

Mike Hannigan is looking for love in all the wrong places. Maybe that’s because having his heart torn to shreds by who he thought was the perfect girl left some emotional scarring. But that’s about to change.

Summer Patterson isn’t like anyone Mike’s dated before, and he can’t help but be intrigued by her. Now if only he could keep his foot out of his mouth long enough to win her over. But when a secret involving Summer brings Mike’s past crashing back to the present, he’ll need some backup from his best friend and wingwoman, Mindy, to sort out the mess.

Will Mike find love before he leaves Timberland College for good?

Buy Links:

Amazon     I     Barnes and Noble

About Ashelyn Drake:

Ashelyn Drake is a New Adult and Young Adult contemporary romance author. While it’s rare for her not to have either a book in hand or her fingers flying across a laptop, she also enjoys spending time with her family. She believes you are never too old to enjoy a good swing set and there’s never a bad time for some dark chocolate. She also writes speculative fiction under the name Kelly Hashway. She is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

Connect With Ashelyn:

Email     I     Blog     I     Facebook     I     Twitter

Amazon Author Page     I     Goodreads

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Looking For Love Release Day Launch

Today is the release day Looking for Love by Ashelyn Drake!!! She’s sharing a giveaway and excerpt with us to celebrate her release so be sure to read all the fun details!!!

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Exclusive Excerpt:

Curvy hips grind against mine in tune with the music. This girl knows how to move. I lean in so my lips brush her ear lobe. “Want to take this back to my room?” I whisper and then pull away to see her response. Instead, a hand grabs my forearm and I hear Mindy’s voice.

“Babe, there you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.” Mindy smiles sweetly, as if she isn’t the worst wingman on the face of the planet, pulling this “Babe” bullshit to scare away a sure thing.

“What are you doing?” I ask her between gritted teeth.

“Sorry,” Mindy says to the girl, who has now stopped pressing her tight body against mine and is allowing the entire basement of Ace’s frat house to see the mega-sized boner I’m sporting. “But we really need to get going.” Before I can protest, Mindy loops her arm through mine and pulls me away.

“Did you really just cock block me?” I ask her, not trying to mask my annoyance.

“You’ll thank me later.”

“My blue balls beg to differ.” We head up the stairs, and I eye the girls who are on their way down to the party with plastic cups in hand. I smile at them, which earns me dirty looks in response, because of course they assume Mindy is my girlfriend.

“Oh whatever,” Mindy says. “You’ll take a cold shower and get over it. That girl was disgusting, Mike. You deserve better.”

The warm spring air hits my face as we walk outside. “Shouldn’t you be out with Ben?” I haven’t seen Mindy much lately, not since she and Ben became inseparable. I give her credit for bagging a younger man. Though I’m not sure how things can work out for them since he’s only a freshman and she’s graduating in less than a month. But since she hasn’t whined about it to me, I’m assuming she has a plan.

“He went home for the weekend, so it’s just you and me for two days.”

Great. Two days of Mindy lecturing me about relationships and why meaningless sex is a bad thing. “Must be my lucky day.”

She squeezes my arm. “Trust me, you’ll be happy to have me as your wingman once I find you a nice girl.”

“Nice? How about hot, sexy, and ready for anything?”

She shoves me toward her car. “Get in before I question why I bother being your best friend.”

I open the passenger door but don’t get in. Instead I lean on the door and meet her eyes. “Because you secretly love me but know it would never work between us, and the mere thought of losing me is too much for you to bear. So you settle for being my best friend because it’s the most you can hope for.”

About Looking for Love:

Mike Hannigan is looking for love in all the wrong places. Maybe that’s because having his heart torn to shreds by who he thought was the perfect girl left some emotional scarring. But that’s about to change. Summer Patterson isn’t like anyone Mike’s dated before, and he can’t help but be intrigued by her. Now if only he could keep his foot out of his mouth long enough to win her over. But when a secret involving Summer brings Mike’s past crashing back to the present, he’ll need some backup from his best friend and wingwoman, Mindy, to sort out the mess. Will Mike find love before he leaves Timberland College for good?

Buy Links:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Ashelyn Drake Bio:

Ashelyn Drake is a New Adult and Young Adult contemporary romance author. While it’s rare for her not to have either a book in hand or her fingers flying across a laptop, she also enjoys spending time with her family. She believes you are never too old to enjoy a good swing set and there’s never a bad time for some dark chocolate. She also writes speculative fiction under the name Kelly Hashway. She is represented by Sarah Negovetich of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

Links:

Email

Website/Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Amazon Author Page

Goodreads

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