What a wonderful book!
These characters didn’t feel like characters to me. They had layers and depth that made it feel as if I were tagging along in the lives of actual people. I quite enjoyed Oli’s POV. Although he was annoying at times (and I mean that affectionately), his reactions and behavior were always perfectly consistent with his character. He represents the bitterness that comes from feeling trapped in a cage for which we hold the key, yet keep finding excuses not to use it. What made this work for me is that his excuses, while not insurmountable, were understandable. His reasons for staying in his small hometown despite feeling unfulfilled made sense for someone in his situation, so it never felt like shallow drama manufactured for the sake of the plot.
The close/limited POV was handled extremely well, and it showed in the way my perception of Flynn changed from chapter to chapter. At first, we only have Oli’s word to go on, and even when Flynn is present in a scene, everything he says and does is filtered through Oli’s lens.
Then Flynn’s car breaks down in the middle of a huge storm, and Oli is forced to go find and rescue him—reluctantly. When we learn that Flynn might have suffered severe hypothermia if not for Oli, my protective instincts immediately kicked in, and Flynn became best-boi-who-must-be-protected-at-all-costs.
It soon became clear that Flynn was nowhere near the awful person Oli made him out to be, but that didn’t make me upset with Oli for misleading me because something else also became clear: Oli, not yet ready to confront his deep internal conflicts, had found in Flynn the perfect external culprit to dump all his resentment on. He needed someone to blame for feeling trapped, and who better than his childhood friend who moved away and (allegedly) found success and freedom?
It takes Oli a while to forgive Flynn, despite the fact that no forgiveness is actually needed (Flynn best boi). Even after they start growing closer, Oli keeps snapping at Flynn whenever he feels insecure, and he repeatedly misinterprets Flynn’s words and intentions. But again, I couldn’t blame him because it was perfectly consistent with his character. (And there was no third-act breakup, yay!)
The sex scenes in this novel were phenomenal. The author has a lot of experience writing erotica, and it shows. Not only were they vivid and hot as fuck, but each scene had a clear purpose tied to the characters’ arcs and the evolution of their relationship. Nothing felt repetitive, and I wasn’t tempted to skim even once. I have to admit that I did not expect the first sex scene to unfold the way it did, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a pleasant surprise.
I felt a bit voyeuristic while reading the first two sex scenes, but in a really interesting way. I don’t know whether that was because of Flynn’s kink or because the author is a wizard whose writing made me feel as though I were in the room with them, watching. Either way, it was remarkably effective.
As I mentioned earlier, the close/limited POV was done very well—perhaps a little too well. I found that the frequent use of sentence fragments, while effective at mimicking the way people think and speak, occasionally made me struggle. That’s possibly because English is my second language, though. Even so, it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the novel in the slightest. It just meant that I sometimes had to reread a paragraph once or twice to fully grasp what was happening.
I wish I’d had the chance to get to know Flynn even better, but I didn’t finish the final chapter feeling as though the novel was incomplete, so I don’t think it’s because anything was missing. Rather, I simply liked Flynn’s character that much (best boi!) and wanted more of him.
In addition to these two great characters and their romance, I also enjoyed Oli’s interactions with his friends and parents. An adult MC who still lives with his parents is usually hit or miss for me, but it worked here. I also really loved the fact that Oli worked in a thrift store, and that it was actually relevant to the plot and an important part of him. I found it interesting, creative, and well executed.
Lastly, I think it’s worth noting that the romance moves quite quickly once Oli stops resisting, with Flynn suggesting that Oli move in with him very shortly after they become a couple. I know that isn’t every reader’s cup of tea, but I thought it worked well within the context of this story. After all, Flynn gives Oli what he needs: a reason to finally escape from his cage.
Despite normally being a slow reader, I finished this novel in two days and enjoyed it from start to finish. I definitely recommend giving it a try!
Two of my multiple favorite quotes:
It was possible, I decided, that I could clench my jaw so tightly that all of my teeth would shatter into dust. It’d probably mean a lifetime of soup and liquidized meals, but at least my blow jobs would become legendary.
Sitting on the edge of the mattress, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was an identical Oli in all of the other rooms, too. Just another item ordered in bulk, from some catalog: “cliched young out-of-town queer/male” to be delivered by the dozen. Fooling himself into thinking his problems, his conundrums, were something unique or special.
I would like to thank the author for the oportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.
- Release date: July 16, 2026
- Small-Town, Enemies-(one-sided)-to-Lovers MM Romance
- Single POV, 1st person, past tense
Ashe Green 