I’m very much having that feeling of why tf am I still doing this. I didn’t read much anyways: I flew to Australia, and I’ve never been great at reading on planes. I watched two horror movies (sorry, lady next to me, for gasping so much, but also, you got up like 46 times so perhaps we’re even) and played Final Fantasy X, which has a less good plot than I remember but I still like it. Tidus’s voice is just as grating as I remember though.
Anyways, I’m still chasing the high of Heated Rivalry, just like everyone else. So, I spent a lot of my journey listening to the smuttiest boys love books I could find,
For the Fans, by Nyla K. 🎧
Genre: Romance, Smut
What’s it about: Avi and Kyron couldn’t be more different. Avi is an artsy emo kid from Brooklyn who loves pot, cryptids and his mama. Kyron is a popular star quarterback from a Boston Irish-Catholic family with a tense relationship with his divorced parents after a mysterious tragedy. Avi’s mom and Kyron’s dad fall in love, and the two stepbrothers can’t help but get under each other’s skin.
Things take a turn for the worse when Avi and Kyron go to the same college. They try to avoid each other, but the tension reaches a boiling point. But when their family’s finances collapse, they’re at risk of losing their school lives. Avi cooks up a crazy scheme: Start an Only Fans. Their hatred reads as crazy sexual tension on camera, so the two start filming behind close doors. They vow to do it for the fans…and the money, but as the school year goes on, they grow closer physically and emotionally in ways they couldn’t have anticipated.
Was it good? You know what, hell yeah. I loved it so much. The premise is, of course, insane. But the author does a great job differentiating our two leads and making them fully realized. They heighten, and later soothe, each other’s anxieties. What promises to be PornHub lite turns into a heartwarming story about self acceptance, found family and forgiveness. It’s also really hot.
Highlights:
Avi is kind of an impulsive dumb dumb and I love that for him. The way he never gives up on Kyron is really romantic.
Kyron is really mean at first, and I don’t like bully romances. However, he really makes up for it. He’s so sweet.
I don’t really care about football, but I will say that some of the football stuff in this is quite hilariously implausible. But this is like…a Disney levels of happy romance fairytale so just go with it.
For your mental health, you should probably forget that the boys are 18 - 20 in the span of this.
Ok, so the thing about erotic books is that the characters have to do perhaps more graphic dirty talk than is probably typical in order to narrate the sex they’re having. The dirty talk between these gay virgin dudes is so crazy and hilarious.
I love switches.
Game Changer, by Rachel Reid 🎧
Genre: Romance, smut
What’s it about: Scott Hunter is the floundering captain of the NHL’s New York Admirals. But after a chance encounter with a hottie working at the smoothie shop, and a delicious drink, he plays a great game. Scott is a little superstitious, and keeps visiting the shop in the hopes of continuing his winning streak and getting to know the cute guy behind the counter.
Kip is a little lost himself: Desperate to make ends meet and maybe someday move out of his parent’s house after graduating with an Art History degree. So when he realizes THE Scott Hunter is flirting with him, it seems too good to be true.
But as the two embark on a hot and heavy romance, Kip starts to feel like a dirty secret. Scott needs Kip in his life, but he’s too invested in his hockey career to risk it by coming out.
Was it good? Meh, because the show is better and it’s pretty cheesy. You essentially get their whole story in one episode of Heated Rivalry and there’s not much beyond that plot. It’s very sweet, and it’s smuttier than Role Model, which has a little bit more to it.
Highlights:
So I listened to the audiobook, and Kip has an extremely deep voice and a terrible and inconsistent Brooklyn accent, which made me burst out laughing on a number of occasions, especially the sex scenes.
So, I am not a gay man so I cannot say for sure but it seems like a risk to bottom after eating Mexican food? Especially if it was a chance encounter?
For show fans: In the book, Kip tops Scott first! Which was exciting for me because…
I love switches.