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Destined to Fail #2
Shameless Affairs
I never wanted anyone this much. Especially not a guy.
Aaron stumbled into my arms and I wasn’t able to let go of him since. Wounded, he needs a place to crash and a friend to help him through. He’s so hurt and lost that he makes me want to be his protector against the world.
But strange, new feelings rise very quickly. Being around him makes me imagine things a straight guy has no business wanting. Least of all a taken, straight guy. But the longer he’s with us, the more I want him all for myself.
Until my girl sparks one fight too many, then goes away. And it’s just us boys. And I see the look of desire in his eyes.
How many bridges will burn? How many hearts break? How far are we willing to go in the name of love?
Shameless Affairs is the second novel in the Destined to Fail series. This book explores the themes of infidelity and love that requires sacrifices. It includes close proximity, bisexual awakening, and a gray take on the ‘cheating with each other’ trope. While this is the second novel in the series, it can be read as a complete standalone (but it’s more fun to read in the order of release).
Aaron stumbled into my arms and I wasn’t able to let go of him since. Wounded, he needs a place to crash and a friend to help him through. He’s so hurt and lost that he makes me want to be his protector against the world.
But strange, new feelings rise very quickly. Being around him makes me imagine things a straight guy has no business wanting. Least of all a taken, straight guy. But the longer he’s with us, the more I want him all for myself.
Until my girl sparks one fight too many, then goes away. And it’s just us boys. And I see the look of desire in his eyes.
How many bridges will burn? How many hearts break? How far are we willing to go in the name of love?
Shameless Affairs is the second novel in the Destined to Fail series. This book explores the themes of infidelity and love that requires sacrifices. It includes close proximity, bisexual awakening, and a gray take on the ‘cheating with each other’ trope. While this is the second novel in the series, it can be read as a complete standalone (but it’s more fun to read in the order of release).
272 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 25, 2023
126 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
About the author
Hayden Hall
73 books777 followersGay. Sweet. Steamy.
Hayden Hall writes MM romance novels. He is a boyfriend, a globetrotter, and an avid romance reader.
Hayden's mission is to author a catalog of captivating and steamy MM romance novels which gather a devoted community around the Happily Ever Afters.
His stories are sweet with just the right amount of naughty.
You can get in touch with Hayden on Facebook or through his website at haydenhallwrites.com
Hayden Hall writes MM romance novels. He is a boyfriend, a globetrotter, and an avid romance reader.
Hayden's mission is to author a catalog of captivating and steamy MM romance novels which gather a devoted community around the Happily Ever Afters.
His stories are sweet with just the right amount of naughty.
You can get in touch with Hayden on Facebook or through his website at haydenhallwrites.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
April 28, 2023
✯✯3.5 rating ✯✯
"Wherever I looked, I found her. She was in the very walls of this house, unaware that I had taken her man for myself for a little while. Unaware that he was fighting for a little while. Unaware that he was fighting a fierce battle within himself that would only ever lead to her heartbreak. Whatever faults that she had, they had never been mine to punish her for."
Another one bites the dust.😭😭
I had one 5 star-read and that was that. I knew it was too good to be true 😭. Here I am with another 3.5-star read. Don't get me wrong this book wasn't bad, it was better than the first one in this series but still a 3.5 star nonetheless. It was slightly more angsty than the first book which was about the stepbros getting it on. This one is about cheating.
Aaron who I don't remember ever being mentioned in the first book, is one of the MCs. He is Parrish's friend. Aaron an unemployed social worker, walks in on his then (but now ex) boyfriend, Bruce having sex with a twink named Nick.
Devastated and shocked by such betrayal, Aaron is loss for words. Bruce eventually comes clean about his affair with Nick, who he is apparently in love with. Bruce also tells dear Aaron that he gotta go and pack his shit from their place since he is no longer in love with him. Bruce was a cold-hearted prick but such is life. Homeless and jobless, Aaron is living a miserable life. Couchsurfing and barely living, his former high school friend, Megan finds out what is going on with Aaron. Megan offers Aaron to crash at her and her boyfriend's (Garret) place until he gets back on his feet. A great friend she seems even though they have lost touch and all. But Aaron is grateful to Megan, even though he feels bad for burdening her and Garret.
Garret is the other MC. He is a people pleaser and does whatever Megan tells him. "Clean the house Garret" "Do this...do that". You get the picture. Megan treats him like one of her things, a possession to have and show off but not love. Their relationship is toxic. Megan is cold, controlling, and emotionally abusive. She gaslights Garret at every chance. She has also made it her mission to have him isolated from his friends or any life/aspirations he had before her. He works the job that her father got him. They live in the house that Megan's rich daddy bought her. Garret is her live-in Ken doll. It was frustrating, it felt like Garret had no guts to stand up to her and just went along with whatever to keep her happy to live their picture-perfect life. His very heterosexual life that he falsely seems to be proud of. The author hints at times that Garret may be in the closet.
We find out about that when Aaron comes into their life. Aaron witnesses their toxic relationship and sympathizes with Garret. He realizes that Megan is not the nerdy girl she used to be. She may be "cool" but still has a nasty personality. She is gone half the time and dumps Aaron onto Garret. She expects Garret to help Aaron settle in and well heal I suppose. He helped Aaron alright lol🤣 with his 🍆.
With Megan being MIA, Aaron, and Garret bond and become friends. Garret is attracted to Aaron and likewise with our couch surfer.
They get it on. They fuck in the dining room, the basement, and even christen Megan's bed, which is just savage. Old boy Garret totally forgot about his girl. Megan who?
Aaron is a whole other story. He was cheated on but gives into temptation and fucks Megan's boyfriend. He has some remorse and guilt, but because Megan is horrible, we should empathize with the cheaters. I don't mind the cheating trope, but Aaron and Garret's relationship was based mostly on lust, I didn't feel any emotional connection between them. They knew each other for like a few weeks and already Aaron is "his" (Garret's). It was too fast-paced and as shitty as Megan was their relationship wasn't strong enough for me to root for them. There is HEA but is it well deserved? Idk the entire book had potential but felt rushed. Cheating trope when done right can be a fascinating trope to explore and read about.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
"Wherever I looked, I found her. She was in the very walls of this house, unaware that I had taken her man for myself for a little while. Unaware that he was fighting for a little while. Unaware that he was fighting a fierce battle within himself that would only ever lead to her heartbreak. Whatever faults that she had, they had never been mine to punish her for."
Another one bites the dust.😭😭
I had one 5 star-read and that was that. I knew it was too good to be true 😭. Here I am with another 3.5-star read. Don't get me wrong this book wasn't bad, it was better than the first one in this series but still a 3.5 star nonetheless. It was slightly more angsty than the first book which was about the stepbros getting it on. This one is about cheating.
Aaron who I don't remember ever being mentioned in the first book, is one of the MCs. He is Parrish's friend. Aaron an unemployed social worker, walks in on his then (but now ex) boyfriend, Bruce having sex with a twink named Nick.
Devastated and shocked by such betrayal, Aaron is loss for words. Bruce eventually comes clean about his affair with Nick, who he is apparently in love with. Bruce also tells dear Aaron that he gotta go and pack his shit from their place since he is no longer in love with him. Bruce was a cold-hearted prick but such is life. Homeless and jobless, Aaron is living a miserable life. Couchsurfing and barely living, his former high school friend, Megan finds out what is going on with Aaron. Megan offers Aaron to crash at her and her boyfriend's (Garret) place until he gets back on his feet. A great friend she seems even though they have lost touch and all. But Aaron is grateful to Megan, even though he feels bad for burdening her and Garret.
Garret is the other MC. He is a people pleaser and does whatever Megan tells him. "Clean the house Garret" "Do this...do that". You get the picture. Megan treats him like one of her things, a possession to have and show off but not love. Their relationship is toxic. Megan is cold, controlling, and emotionally abusive. She gaslights Garret at every chance. She has also made it her mission to have him isolated from his friends or any life/aspirations he had before her. He works the job that her father got him. They live in the house that Megan's rich daddy bought her. Garret is her live-in Ken doll. It was frustrating, it felt like Garret had no guts to stand up to her and just went along with whatever to keep her happy to live their picture-perfect life. His very heterosexual life that he falsely seems to be proud of. The author hints at times that Garret may be in the closet.
We find out about that when Aaron comes into their life. Aaron witnesses their toxic relationship and sympathizes with Garret. He realizes that Megan is not the nerdy girl she used to be. She may be "cool" but still has a nasty personality. She is gone half the time and dumps Aaron onto Garret. She expects Garret to help Aaron settle in and well heal I suppose. He helped Aaron alright lol🤣 with his 🍆.
With Megan being MIA, Aaron, and Garret bond and become friends. Garret is attracted to Aaron and likewise with our couch surfer.
They get it on. They fuck in the dining room, the basement, and even christen Megan's bed, which is just savage. Old boy Garret totally forgot about his girl. Megan who?
Aaron is a whole other story. He was cheated on but gives into temptation and fucks Megan's boyfriend. He has some remorse and guilt, but because Megan is horrible, we should empathize with the cheaters. I don't mind the cheating trope, but Aaron and Garret's relationship was based mostly on lust, I didn't feel any emotional connection between them. They knew each other for like a few weeks and already Aaron is "his" (Garret's). It was too fast-paced and as shitty as Megan was their relationship wasn't strong enough for me to root for them. There is HEA but is it well deserved? Idk the entire book had potential but felt rushed. Cheating trope when done right can be a fascinating trope to explore and read about.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2023
This is my second and last try with this author and it’s pretty clear he’s not for me.His books always lack emotion and depth and his stories are based solely on sexual attraction and lust. The writing is not very good either, it lacks finesse and emotion and the bi-erasure is quite annoying here. I also found the title of the book very appropriate as this was indeed a shameless affair. I’m not against cheating in books , it’s actually a trope I like and the reasons I wanted to read this book but here it felt wrong somehow even though the author made sure we see what a selfish and insensitive bitch was the gf . Because let’s not forget the OTT mean bitchy gf or the gay guy who can’t think or speak a sentence without it being related to sex -like the frightened homeless MC who just met his girl BFF ‘s boyfriend and who ,when asked if he plays football, he answers that no but that he wouldn’t mind showering with the guys in the locker room. So instead of giving normal answer like a normal person he felt the need to tell a guy he just met that he would like to shower with the football team. Wtf????
So yeah, the book is bad and the sappy melodramatic love and ending came totally out of the blue. 1.5 rounded up because I liked the prologue and the epilogue (weirdly I always like the prologue more than the actual books with this author) .
So yeah, the book is bad and the sappy melodramatic love and ending came totally out of the blue. 1.5 rounded up because I liked the prologue and the epilogue (weirdly I always like the prologue more than the actual books with this author) .
August 4, 2023
Cheating ... a difficult trope ... please follow the author's advice and read the book only if you can live with this kind of theme. It is very much in the foreground and there is no getting around it.
I always wonder if verbal abuse is worse or not than physical abuse. For me personally, words cut deeper and last longer. This bitch of a girlfriend and this pathetic specimen of a woman deserved it no other way. Sorry, I better won't elaborate on what I would like to do to her. 😤😡🤬
I was a little hesitant to read this book, the opinions do differ widely and I think you either love it or hate it. I'm going with 'I love it'.
“When someone loves you, they promise to watch your back, to be your rock and to give you wings. It’s not butterflies. It’s not a whirlwind of emotions. That’s just a crush and that’s all cute and all. But to love someone is to make a choice. It means you have to commit.” 😍
Aaron is very hurt and needy but nevertheless also grounded and strong. He knows what he wants. I like how his strength comes out when he starts to trust Garret.
Garret is ... hard to put into words, he is such a loving soul. It was a little hard for me to understand him at first, but once I grasped what makes him tick, everything fell into place perfectly.
Nobody ever noticed my absence. My presence had never made a difference. 😢
Sex ... holy shit. Seriously, I have not read such a long detailed sex scene in any mm books so far. And this one was mega great. I can't really say if it was perfect either, but it had so much in it that I often miss. No repetitions or annoying chatter nothing superfluous and so unique and impressive.
When I leaned down again and pressed my body against his, it was the single hottest thing I’d ever felt. Muscles on muscles; skin on skin. It was raw and bare, thin layers of sweat on each of us mixed and I busied my hands with feeling the sides of his ribcage, all the way to his armpits. 🔥
Overall, the book is not very romantic simply because of the girlfriend situation, but it does have a few moments like that:
He shifted, pulling me with him and making us both more comfortable. I hadn’t noticed that my feet had slipped from underneath the blanket until he tucked them back in without a word. My heart melted in an instant. 😍😍😍 - mine as well and I had to cry like a baby again.
One star off for the rushed ending, sorry but that was a bit too much melodrama squeezed into only 4 or 5 pages, that disappointed me a bit. The epilogue saved it again, that was super cute.
And finally a word about the cover: absolutely unfitting, that's exactly what made me not want to read it right away.
I always wonder if verbal abuse is worse or not than physical abuse. For me personally, words cut deeper and last longer. This bitch of a girlfriend and this pathetic specimen of a woman deserved it no other way. Sorry, I better won't elaborate on what I would like to do to her. 😤😡🤬
I was a little hesitant to read this book, the opinions do differ widely and I think you either love it or hate it. I'm going with 'I love it'.
“When someone loves you, they promise to watch your back, to be your rock and to give you wings. It’s not butterflies. It’s not a whirlwind of emotions. That’s just a crush and that’s all cute and all. But to love someone is to make a choice. It means you have to commit.” 😍
Aaron is very hurt and needy but nevertheless also grounded and strong. He knows what he wants. I like how his strength comes out when he starts to trust Garret.
Garret is ... hard to put into words, he is such a loving soul. It was a little hard for me to understand him at first, but once I grasped what makes him tick, everything fell into place perfectly.
Nobody ever noticed my absence. My presence had never made a difference. 😢
Sex ... holy shit. Seriously, I have not read such a long detailed sex scene in any mm books so far. And this one was mega great. I can't really say if it was perfect either, but it had so much in it that I often miss. No repetitions or annoying chatter nothing superfluous and so unique and impressive.
When I leaned down again and pressed my body against his, it was the single hottest thing I’d ever felt. Muscles on muscles; skin on skin. It was raw and bare, thin layers of sweat on each of us mixed and I busied my hands with feeling the sides of his ribcage, all the way to his armpits. 🔥
Overall, the book is not very romantic simply because of the girlfriend situation, but it does have a few moments like that:
He shifted, pulling me with him and making us both more comfortable. I hadn’t noticed that my feet had slipped from underneath the blanket until he tucked them back in without a word. My heart melted in an instant. 😍😍😍 - mine as well and I had to cry like a baby again.
One star off for the rushed ending, sorry but that was a bit too much melodrama squeezed into only 4 or 5 pages, that disappointed me a bit. The epilogue saved it again, that was super cute.
And finally a word about the cover: absolutely unfitting, that's exactly what made me not want to read it right away.
May 8, 2023
Check out my review on Instagram!
This book starts off with a fair amount of background that lays the groundwork for the story. Aaron is dumped by his long term boyfriend after coming home early from work (because, on top of being dumped, he was let go from his job due to a lack of funding) to find his boyfriend banging another guy. Ouch. Not a great day for Aaron.
Since then, Aaron has been couch surfing at his friends' places when his old high school friend Megan asks if he wants to stay at her house. Megan has been dating Garret for the last year or so. Unfortunately, their relationship is not in a good place. Once Aaron arrives at Megan's, Garret and Aaron start up an unlikely friendship. They're there for one another.
He would do anything for anyone. When everything I’d had had shattered to pieces, Garret had been the one to pick them up and put them together. He’d done it for no better reason than kindness.
As Aaron notices right away, Garret and Megan bicker all the time. Garret is basically a glorified personal assistant to Megan, who doesn't appreciate anything he does for her or around the house. She constantly criticizes him. This is the situation that leads to the MCs coming together.
Two damned souls colliding and exploding. And if life as I knew it was the cost of this, I was willing to pay the price.
These two make such a cute couple. They both just want to be seen for who they really are. Garret had an unfortunate experience when he was in high school, which still affects him to this day and Megan likes to throw it in his face for fun. Luckily, Aaron helps Garret come to realize some deep rooted things about himself.
“I’m done putting my wishes aside,” I said. “In the short time I’ve known you, you’ve sparked so much in me. I feel like I have lived on life support until you walked in here and made me question everything.
These two are super hot together and I really enjoyed the scenes with them after they finally gave in to temptation. During this time, Aaron comes to realize some things about his past relationship and really has some inner growth that was nice to see. I liked seeing Parrish and Levi show up a couple of times and I look forward to more in the series.
I needed to taste him for a little while longer and to show him he wasn’t just a gay experience for some straight dude. He was a life-changing event. He was a fixed point in my existence. He was all I had lacked for the nearly thirty years I’d wasted on this planet.
*** I received an ARC of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion. ***
This book starts off with a fair amount of background that lays the groundwork for the story. Aaron is dumped by his long term boyfriend after coming home early from work (because, on top of being dumped, he was let go from his job due to a lack of funding) to find his boyfriend banging another guy. Ouch. Not a great day for Aaron.
Since then, Aaron has been couch surfing at his friends' places when his old high school friend Megan asks if he wants to stay at her house. Megan has been dating Garret for the last year or so. Unfortunately, their relationship is not in a good place. Once Aaron arrives at Megan's, Garret and Aaron start up an unlikely friendship. They're there for one another.
He would do anything for anyone. When everything I’d had had shattered to pieces, Garret had been the one to pick them up and put them together. He’d done it for no better reason than kindness.
As Aaron notices right away, Garret and Megan bicker all the time. Garret is basically a glorified personal assistant to Megan, who doesn't appreciate anything he does for her or around the house. She constantly criticizes him. This is the situation that leads to the MCs coming together.
Two damned souls colliding and exploding. And if life as I knew it was the cost of this, I was willing to pay the price.
These two make such a cute couple. They both just want to be seen for who they really are. Garret had an unfortunate experience when he was in high school, which still affects him to this day and Megan likes to throw it in his face for fun. Luckily, Aaron helps Garret come to realize some deep rooted things about himself.
“I’m done putting my wishes aside,” I said. “In the short time I’ve known you, you’ve sparked so much in me. I feel like I have lived on life support until you walked in here and made me question everything.
These two are super hot together and I really enjoyed the scenes with them after they finally gave in to temptation. During this time, Aaron comes to realize some things about his past relationship and really has some inner growth that was nice to see. I liked seeing Parrish and Levi show up a couple of times and I look forward to more in the series.
I needed to taste him for a little while longer and to show him he wasn’t just a gay experience for some straight dude. He was a life-changing event. He was a fixed point in my existence. He was all I had lacked for the nearly thirty years I’d wasted on this planet.
*** I received an ARC of this book from Gay Romance Reviews and this is my honest opinion. ***
July 25, 2023
2.5/5 stars
This was a mess. There was just something I hated about it.
This was a mess. There was just something I hated about it.
May 2, 2023
Talking about an upgrade!
4.2⭐
And to think I've been holding off on reading this book for so long!
Two things to mention here, important things.
🟪 This cover.
I swear to god, I know exactly when this book came out, but I had a hard time picking it up, because of this man. Don't laugh! He's too intense, there's just something about him and I didn't know if it was off-putting or did I find him hot.
This cover is a male-gaze cover, so, I'd definitely notice this guy anywhere, but I was looking at this book everyday and couldn't decide if I want to read it or not.
It's silly, I know, but I'm a visual type and this cover just confused the heck out of me.
🟧 The first book in the series.
Even though I rated the first book a measly 2.5⭐, I have to stress here that I absolutely loved, and still love, Parrish and Levi. They were the best, only the story didn't do them justice. So, another reason why I had doubts about reading the next installment in the series.
That being said...
I absolutely loved this book.
LOVED IT!
🟨 Cheating, but not between the MCs
🟥 Abusive relationship (in my opinion) between one MC and his GF
🟩 One MC's journey of coming out (as gay)
🟦 Really, really good spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
This story was sooo well written, I feel like it was miles away from the first book in the series.
The characters, again, really, really good, the plot was interesting and the delivery was just pretty much everything you could hope it'd be.
The story is about Aaron, a young social worker living in NY, who lives with his boyfriend in a small, shitty apartment, barely getting by, both of them being together because of money, the love is gone, the joy is gone and the sex is definitely gone .
This was my Aaron.
When Aaron leaves his boyfriend, he's moving around a little bit, jobless and alone, and lands with Megan, who was his high school friend.
Megan has an amazing boyfriend Garret, an engineer who works for her dad, he's tall, buff, muscled, he's a total empath and a wonderful person who's used and abused by his girlfriend , meaning he's cooking, cleaning, packing her bags when she's going away, taking care of Aaron, basically he's doing all that and working, while being nice to everyone, while she's just terrible to him.
Garret is also deeply, deeply closeted and doesn't even realize he is , because he had a traumatic experience when in high school, so all of that comes bubbling up to the surface when Aaron moves in .
This was my Garret.
Aaron and Garret become fast friends, seeing and supporting each other through everyday life, they both felt understood by the other and Aaron had a first row ticket to seeing how poorly Garret is treated at home.
The relationship Garret had with Megan was romantically and sexually non-existent, it was basically rotten to the core, which doesn't excuse the cheating part, but I had in mind the state of their relationship and that Garret was waking up sexually with Aaron, it wasn't just sex, it took a special person to tick all the right boxes for Garret to open up and let himself feel everything, all those dormant feelings coming to the surface.
The story behind Garret coming to terms with his sexuality was done extraordinarily well, it felt like there was a literal person behind Garret's character and this was his exact experience, it was beautifully told.
When Garret couldn't hold back anymore, him and Aaron finally cross that line (but again, what line? Garett wasn't having sex with his girlfriend, he was a live-in housekeeper) and kiss.
When I say kiss, I mean KISS , damn, that was some kissing and it was just what I wanted, it was descriptive, detailed and it went on for a looong time (yes, tongue and all, damn, it was perfect!).
Their first time having sex?
"Harder, you motherfucker," he growled, lighting the fuse inside of me that made me wilder than I'd known to be.
That whole sex scene was insane , hot AF and so detailed, both were going at it like two people lost in the desert and finally finding a little bit of water to drink.
It was awesome.
What was different here?
Because the spice was definitely a bit different from what I usually read. This felt genuinly and literally how it happens between two guys, no half-spoken sentences, they were really going at it. Was it because it's a male author? I have no idea. I just know I definitely liked it a lot.
With guilt eating him alive and desperately trying to find a steady job, Aaron actually finds a job in a small town outside of NY and decides to leave Garret, although he's exactly what Aaron was looking for his entire life.
With both making some major changes in their lives, they absolutely manage to find a way out of this mess and be together, the ending is satisfying and the epilogue takes us about a year after they both move to the small town of Beacon, where Aaron got a job.
What was missing?
- more crazy sex, definitely more
- more of the epilogue (them finding an apartment, going to work, a little more of that)
That's about the only complaint I have. 😄
This was a great story, I'm definitely impressed and yes, I will read Rescued, the story of Aaron's boss and his husband.
4.2⭐
And to think I've been holding off on reading this book for so long!
Two things to mention here, important things.
🟪 This cover.
I swear to god, I know exactly when this book came out, but I had a hard time picking it up, because of this man. Don't laugh! He's too intense, there's just something about him and I didn't know if it was off-putting or did I find him hot.
This cover is a male-gaze cover, so, I'd definitely notice this guy anywhere, but I was looking at this book everyday and couldn't decide if I want to read it or not.
It's silly, I know, but I'm a visual type and this cover just confused the heck out of me.
🟧 The first book in the series.
Even though I rated the first book a measly 2.5⭐, I have to stress here that I absolutely loved, and still love, Parrish and Levi. They were the best, only the story didn't do them justice. So, another reason why I had doubts about reading the next installment in the series.
That being said...
I absolutely loved this book.
LOVED IT!
🟨 Cheating, but not between the MCs
🟥 Abusive relationship (in my opinion) between one MC and his GF
🟩 One MC's journey of coming out (as gay)
🟦 Really, really good spice 🌶️🌶️🌶️
This story was sooo well written, I feel like it was miles away from the first book in the series.
The characters, again, really, really good, the plot was interesting and the delivery was just pretty much everything you could hope it'd be.
The story is about Aaron, a young social worker living in NY, who lives with his boyfriend in a small, shitty apartment, barely getting by, both of them being together because of money, the love is gone, the joy is gone and the sex is definitely gone .
This was my Aaron.
When Aaron leaves his boyfriend, he's moving around a little bit, jobless and alone, and lands with Megan, who was his high school friend.
Megan has an amazing boyfriend Garret, an engineer who works for her dad, he's tall, buff, muscled, he's a total empath and a wonderful person who's used and abused by his girlfriend , meaning he's cooking, cleaning, packing her bags when she's going away, taking care of Aaron, basically he's doing all that and working, while being nice to everyone, while she's just terrible to him.
Garret is also deeply, deeply closeted and doesn't even realize he is , because he had a traumatic experience when in high school, so all of that comes bubbling up to the surface when Aaron moves in .
This was my Garret.
Aaron and Garret become fast friends, seeing and supporting each other through everyday life, they both felt understood by the other and Aaron had a first row ticket to seeing how poorly Garret is treated at home.
The relationship Garret had with Megan was romantically and sexually non-existent, it was basically rotten to the core, which doesn't excuse the cheating part, but I had in mind the state of their relationship and that Garret was waking up sexually with Aaron, it wasn't just sex, it took a special person to tick all the right boxes for Garret to open up and let himself feel everything, all those dormant feelings coming to the surface.
The story behind Garret coming to terms with his sexuality was done extraordinarily well, it felt like there was a literal person behind Garret's character and this was his exact experience, it was beautifully told.
When Garret couldn't hold back anymore, him and Aaron finally cross that line (but again, what line? Garett wasn't having sex with his girlfriend, he was a live-in housekeeper) and kiss.
When I say kiss, I mean KISS , damn, that was some kissing and it was just what I wanted, it was descriptive, detailed and it went on for a looong time (yes, tongue and all, damn, it was perfect!).
Their first time having sex?
"Harder, you motherfucker," he growled, lighting the fuse inside of me that made me wilder than I'd known to be.
That whole sex scene was insane , hot AF and so detailed, both were going at it like two people lost in the desert and finally finding a little bit of water to drink.
It was awesome.
What was different here?
Because the spice was definitely a bit different from what I usually read. This felt genuinly and literally how it happens between two guys, no half-spoken sentences, they were really going at it. Was it because it's a male author? I have no idea. I just know I definitely liked it a lot.
With guilt eating him alive and desperately trying to find a steady job, Aaron actually finds a job in a small town outside of NY and decides to leave Garret, although he's exactly what Aaron was looking for his entire life.
With both making some major changes in their lives, they absolutely manage to find a way out of this mess and be together, the ending is satisfying and the epilogue takes us about a year after they both move to the small town of Beacon, where Aaron got a job.
What was missing?
- more crazy sex, definitely more
- more of the epilogue (them finding an apartment, going to work, a little more of that)
That's about the only complaint I have. 😄
This was a great story, I'm definitely impressed and yes, I will read Rescued, the story of Aaron's boss and his husband.
May 10, 2023
This was so good. Similar to the first book with the MCs being stepbrothers, there a sense of the forbidden here.
Not taboo like them, but they are cheating with each other, so it's still something they have to keep secret.
Again, I never read cheating ON each other books. Nope nope nope, I'll never read that. And for the post part, I don't read a lot of cheating trope in general.
But when it's cheating with each other, depending on how it's done, I'm up for giving it a chance.
Aaron is a friend of Parrish's in NYC and this opens with him walking in on his boyfriend fucking some other guy, just after he's been fired from his job.
It's safe to say that relationship is over, and Aaron goes to Parrish for a place to stay and a shoulder to cry on.
This is fairly soon after Parrish and Levi get together, so they're together in Parrish's small one bedroom apartment, and all Parrish has his couch, which is uncomfortable to stay on indefinitely, so Aaron has been couch surfing from friend to friend.
Eventually Megan, who was good friends with Aaron in high school but who he lost touch with 6 or so years back, reaches out to him to offer a spare room for him, to get in touch with him again and because she feels it's the right thing to do.
Megan's boyfriend, Garret, gets this news sprung on him the afternoon before Aaron arrives, as Megan is....well, she's a pretty shitty girlfriend (and friend) as we come to see over the course of this book.
Does that justify the cheating? No. Garret should have broken up with her awhile ago. We learn at the start of this that they haven't had sex for 3 weeks as she keeps saying no to it, and she just, in general treats Garret like complete shit and finds fault in everything he does. They fight constantly. Garret says he loves her in his thoughts but we see absolutely no evidence of that. He's just deluding himself that he still does.
And there's no evidence that she loves him in return. In fact, she seems to almost hate Garret.
With that, it makes it easier to not feel bad that they are having an affair, that they're doing something wrong.
But honestly Garret should have broken up with Megan before she leaves to look after a friend - groaning and whining about having to do it because another friend went on a cruise the whole time. Their fight the night before she leaves is a doozy, and yet he doesn't end it then.
He and Aaron had a full on make out session and another kiss by that point, and he really should have ended it there at the latest, but doesn't. So while she's gone, they go all the way...quite a few times.
Very sexy, hot times to be sure. Their chemistry was so good and their passion so evident. Aaron is only a few months out from finding out he was being cheated on himself, so he knows how it feels and yet...he can't seem to help himself with Garret.
So yeah, while it's not right, by the time Garret tells her and breaks up with her, Megan is just so insufferable that I didn't feel bad. She cut them out of her life and didn't forgive them but I was like good riddance. They didn't need her anyway or her forgiveness.
Even though she and Garret were still together, they were practically over anyway, so it didn't take much for Garret to just be...done. And she and Aaron weren't all that close, so it wasn't hard for him to be done either.
Some might feel this happens too fast - they declare their love after only 3 weeks of knowing each other - and normally I'd say yeah, it happens fast.
But just like the last book (which happened over a period of a few weeks, even though they knew each other for years, Parrish ignored Levi for so long that it was like he didn't really *see* Levi until those few weeks together), the interactions and feelings were done so well that it was believable for me. The chemistry and passion was done so well that it was believable for me.
So while I kinda wish it had taken more time with them, I also don't might much in the end and didn't take anything off for it, because what they lacked in time together, they made up for it in an abundance of feelings and passion for each other.
So definitely two thumbs up from me. These were just SO good and I will definitely be checking out more of this author in the future. I hope he does more of these taboo/forbidden type relationship books in this series because they're just SO good.
Can't wait for more! 😍
My Ratings for the Destined to Fail Series:
☀️ Destructive Relations: 5 stars (my review)
☀️ Shameless Affairs: 5 stars
Not taboo like them, but they are cheating with each other, so it's still something they have to keep secret.
Again, I never read cheating ON each other books. Nope nope nope, I'll never read that. And for the post part, I don't read a lot of cheating trope in general.
But when it's cheating with each other, depending on how it's done, I'm up for giving it a chance.
Aaron is a friend of Parrish's in NYC and this opens with him walking in on his boyfriend fucking some other guy, just after he's been fired from his job.
It's safe to say that relationship is over, and Aaron goes to Parrish for a place to stay and a shoulder to cry on.
This is fairly soon after Parrish and Levi get together, so they're together in Parrish's small one bedroom apartment, and all Parrish has his couch, which is uncomfortable to stay on indefinitely, so Aaron has been couch surfing from friend to friend.
Eventually Megan, who was good friends with Aaron in high school but who he lost touch with 6 or so years back, reaches out to him to offer a spare room for him, to get in touch with him again and because she feels it's the right thing to do.
Megan's boyfriend, Garret, gets this news sprung on him the afternoon before Aaron arrives, as Megan is....well, she's a pretty shitty girlfriend (and friend) as we come to see over the course of this book.
Does that justify the cheating? No. Garret should have broken up with her awhile ago. We learn at the start of this that they haven't had sex for 3 weeks as she keeps saying no to it, and she just, in general treats Garret like complete shit and finds fault in everything he does. They fight constantly. Garret says he loves her in his thoughts but we see absolutely no evidence of that. He's just deluding himself that he still does.
And there's no evidence that she loves him in return. In fact, she seems to almost hate Garret.
With that, it makes it easier to not feel bad that they are having an affair, that they're doing something wrong.
But honestly Garret should have broken up with Megan before she leaves to look after a friend - groaning and whining about having to do it because another friend went on a cruise the whole time. Their fight the night before she leaves is a doozy, and yet he doesn't end it then.
He and Aaron had a full on make out session and another kiss by that point, and he really should have ended it there at the latest, but doesn't. So while she's gone, they go all the way...quite a few times.
Very sexy, hot times to be sure. Their chemistry was so good and their passion so evident. Aaron is only a few months out from finding out he was being cheated on himself, so he knows how it feels and yet...he can't seem to help himself with Garret.
So yeah, while it's not right, by the time Garret tells her and breaks up with her, Megan is just so insufferable that I didn't feel bad. She cut them out of her life and didn't forgive them but I was like good riddance. They didn't need her anyway or her forgiveness.
Even though she and Garret were still together, they were practically over anyway, so it didn't take much for Garret to just be...done. And she and Aaron weren't all that close, so it wasn't hard for him to be done either.
Some might feel this happens too fast - they declare their love after only 3 weeks of knowing each other - and normally I'd say yeah, it happens fast.
But just like the last book (which happened over a period of a few weeks, even though they knew each other for years, Parrish ignored Levi for so long that it was like he didn't really *see* Levi until those few weeks together), the interactions and feelings were done so well that it was believable for me. The chemistry and passion was done so well that it was believable for me.
So while I kinda wish it had taken more time with them, I also don't might much in the end and didn't take anything off for it, because what they lacked in time together, they made up for it in an abundance of feelings and passion for each other.
So definitely two thumbs up from me. These were just SO good and I will definitely be checking out more of this author in the future. I hope he does more of these taboo/forbidden type relationship books in this series because they're just SO good.
Can't wait for more! 😍
My Ratings for the Destined to Fail Series:
☀️ Destructive Relations: 5 stars (my review)
☀️ Shameless Affairs: 5 stars
September 5, 2023
This does not justify cheating HOWEVER!!,
The relationship between Megan and Garrett already fallen apart, with Megan not even trying and there is no love between them anymore, and Aaron was giving Garrett a Way out, to be himself to be freed from Megan shackles,
To me Megan was just an obstacle, her existence in this book solely for the purpose of being annoying, she's so two dimensional.
When Garrett and Aaron finally have their moments together, they did not hold back, because every time they're together, it was just so right, and there was not even guilt in it because Garrett was someone's boyfriend but I swear It doesn't even feel like that and that's okay.
P.S. I listened to my playlist when I read so
When they finally meet again after the third act
lana del rey - California starts playing dude I started tearing up 😭😭😭 it's not even an emotional scene I blame lana for this
The relationship between Megan and Garrett already fallen apart, with Megan not even trying and there is no love between them anymore, and Aaron was giving Garrett a Way out, to be himself to be freed from Megan shackles,
To me Megan was just an obstacle, her existence in this book solely for the purpose of being annoying, she's so two dimensional.
When Garrett and Aaron finally have their moments together, they did not hold back, because every time they're together, it was just so right, and there was not even guilt in it because Garrett was someone's boyfriend but I swear It doesn't even feel like that and that's okay.
P.S. I listened to my playlist when I read so
When they finally meet again after the third act
lana del rey - California starts playing dude I started tearing up 😭😭😭 it's not even an emotional scene I blame lana for this
April 20, 2023
This was such a lovely story. Aaron with everything that could go possible wrong, did for him. Stays with his old friend and her hot partner Garrett who realises he has been hiding who he really is.
I didn’t care that he cheated on that bitch Megan to be with Aaron. It was actually the cutest affair ever.
Aaron is the most adorable character who really deserves a break, and I hated to see how Garrett was treated by his partner. Hayden did a great job in making you feel that isolation and loneliness.
Lovely story and is a definite page turner.
I didn’t care that he cheated on that bitch Megan to be with Aaron. It was actually the cutest affair ever.
Aaron is the most adorable character who really deserves a break, and I hated to see how Garrett was treated by his partner. Hayden did a great job in making you feel that isolation and loneliness.
Lovely story and is a definite page turner.
April 22, 2023
“When someone loves you, they promise to watch your back, to be your rock and to give you wings. It’s not butterflies. It’s not a whirlwind of emotions. That’s just a crush and that’s all cute and all. But to love someone is to make a choice. It means you have to commit.”
Shameless Affairs is book 2 in the Destined to Fail series by Hayden Hall and this one explores infidelity in all its forms. This is Aaron and Garrett's story and it can be read as a stand-alone.
Be warned, this book does contain cheating (not between the MCs) because for most of the book Garrett is in a live-in relationship with his grilfriend Megan. Aaron is an old high school friend of Megan's, who has nowhere to live having been cheated on (ironically) by his boyfriend and asked to leave their shared rental.
Now, I am not a lover of the cheating trope, but in this scenario it just worked for me. Megan left a bad taste in my mouth, and Aaron and Garrett were just so cute as they fell for each other. Garrett's bi-awakening didn't really come as any surprise given his past and the way his relationship with Megan had evolved.
Recommended if you love first times, cute and dreamy, slow burn, forced proximity and all the steam (eventually!)
4 stars
Shameless Affairs is book 2 in the Destined to Fail series by Hayden Hall and this one explores infidelity in all its forms. This is Aaron and Garrett's story and it can be read as a stand-alone.
Be warned, this book does contain cheating (not between the MCs) because for most of the book Garrett is in a live-in relationship with his grilfriend Megan. Aaron is an old high school friend of Megan's, who has nowhere to live having been cheated on (ironically) by his boyfriend and asked to leave their shared rental.
Now, I am not a lover of the cheating trope, but in this scenario it just worked for me. Megan left a bad taste in my mouth, and Aaron and Garrett were just so cute as they fell for each other. Garrett's bi-awakening didn't really come as any surprise given his past and the way his relationship with Megan had evolved.
Recommended if you love first times, cute and dreamy, slow burn, forced proximity and all the steam (eventually!)
4 stars
May 2, 2023
This is Book 2 in the Destined to fail series and this book is about infidelity! Aka cheating and it runs through the book so if that’s not your thing then you might not enjoy this book. But I don’t mind it and I very much enjoyed this story.
In this book we have Aaron who looses everything with his partner of 3 years and finds himself jobless, homeless and sofa surfing, he places an add on Facebook looking for a place to stay and an old friend reaches out and offers her basement, he has nothing so jumps at the chance. He literally falls through the front door into her boyfriends arms and so the connection forms!!
Garrett is treated like an errand boy, the house cook and maid, he’s not treated like a loving boyfriend, but everything he has is tied to his girlfriend and the house so he just puts up with the bad treatment. When Aaron takes over the basement, he soon realises he don’t mind and likes to have him around. Garrett feels a pull towards him but past trauma has his walls built high, but Aaron starts to treat him like the great person he is and the walls start to slowly come down.
I loved this book of two guys both treated badly by their partners and find the love and understanding they are both looking for in each other. Yes this is a cheating book but I think each situation needs to be looked at individually because it’s not always black and white. These two form a connection before either of them get involved and they help to heal each other with cute notes, cooking, and humour!!
I laughed so much over the dropped box!!! (IYKYK) and when that spice hit…..Jeeze I’m not gonna look at a dining table the same!!!!
I loved that you get the side characters from book one pop up and also that the shelter and some of the amazing people from Rescued featured in the book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Book content
🤍Close proximity
🩵Bi awakening
🤍Cheating (grey area)
🩵Hurt/Comfort
🤍Roommates/Lovers
In this book we have Aaron who looses everything with his partner of 3 years and finds himself jobless, homeless and sofa surfing, he places an add on Facebook looking for a place to stay and an old friend reaches out and offers her basement, he has nothing so jumps at the chance. He literally falls through the front door into her boyfriends arms and so the connection forms!!
Garrett is treated like an errand boy, the house cook and maid, he’s not treated like a loving boyfriend, but everything he has is tied to his girlfriend and the house so he just puts up with the bad treatment. When Aaron takes over the basement, he soon realises he don’t mind and likes to have him around. Garrett feels a pull towards him but past trauma has his walls built high, but Aaron starts to treat him like the great person he is and the walls start to slowly come down.
I loved this book of two guys both treated badly by their partners and find the love and understanding they are both looking for in each other. Yes this is a cheating book but I think each situation needs to be looked at individually because it’s not always black and white. These two form a connection before either of them get involved and they help to heal each other with cute notes, cooking, and humour!!
I laughed so much over the dropped box!!! (IYKYK) and when that spice hit…..Jeeze I’m not gonna look at a dining table the same!!!!
I loved that you get the side characters from book one pop up and also that the shelter and some of the amazing people from Rescued featured in the book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️.5
Book content
🤍Close proximity
🩵Bi awakening
🤍Cheating (grey area)
🩵Hurt/Comfort
🤍Roommates/Lovers
April 30, 2023
"He wasn't just any random guy, but the one who'd crashed from the sky into my basement. It was as though he had been made for me and me alone."
Star Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
POV: Dual, First Person
HEA: Yes
Spice Rating: 3/5 🔥🔥🔥
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review
Overall Opinion
Aw this one was so heart wrenching and I loved it so much! It did have cheating in it (I personally like a good infidelity moment) but it was done in a way that demonstrated its never a black or white situation, and Hayden handled it brilliantly. This was Aaron and Garrett's story and oh how emotional it was! Aaron is down on his luck in life at the beginning, nothing good seems to happen until he finds himself on Megan and Garrett's doorstep. Garrett is stuck in a rut in his relationship and career, wondering if things would ever change. These two, my heart sang for them, fighting their almost instant attraction for one another for the sake of a new friendship and a dying relationship, until they could fight it no more. Cue the most swoony steamy scenes I've read in a while, truly passionate and loving, the author truly knows how to make one blush for sure! This has to be my favourite from Hayden Hall so far and what a book it was, I truly didn't want it to end!
Read if you like:
❣️ MM Romance
❣️ Close Proximity
❣️ Bi Awakening
❣️ Slow Burn
❣️ First Times
❣️ HEA
Trigger and Content Warnings: Infidelity (cheating with each other).
Star Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
POV: Dual, First Person
HEA: Yes
Spice Rating: 3/5 🔥🔥🔥
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review
Overall Opinion
Aw this one was so heart wrenching and I loved it so much! It did have cheating in it (I personally like a good infidelity moment) but it was done in a way that demonstrated its never a black or white situation, and Hayden handled it brilliantly. This was Aaron and Garrett's story and oh how emotional it was! Aaron is down on his luck in life at the beginning, nothing good seems to happen until he finds himself on Megan and Garrett's doorstep. Garrett is stuck in a rut in his relationship and career, wondering if things would ever change. These two, my heart sang for them, fighting their almost instant attraction for one another for the sake of a new friendship and a dying relationship, until they could fight it no more. Cue the most swoony steamy scenes I've read in a while, truly passionate and loving, the author truly knows how to make one blush for sure! This has to be my favourite from Hayden Hall so far and what a book it was, I truly didn't want it to end!
Read if you like:
❣️ MM Romance
❣️ Close Proximity
❣️ Bi Awakening
❣️ Slow Burn
❣️ First Times
❣️ HEA
Trigger and Content Warnings: Infidelity (cheating with each other).
April 20, 2023
After half way through this story I felt that we hadn't even started on the actual story. It feels like reading a M/F story at times because Garret is still in a relationship with Megan for the majority of the story. I think we need to look beyond the surface and realise that the point is neither Aaron or Garret are actually living their lives yet. In different ways they have both been used and restricted. Together they can see a future, a happiness neither knew existed. You can't read this book without pointing fingers at every character. They are all to blame for the utter mess that is evolving, all having pivotal roles in causing total destruction to each other. You can feel the tension rising in Garret every day and you are waiting for smoke to bellow out of his ears any day now; one push too many from Megan. The attraction between Aaron and Garret is so strong that neither can fight it. Aaron knows first hand how cheating devastates the unknowing party but they just can't fight it. As a reader you don't like the cheating but we see how Megan treats Garret and we empathise and put the adultery out of mind. It feels like times stands still and it's almost too scary to read on; knowing their bubble is not just going to burst but likely to explode. Their first proper sex scene was immense, kitchen table, shattered bowls it was hot and frantic and totally declared their wild lust for one another. There is a dilemma: do we shut their feelings down because they cheated or do we decide that the relationship wasn't ever balanced so it can be excused. I was won over by their depth of love for each other and am not adverse to writing off an ex who was negligent when they had their turn. This will be a challenging book for some, but I loved the characters of Aaron and Garret and felt it very credible. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
May 3, 2023
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I overall liked it, but it didn't blow my mind.
Aaron and Garret are our new MCs. Aaron, who we briefly met in the previous book as Parrish' neighbor, has recently been fired and, what's worse, when he goes back home he finds his partner cheating on him. Lost and homeless, he ends living under the roof of his school friend, with whom he had lost contact.
Megan is living with her own partner, Garret, and really... she doesn't add much to the story. She's never around, she doesn't add much and she feels like an excuse (I will get into this later).
Garret and Aaron I liked. They fit together and most of the book is about them spending time together, getting to know each other and secretly fantasizing with the other.
Their story is simple, really, but the growth of the tension between the two is nicely done and I loved their first time together.
I can probably say more things about the things I disliked than about the things I did actually like. And it's a pity because it's not a book I disliked, but there are some things I wish were different.
The TW warn readers beforehand how this is about cheating and about the end of relationships. Well, I disagree with the last one.
Garret and Megan's relationship was dead long before the book started. And as I said, she felt more like an excuse than anything. She's the excuse for Aaron and Garret to meet, the one who invites him even though then she's never around. She's what makes them resist each other since that would be cheating. But she's also what makes them feel ok with it because... let's face it: she's a b*ch. She's not good, not as a person and much less as a partner.
And that leads me with my second complaint: the cheating. But not the cheating itself (I do not really mind this being a trope) but how it was always excused, justified and validated. And that's a big no for me.
So let's talk about that. It's no secret many readers hate this trope, but well you where warned beforehand so... You know where are getting into.
I, for myself, am not a big fan, but the reason is that I find these plots hard to develop nicely. Cheating is, after all, a delicate topic, and sadly authors don't usually achieve convincing me. As with everything, there are exceptions, of course, and that's why I don't scratch a book just because there's cheating on it.
In this book... I liked and disliked it at the same time.
I didn't dislike how things go between our MCs. As I said, I liked reading about them getting closer and I believe they slowly fell for each other harder and harder until they finally give in (and it's not even that quick, so there's that).
BUT.
There's a but and I'm going to organize my ideas to write about this clearly LOL. Or I'll try at least:
As I said before, cheating is a delicate topic but I don't hate the topic itself since... well, cheating is something that happens IRL (and yes, maybe some people don't like their romances being realistic, but sometimes I feel like it, and I don't mind seeing ugly things in pro of the romance being realistic and me feeling like it could happen IRL).
I'm not a saint and I'm not here to declare no one guilty or innocent; I believe cheating to be a bad thing, a mistake humans make, and as usually happens with mistakes, sometimes they can be forgiven while other times, not so much.
What happens with cheating in romances, then? They tend to be white or black. The cheater either is a bast*rd so you emphasize with he one being cheated, or the cheaters are highly excused by the author so you emphasize with them. And that's not realistic. There are greys in-between, too.
Let's see why I'm saying this in the spoiler below:
You, as a cheater, may feel like you have reasons to cheat, but your partner being an a**hole, you being in a loveless relationship or you feeling like your relationship is over because things aren't working anymore, doesn't justify the cheating (please, note my problem here mostly being trying to justify it).
The issue with cheating is that you are not obliged to stay in a relationship when you don't love your partner anymore, when you feel you are not respected or whatever it is you feel. You could be an adult, break your relationship and go on with your life.
You fell in love with someone new? Break up with your actual partner and enjoy life with the new one.
What, you saying sometimes is not easy being an adult and we just make mistakes? I totally agree with that. But then, I don't need no justifying anything, because however you make it the cheater is in the wrong when doing it. Easy, right?
My issue, then, was the author trying to excuse them. I will rather have a story about two people that do something wrong and that has no excuse, but them don't regretting it because they love each other that much. That I could respect in a romance.
So yes, I feel like the author's message in this book is that it's because of love cheating is well and should be understood and forgiven. And I don't feel that's right.
So I had an issue with the cheating in this book but not because of the cheating itself, but with how it is dealt with. I love flawed characters, I think that's just human, but I don't like it when authors try to excuse or even justify their flaws. I'd rather the author said: "they did this wrong, they don't regret it (or maybe yes, who know), that's how they love each other and they made mistakes, yes, you either take it or leave it", but when you try to make me feel like cheating is good when love is involved... Sorry, but not. Cheating is always an option you can choose not to take.
You can make me understand them, but don't try and make me feel they weren't in the wrong.
So... this ended being long. But believe me when I say I enjoyed it!! I even added Rescued to my TBR after meeting Brooklyn here since I can't wait to discover how his story was.
But I needed to explain why the cheating didn't work for me without implying it's the cheating itself. LOL
The romance is slow, and kinda sweet sometimes. Garret and Aaron work together and they were so hot too!
I overall liked it, but it didn't blow my mind.
Aaron and Garret are our new MCs. Aaron, who we briefly met in the previous book as Parrish' neighbor, has recently been fired and, what's worse, when he goes back home he finds his partner cheating on him. Lost and homeless, he ends living under the roof of his school friend, with whom he had lost contact.
Megan is living with her own partner, Garret, and really... she doesn't add much to the story. She's never around, she doesn't add much and she feels like an excuse (I will get into this later).
Garret and Aaron I liked. They fit together and most of the book is about them spending time together, getting to know each other and secretly fantasizing with the other.
Their story is simple, really, but the growth of the tension between the two is nicely done and I loved their first time together.
I can probably say more things about the things I disliked than about the things I did actually like. And it's a pity because it's not a book I disliked, but there are some things I wish were different.
The TW warn readers beforehand how this is about cheating and about the end of relationships. Well, I disagree with the last one.
Garret and Megan's relationship was dead long before the book started. And as I said, she felt more like an excuse than anything. She's the excuse for Aaron and Garret to meet, the one who invites him even though then she's never around. She's what makes them resist each other since that would be cheating. But she's also what makes them feel ok with it because... let's face it: she's a b*ch. She's not good, not as a person and much less as a partner.
And that leads me with my second complaint: the cheating. But not the cheating itself (I do not really mind this being a trope) but how it was always excused, justified and validated. And that's a big no for me.
So let's talk about that. It's no secret many readers hate this trope, but well you where warned beforehand so... You know where are getting into.
I, for myself, am not a big fan, but the reason is that I find these plots hard to develop nicely. Cheating is, after all, a delicate topic, and sadly authors don't usually achieve convincing me. As with everything, there are exceptions, of course, and that's why I don't scratch a book just because there's cheating on it.
In this book... I liked and disliked it at the same time.
I didn't dislike how things go between our MCs. As I said, I liked reading about them getting closer and I believe they slowly fell for each other harder and harder until they finally give in (and it's not even that quick, so there's that).
BUT.
There's a but and I'm going to organize my ideas to write about this clearly LOL. Or I'll try at least:
As I said before, cheating is a delicate topic but I don't hate the topic itself since... well, cheating is something that happens IRL (and yes, maybe some people don't like their romances being realistic, but sometimes I feel like it, and I don't mind seeing ugly things in pro of the romance being realistic and me feeling like it could happen IRL).
I'm not a saint and I'm not here to declare no one guilty or innocent; I believe cheating to be a bad thing, a mistake humans make, and as usually happens with mistakes, sometimes they can be forgiven while other times, not so much.
What happens with cheating in romances, then? They tend to be white or black. The cheater either is a bast*rd so you emphasize with he one being cheated, or the cheaters are highly excused by the author so you emphasize with them. And that's not realistic. There are greys in-between, too.
Let's see why I'm saying this in the spoiler below:
You, as a cheater, may feel like you have reasons to cheat, but your partner being an a**hole, you being in a loveless relationship or you feeling like your relationship is over because things aren't working anymore, doesn't justify the cheating (please, note my problem here mostly being trying to justify it).
The issue with cheating is that you are not obliged to stay in a relationship when you don't love your partner anymore, when you feel you are not respected or whatever it is you feel. You could be an adult, break your relationship and go on with your life.
You fell in love with someone new? Break up with your actual partner and enjoy life with the new one.
What, you saying sometimes is not easy being an adult and we just make mistakes? I totally agree with that. But then, I don't need no justifying anything, because however you make it the cheater is in the wrong when doing it. Easy, right?
My issue, then, was the author trying to excuse them. I will rather have a story about two people that do something wrong and that has no excuse, but them don't regretting it because they love each other that much. That I could respect in a romance.
So yes, I feel like the author's message in this book is that it's because of love cheating is well and should be understood and forgiven. And I don't feel that's right.
So I had an issue with the cheating in this book but not because of the cheating itself, but with how it is dealt with. I love flawed characters, I think that's just human, but I don't like it when authors try to excuse or even justify their flaws. I'd rather the author said: "they did this wrong, they don't regret it (or maybe yes, who know), that's how they love each other and they made mistakes, yes, you either take it or leave it", but when you try to make me feel like cheating is good when love is involved... Sorry, but not. Cheating is always an option you can choose not to take.
You can make me understand them, but don't try and make me feel they weren't in the wrong.
So... this ended being long. But believe me when I say I enjoyed it!! I even added Rescued to my TBR after meeting Brooklyn here since I can't wait to discover how his story was.
But I needed to explain why the cheating didn't work for me without implying it's the cheating itself. LOL
The romance is slow, and kinda sweet sometimes. Garret and Aaron work together and they were so hot too!
July 21, 2024
If I were Megan, this would be my villain origin story. Took you in and you fuck her man on her bed? (and on her table and her basement and her couch). Bring back shame.
Sadly, she's already so flanderized as the cold ungrateful girlfriend that there's nothing new she can possibly add.
A pity.
This is an 'almost' book. Where it could have been good, but kept missing the mark just enough each time to leave you unsatisfied.
There's no nuance to Megan's character. If I'm reading a cheating book, I want to at least feel a modicum of pity for the cheated on partner. I want to root for the cheaters in spite of their actions. Not let out a sigh of relief because the original partner is so bad.
I don't know if that makes sense. Meg was written in such a way that you're literally praying for something or someone to save Garret from her. This is a liberation story. Not a cheating story.
This was almost a good friends to lovers story. But again, fell just a bit short. They knew themselves for such a short time that the love declarations were premature.
The friendship was built on a great basis but the jump to being in love was too quick. This read more as two guys who became friends during a period when both needed a friend more than they needed a lover, and then latched on to the friendship they found and projected everything onto it.
The angst was non-existent. I enjoy books with the cheating storylines because the angst is usually too delicious to pass up. But there was no back and forth or genuine guilt in this.
Aaron was cosplaying feeling guilty. He wasn't sorry for what he was doing. He just felt sorry because he never expected to be someone else's Nick.
Garret was too much of a green flag that I knew how he'd handle Meg's return before he did it. Literally at no single point did I think......oh,he's going to need a moment to think and decide. And I know the irony of calling a cheater a green flag. But yes, Garret was the greenest of flags.
There was genuinely no conflict in this book. Aside from the petty bickering between Meg and Garret. Imagine.
Overall, this was an experience in edging. A book to almost get you there, but not quite.
Sadly, she's already so flanderized as the cold ungrateful girlfriend that there's nothing new she can possibly add.
A pity.
This is an 'almost' book. Where it could have been good, but kept missing the mark just enough each time to leave you unsatisfied.
There's no nuance to Megan's character. If I'm reading a cheating book, I want to at least feel a modicum of pity for the cheated on partner. I want to root for the cheaters in spite of their actions. Not let out a sigh of relief because the original partner is so bad.
I don't know if that makes sense. Meg was written in such a way that you're literally praying for something or someone to save Garret from her. This is a liberation story. Not a cheating story.
This was almost a good friends to lovers story. But again, fell just a bit short. They knew themselves for such a short time that the love declarations were premature.
The friendship was built on a great basis but the jump to being in love was too quick. This read more as two guys who became friends during a period when both needed a friend more than they needed a lover, and then latched on to the friendship they found and projected everything onto it.
The angst was non-existent. I enjoy books with the cheating storylines because the angst is usually too delicious to pass up. But there was no back and forth or genuine guilt in this.
Aaron was cosplaying feeling guilty. He wasn't sorry for what he was doing. He just felt sorry because he never expected to be someone else's Nick.
Garret was too much of a green flag that I knew how he'd handle Meg's return before he did it. Literally at no single point did I think......oh,he's going to need a moment to think and decide. And I know the irony of calling a cheater a green flag. But yes, Garret was the greenest of flags.
There was genuinely no conflict in this book. Aside from the petty bickering between Meg and Garret. Imagine.
Overall, this was an experience in edging. A book to almost get you there, but not quite.
April 28, 2023
Aaron & Garret 💜💜💜💜 I loved these two so much. So so much.
This is a slow burn 🔥 because Hayden is setting up the story, giving us their backgrounds and forming their friendship. There is cheating (not between mcs). Megan is a giant bitch and Bruce can fall down an elevator shaft please.
There was references to Beacon NY and the sunshine shelter and Brooklyn and Asher from Rescued *I loved that story!!!* and Parrish/Levi from book one of this series. I love when an author does that. Makes my day EVERY TIME.
But back to this story: Aaron's world collapses. He loses his job and finds his partner having an affair all in one day. After couch surfing for weeks he ends up staying with an old friend from high school, Megan. And there he meets Megan's boyfriend Garret.
Omg GARRET. What an sweet marshmallow-ey man. The way Megan treated him was unreal. But seeing Aaron and Garret get to know and care about each other was amazing.
They obviously had chemistry, and when they gave in it was *chef's kiss*
This book mainly left me thinking about falling into complacency and how sometimes things just happen. It also made me swoon at the BIG moments. Train stations and rainstorms. I mean, come on.
And also, iykyk, but fuck Jason. And the dismissal around that storyline enraged me.
I really enjoyed this book. These characters felt super real, and I just wanted to hug both characters for different reasons. I definitely recommend!
This is a slow burn 🔥 because Hayden is setting up the story, giving us their backgrounds and forming their friendship. There is cheating (not between mcs). Megan is a giant bitch and Bruce can fall down an elevator shaft please.
There was references to Beacon NY and the sunshine shelter and Brooklyn and Asher from Rescued *I loved that story!!!* and Parrish/Levi from book one of this series. I love when an author does that. Makes my day EVERY TIME.
But back to this story: Aaron's world collapses. He loses his job and finds his partner having an affair all in one day. After couch surfing for weeks he ends up staying with an old friend from high school, Megan. And there he meets Megan's boyfriend Garret.
Omg GARRET. What an sweet marshmallow-ey man. The way Megan treated him was unreal. But seeing Aaron and Garret get to know and care about each other was amazing.
They obviously had chemistry, and when they gave in it was *chef's kiss*
This book mainly left me thinking about falling into complacency and how sometimes things just happen. It also made me swoon at the BIG moments. Train stations and rainstorms. I mean, come on.
And also, iykyk, but fuck Jason. And the dismissal around that storyline enraged me.
I really enjoyed this book. These characters felt super real, and I just wanted to hug both characters for different reasons. I definitely recommend!
May 2, 2023
Shameless Affairs is the second book in the Destined to Fail series by Hayden Hall. This book is about Aaron and Garrett. When Aaron needs a place to stay, a friend from his past offers him a place. Her boyfriend Garrett is the one he ends up spending the most time with....
I really liked their story. It was sweet, sexy, full of feels and very well written.
I really liked their story. It was sweet, sexy, full of feels and very well written.
June 25, 2023
for a book about cheating, it felt kind of... uneventful, i guess? it felt rushed to me, and while lust at first sight can be done good and i can eat it up, the development of them being friends to them fucking felt too boring to me. maybe if we had more moments of garret wanting to be with aaron before it actually happened, and how they were battling the urge to be together, it would've felt more exciting when they actually did cheat.
i did find cute when garret goes looking for him, and aaron goes back to their home and confronts megan. i don't know why they love each other, or why they have such a strong connection when they met like, what, two weeks ago, but it was a sweet moment. i feel like if the book was longer, they could've created more tension between garret and aaron, and made the cheating seem more spicy and fun to read about. as it was presented, it felt dull and unexciting, which is the exact opposite of what i'm looking for in a book about cheating.
i did find cute when garret goes looking for him, and aaron goes back to their home and confronts megan. i don't know why they love each other, or why they have such a strong connection when they met like, what, two weeks ago, but it was a sweet moment. i feel like if the book was longer, they could've created more tension between garret and aaron, and made the cheating seem more spicy and fun to read about. as it was presented, it felt dull and unexciting, which is the exact opposite of what i'm looking for in a book about cheating.
Read
May 28, 2023DNF at 60%….One of my biggest MM romance icks is when a writer writes a story with a cheating trope and makes the girlfriend or wife a total bitch. It’s a lazy and uncreative way to try and justify the cheating. Sometimes people do shitty things like cheating and sometimes it’s unjustifiable. I wish authors would explore that more instead of trying to justify and avoid accountability. Just my opinion. I just couldn’t connect with this story. The MMCs were cute but the chemistry didn’t feel organic. Book 1 of this series was amazing so I was disappointed that I couldn’t make it through this one.
April 30, 2023
Since Aaron broke up with his boyfriend after finding him with another guy in their bed, he’s couch surfing, got no job, and had no home. Then he gets an offer from an old friend, for a room in their basement.
Garrett wasn’t amused when his girlfriend Megan told him his man cave basement will be used by an old school friend of hers, someone without a home.
So it was done, with just a duffel with dirty clothes Aaron has finally a bed to sleep in.
First Garrett is quite uncomfortable, he’s aware of Aaron, in a, for him, strange way.
Watching Megan and Garrett was awkward, they are a couple, but when you look closely, they’re not.
Aaron noticed all the arguments between them, and Megan always being vacant.
Aaron and Garrett on the other side are getting along more and more, so good they came to a point where both regretted they were here, together, but so at the wrong time.
There’s some realness in this story, little things you could see over, but they are there, and it made this story intimate and close.
It’s a slow burn but eventually, after some stressful moments, they got where they should be, together. The cheating part? I don’t know, it’s never good, but Megan wasn’t a nice person, and in the end, Garrett and Aaron were happy.
Overall a sweet story, it was honest, real, and emotional, and the writing was very enjoyable and comfortable.
Garrett wasn’t amused when his girlfriend Megan told him his man cave basement will be used by an old school friend of hers, someone without a home.
So it was done, with just a duffel with dirty clothes Aaron has finally a bed to sleep in.
First Garrett is quite uncomfortable, he’s aware of Aaron, in a, for him, strange way.
Watching Megan and Garrett was awkward, they are a couple, but when you look closely, they’re not.
Aaron noticed all the arguments between them, and Megan always being vacant.
Aaron and Garrett on the other side are getting along more and more, so good they came to a point where both regretted they were here, together, but so at the wrong time.
There’s some realness in this story, little things you could see over, but they are there, and it made this story intimate and close.
It’s a slow burn but eventually, after some stressful moments, they got where they should be, together. The cheating part? I don’t know, it’s never good, but Megan wasn’t a nice person, and in the end, Garrett and Aaron were happy.
Overall a sweet story, it was honest, real, and emotional, and the writing was very enjoyable and comfortable.
April 22, 2023
Cheating is a hard one, isn't it? Shameless Affairs starts with Aaron being cheated on, so you'd think it would be difficult to empathise with him and condone his relationship with Garrett.
Except, that's not what happens. I won't go into it all, but the author balanced the slow, excruciating death of one relationship alongside the beautiful birth of a new one.
Aaron and Garrett truly do complement each other, and I was rooting for them.
A slower burn with just the right amount of spice. You don't need to have read book 1, but Parrish and Levi do feature here.
Except, that's not what happens. I won't go into it all, but the author balanced the slow, excruciating death of one relationship alongside the beautiful birth of a new one.
Aaron and Garrett truly do complement each other, and I was rooting for them.
A slower burn with just the right amount of spice. You don't need to have read book 1, but Parrish and Levi do feature here.
May 2, 2023
In this story we meet Arron and Garrett. Arron ends up homeless after he finds his boyfriend cheating. He goes to to stay with his old school friend Megan and her boyfriend Garrett. They don't have a healthy relationship and Arron and Garrett end up spending a lot of time together. Inevitably they fall for each other and move away to start a new life together.
May 1, 2023
4.5 stars. I really appreciated how the infidelity within several relationships was written into the story and that there were definitely good reasons for that. I'm not sure that Garret could have extracted himself from an appalling situation without it. He had certainly had a very unpleasant life so far and wasn't equipped to do anything to make changes. Aaron is more complicated, he had just been cheated on himself and while that basically left him homeless and he felt lots of shame it didn't stop him.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and am happy to leave a voluntary review.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and am happy to leave a voluntary review.
May 9, 2023
mmmmm I am sooooo loving everything Hayden Hall is coming out with this year! This series is delicious! I loved this addition to the Destined to Fail series and am really looking forward to more in this world. These books hit me with all the feels and have so much love in them it is impossible to put down. Expect roommates to lovers with cheating both of a partner and between the MC's.
Aaron and Garrett legit are fire and need and desperation. They had an immediate connection, and I just loved their build up. Aaron needs a place to land after a bad breakup and he leans on his friends until the list has run dry....then he finds himself being invited to stay with his long-lost high school friend Megan's house with her boyfriend. However awkward or ashamed he feels, Aaron knows he cannot turn this down. He's grateful and ready to make the best of his situation, until he meets this boyfriend Garrett and knows immediately, he is in serious trouble. The man is perfect and fine as hell. And so sweet and thoughtful. And the more time he spends with Garrett and NOT his very absent friend Megan, the more he wishes he was the one who had the permission kiss, touch, hold, and ravage him. Aaron if rightfully torn considering what he recently went through which landed him couch hoping in the first place. And also, he doesn't want to hurt anyone or burn his bridges now that he feels semi secure in his living situation. But Garrett is just too good to resist, especially when he shares the same feelings. I really respected Aaron for how long he held out and look I don't condone cheating but in my reading for some reason it's fine by me. And when there are two men it's even better (well in my book everything it better with two men...). And considering how awful Megan was I really really respected Aaron for the fact he didn't take advantage immediately once he saw cracks in her and Garretts relationship. I also loved how Aaron handled the beginning of this story, with as much grace as he could and not begging to stay with someone who clearly no longer loved him out of convenience. And I so loved how he soothes a longing in Garrett without even trying, just by being him.
I just loved Garrett! He is the sweetest thing ever and MAN did I want to pummel Megan throughout this whole book. Garrett is in a basically loveless relationship where he is bossed around and used for his giving/pleasing nature. He deserves so much better. I just loved the moment he met Aaron and had a feeling things were going to change. He didn't know how but he was definitely powerless to stop it. I felt for him never being able to come back from a terrible prank in high school that basically shoved him way in the closet with nobody to guide or help him. He has been struggling silently for so long that he didn't even recognize all the signs. Until he and Aaron start to form their friendship that consisted of companionship with long lingering looks that Garrett can't seem to control. I just wanted to scream at him to take control of his life whenever Megan would make him feel an inch tall. I understand it was his nature to please and fix everything, but some things just can't be fixed. And some things were just never meant to be in the first place. I loved how he always thought of others first and that he basically took Aaron under his care without batting an eye. It was really sweet and watching them laugh and be happy together was very special.
I LOVED these two together. I was chomping at the bit for these two to kiss gosh darn it. Their dance of seduction was so enticing and one of those things where you want it to continue but you also want the dam to burst baby burst. And when it finally did, Hayden did not do us dirty!! Their first kiss was such an epic scene and very exhilarating to read. And when they are finally all in, finally finally, it was so good! I wanted nothing more than for them to run away together and be happy with not only each other but themselves. Their connection from beginning to end was the driving force that kept me reading till all hours. I also really loved how we got to see past characters like Parish and Levi, and even Brooklyn and Archer! The end scene in the rain....UGH just melted me and the epilogue was so heartwarming. And YES, Megan got what was coming to her, THANK GOD!
I have increasingly become a fan of Hayden's writing and his solid love stories. I absolutely adored Destructive Relations and now Garrett and Aaron have also stolen my heart. I cannot wait for more to come.
My fair rating 4.5 stars.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by <Gay Romance Reviews.
Aaron and Garrett legit are fire and need and desperation. They had an immediate connection, and I just loved their build up. Aaron needs a place to land after a bad breakup and he leans on his friends until the list has run dry....then he finds himself being invited to stay with his long-lost high school friend Megan's house with her boyfriend. However awkward or ashamed he feels, Aaron knows he cannot turn this down. He's grateful and ready to make the best of his situation, until he meets this boyfriend Garrett and knows immediately, he is in serious trouble. The man is perfect and fine as hell. And so sweet and thoughtful. And the more time he spends with Garrett and NOT his very absent friend Megan, the more he wishes he was the one who had the permission kiss, touch, hold, and ravage him. Aaron if rightfully torn considering what he recently went through which landed him couch hoping in the first place. And also, he doesn't want to hurt anyone or burn his bridges now that he feels semi secure in his living situation. But Garrett is just too good to resist, especially when he shares the same feelings. I really respected Aaron for how long he held out and look I don't condone cheating but in my reading for some reason it's fine by me. And when there are two men it's even better (well in my book everything it better with two men...). And considering how awful Megan was I really really respected Aaron for the fact he didn't take advantage immediately once he saw cracks in her and Garretts relationship. I also loved how Aaron handled the beginning of this story, with as much grace as he could and not begging to stay with someone who clearly no longer loved him out of convenience. And I so loved how he soothes a longing in Garrett without even trying, just by being him.
I just loved Garrett! He is the sweetest thing ever and MAN did I want to pummel Megan throughout this whole book. Garrett is in a basically loveless relationship where he is bossed around and used for his giving/pleasing nature. He deserves so much better. I just loved the moment he met Aaron and had a feeling things were going to change. He didn't know how but he was definitely powerless to stop it. I felt for him never being able to come back from a terrible prank in high school that basically shoved him way in the closet with nobody to guide or help him. He has been struggling silently for so long that he didn't even recognize all the signs. Until he and Aaron start to form their friendship that consisted of companionship with long lingering looks that Garrett can't seem to control. I just wanted to scream at him to take control of his life whenever Megan would make him feel an inch tall. I understand it was his nature to please and fix everything, but some things just can't be fixed. And some things were just never meant to be in the first place. I loved how he always thought of others first and that he basically took Aaron under his care without batting an eye. It was really sweet and watching them laugh and be happy together was very special.
I LOVED these two together. I was chomping at the bit for these two to kiss gosh darn it. Their dance of seduction was so enticing and one of those things where you want it to continue but you also want the dam to burst baby burst. And when it finally did, Hayden did not do us dirty!! Their first kiss was such an epic scene and very exhilarating to read. And when they are finally all in, finally finally, it was so good! I wanted nothing more than for them to run away together and be happy with not only each other but themselves. Their connection from beginning to end was the driving force that kept me reading till all hours. I also really loved how we got to see past characters like Parish and Levi, and even Brooklyn and Archer! The end scene in the rain....UGH just melted me and the epilogue was so heartwarming. And YES, Megan got what was coming to her, THANK GOD!
I have increasingly become a fan of Hayden's writing and his solid love stories. I absolutely adored Destructive Relations and now Garrett and Aaron have also stolen my heart. I cannot wait for more to come.
My fair rating 4.5 stars.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book provided by <Gay Romance Reviews.
April 25, 2023
Infidelity books aren't for everyone. They aren't even for me. But since I am unable to miss a book written by Hayden Hall, I had to read it. Man. There was something about this book that just worked! Aaron gets cheated on right out the gate. He is devastated, but after time he understands why it didn't work between him and his now ex-boyfriend. He then goes to stay with his best friend from high school (Megan - who we do not like, trust me) and meets her boyfriend, Garret. He is perfect! He is sweet, considerate, sexy as all heck, and completely off limits. He is also straight. Or is he? Garret and Aaron build this incredible friendship over a period of time and romantic feelings eventually begin to show themselves. With Garret currently being in a toxic relationship and then being with Aaron, he sees what he is missing with his girlfriend and he begins to understand what it is he truly wants and what he needs...and it's Aaron. They eventually get together (in an incredibly HOT scene...like, soooo hot!!!), thus Garret ends up cheating on his girlfriend.
Hayden approached what is considered to be a sensitive subject, really well. He put a lot of love and care into making sure that this book worked. These characters didn't cheat just to cheat. They didn't have sex just to have sex. They actually built an incredible friendship and the feelings and love came afterward. I get if cheating books aren't your thing, because I am right there with you. But I recommend this one. Take a chance on something you might not be into. Because if you look past the actual infidelity itself and see how it was that they came together and the circumstances around it that allowed them to come together, maybe you will understand that this story was okay. Sometimes you find your soulmate at the worst possible time, but you shouldn't ever give up on it. And, this definitely got a happy ending for all parties involved and that made this read really grow on me in the end.
I also love interlocking stories! I was really happy to see Parrish and Levi again! Especially Parrish because he is my boo!!! But I especially loved seeing Archer and Brooklyn (from Rescued). That was an awesome cameo!
Hayden approached what is considered to be a sensitive subject, really well. He put a lot of love and care into making sure that this book worked. These characters didn't cheat just to cheat. They didn't have sex just to have sex. They actually built an incredible friendship and the feelings and love came afterward. I get if cheating books aren't your thing, because I am right there with you. But I recommend this one. Take a chance on something you might not be into. Because if you look past the actual infidelity itself and see how it was that they came together and the circumstances around it that allowed them to come together, maybe you will understand that this story was okay. Sometimes you find your soulmate at the worst possible time, but you shouldn't ever give up on it. And, this definitely got a happy ending for all parties involved and that made this read really grow on me in the end.
I also love interlocking stories! I was really happy to see Parrish and Levi again! Especially Parrish because he is my boo!!! But I especially loved seeing Archer and Brooklyn (from Rescued). That was an awesome cameo!
May 3, 2023
4.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫
I am not usually a fan of books where the characters cheat, and yes I know the MCs didn't cheat on each other, but there was still cheating. I think if something isn't working you end it before you cheat, but in Garrett's case I made an allowance because of the abusive situation he finds himself in.
Garrett's girlfriend Magan, is a right cow and I felt really sorry for him, he believed he loved her, that she loved him, but she treated him abysmally and he felt stuck in a situation he didn't know how to change, a situataion many abused people find themselves in.
Aaron has just found out his boyfriend has been cheating on him and after they break up he is left homeless, couch surfing around until Megan an old school friend offers him the use of their basement to stay in. Because of his experience being cheated on, Aaron does grapple with his feeling towards Garrett, and he does a lot of soul searching about this.
There is instant attraction between Garrett and Aaron when they first meet and they become good friends, Megan is always off doing 'important' things and has no time for her boyfriend or her firned she's just invited to stay. She's written as a very shallow, narcissistic, self absorbed person, very unlikable and most definitley abusive towards Garrett, which is why the cheating didn't seem so bad to me, I guess that's the grey area in the it's not always black and white.
Garrett had an experience when he was a teen that left him with trauma, this and his parents have left him pushing down any feelings he's had about other men, to the point, he didn't even acknowlegde them anymore. Aaron's visit changes all that and helps to bring about the start of his healing.
The relationship build up between Garrett and Aaron is slow burn until it combusts and boy is there some heat in that combustion. It took a lot to push Garrett over that line into cheating, but there's only so much abuse a person can take.
There was a lot of emotional moments throughout the story both for Garrett and for Aaron, but when the story ended I was left feeling very happy for them both and had a smile on my face knowing they'd both found their person.
I am not usually a fan of books where the characters cheat, and yes I know the MCs didn't cheat on each other, but there was still cheating. I think if something isn't working you end it before you cheat, but in Garrett's case I made an allowance because of the abusive situation he finds himself in.
Garrett's girlfriend Magan, is a right cow and I felt really sorry for him, he believed he loved her, that she loved him, but she treated him abysmally and he felt stuck in a situation he didn't know how to change, a situataion many abused people find themselves in.
Aaron has just found out his boyfriend has been cheating on him and after they break up he is left homeless, couch surfing around until Megan an old school friend offers him the use of their basement to stay in. Because of his experience being cheated on, Aaron does grapple with his feeling towards Garrett, and he does a lot of soul searching about this.
There is instant attraction between Garrett and Aaron when they first meet and they become good friends, Megan is always off doing 'important' things and has no time for her boyfriend or her firned she's just invited to stay. She's written as a very shallow, narcissistic, self absorbed person, very unlikable and most definitley abusive towards Garrett, which is why the cheating didn't seem so bad to me, I guess that's the grey area in the it's not always black and white.
Garrett had an experience when he was a teen that left him with trauma, this and his parents have left him pushing down any feelings he's had about other men, to the point, he didn't even acknowlegde them anymore. Aaron's visit changes all that and helps to bring about the start of his healing.
The relationship build up between Garrett and Aaron is slow burn until it combusts and boy is there some heat in that combustion. It took a lot to push Garrett over that line into cheating, but there's only so much abuse a person can take.
There was a lot of emotional moments throughout the story both for Garrett and for Aaron, but when the story ended I was left feeling very happy for them both and had a smile on my face knowing they'd both found their person.
May 2, 2023
What can I say about Aaron and Garret? I should say that cheating is wrong and nobody deserves to be cheated on. However, Megan isn’t nobody. If you ask her, she is everyone and everything. If you ask her about Garret, she’ll let you know that he’s nobody without her, someone only with her and not worthy of anything. She is mean, vile and, while she deserved to be dumped before Garret fell in love with Aaron, I can’t find it in myself to care about her feelings.
The love story was, minus Megan’s existence, beautiful. Watching Garret realize what true love & passion were meant to be like, coming into himself because Aaron made him feel worthy & emotionally strong and finally standing up to Megan before officially claiming Aaron was gratifying. Seeing Garret help Aaron get past his own feelings of failure and unworthiness was equally satisfying. Having been cheated on himself, which is why Aaron had spent weeks couch-surfing and becoming more of a shell of his former self, he is filled with guilt over his feelings for Garret – his high school best friend’s boyfriend. Aaron’s realization that his former bestie wasn’t actually as wonderful as he thought, seeing her treatment of Garret and understanding that she is the very definition of a mean girl and always has been, was what kept him firmly at Garret’s side even while the guilty irony was tearing his mental and emotional health apart.
With cameos from my favourite “Rescued” crew, high heat and an HEA, Hayden managed to pull off the impossible – he made this story of cheating while finding true love acceptable in my books. But, in all fairness, it’s Hayden Hall. Of course, he did.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and, as always, my review is honest and unpaid.
Shameless Affairs
Hayden Hall
The love story was, minus Megan’s existence, beautiful. Watching Garret realize what true love & passion were meant to be like, coming into himself because Aaron made him feel worthy & emotionally strong and finally standing up to Megan before officially claiming Aaron was gratifying. Seeing Garret help Aaron get past his own feelings of failure and unworthiness was equally satisfying. Having been cheated on himself, which is why Aaron had spent weeks couch-surfing and becoming more of a shell of his former self, he is filled with guilt over his feelings for Garret – his high school best friend’s boyfriend. Aaron’s realization that his former bestie wasn’t actually as wonderful as he thought, seeing her treatment of Garret and understanding that she is the very definition of a mean girl and always has been, was what kept him firmly at Garret’s side even while the guilty irony was tearing his mental and emotional health apart.
With cameos from my favourite “Rescued” crew, high heat and an HEA, Hayden managed to pull off the impossible – he made this story of cheating while finding true love acceptable in my books. But, in all fairness, it’s Hayden Hall. Of course, he did.
I received a complimentary copy of this book and, as always, my review is honest and unpaid.
Shameless Affairs
Hayden Hall
August 31, 2024
Believe it or not my rating has nothing to do with Aaron being a shit human and cheating with the boyfriend of the friend who took him into her home while he was homeless after his own boyfriend cheated on him.
The female in this story also got progressively more awful, to validate the shitty actions of the men involved I suppose. Anyway, aside from the issues that bothered me I, on the whole, enjoyed the story. Parrish & Levi have several cameos which was cool as well.
Bruce had screwed me over with Nick. And I would rather never be loved again than be someone else’s Nick.👆 don't believe him. He maintains his "morals" for like 5 minutes. Again, idc, I have more pressing issues. First, let's talk about sex. HH is a master of writing hot sex scenes. Aaron & ( I literally cannot remember the other guy's name) have hot af chemistry and the sexy scenes are yummy.
I yanked him back so hard and impaled him that I managed to lift him off his feet for real and hold myself inside of him while he called me dirty names. “Harder, you motherfucker,” he growled, lighting the fuse inside of me that made me wilder than I’d known to be.This brings us to problem #1: Aaron has a huge box of sex toys & sexy lingerie that is teased & verbally referenced more than once yet the toys/undies never materialize in any sex scene. I don't understand why authors do this - why even bring it up?
I was a goddamn coward, crying to the heavens for help and calling my last resort at three in the morning. And he had never failed to show up before, so he picked me up again. “Just…quietly,” I told Parrish when he got out of his car in the middle of the street.👆Problem #2: Adult running away instead of communicating. (this is also rolled into problem #3). Aaron calls Parrish at 3am, waking him & Levi up, just to bail on (guy's name I forgot) like a lame ass, without saying goodbye. I'm ready to call Aaron selfish at this point.
The female in this story also got progressively more awful, to validate the shitty actions of the men involved I suppose. Anyway, aside from the issues that bothered me I, on the whole, enjoyed the story. Parrish & Levi have several cameos which was cool as well.
April 29, 2023
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 2.5/5
Spice: 🌶️🌶️ 2/5
Genre: MM Romance ✔️
Tropes:
Slow Burn ✔️
Cheating with each other ✔️
Bisexual Awakening ✔️
I will keep this review SHORT & SWEET. I had HIGH hopes for Shameless Affairs due to me absolutely LOVING Destructive Relations (the first book in the series). Levi & Parrish are fxckn everything so I was EXCITED for this 2nd book... unfortunately, it just didn't hit the same as the first.
❌DISCLAIMER: this user is a total mood reader❌
so just remember that when you see my reviews because sometimes it really just be yo girl's ✨MOODS!✨ Now, let's move on...
I enjoyed watching Garret flounder. It had me GIGGLING like a school girl. I thought it was fxkcn CUTE & ADORABLE that he didn't know how to react to his own feelings towards Aaron. There were times I could FEEL the chemistry but then it would just... F I Z Z L E out.
I understand that it takes time to set up their FRIENDSHIP. It takes time for building that CONNECTION and TRUST so this S L O W W W burn didn't bother me. I think what bothered me was the LACK of emotional connection. I couldn't sense it.
I STAN a 'cheating with each other trope' but Megan just was annoying & NOT in a good way. As a person she sucked & I get it because we're meant to NOT like her so yea.. I didn't like her. But if we were to REMOVE her from G&A's love story.. it still would've been ok.
Also was Aaron mentioned in the first book? 🤔 unfortunately.. he's kind of forgettable.
I'm sorry AARON! 😩
While Shameless Affairs didn't work for ME .. it totally doesn't mean it won't work for YOU.
Also give Destructive Relations a motherfxckn TRY! LEVI AND PARRISH 4EVAHHH!
*Thank you to G.R.R, Hayden Hall & team for the ARC in exchange of an honest review
Spice: 🌶️🌶️ 2/5
Genre: MM Romance ✔️
Tropes:
Slow Burn ✔️
Cheating with each other ✔️
Bisexual Awakening ✔️
I will keep this review SHORT & SWEET. I had HIGH hopes for Shameless Affairs due to me absolutely LOVING Destructive Relations (the first book in the series). Levi & Parrish are fxckn everything so I was EXCITED for this 2nd book... unfortunately, it just didn't hit the same as the first.
❌DISCLAIMER: this user is a total mood reader❌
so just remember that when you see my reviews because sometimes it really just be yo girl's ✨MOODS!✨ Now, let's move on...
I enjoyed watching Garret flounder. It had me GIGGLING like a school girl. I thought it was fxkcn CUTE & ADORABLE that he didn't know how to react to his own feelings towards Aaron. There were times I could FEEL the chemistry but then it would just... F I Z Z L E out.
I understand that it takes time to set up their FRIENDSHIP. It takes time for building that CONNECTION and TRUST so this S L O W W W burn didn't bother me. I think what bothered me was the LACK of emotional connection. I couldn't sense it.
I STAN a 'cheating with each other trope' but Megan just was annoying & NOT in a good way. As a person she sucked & I get it because we're meant to NOT like her so yea.. I didn't like her. But if we were to REMOVE her from G&A's love story.. it still would've been ok.
Also was Aaron mentioned in the first book? 🤔 unfortunately.. he's kind of forgettable.
I'm sorry AARON! 😩
While Shameless Affairs didn't work for ME .. it totally doesn't mean it won't work for YOU.
Also give Destructive Relations a motherfxckn TRY! LEVI AND PARRISH 4EVAHHH!
*Thank you to G.R.R, Hayden Hall & team for the ARC in exchange of an honest review
April 29, 2023
This is a story about two men who are lost coming together at a very low point in life for both of them, it’s about how they wake up something in each other and how they grapple with the knowledge their their choices for happiness are going to hurt those around them.
It starts by introducing us to both MCs, Aaron whose life has been decimated in one day, who is now as his last resort seeking refuge with an estranged friend and Garrett who is the living with his partner and going through life in a state of complete numbness.
The story is raw with emotion and the isolation we feel is reflective of the lives both are leading in this point in time. It’s written in a way that almost makes you live in the inner world of only the two MCs, like a bubble where you can see the feelings and thoughts and history that lead to the morally grey choices made, where you can suspend black and white, crime and punishment. There is a constant thread of the forbidden, guilt, urgency which runs through especially when it comes to Aaron because he has experienced both ends of the choices.
Throughout the story we see the author play with grey spaces not just with regards to the MCs choices but other characters as well, at first making us see them as bad/good and then shifting the narrative slightly away from that light and forcing us to broaden our perspective. For me, this did not mean necessarily redeeming them or demonising them but more humanising them. I would have liked to understand Megan’s choices a bit more through the story.
I throughly enjoyed this book and if you’re keen to explore being a bit out of your comfort zone and exploring some grey spaces and enjoy a scorching hot story about MCs you come to care for, I would definitely recommend checking it out.
- sexual awakening
- Cheating
- Close proximity
TW/CWs include but are not limited to cheating, references of homophobia
It starts by introducing us to both MCs, Aaron whose life has been decimated in one day, who is now as his last resort seeking refuge with an estranged friend and Garrett who is the living with his partner and going through life in a state of complete numbness.
The story is raw with emotion and the isolation we feel is reflective of the lives both are leading in this point in time. It’s written in a way that almost makes you live in the inner world of only the two MCs, like a bubble where you can see the feelings and thoughts and history that lead to the morally grey choices made, where you can suspend black and white, crime and punishment. There is a constant thread of the forbidden, guilt, urgency which runs through especially when it comes to Aaron because he has experienced both ends of the choices.
Throughout the story we see the author play with grey spaces not just with regards to the MCs choices but other characters as well, at first making us see them as bad/good and then shifting the narrative slightly away from that light and forcing us to broaden our perspective. For me, this did not mean necessarily redeeming them or demonising them but more humanising them. I would have liked to understand Megan’s choices a bit more through the story.
I throughly enjoyed this book and if you’re keen to explore being a bit out of your comfort zone and exploring some grey spaces and enjoy a scorching hot story about MCs you come to care for, I would definitely recommend checking it out.
- sexual awakening
- Cheating
- Close proximity
TW/CWs include but are not limited to cheating, references of homophobia
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