One and Done

by Frederick Smith

One night of passion and possibly one more chance at love…

Determined, motivated, goal-driven, and eternally single, Dr. Taylor James is an accomplished university administrator in San Francisco determined to get his campus successfully through an upcoming accreditation process. The process could set him up for his ultimate career goal–to be one of the only Black and openly queer university presidents in the US. Taylor gives himself just one day a week to have fun and let loose with friends–a one and done Sunday Funday brunch in the Castro District.

Dustin McMillan is a consultant and project manager who reluctantly returns to the Bay Area, his hometown, for an assignment. The first in his family to finish college, earn a healthy six-figure income, and have choice and agency in his life’s direction, Dustin is fearful that returning home could mean falling back into roles that he’d thought he’d resolved by moving miles away…and equally fearful of falling back into bed with one sexy and toxic ex-boyfriend who still lingers in his memories.

One chance encounter. One night of passion. Will Taylor and Dustin leave it at one and done?

Genres: Romance, Fiction, LGBT, Contemporary, Queer, M M Romance, Adult

218 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2024

About the author

Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Frederick Smith is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and Loyola University Chicago. A finalist for the PEN Center Emerging Voices Fellowship, and an alum of the VONA (Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation) Writers Workshop, Fred is a social justice advocate. He lives in Los Angeles and works with college students to help them find their voices and develop pride in their cultural and gender identities. He is the author of Down for Whatever and Right Side of the Wrong Bed, a Lambda Literary Award finalist.

(Source: Amazon.com)

Reviews

[gracie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The entire book is choppy, there's very obvious disconnects between plot points and more than a couple times I found myself asking how we'd gotten to a certain point in the book. I also couldn't connect with either of the mcs. I finished with this a couple hours ago and I couldn't tell you anything about the mcs or anything that happened in the book.

None of the major plot points were properly fleshed out. None of the conflicts were resolved either, just forgotten and it was so frustrating to read. For men in their 40s they sure had the communication skills of 8th graders!! The dialogue between them was so stilted too and I had such a hard time trying to enjoy the flow of the story

I did appreciate the insight the author gave on just how strenuous and long the accreditation process was for universities. I loved how pronounced the influence of Black culture and Black queer culture in particular was in this. I was excited when I found out it was a romance between two Black gay men in their 40s.

I wish I could have enjoyed this more because the blurb stood out to me so much but the execution wasn't up to expectation.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bold Strokes books and the author for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review

[Cydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

One and Done is a love story between two gay Black men in their 40s, and I can genuinely say I've never read anything like this before. While the book does focus a lot on the situationship turned relationship, it is also a story about queer Black people thriving in community with one another in San Francisco, being community-minded in the ways they elevate in society, making time for joy and socializing.

While this book is a little bit messy, the mess was in-and-out fast so it didn't feel over the top. Frederick Smith perfectly captures the essence of the diverse lived experiences of queer Black folks in cities that embrace them. I adored the family dynamics because even though they weren't perfect, they were largely based in love and acceptance of Taylor and Dustin.

I will say I was very bored with the parts that focused on academia. As a Black woman who went to college, I get it, but accreditation and the inner workings of the campus president and the chairs beneath them was not an interesting backsplash for me. I also think that the narrative is told and not shown in more than a few places, which became frustrating—especially towards the end—and led to me feeling like it was rushed. I felt like the constant hammering home of Taylor being a saint was heavy-handed and made Dustin feel a bit underdeveloped in comparison even though, in my opinion, his plight as the first person in his family to decent money leading to him being the ATM for them was more captivating and is an important thing that goes undiscussed in Black families.

I was a little creeped out by Dustin and Taylor looking alike? I know this phenomenon is not specific to gay men or queer people overall, but mentioning it more than once kind of gave me the heebie jeebies. They needed some work when it came to communication, but I chose to take this as social commentary on how it doesn't matter if men work in academia, are highly educated, are queer, and are in their 40s, they still need some work on communicating across the board LOL.

I look forward to reading more from Smith soon and recommend this book for a quick, closed-door romance with glimpses of community and Beyoncé references galore!

4 ⭐️s

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Dustin is in San Francisco for a consulting job, Taylor catches his eye at a Sunday Funday brunch in the Castro District. Will it be a one and done type of night?

Two successful black male professionals, not looking for love.. well I was rooting for them to fall hard! What I liked most about this book was that the two MMCs both had big hearts. Dustin just had some challenges to work through and it gave his character layers that I really enjoyed throughout the book. This was an enjoyable read, but in the beginning things seemed a bit forced where I would have loved for the book to spend more time building the romance.

I recommend this if you enjoy MM romance, workplace romance, and/or forced proximity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for this ARC!

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

** I was granted a free ARC of this book by its publisher in exchange for an honest review. **

The blurb sounded interesting, and coupled with the cover image, I decided to request a copy from Netgalley.

On the surface, the book delivered on the blurb, mostly, but my 3 star rating is based on more than just that. It's based on the writing, the dialogue, the plot progression, and the believability of the characters and their supposed romance.

I could appreciate that Taylor was very career-oriented and had ambitions of becoming the first gay university campus president of color, and I could appreciate the author's attempt to shed more light on the accreditation process for colleges and universities, and certainly the well-known systemic racism that still exists in the US today.

I could appreciate that Dustin had some hang-ups of his own, and that he too was ambitious and focused on his career, while also supporting his mother and other members of his family financially, even while living elsewhere.

Also, yay for having characters in their 40s, and focusing your book around queer black men and black culture.

I was inclined to believe the attraction Dustin felt for Taylor, which was soon returned, and there was sufficient UST between them to make the romance part of the plot believable, for the most part. They are dealing with intense pressure on the work front, and while I could see that the author likely attempted this to be a "love solves all" kind of situation, I found it hard to believe that two highly career and success focused men would risk it all by jumping into a sexual relationship that they then know they have to hide because one of them is basically in a position of power over the other.

The dialogue is what bothered me the most. It felt stiff, contrived, and inorganic most of the time. It pulled me out of the story flow time and again, and while this may be just a "me" issue, it basically prevented my giving this book more than 3 stars.

The subplot with Wes - what was that about? I didn't really understand the motivation behind it - maybe I missed something. He's introduced early as the proverbial villain, but then the resolution to his plotting and his eventual come-uppance happens off-page and as almost an afterthought.
Similar, Dustin's mother was portrayed as antagonistic towards him, but then invited them to her home and fed them and wasn't at all as bad as Dustin initially described her.

Sadly, this book didn't reach its potential for me.

[angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

absolutely chuffed to see an older adult, queer romance with 2 black MCs

taylor james and dustin mcmillan get off to a rocky start, but as 2 unicorns (black queer men in the academia space) have a lot to relate to. taylor thought all he wanted was to become a university president, leaving no room for romance. dustin is a bit of a playboy and is not afraid to hide it. there were some very funny, relatable moments that occurred between our MCs, but i found difficulty finding a lot of depth in the writing. i enjoyed the plot and its characters, however, and would still recommend this to read for a quick cute rom-com, with an A+ for diversity. bc i'm tired of "reading diverse" meaning one POC and one hwhite person. ty.

thank you to netgalley & bold strokes books for the arc!

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointed by this! A great premise: 2 guys meet in a bar, recognize they are both 40-something out and proud gay Black men, get flirting, have a disagreement, turns out they have to collaborate for a work gig for 1-2 months.
They struggle to deal with attraction, dislike, and professionalism throughout and start to catch feelings. They can’t do anything about this until the project is over due to conflict of interest and ethics violations it would cause.

Despite what the blurb and title say though, they don’t have a steamy night one and done, they get interrupted in the first chapter by side character info dumps and don’t hook up at all.
They work together with them both announcing repeatedly how professional they are and how much they value their jobs above all else.

Then with couple weeks left in the project, they decide to have sex, describe their plans while in the workplace to spend the entire weekend in public places on dates and having sex at home, then do that and get seen because why wouldn’t they be, and drop all their ethics and values and even logical ambition.

They plan out in advance how to trash their careers and drop every value we’ve been told they have all book.
It’s infuriating and makes no sense. And it makes the reader like them less and lose respect for them.

——————

There’s also a ton of telling, and a couple times we first get all of it from one character’s POV, and then the other character being told or telling someone else the entire thing again.
For such a short book we get a ton of repetition while key moments happen off page. We get very little of their three day relationship and a ton of biographies for them and side characters that is excessive and slows the pace.
We also get told over and over how Taylor is selfless and mentors another character and spends his weekends volunteering, but we never once see him interact with his mentee or go to any events. He’s either in the office or day drinking at drag brunch on Sundays. I would’ve loved to have seen any of his positive characteristics instead of being given a laundry list of them while all he does is be unprofessional and immature.

Things just get worse from that point, with key moments like characters dying, characters careers being at risk and meetings about it, etc being off page. The worst is the two main characters reconnecting after months of no contact off page. Why wouldn’t we see that?

Honestly the ending made me furious. These dudes dated a total of 3 days then didn’t speak for over a month, and this is what is happening?

——————

Easy fixes to make this not go 100% against the characters’ values:
A. characters wait until after the consulting to date, for some reason (maybe something shady Wes did) Dustin has to come back and they have to debate hiding things, breaking it off, etc.
B. They actually have the One and Done the title implies the day they meet in the bar, and then conflict between them occurs based on the debate to hide the previous hookup while maintaining completely professional until the process is done.

——————

I received an ARC from NetGalley on ebook. My review is my honest opinion.

[Jazmine Jules · Rating 2 out of 5]

Light spoilers~

I chose to read One and Done as my first NetGalley book because it is a BIPOC queer romance novel. The story is told from two perspectives. Taylor, a 40-something Black gay man vying for a promotion to university president, and Dustin, also a 40-something-year-old Black gay man but the one with the power to tarnish Taylor’s prospects. After reading the blurb, I was ready to fall in love with the characters and feel organic chemistry between them, but the book left me feeling underwhelmed and confused by the storyline’s direction.

My first gripe with the book is the inconsistent and unnatural dialogue. Much of the dialogue flowed between poorly attempted AAVE, cultural references that tried too hard to play into gay and racial stereotypes (POP TONGUE) *If you know, you know, and switched to non-contracted words with a hint of posh speech that didn’t match the characterization. In short, I found the characters felt unreal in many cases, especially when the dialogue included unnecessary exposition, as is the case with Dustin’s mother.

My second grip is the overuse of summary to skip over events that would have raised the stakes. It felt like every time we’d see some conflict from perhaps Taylor’s arch nemesis, Wes Jenkins or activities involving the accreditation process, they’d be skipped over and replaced with shallow conversations about why Dustin was the problem.

Which leads me to my final point. Dustin’s background as a man who came from poor beginnings and a rough neighborhood was used to make him seem like a worse person than he was. There was no real reason why Taylor should have been upset about him withholding information when they were strangers and then professional colleagues. It felt like the author completely forgot about external conflicts like Wes or the ex-boyfriend because they served no real purpose in making the plot more dynamic. By the end, it felt as though the author didn’t know how he wanted the book to end, and the pacing rushed through much of their love story with little yearning and dating happening on the pages. The promised one passionate night happened too late in the story.

Part of me blames the independent publisher for not having a keen eye reading the manuscript and getting a developmental editor who understood black culture. And the other believes the author could have written a better final draft before submission. Either way, the ball was dropped. I will always support Queer and BIPOC authors and literature, but this did not meet my standards.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded down and my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC.
Disclaimer: I am not the fully intended audience for this novel and my review probably reflects that. But bad writing is bad writing...

I'll start off with what I liked about One and Done.
I really loved Taylor and his drive to succeed, even at the cost of his own personal happiness. I liked that he knew what he wanted and wasn't going to compromise, even if that word ended up being a bad idea for his relationship.

Unfortunately, that's probably the only thing I didn't have an issue with. Whether it was the dialog, the "chemistry," and the never ending (dear sweet lord never ending) Beyoncé references, One and Done might be my one and done with Smith.

The dialog and banter between Taylor and Dustin was...clunky at best. Smith does a great job at telling us everything we need to know about their personalities and their work in the community without actually showing us. They spoke so many times about what it means to be black, queer, black and queer, and in academia, but it got so repetitive at times with the same people, it seemed like all anyone does in this world is go around and around about drag brunch. Where is the outreach in the community? We get throwaway lines about Taylor getting ready for graduation and commencement, but no interaction with the students?
I'm also begging Smith to find another singer. Beyoncé is queen, obviously, but for so much of the book's plot focusing on being black and queer, they had no black and queer artists to be obsessed with? Janelle, Lil Nas X, Megan, Frank, Kehlani??? Just to name some of the popular ones.

The chemistry between Taylor and Dustin was cringe-worthy. They had a lot in common, they seemed to enjoy each other's company, but there wasn't much substance. They talked about their pasts and how they had vastly different upbringings, but any talk of the future? Any talk of what they want in life away from their careers? Not a word.

Finally, and I promise this is the last bit, Wes Jenkins. What a waste of a "villain." He could have been something interesting, but he ended up being a catty bitch for no reason and then his downfall was relegated of off-screen in the epilogue.

[Akansha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Pride Book Tours and Bold Strokes Books for the eARC.

Without wasting time I am just going to get to few of the things that didn't work for me.

- There were no resolution for the conflicts. Like Taylor was super mad at his mom for telling his head at the uni about the relationship and later in the end she was also seen to be the one who gave away the surprise party Dustin was organising for him. All in the name of a woman can't keep a secret which to me was like okay but that would start to piss me off too.

- under developed characters; by the time I was done with the book I had no understanding of the characters especially Dustin. Taylor had a pretty easy life so there wasn't much to say but Dustin had a tough childhood, he was in an on & off relationship with his family and his brother was in prison but we never learned what happened.

- In the beginning Dustin gives the vibe of a jerk but once you reach to his pov I actually preferred him over Taylor. I had a hard time liking Taylor. He was judgemental and I couldn't really understand his reasons for the way he was behaving. He started giving cold shoulder to Dustin for no fault of his. And I never saw him apologizing for it. Then he had a very weird I can only be with you if you are in good terms with your parents condition. Like hello? Privileged much?

- The romance hits out of nowhere and I was thinking um when did this happen?

- Taylor basically gets drunk and word vomits to his best friend where he narrated Dustin's entire story. I didn't really like it. It wasn't your story to tell. You are allowed to rant about your feelings without exposing your partner who you were highly insensitive to hours ago. And instead of trying to talk to him about it which I would expect guys in their 40s to do you go ahead and narrate his entire family history.

- This one is specifically on me but when two people are sleeping together, romantically involved, call each other bruh it gives me the ick.

One and Done had so much potential but at best it's a half baked cake with all the right ingredients and flavours.

[Nick Vallina (MisterGhostReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Taylor James, an accomplished university administrator in San Francisco is determined to becomes a campus president; the first Black, openly gay, and relatively young, person to achieve this honor. One last stepping stone that will help him jump from vice president to president is through ensuring the reaccreditation process for his university goes off without a hitch.

Dustin McMillan is a consultant and project manager who has recently returned to the Bay Area to work for an assignment regarding the reaccreditation of a local university. Dustin is fearful of returning home to all of the things he ran from after pandemic lockdowns let up but he's gotta go where the job needs him.

A chance meeting between Dustin and Taylor at a drag brunch and the inevitable realization the next day at work that they will be working closely together for the next several weeks leads the pair to realize that their meeting really wasn't just a One and Done.

I really enjoyed this. Reading Black gay men from the perspective of a Black author was really illuminating for my ghost white self. Seeing how people of color interact between themselves and amongst "mixed company" was honestly fascinating for me. Pepper in the fact that this is an incredible mature and sweet little romance and I was sold pretty quickly. Definitely recommend this quick read for fans of a bit of swoon, a bit of snark, and a fun banter.

Thank you to the author and Pride Book Tours for providing me with an ARC of this book and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Truusje · Rating 3 out of 5]

The opening sentence of One and Done was more than promising:

Dustin McMillan poured into my life as effortlessly as the top-shelf tequila going into the first margarita of the afternoon Markell was shaking.

The same can be said for the premise and the (40+!) MCs. I also liked how the book was firmly rooted in black queer culture.
The majority of the book really focuses on Dustin and Taylor, and their interactions. I loved how they could have a proper conversation after a fight.
But there were also things that didn't quite work for me. There's actually a significant power imbalance between the two of them, and for some reason these two very intelligent, mature men never consider that it would be a bad idea for them to get together. Only after they get together, when it seems that other people may know about it, it becomes a point of conflict.
As for the romance, I didn't fully believe it either. I think this was mainly because their reunion happens off-page. There's a multi-week (?) time jump in which a lot of important things happen, but that are only briefly mentioned after the fact.
I also felt some characters or plot points weren't fully developed. For example, one of Taylor's colleagues is set up as an antagonist at the beginning of the book, but then is ignored for the rest, at least until he gets his come-uppance (again, off-page). The same can be said for Dustin's mum.
Having said that, I enjoyed the book and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.
3.5 stars

*** I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

[Rena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my heart!

It's rare to find queer books that center couples over 40, and author Frederick Smith has done just that with ONE AND DONE . I loved it - grown people relationships, dealing with aging parents, real-life work woes - all of it came together splendidly. I did think the pacing of the story could be stronger (sometimes too fast or too slow, plot-wise), but I rooted for Dustin and Taylor. Can we get a sequel with the rest of the friend group, please?

[Sophia · Rating 1 out of 5]

read for book club or I would’ve DNF’d

[Emma Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Dustin and Taylor were lovable characters that you were rooting for to get together throughout the book. They way they care for one another and their dynamic is wonderful to see. I love how running jokes about being a bad tipper and the phrase "penny for your thoughts" pop up throughout the book to show the little inside jokes with one another. The book is split perspective between Taylor and Dustin which I really liked. I loved how I was able to see how they thought of one another and the world around them. This book is filled with an adorable romance that you won't regret reading and it is a story that is centering around finding joy and love with someone.

[Catarina Águas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from netgalley in exchange of an honest review. I wanna thank the author for this copy of the book:

I liked the book, it wasn't bad but the romance part, especially the final part felt false/forced. I liked Taylor, he was determined and knew what he wanted out of life, that's a good quality to have in a person. Dustin wanted Taylor from the moment he saw him and never stopped pursuing him, no matter what happened. That's why the part where they broke up was so confusing to me, it didn't make sense and I really didn't like it. I liked them together and their relationship, I have to admit, they were cute. It was a good book but the final part changed my opinion of the whole book and I just can't get over it

[Sharonda Isadora · Rating 3 out of 5]

While "One and Done" showed potential, I felt that the romantic aspect of the story was missing some key elements. The book provided valuable insights into higher education and the challenges faced by openly gay Black individuals, but this overshadowed the development of the romance. As a result, I found it difficult to believe in the success of Taylor and Dustin's relationship by the end of the book, as some important moments were absent.

I had hoped for a more substantial development of the relationship between the main characters, with a greater focus on romance, but unfortunately, this was lacking. Nonetheless, I am eager to read future works by this author.

*thank the publisher for the opportunity to read and review the book.

[Anita White · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fact that this book started off with a Beyoncé renaissance drag performance was enough to have me sold. Now Dustin and Taylor kinda started off with cocky attitudes but once you get to know them they are actually an enjoyable pair to read 🥰.

[ReadnliftwithShar]

One and Done was a book that was high on my reading radar. It was about a college accreditation process. Dr. Taylor James is the school vice president and is hyper-focused on his career. Dustin McMillan is a part of the consulting team responsible for accrediting the school. The initial contact between Taylor and Dustin was tense; they were not friends - well, Taylor wasn’t friendly. It was clear that Dustin was interested in getting to know the good doctor. Pun intended. When they realized they’d be working closely together during the accreditation process, things became interesting. I credit the author for the way he explained higher education and the stigma surrounding persons of color. He also pointed out that Taylor’s goal of becoming an openly gay man and President of a university was uncommon. I could feel the tension and chemistry between Taylor and Dustin, but the romance was not at the forefront of the story. I think there were pivotal moments to address, but I would have liked more of the couple being a couple on the page. My takeaway was that “You can have it all.” I am glad Taylor and Dustin reached their happily ever after; the ending was so beautiful.

*Arc copy from Netgalley and the publisher*

[Mr Pink Ink · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Pride Book Tours for providing me with a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Taylor is hyper-focused on his career and on his goal of becoming the youngest black and openly queer college president in history; love and relationships simply do not factor into his life equation.

On the Sunday before a big accreditation project, Dustin "bumps" into Taylor at a drag show but Taylor doesn't fall for Dustin's confidence and the two don't exactly hit it off. But Taylor is suddenly forced to spend a month or so with Dustin when Taylor finds out that Dustin is heading the accreditation team at Taylor's college - expect a little:
- Forced proximity
- Only one bed
- Found family
- Happily ever after

I enjoyed the story and I liked the characters; the author tried to create two people who grew up in vastly different ways. Dustin is a much more layered character than is Taylor, but I think they are both great and relatable. There is something about this author's writing style that is a little weird; I can't put my finger on it, exactly, but I got confused a few times.

The only thing I didn't like, though, was that there were too many things happening off-page only to be "resloved" later - the Wes Jenkins plot-line, the third act break-up, etc.

Overall, One & Done has a some super cute moments and some gorgeous landscapes and I enjoyed this a lot.

3.5 stars rounded up

[Kassu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+⭐

This book started out rather heavily with US regional and university politics and honestly I felt a bit lost as someone living very far away and in a different kind of country. But luckily the overall plot was easy to follow after the slight "scare". I like that these guys work to improve human rights and equality, and I definitely appreciate education too, but the guys here are very much these career oriented incredible success stories, which then again is not really my jam. Dustin seemed a bit of a jerk initially, but I actually started to prefer him about two paragraphs into his POV.

Overall this is a nice romance and while it utilises several tropes, there are some minor twists to them. I would have liked more steam in this story, it would have fit well especially with these more mature men, but the sex scenes fade to black pretty fast. And I didn't really care how these guys were brought back together in the end. I just didn't love this story, but it's probably a good one for people who like contemporary romances with career-oriented leads.

My thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

[Cleo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I wanted to like this mm contemp romance between two 40-something Black men more than I actually did. I enjoyed getting to know both characters but I felt like the book fast forwarded over developing their emotional connection.

While this isn't the most ridiculous portrayal of higher ed in Romancelandia that I've read, the descriptions of the accreditation process were so different than what I've experienced, that it kept taking me out of the story.

[Maria]

DNF at 10%. I’m so sad that this book didn’t work for me, I was fully prepared to love it, but there is way too much backstory info dumping and the emotional tone of the first scene pings around like a pinball and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about everything that’s happening. This could really benefit from a strong developmental edit because I think this book has things to say, but I can’t get through the actual writing to see it.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the premise but the execution was rough. The story felt very disjointed and I never really emotionally connected with the main characters. Or the side characters. Folks just sort of appeared and you were supposed to care about them.
Loved the focus on Black queer spaces and communities.
The whole thing felt pretty forced to me.

[Marietere T · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was something. I loved so many little things about this book. The queer rep in this was fun and great. I like the relationship aspect and how both of them knew what they wanted and what they weren't willing to give up for a relationship. I thought this was a good quick queer read.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Jay DeMoir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t love the choppy writing style but I appreciated the in depth dive into the collegiate accreditation process. Queer stories need representation and I enjoyed it for that, as well.
Overall, decent but not noteworthy

[Russell Adzedu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Michael B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when an aspiring university president meets an incredibly good looking but obnoxious at first man at Sunday Funday brunch? Will Taylor allow himself to put aside his career goals to consider something more with this man? The two black men, both professionals with high-end employment, have a lot to figure out.

As we quickly discover, the two men end up working with each other on the university’s accreditation process. Just as Taylor was starting to consider something more with Dustin, now there’s a huge conflict of interest thrown in their way.

This was a great read, one that will make fans of the “only one bed” trope happy. It was refreshing to read about the focus on inclusion that Taylor has for his university and students.

You are going to be rooting for this pair through the whole book!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for this copy of the book.

[Lauren | TransportedLFL · Rating 4 out of 5]

An academic romance that's queer?! Yes, please. I really appreciated the representation of the queer community in San Francisco. There was such depth to so many of the characters and places. The whole story felt incredibly authentic. I also really appreciated that the characters were a bit older with established careers. There's such angst around the forbidden aspects of their relationships and really well done family drama. I'll definitely be looking to read more from this author.

[mo be readin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many thanks to NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books, & Frederick Smith for generously providing an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review 💚 
 
So 
 
I really, really wanted to like this. Two Black, Gay Academics. San Francisco. Will they or Won’t they? These are all things I enjoy reading about! 
 
One and Done is flat and a tad boring (I completed several books in between reading this one). The characters are two-dimensional, with one character, in particular, rubbing me the wrong way; there is a fine line between being authentic and being unnecessarily stereotypical, and Manessa went way over into stereotypical. It doesn’t help that our MMCs are ehhhhhhh. Dustin was aight, but Taylor was not likable in the least. While it was clear they were physically attracted to one another, I do not get how they genuinely fell for each other. Plus, they both needed some therapy in the worst way. There was a lack of romance and intimacy between Taylor and Dustin, which made me more invested in the secondary plotline instead of the main one, their romance. 
 
The dialogue was bland and often came off as if the author was trying too hard to assert that these characters were centered and secure in their Blackness. Nothing about it read “things regular people in this demographic say in real life,” which is unfortunate. My issue with the dialogue extends to another problem I had with the writing throughout the book - there was so much over-explaining. Something I’ve seen from some Black authors is them going into extraneous details about different subjects that the average person, especially a member of the book’s target audience, does not need to be reminded of because they already know and understand the context. There was no reason for there to be fifty-leven overly-detailed explanations about Beyoncé and Renaissance because this was a global pop culture moment throughout 2023; the overwhelming majority of people, including this book’s audience, already know the context behind the references, so who exactly are you explaining this to? Because of this, there was way more telling than showing with so many aspects of this narrative. There is so much expository dialogue and thoughts that should have been actions happening at the moment. 
 
The timeline and pacing of the narrative are not explained well, so as someone very familiar with the academic year calendar, I often had to reorient myself to when things were happening. When the epilogue came around, I was like “wait, how did we get here?” The rushed 90s movie “Where Are They Now?” final chapter and epilogue were also abrupt and jarring while simultaneously super neat and wrapped up with a bow, which was not great. 
 
There were also so many lost and buried plotlines. The most egregious is the Wes Jenkins plotline; so many subtle and unsubtle hints were dropped and left undiscussed until the epilogue with a quick explanation that needed so deserved more regarding the secondary plot of the accreditation renewal and the main plot of this romance. How do you give us a villain character and don’t show them being villainous? Why did I have to (quickly) put two and two together and wait until the end for confirmation? 
 
Like I said at the beginning of my review, I really wanted to like this book. I’ve been reading a lot of books with Black and Queer characters lately, so I was hopeful this would be another book I would wholeheartedly share with others, but I, unfortunately, cannot do that with this book. It just wasn’t a right fit for me. 

[Claire Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

One and Done is such an important book. In a world where 80% of the romance books sold last year were written by two white authors and feature straight protagonists, and where “diverse” representation is often reduced to a white main character and a BIPOC love interest, this proudly Black and openly queer novel is much needed. This delightful book tells the story of Dustin and Taylor, two successful Black gay professionals who meet by chance in a bar in San Francisco during a drag brunch. Will their initial impressions of each other hold or will their simmering physical attraction grow into something more substantial?

The story that follows hits a lot of favourite romance tropes – forced proximity, only one bed, miscommunication, and so on – but in a way that feels fresh and original. There was so much to like about this book but some of the things I particularly appreciated included the age and maturity of the main characters. It was so refreshing to read a queer romance which definitively asserts that there is life and love after the age of 30. Dustin also captured my heart and sympathy with his insecurities about his upbringing and how he was so deeply invested in being someone’s number 1. Similarly, I really loved how embedded into their community Taylor especially was. The friendships he had and the way he was able to use his position to benefit others was genuinely inspirational. It is clear that the author has a particular appreciation for this kind of altruism as his dedication so movingly attests.

One thing that didn’t work so well for me was the way that some of the mannerism of certain characters were repeated so much it became irritating. In one conversation between Taylor, his best friend Markell, and a drag queen Manessa, the drag queen tongue pops almost every time she speaks. This ended up feeling unbelievably overdone and stereotypical and really took away from the depth of the conversation the characters were trying to have.

Overall though this was a thoroughly engaging and enjoyable read. It took me less than a day to finish and I look forward to engaging with more of this author’s work.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.