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Loving Ashley
2 men, 1 night, 0 consequences...well, maybe not zero.
When Ashley, a people-pleasing hopeless romantic, is stood up on the night of his birthday by his boyfriend of 5 years, he must find the strength to sever ties. He realizes that if he slides back into that unfulfilling cycle, he may never be available for the fairy tale love he has wanted since grade school.
Micheaux, a no-nonsense romantic, has put much-needed distance between himself and a recent set of heartbreaks by moving back to his hometown, Costley Nance. Since laying eyes on Ashley, Micheaux has wanted nothing more than to risk another possible heartache by adding Ashley into his life full-time.
A CHANCE MEETING AT A NEIGHBORHOOD BODEGA LATE AT NIGHT HAS ASHLEY & MICHEAUX JUGGLING FAMILY ISSUES, LOYALTY, PAST MISTAKES, AND GROWING PAINS, IN HOPES OF SECURING THEIR HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
When Ashley, a people-pleasing hopeless romantic, is stood up on the night of his birthday by his boyfriend of 5 years, he must find the strength to sever ties. He realizes that if he slides back into that unfulfilling cycle, he may never be available for the fairy tale love he has wanted since grade school.
Micheaux, a no-nonsense romantic, has put much-needed distance between himself and a recent set of heartbreaks by moving back to his hometown, Costley Nance. Since laying eyes on Ashley, Micheaux has wanted nothing more than to risk another possible heartache by adding Ashley into his life full-time.
A CHANCE MEETING AT A NEIGHBORHOOD BODEGA LATE AT NIGHT HAS ASHLEY & MICHEAUX JUGGLING FAMILY ISSUES, LOYALTY, PAST MISTAKES, AND GROWING PAINS, IN HOPES OF SECURING THEIR HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
- GenresM M Romance
364 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 13, 2025
18 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 10, 2025
Real rating: 1.75
There are about 7 trillion nerves in the human body and Ashley has managed to get on every single one of mine.
I do not love Ashley. In fact, I think I hate him.
I like to read books with older characters because I believe there’s a certain level of maturity there that an older age causes you to possess. That being said, that “maturity” was notably absent for all of the characters in this novel. Especially Ashley. The conflicts and tension can only be described as elementary. I had to actively remind myself that these men were 28 and 31, and not 16 years old. Which—is fitting, I suppose, considering Ashley can’t help but continuously say his relationship with Micheaux and his ex Salvatore is “straight from [his] high school fantasies.” I’m not even going to get into the fact that that alone warrants a head scratch for more than one reason.
There is an extreme and severe lack of communication at every turn. Not miscommunication. LACK of it. Ashley will use every opportunity to avoid saying what he’s actually feeling. It’s always “I want to tell him…,” “my mind is screaming at me to say….,” “I want him to know…” — then /say/ it. It’s very easy. One word in front of the other. Sound it out if you have to.
I think it would be an insult to romance books everywhere to consider this book as one of them, because it’s not. Not even close. Lust, maybe? By the end of the novel, I can confidently say that they are still strangers. Okay — /maybe/ acquaintances.
Ashley and Micheaux have maybe 6 actual conversations the entire book and 4 of them are spent THINKING about what they want to say to the other person, but don’t…for whatever reason. Though I will say that Micheaux really tried his best. Ashley is just an enemy of progress.
It’s also a bit puzzling how one can have a best friend for over a decade and have no clue what their brother looks like. Not even his name. On top of that, I genuinely have no idea what Micheaux looks like because his description changed at least 3 times in the span of, like, one week.
I can literally map out and pinpoint all of the ways this book could’ve been better, which is actually what upsets me the most. There’s so many unnecessary pieces to this story that it’s almost comical.
I—almost typed something very, very mean, but I just erased it.
I have a lot more to say, but I genuinely think it would be nicer if I didn’t. So I’ll stop here. But if you took a shot for every time the word “bro” was written in this novel — a whopping 180 times, 318 of you include “brother”, you’d need to be placed as the number one recipient on every single transplant list in the entire world for a new liver by 8 pm tonight.
There are about 7 trillion nerves in the human body and Ashley has managed to get on every single one of mine.
I do not love Ashley. In fact, I think I hate him.
I like to read books with older characters because I believe there’s a certain level of maturity there that an older age causes you to possess. That being said, that “maturity” was notably absent for all of the characters in this novel. Especially Ashley. The conflicts and tension can only be described as elementary. I had to actively remind myself that these men were 28 and 31, and not 16 years old. Which—is fitting, I suppose, considering Ashley can’t help but continuously say his relationship with Micheaux and his ex Salvatore is “straight from [his] high school fantasies.” I’m not even going to get into the fact that that alone warrants a head scratch for more than one reason.
There is an extreme and severe lack of communication at every turn. Not miscommunication. LACK of it. Ashley will use every opportunity to avoid saying what he’s actually feeling. It’s always “I want to tell him…,” “my mind is screaming at me to say….,” “I want him to know…” — then /say/ it. It’s very easy. One word in front of the other. Sound it out if you have to.
I think it would be an insult to romance books everywhere to consider this book as one of them, because it’s not. Not even close. Lust, maybe? By the end of the novel, I can confidently say that they are still strangers. Okay — /maybe/ acquaintances.
Ashley and Micheaux have maybe 6 actual conversations the entire book and 4 of them are spent THINKING about what they want to say to the other person, but don’t…for whatever reason. Though I will say that Micheaux really tried his best. Ashley is just an enemy of progress.
It’s also a bit puzzling how one can have a best friend for over a decade and have no clue what their brother looks like. Not even his name. On top of that, I genuinely have no idea what Micheaux looks like because his description changed at least 3 times in the span of, like, one week.
I can literally map out and pinpoint all of the ways this book could’ve been better, which is actually what upsets me the most. There’s so many unnecessary pieces to this story that it’s almost comical.
I—almost typed something very, very mean, but I just erased it.
I have a lot more to say, but I genuinely think it would be nicer if I didn’t. So I’ll stop here. But if you took a shot for every time the word “bro” was written in this novel — a whopping 180 times, 318 of you include “brother”, you’d need to be placed as the number one recipient on every single transplant list in the entire world for a new liver by 8 pm tonight.
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June 7, 2025I’ll be back with less jumbled thoughts.
Thank you to the author for the ARC 🧡
Thank you to the author for the ARC 🧡
June 25, 2025
I don't even know where to start with this one. I HATE miscommunication tropes and while this book didn't have MISCOMMUNICATION it had lack of communication, and it was painful for me. NOT because the story wasn't good but because I know if I had been in Ashley's shoes I would have moved soo much more differently. BUT let's start from the beginning.
Ashley is a tiny little thing, a pretty boy who I was very pleased to see was NOT written as a stereotypical femme boy. No skirts, no snapping fingers, or dramatics. Don't get me wrong, I love my femme boys, but it was nice to see the break in stereotypical writing. Not all queer petite men are femme, and not all tall/bigger guys are masc.
Ashley is an educated career focused, a frat brother, who has amazing friendships with his two straight male besties, where they openly express affection and brotherly love. I was here for it.
So, here's the scoop, this book kicks off with Ashley excited to spend the night with his boo to celebrate his birthday. After being stood up he goes on a liquor run where he meets a possible love prospect. But his dope boy situationship stops by his house bleeding because he went and got himself shot.
This book wasn't a love triangle. It was Ashley trying to learn how to love properly. This man has spent the last 5 years being a side chick, a second thought, his fight or flight is on alert. He does not know how to act or respond to this new man trying to show him mature, safe, supportive love. This is real. I've seen and heard this scenario soo many times.
I was rooting for Ashley despite him pissing me off and wanting to slap the shit out of him and that dope boy more than once. Dude had a lot of audacity.
This was a story about choosing yourself, telling yourself that you are worthy and deserving of kindness and love.
I was NOT happy with the ending, but I wasn't mad either. This is a series and there was a lot going on. For instance, that dope boy who got shot, yeah, the police are looking for him. Another guy gets shot while driving his friend's car, I feel like we need to look into if that was an accident or a planned attack, there is chick who has two men tripping all over her, is that a possible story? Cause I could be down with a poly romance.
I'm excited for this series and look forward to the future books.
Ashley is a tiny little thing, a pretty boy who I was very pleased to see was NOT written as a stereotypical femme boy. No skirts, no snapping fingers, or dramatics. Don't get me wrong, I love my femme boys, but it was nice to see the break in stereotypical writing. Not all queer petite men are femme, and not all tall/bigger guys are masc.
Ashley is an educated career focused, a frat brother, who has amazing friendships with his two straight male besties, where they openly express affection and brotherly love. I was here for it.
So, here's the scoop, this book kicks off with Ashley excited to spend the night with his boo to celebrate his birthday. After being stood up he goes on a liquor run where he meets a possible love prospect. But his dope boy situationship stops by his house bleeding because he went and got himself shot.
This book wasn't a love triangle. It was Ashley trying to learn how to love properly. This man has spent the last 5 years being a side chick, a second thought, his fight or flight is on alert. He does not know how to act or respond to this new man trying to show him mature, safe, supportive love. This is real. I've seen and heard this scenario soo many times.
I was rooting for Ashley despite him pissing me off and wanting to slap the shit out of him and that dope boy more than once. Dude had a lot of audacity.
This was a story about choosing yourself, telling yourself that you are worthy and deserving of kindness and love.
I was NOT happy with the ending, but I wasn't mad either. This is a series and there was a lot going on. For instance, that dope boy who got shot, yeah, the police are looking for him. Another guy gets shot while driving his friend's car, I feel like we need to look into if that was an accident or a planned attack, there is chick who has two men tripping all over her, is that a possible story? Cause I could be down with a poly romance.
I'm excited for this series and look forward to the future books.
July 4, 2025
This story was written so beautifully!! I enjoy experiencing the vulnerability, brotherhood, and black boy joy. 🥹
July 16, 2025
Debut book
This started out really strong. The characters are all pretty lovable. My favorite part was the friendship dynamics. I’m working on reading more own voice stories and I could definitely tell a few differences that make reading own voice dynamic. I think the author has some technical writing skills to work on. Like: repetitive recaps, formatting dialogue, contradictory statements, using overly descriptive language when simple sentences would have been more effective, and balancing POVs. These things took me out of the story quite a bit but for what was lacking in technique, the author made up for in relatable and interesting characters. It would have been nice to have all the ends tied up a little neater. To see Ashley not just talk about it but be about it. And I’m always going to want an epilogue when the ending is move of a HFN instead of HEA. For a new to me, newbie author I’m excited to see where things go.
This started out really strong. The characters are all pretty lovable. My favorite part was the friendship dynamics. I’m working on reading more own voice stories and I could definitely tell a few differences that make reading own voice dynamic. I think the author has some technical writing skills to work on. Like: repetitive recaps, formatting dialogue, contradictory statements, using overly descriptive language when simple sentences would have been more effective, and balancing POVs. These things took me out of the story quite a bit but for what was lacking in technique, the author made up for in relatable and interesting characters. It would have been nice to have all the ends tied up a little neater. To see Ashley not just talk about it but be about it. And I’m always going to want an epilogue when the ending is move of a HFN instead of HEA. For a new to me, newbie author I’m excited to see where things go.
August 8, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
M/M Romance- (*whispers* with me in the mirror 👀👀👀-who said that?!)
Now the mirror statement makes sense if you read the book😩
Activities occurred and then they went shopping for an office mirror😏😈
Some statements were made…blah, blah, blah- then someone implied future activities🥵🥵
But I digress.
Going through my timeline today, you can tell I had a good time with this book!
I originally purchased the ebook 6/15/25 but just now circled back to it.
I can confirm, old me had no clue what I was doing because I should have read this when I purchased it!
It was that good!
Regardless of your sexuality, Ashley is a representation of a lot of us.
We just want to have that magical love🪄
Now, let’s code switch the review tone:
Putting on my glasses for a more professional approach 🤓🤓🤓
⬇️
This book had me highlighting and saving quotes throughout the entire 300+ pages!
This story had a lot of depth.
——--
“pen game 🔏✅” moment:
I love how sexuality was shown, expressed, and given space to just be.
Not sure if I’m expressing that fully but I love that it is just a love story.
It’s a M/M romance but instead of using tropes/triggers like “homophobia” and hidden romance- it focuses solely on the excitement and growing pains of love.
Nothing wrong with authors who use those tropes. However, I believe this is what gave this story the ability to be universal.
As a heterosexual woman, I was able to see myself in Ashley.
“pen game 🔏✅” moment:
Our side characters. I cannot say enough about them and their side stories.
The author does an amazing job incorporating them throughout the story without overshadowing our main couple.
I believe there will be a book 2 that follows Ashley’s heterosexual male friend and his relationship woes.
———--
My only thought (not a critique) was the fluidity of Micheaux’s sexuality.
Not everyone will appreciate how that attraction could be especially with the backstory and overall storyline.
HOWEVER, I loved this book and would definitely recommend this read.
***Side note: Did Cian’s mother ever get someone to confirm her church member’s son because she was determined to get that tea served hot.
M/M Romance- (*whispers* with me in the mirror 👀👀👀-who said that?!)
Now the mirror statement makes sense if you read the book😩
Activities occurred and then they went shopping for an office mirror😏😈
Some statements were made…blah, blah, blah- then someone implied future activities🥵🥵
But I digress.
Going through my timeline today, you can tell I had a good time with this book!
I originally purchased the ebook 6/15/25 but just now circled back to it.
I can confirm, old me had no clue what I was doing because I should have read this when I purchased it!
It was that good!
Regardless of your sexuality, Ashley is a representation of a lot of us.
We just want to have that magical love🪄
Now, let’s code switch the review tone:
Putting on my glasses for a more professional approach 🤓🤓🤓
⬇️
This book had me highlighting and saving quotes throughout the entire 300+ pages!
This story had a lot of depth.
——--
“pen game 🔏✅” moment:
I love how sexuality was shown, expressed, and given space to just be.
Not sure if I’m expressing that fully but I love that it is just a love story.
It’s a M/M romance but instead of using tropes/triggers like “homophobia” and hidden romance- it focuses solely on the excitement and growing pains of love.
Nothing wrong with authors who use those tropes. However, I believe this is what gave this story the ability to be universal.
As a heterosexual woman, I was able to see myself in Ashley.
“pen game 🔏✅” moment:
Our side characters. I cannot say enough about them and their side stories.
The author does an amazing job incorporating them throughout the story without overshadowing our main couple.
I believe there will be a book 2 that follows Ashley’s heterosexual male friend and his relationship woes.
———--
My only thought (not a critique) was the fluidity of Micheaux’s sexuality.
Not everyone will appreciate how that attraction could be especially with the backstory and overall storyline.
HOWEVER, I loved this book and would definitely recommend this read.
***Side note: Did Cian’s mother ever get someone to confirm her church member’s son because she was determined to get that tea served hot.
October 10, 2025
This was such a fun read. It’s my first M/M read in a while. I loved how Rhyne wrote the friendships between the male characters. They were supportive and affectionate when they needed to be and held them accountable when stuff wasnt adding up. I felt like Ashley/Micheaux had that instant love and attraction and I loved the way Micheaux pursued Ashley and stood 10-toes on communication and being understanding. Micheaux’s backstory was truly heartbreaking but his ability to be vulnerable and express himself was beautiful. Ashley on the other hand was a bit irritating. There were plenty of moments when I wanted to snap some sense into Ashley about how he was going about his relationships and tbh even by the end I felt like Ashley still had some growing up to do. I believe before he and Micheaux can really have forever he’s going to need to go to therapy because I don’t believe he truly knows how he wants to be loved, let alone love himself.
The side characters felt real in all aspects, the well meaning but slightly homophobic parents. The momma who is pushing for grand kids. The Best friends who are down by any means. This book has it all. Beli is most definitely my favorite and I hope we get to see him find love. I’m excited to see what happens in the next book. GOOD JOB RHYNE!
The side characters felt real in all aspects, the well meaning but slightly homophobic parents. The momma who is pushing for grand kids. The Best friends who are down by any means. This book has it all. Beli is most definitely my favorite and I hope we get to see him find love. I’m excited to see what happens in the next book. GOOD JOB RHYNE!
February 3, 2026
Insert strong words for Mr Ashley here...because i have many.
Okay this started out nice and sweet, i was enjoying it. And then the main character showed his true colors and i hated him immediately. Like bro WHYYYYYYYYYYY?????
and speaking of 'bro', if i don't see that word for the next five years i am good.
Micheaux was way too good for this guy. he was sweet and loving and SUPER kind. He deserved someone better.
i don't like miscommunication tropes but this is worse than a miscommunication trope. this is a confusion to the infinity max trope.
The third act break felt forced and out of nowhere, and of course Mr Ashley handled it like a toddler just learning to say words.
I saw this book on instagram from someone i follow, i picked it up because i haven't seen a lot of black MM books. i will stick with this series however, because i believe the writing would get better and the stories would improve.
That being said if anyone is interested please not that this is just one persons opinion on a book. read it and form yours.
Okay this started out nice and sweet, i was enjoying it. And then the main character showed his true colors and i hated him immediately. Like bro WHYYYYYYYYYYY?????
and speaking of 'bro', if i don't see that word for the next five years i am good.
Micheaux was way too good for this guy. he was sweet and loving and SUPER kind. He deserved someone better.
i don't like miscommunication tropes but this is worse than a miscommunication trope. this is a confusion to the infinity max trope.
The third act break felt forced and out of nowhere, and of course Mr Ashley handled it like a toddler just learning to say words.
I saw this book on instagram from someone i follow, i picked it up because i haven't seen a lot of black MM books. i will stick with this series however, because i believe the writing would get better and the stories would improve.
That being said if anyone is interested please not that this is just one persons opinion on a book. read it and form yours.
January 3, 2026
Feels so familiar yet is new at the same time
I purchased this book a couple months ago and have been sitting on reading it due to other obligations until one day after Christmas I decided to read it and boy does this feel familiar reminds me of the books that were made when I was growing up but modern (the nickname lil bit coming from bboy blues felt like a cute nod to something of the past). Its a cute story about love loss friendships and redemption. If i had one thing I'd love them to address in book 2 its Cian and Micheaux restoring their relationship to be more brotherly. Outside of that I really enjoyed this i can't wait to see the show that comes from this.
There was one moment that irritated me from Ashley but the way they explained it as a part of the failings of a person not fully healed from a past relationship made it work better. Not too much spice but the story more than makes up for it. Would put this on my please read list.
I purchased this book a couple months ago and have been sitting on reading it due to other obligations until one day after Christmas I decided to read it and boy does this feel familiar reminds me of the books that were made when I was growing up but modern (the nickname lil bit coming from bboy blues felt like a cute nod to something of the past). Its a cute story about love loss friendships and redemption. If i had one thing I'd love them to address in book 2 its Cian and Micheaux restoring their relationship to be more brotherly. Outside of that I really enjoyed this i can't wait to see the show that comes from this.
There was one moment that irritated me from Ashley but the way they explained it as a part of the failings of a person not fully healed from a past relationship made it work better. Not too much spice but the story more than makes up for it. Would put this on my please read list.
October 13, 2025
Loving Ashley is best described as a rollercoaster. The characters are lovable but in an annoying way. It’s like they cannot help themselves. I would absolutely recommend each character to go to therapy! It’s a cute love story, but I think this book came with too many side plots that the author didn’t really care enough about to explore or wrap up. Sometimes the love story plot itself felt like a side plot. There were quite a few plot holes, side characters, and filler chapters that took me out of the story because they didn’t add to the story. The author’s grammatical errors and formatting for dialogue was also distracting for the entire book. The author does an excellent job at making you feel what the characters feel but fails at fully communicating what they are feeling.
July 10, 2025
I'd definitely read Coleman again! He writes a full, juicy, REAL story and if I'm going to read MM I want to read it from authors who live and love MLM.
I felt it was a tad too full and overwritten. Some scenes could have been cut down or removed but nothing in general stands out. Just felt like I was dragging myself through it though I was interested in the story and wanted to see how it played out. Pacing is hard, and I don't have much experience reading MM so will stay in a safe zone.
Brang on book two, now!
I felt it was a tad too full and overwritten. Some scenes could have been cut down or removed but nothing in general stands out. Just felt like I was dragging myself through it though I was interested in the story and wanted to see how it played out. Pacing is hard, and I don't have much experience reading MM so will stay in a safe zone.
Brang on book two, now!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 30, 2025
love love love it
I genuinely enjoyed this book by this author and I can’t wait to explore more of his work.. The friendship between Ashley, avian, and Beli reminds me of my two best friends . The banter between them was so funny.. Beli had me weak when he knocked them out cause why would he do that lml.. overall I loved this book and can’t wait for more to come
I genuinely enjoyed this book by this author and I can’t wait to explore more of his work.. The friendship between Ashley, avian, and Beli reminds me of my two best friends . The banter between them was so funny.. Beli had me weak when he knocked them out cause why would he do that lml.. overall I loved this book and can’t wait for more to come
November 9, 2025
My heart!
As a new to me author, I'm so delighted I discovered Rhayne Coleman. This was excellent, authentic storytelling, and I'm glad I picked up this love story. Now I wanna know what happens with Beli!
As a new to me author, I'm so delighted I discovered Rhayne Coleman. This was excellent, authentic storytelling, and I'm glad I picked up this love story. Now I wanna know what happens with Beli!
August 24, 2025
Ashley and Michaeux
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews