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Good Boy
It’s summer 2024 and the start of Judson’s final year of grad school. He’s supposed to have his life figured out by now, but actually he feels more doomed than ever. No job prospects, no boyfriend, and he still has to hide his sexuality from his religious family. The only thing he has accomplished is developing an increasingly concerning dogboy porn addiction.
He’s giving himself until the end of the school year to line up a plan for the future and find a nice canon boyfriend to maybe bring home to his family—but with only a temporary research assistantship studying politics on TikTok with an irritatingly smart and attractive right-wing colleague, and his meddling older sister suddenly meddling even harder, achieving the stable life he wants seems to be becoming even more impossible…
Good Boy is an academia-set m/m literary romantic comedy that contains explicit scenes.
He’s giving himself until the end of the school year to line up a plan for the future and find a nice canon boyfriend to maybe bring home to his family—but with only a temporary research assistantship studying politics on TikTok with an irritatingly smart and attractive right-wing colleague, and his meddling older sister suddenly meddling even harder, achieving the stable life he wants seems to be becoming even more impossible…
Good Boy is an academia-set m/m literary romantic comedy that contains explicit scenes.
423 pages, Paperback
Published May 23, 2025
About the author
Carey Sass
1 book4 followersCarey Sass is a writer from Michigan. Her debut novel, Good Boy, was a finalist for the 2026 Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Romance. She holds an M.A. in Media Studies from Michigan State University and now devotes all of her time to her passions: writing, internet culture, foreign films, and menswear.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 27, 2026
I usually reserve my five-star ratings for books I know I’ll reread. I don’t think this is a reread for me, and yet, five stars still feels absolutely right.
First, the fact that this is a debut is kind of astonishing. The writing is confident, controlled, and (blessedly) well edited. Stylistically, this is not written like most MM romance. It’s told in a single-POV, third-person retrospective narrative style, almost as if the narrator is recounting events after the fact, and the result feels far closer to literary fiction than genre romance.
The book spans the late summer and fall before the 2024 election through the months after. I won’t lie: that timeline is not just a fresh wound, it’s a festering one, and parts of this were genuinely hard to sit with because who, exactly, wants to relive that nightmare. But it’s also honest in a way that very few romances are willing to be.
What really stood out to me is that no one here is one-dimensional. There were characters I wanted to villainize, people I expected to hate, and then couldn’t. Everyone is nuanced, complicated, and human. That alone is rare in MM romance. Honestly, I’m not even sure I would classify this as an MM romance, despite the presence of an HEA (though “happy for now” feels more accurate). There are multiple love interests, so if you need your MCs to only ever touch each other, this may not be for you. But again, this book isn’t trying to be a traditional romance. Go into it expecting a more elevated piece of fiction that happens to center on men and relationships.
I was also struck by how convincingly the author captures male interiority. I was genuinely surprised to learn the author is a woman; the voice reads so specifically male, right down to the Reddit porn references that feel painfully accurate to a certain age and internet-soaked generation. At the same time, she captures Gen Z in a way that feels observant rather than try-hard. And then, somehow, you also get a line about someone hitting the top of a trunk with “the Fonzie jukebox punch.” If you can write both of those convincingly, I’m impressed. (Maybe she’s Gen X with Gen Z kids? That’s my working theory.)
The narrator himself is neurotic, flawed, and a bit unreliable, almost certainly hotter than he thinks he is, and I think he should be pursuing a career as a fashion influencer instead of academia. I kept googling the clothes he wore and found myself longing for a vintage Jil Sander t-shirt, which was very refreshing after the last book I read where the “fabulous twink” wore a cable-knit sweater with a faux-fur collar. I am, clearly, still not over it. 😅
Jokes aside, I really appreciated the book’s very specific ode to fashion and style. There’s a clear commentary on consumerism…how we use it as a dopamine hit, how conspicuous consumption and name brands can function as self-esteem scaffolding…but it also paints a vivid picture of a gay man with impeccable taste. Judd struck me as one of those people who is effortlessly chic even in Adidas track pants and Reeboks. And let’s be honest: there are a lot of gay men who truly understand style, but very few books that are this specific about it. “A perfectly tailored suit with a black shirt and no tie” is a cop-out.
This book is thoughtful, uncomfortable at times, emotionally intelligent, and quietly ambitious. It’s doing something different—and doing it well. I may add to this review later once more thoughts settle, but for now I’ll just say this: read this book, and leave a review. It’s criminally underrated at the moment.
First, the fact that this is a debut is kind of astonishing. The writing is confident, controlled, and (blessedly) well edited. Stylistically, this is not written like most MM romance. It’s told in a single-POV, third-person retrospective narrative style, almost as if the narrator is recounting events after the fact, and the result feels far closer to literary fiction than genre romance.
The book spans the late summer and fall before the 2024 election through the months after. I won’t lie: that timeline is not just a fresh wound, it’s a festering one, and parts of this were genuinely hard to sit with because who, exactly, wants to relive that nightmare. But it’s also honest in a way that very few romances are willing to be.
What really stood out to me is that no one here is one-dimensional. There were characters I wanted to villainize, people I expected to hate, and then couldn’t. Everyone is nuanced, complicated, and human. That alone is rare in MM romance. Honestly, I’m not even sure I would classify this as an MM romance, despite the presence of an HEA (though “happy for now” feels more accurate). There are multiple love interests, so if you need your MCs to only ever touch each other, this may not be for you. But again, this book isn’t trying to be a traditional romance. Go into it expecting a more elevated piece of fiction that happens to center on men and relationships.
I was also struck by how convincingly the author captures male interiority. I was genuinely surprised to learn the author is a woman; the voice reads so specifically male, right down to the Reddit porn references that feel painfully accurate to a certain age and internet-soaked generation. At the same time, she captures Gen Z in a way that feels observant rather than try-hard. And then, somehow, you also get a line about someone hitting the top of a trunk with “the Fonzie jukebox punch.” If you can write both of those convincingly, I’m impressed. (Maybe she’s Gen X with Gen Z kids? That’s my working theory.)
The narrator himself is neurotic, flawed, and a bit unreliable, almost certainly hotter than he thinks he is, and I think he should be pursuing a career as a fashion influencer instead of academia. I kept googling the clothes he wore and found myself longing for a vintage Jil Sander t-shirt, which was very refreshing after the last book I read where the “fabulous twink” wore a cable-knit sweater with a faux-fur collar. I am, clearly, still not over it. 😅
Jokes aside, I really appreciated the book’s very specific ode to fashion and style. There’s a clear commentary on consumerism…how we use it as a dopamine hit, how conspicuous consumption and name brands can function as self-esteem scaffolding…but it also paints a vivid picture of a gay man with impeccable taste. Judd struck me as one of those people who is effortlessly chic even in Adidas track pants and Reeboks. And let’s be honest: there are a lot of gay men who truly understand style, but very few books that are this specific about it. “A perfectly tailored suit with a black shirt and no tie” is a cop-out.
This book is thoughtful, uncomfortable at times, emotionally intelligent, and quietly ambitious. It’s doing something different—and doing it well. I may add to this review later once more thoughts settle, but for now I’ll just say this: read this book, and leave a review. It’s criminally underrated at the moment.
January 28, 2026
This morning I read a good review of this book (thank you Daje) and decided I needed to give it a try.
The thing is, I really love mm romances. The smuttier the better 😄 In real live I do admit I have a soft spot for these types of books, but I then also always claim I would love to read books with the same theme (or at least with a lgbtq background) but with more substance. And to be honest, those books exist but I don’t read them because I love the easy smutty stuff that just takes me away and doesn’t cost any energy to read.
This book sounded like a great compromise. Something I would enjoy and actually would tell people about. 😬
Guess what 🤣 It was! It is! It feels so real! I know I’m not a 25 year old boy with Gen Z issues. So maybe I’m just projecting my own young adulthood angst memories on what I know about young gay guys. And maybe that’s just what the author did as well, since she apparently is also an older woman (as in older than 25, no idea what her age is). I just felt it was the most authentic mm book I’ve ever read.
It’s not really a romance book to be honest. More a coming of age book with some sexy (but not really that smutty) scenes. And it kind of feels like it ends with a HFN. It might even be a HEA.
Some things about the characters: Judd is dramatic, but so relatable! Well for me anyway 😄
Felix didn’t start out to be very interesting or lovable but he definitely grew on me. Russ… Did not like him at all. The way he handled their first bump in the road? OMG. And I don’t want to spoil to much but he definitely did say what Judd thought he said!
The parents were the worst. I really hate the “hate the sin, love the sinner” kind of thing. But I think this was even worse. “Are you now judging me for being homophobic?” Yes you bitch! That’s not something gay people should have to accept. And Russ should have trusted Judd’s judgment on that. Caro was a great sister though.
It is a book that deserves way more attention than it got until now. Go read it! It’s lovely. And incredibly well written, especially for a debut.
The thing is, I really love mm romances. The smuttier the better 😄 In real live I do admit I have a soft spot for these types of books, but I then also always claim I would love to read books with the same theme (or at least with a lgbtq background) but with more substance. And to be honest, those books exist but I don’t read them because I love the easy smutty stuff that just takes me away and doesn’t cost any energy to read.
This book sounded like a great compromise. Something I would enjoy and actually would tell people about. 😬
Guess what 🤣 It was! It is! It feels so real! I know I’m not a 25 year old boy with Gen Z issues. So maybe I’m just projecting my own young adulthood angst memories on what I know about young gay guys. And maybe that’s just what the author did as well, since she apparently is also an older woman (as in older than 25, no idea what her age is). I just felt it was the most authentic mm book I’ve ever read.
It’s not really a romance book to be honest. More a coming of age book with some sexy (but not really that smutty) scenes. And it kind of feels like it ends with a HFN. It might even be a HEA.
Some things about the characters: Judd is dramatic, but so relatable! Well for me anyway 😄
Felix didn’t start out to be very interesting or lovable but he definitely grew on me. Russ… Did not like him at all. The way he handled their first bump in the road? OMG. And I don’t want to spoil to much but he definitely did say what Judd thought he said!
The parents were the worst. I really hate the “hate the sin, love the sinner” kind of thing. But I think this was even worse. “Are you now judging me for being homophobic?” Yes you bitch! That’s not something gay people should have to accept. And Russ should have trusted Judd’s judgment on that. Caro was a great sister though.
It is a book that deserves way more attention than it got until now. Go read it! It’s lovely. And incredibly well written, especially for a debut.
February 1, 2026
Man I love a banger by a debut author with fewer than 20 ratings on Goodreads.
January 27, 2026
One Million Stars!!!!
Yes yes yes!!
I loved the growth and the progression and the coming of age in such a short time.
I can't believe this was a debut. I can't believe it took me so long to read this!!!!
Yes yes yes!!
I loved the growth and the progression and the coming of age in such a short time.
I can't believe this was a debut. I can't believe it took me so long to read this!!!!
December 31, 2025
My insides felt scooped out by how much I related to parts of Judson in this. I was weeping with laughter about his comments about feeling like an incel just loading up the reddit webpage. And also justifying a $500 jumper purchase while at the same time time feeling guilt about the situation in Gaza and donating $10 to charity while neurotically going through life trying to get one’s shit together (in an excellent outfit) without having an existentialist crisis.
The epilogue was a real highlight, all the important loose ends wrapped up without anyone adopting 3 children out of nowhere.
I have added an Elder Statesman Ski Patrol sweater to my Depop searches.
This is a really excellent debut.
The epilogue was a real highlight, all the important loose ends wrapped up without anyone adopting 3 children out of nowhere.
I have added an Elder Statesman Ski Patrol sweater to my Depop searches.
This is a really excellent debut.
June 19, 2025
Actually hilarious and deeply relatable if you're also a neurotic.
March 23, 2026
Wow. This book really surprised me. I randomly came across it last night, grabbed it on KU, and stayed up way too late reading it (and then spent most of my workday finishing it lol). It was very different from most MM books I've read - yes there was a big focus on romance and Judd was looking for love, but the story was mostly about his individual growth outside of romantic relationships. My heart hurt for him when he had to come out to his parents, and I related way too much to his anxious attachment and how he freaked out while waiting for a cute guy to text him back. Judd just felt SO REAL. His voice was unique and fun and gave me a bit of anxiety. I absolutely loved all of his outfits (he was so stylish!) and how he kept comparing Felix to hot French men despite Felix being a full-blooded American who owned a gun and occasionally wore a MAGA hat.
It's funny but Judd reminded me a lot of my younger self. One, I'm also known to make bad financial decisions and splurge on expensive stuff online to feel better when I'm down. Two, I met my husband at 26, so when I was 25 I was still dealing with dating around and the whole "why haven't they texted me back" and "we had one date but it was perfect and I'm already planning our wedding in my head". It fucking sucked. I was seriously anxiously-attached to people I dated, and Judd totally transported me back to those years when I'd pine after unavailable people who couldn't communicate for shit. It almost felt triggering in a way, but I was glad to see that Judd seemed to learn and grow from it. I wanted to slap some of the men he went out with, and I wanted to pull Judd into a tight hug and keep him safe from guys that didn't deserve him. His experiences were very realistic, though - we've all been ghosted before, or had someone want something casual while we hoped for something serious. It sucks but it's life, and while I'm not sure what the future holds for Judd and the guy he did end up with, I feel like Judd will eventually have a very happy and very stable relationship with someone who loves him the way he should be loved. I have lots of hope for him. Maybe he'll be the academic married to a politician and with an adopted child like Landon in the future.
Anyway, I'm really glad I read this, and I'm looking forward to more books by this author.
It's funny but Judd reminded me a lot of my younger self. One, I'm also known to make bad financial decisions and splurge on expensive stuff online to feel better when I'm down. Two, I met my husband at 26, so when I was 25 I was still dealing with dating around and the whole "why haven't they texted me back" and "we had one date but it was perfect and I'm already planning our wedding in my head". It fucking sucked. I was seriously anxiously-attached to people I dated, and Judd totally transported me back to those years when I'd pine after unavailable people who couldn't communicate for shit. It almost felt triggering in a way, but I was glad to see that Judd seemed to learn and grow from it. I wanted to slap some of the men he went out with, and I wanted to pull Judd into a tight hug and keep him safe from guys that didn't deserve him. His experiences were very realistic, though - we've all been ghosted before, or had someone want something casual while we hoped for something serious. It sucks but it's life, and while I'm not sure what the future holds for Judd and the guy he did end up with, I feel like Judd will eventually have a very happy and very stable relationship with someone who loves him the way he should be loved. I have lots of hope for him. Maybe he'll be the academic married to a politician and with an adopted child like Landon in the future.
Anyway, I'm really glad I read this, and I'm looking forward to more books by this author.
February 8, 2026
This is character focused and something of a belated coming of age novel. Unfortunately, this book seems to be torn between more literary ambitions and genre romance.
What struck me the most about this book is that Judd’s point of view felt so true to my generation.
Judd is intensely self-conscious and so eager to be perceived in a certain way. The author can be unsparing in how she writes him. Unfortunately, the spiky scrutiny of Judd isn’t sustained, as the book starts to veer towards a romantic resolution for Judd. I don’t think it’s a writing style that’s incompatible with romance, but this book seemed to think so! I thought the writing sort of shrunk itself to accomodate the romantic beats when it really didn’t have to.
Ultimately, Judd’s romantic resolution felt unconvincing to me in its certainty, and I think towards the end, it narrowed the focus of the book in a way that also felt unconvincing.
The book would also have benefited from more detail about Judd’s work
Still, it's a fun read. And the book is very funny!
I'll definitely tune in to what this author releases next.
Some things I enjoyed:
- I loved Judd and Felix communicating via Frank Bidart poems. I will now associate Frank Bidart with his own actual poems and this book, instead of James Franco.
- This book makes great use of Frank Bidart in general.
- The slow unfolding of how homophobic is Judd’s family, really was well done.
- Both Judd and Felix have some truly unattractive flaws, which is quite rare in stories that are ultimately romances. Like, Judd has so many pathetic qualities - he posts selfies of himself crying on social media! He's nowhere near as principled or smart as he thinks he is. And Felix is so smug. And they are both so pretentious! It's great. It would be greater if the story doesn't collapse into a romance.
- Annotating books is so romanticised that it’s hilarious when Judd is actively repulsed by Felix’s annotations in his copy of Queer.
- The sheer drama of Judd apologising for a spat with Felix via a Bidart poem where the narrator bemoans his deceased love.
- Judd’s malleability with Russ, the older man he forms a relationship with, was very well written.
- The brief animation of the fake dating trope, which gives us this glorious dialogue when Felix and Judd try to get their stories straight: “And of course, on November fifth, we both voted for Kamala Harris.”
- SO many current pop culture references.
What struck me the most about this book is that Judd’s point of view felt so true to my generation.
Judd is intensely self-conscious and so eager to be perceived in a certain way. The author can be unsparing in how she writes him. Unfortunately, the spiky scrutiny of Judd isn’t sustained, as the book starts to veer towards a romantic resolution for Judd. I don’t think it’s a writing style that’s incompatible with romance, but this book seemed to think so! I thought the writing sort of shrunk itself to accomodate the romantic beats when it really didn’t have to.
Ultimately, Judd’s romantic resolution felt unconvincing to me in its certainty, and I think towards the end, it narrowed the focus of the book in a way that also felt unconvincing.
The book would also have benefited from more detail about Judd’s work
Still, it's a fun read. And the book is very funny!
I'll definitely tune in to what this author releases next.
Some things I enjoyed:
- I loved Judd and Felix communicating via Frank Bidart poems. I will now associate Frank Bidart with his own actual poems and this book, instead of James Franco.
- This book makes great use of Frank Bidart in general.
- The slow unfolding of how homophobic is Judd’s family, really was well done.
- Both Judd and Felix have some truly unattractive flaws, which is quite rare in stories that are ultimately romances. Like, Judd has so many pathetic qualities - he posts selfies of himself crying on social media! He's nowhere near as principled or smart as he thinks he is. And Felix is so smug. And they are both so pretentious! It's great. It would be greater if the story doesn't collapse into a romance.
- Annotating books is so romanticised that it’s hilarious when Judd is actively repulsed by Felix’s annotations in his copy of Queer.
- The sheer drama of Judd apologising for a spat with Felix via a Bidart poem where the narrator bemoans his deceased love.
- Judd’s malleability with Russ, the older man he forms a relationship with, was very well written.
- The brief animation of the fake dating trope, which gives us this glorious dialogue when Felix and Judd try to get their stories straight: “And of course, on November fifth, we both voted for Kamala Harris.”
- SO many current pop culture references.
April 16, 2026
5 very hard earned stars
This book is a very well written book about a head case and a very unlikable character. I did not want them to end up together and I will not confirm for the reader if they do. Most of the time I found the MC/narrator to be an annoying and pretentious young man who name drops fashion, obscure foreign films & actors, and quotes (imo) bad poetry. I questioned at times whether this was the author being this way, or the character. I think (95% sure) that it’s the character. Ultimately I found the MC to be one of the most genuine and believable 25 year olds that I have read in a long time. I went to school and grad school with people like Judson. I lived with someone in undergrad who very much was the female version of this character. I loved the story. I loved how flawed AND righteous Judson was. This was a refreshing read after all the trope-y swill I’ve been reading lately, so thank you and I highly recommend!
This book is a very well written book about a head case and a very unlikable character. I did not want them to end up together and I will not confirm for the reader if they do. Most of the time I found the MC/narrator to be an annoying and pretentious young man who name drops fashion, obscure foreign films & actors, and quotes (imo) bad poetry. I questioned at times whether this was the author being this way, or the character. I think (95% sure) that it’s the character. Ultimately I found the MC to be one of the most genuine and believable 25 year olds that I have read in a long time. I went to school and grad school with people like Judson. I lived with someone in undergrad who very much was the female version of this character. I loved the story. I loved how flawed AND righteous Judson was. This was a refreshing read after all the trope-y swill I’ve been reading lately, so thank you and I highly recommend!
December 10, 2025
Never have i put a book over my eyes in mortification so much, never have i read a book that was more for me.
I want to recommend it to everyone in the world but I can't recommend it to anyone.
This is my new favorite book of all time.
I want to recommend it to everyone in the world but I can't recommend it to anyone.
This is my new favorite book of all time.
April 9, 2026
One of my favourite reads of the last few years. Honestly, unputdownable, and one of the wittiest books I’ve read in a long time. Not a time period I would have thought I’d enjoy reading about but it was so good, and incredible use of pop culture references.
July 2, 2025
Alternately funny and thoughtful, hot, cringe and heart breaking. An excellent snap shot of life in 2024. I absolutely hate the cover and the title though.
June 7, 2025
Finally a well written book with a solid plot and good chemistry/tension between the protagonist and the main love interest. Really impressive debut for this author.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews