Jacked

Gymbos #1

by K.M. Neuhold

I'm starting to think hooking up with my gym bro roommate might be kind of gay…

The thing about guys is that we communicate on a physical, primal level. A hearty slap on the backside just means “good game, bro”. Some good old fashioned roughhousing just means we’re comfortable with each other. Some late night stress relief? Just dudes being dudes…

Right?

If I were gay, I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about what his lips taste like. I'd want to spend all my time with him and miss him when he's not around. I would find his god awful cooking skills a little charming.

But none of that is true… almost none of it.

We’re just friends. Just roommates. Just a couple of guys doing what guys do.

Of course I love him like a bro, but I'm not falling in love with my roommate, no matter how cool and funny and jacked he is.


Nope, not gonna happen…

Jacked is a low angst, double bi-awakening, idiots to lovers with a pair of meat head roommates stumbling their way through falling in love with each other without even realizing it. Lots of wholesome masculinity, an Only One Sleeping Bag moment, and ‘Bro’ as a term of endearment.

Genres: M M Romance, Friends To Lovers, Romance, Contemporary, Sports, Forced Proximity, LGBT

276 pages, Paperback

First published October 3, 2025

About the author

K.M.Neuhold has long since been a romance junkie. When she’s not writing she’s reading or spending time snuggling with her husky or her husband. She fell in love with M/M romance last year and hasn’t been able to turn back. There’s nothing she loves more than love in all its forms.

Reviews

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE A LIL STRAIGHT JERKING OFF SIDE BY SIDE SESSION
✨Very straight, very demure, very non homo✨

I admit, I tried to pick this up a few weeks ago, and I was like HELL NAH, too cringe, can’t do this.
But then my mood was like…… GIRL PLEASE, YOU NEED HIMBO CRINGE IMMEDIATELY.


Was this book good?
Look, it had it’s moments where I felt joy, and that’s all that matters.

But if you were to do a drinking game where you need to drink a shot every time the MC’s stomach did a flip, a twist or a clench… Not only would you be very drunk by the end, you would also ✨be dead✨

But there was cute text exchanges and a double bi-awakening, hot beefy gym bro’s, side characters galore, simple set up with good execution and MY ALL TIME FAVE THING EVER…. an oblivious idiot.

Micro trope I love: when one MC is having a gay crisis, and the other is like… planning their future in a platonic homies hanging out together every day kinda way.
Like he’s thinking “I wonder if he’d go here with me” or “Would he wanna do this with me” because he ain’t realizing he inlove and wanna spend every minute together… 🤭



I had fun.
It’s not good.
But it hit the fkn spot.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ 4 stars ⭐️

“No homo?” he whispers softly. I bite the inside of my cheek.
Honestly, maybe homo?

TROPES:
💪🏼 Gym bros
💪🏼 Roommates
💪🏼 Friends to lovers
💪🏼 Double bi-awakening
💪🏼 Only one tent

This was ridiculously fun and the light, angst-free romance I needed. It was funny, silly and sexy. Himbros in love, found family, cute dates, dummies who don’t realize how gay they actually are.

Are we seriously going to do this? Whip our dicks out right here in the living room and see which one of us can edge longer?

SO HOT. Whatever we wanna call it — brojobs, jerking off together, edging competition — it’s hot as fuck. How they couldn’t resist looking at each other, enjoying each others moans, brushing their legs together…. Holy hell, I need to reread that part, hold on a sec.

“I can’t believe how long it took me to figure out that suffocating between a pair of beefy man titties is definitely the way I want to die.”

Both sexy and sweet, this was a blast form start to finish. It’s an easy feel-good read, and my face honestly hurts from smiling and giggling at these two bros falling in love.

He gasps, then whimpers. Fucking whimpers. Jesus, I could get addicted to turning this giant, muscled gym bro into a whining, panting mess.

That said, this isn’t a mind-altering piece of literature. Even within the genre, I’ve read at least three books very similar to this.
Still, it works for what it is, it let me not think about shit I didn’t want to think about, and I had a fun time while being my avoidant self. Win-win-win.

“Okay, that was at least a little bi,” he says, his pretty, kiss-swollen lips quirking into a teasing smile. I swallow hard and nod. “Yeah,” I agree. “It probably was.”

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review.

CW and NSFW info (spoilers):
- Mild homophobia (internalized and non)
- Mentions of parental death (past)
- Vers MCs
- Edging competition
- Brojobs
- Nipple play
- Sweat/armpit kink
- 69
- Flip-fuck

[Sjoukje · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book did not deliver. I know I know, a book with Gymbos in the title is always going to be a challenge. Knowing this author and the some good and some great books she delivered, I was expecting a lot.
Not this. Sorry.

The premise is already a bit challenging, I have to admit. Two straight dudes moving in together, one being a personal trainer, in a neighborhood called Boystown, working in an all guy gym and then jerking off together just boys being boys? That does not scream “read this book” to me. That almost sounds like a really ignorant book with lots of stupid jokes.

The thing is… I’ve read a lot from this author. And normally her books are really enjoyable and entertaining, and almost never homophobic or even touching on the subject of homophobia.

This book however has so much underlying and incredibly annoying homophobia in it. For example they jerk off together, and then they say things like “no homo?” “No homo” to each other. I know that’s not exactly the same as insulting each other by calling the other homo, but it kind of feels like they still do?
And at some point in the beginning Slater is looking at another guy’s dick, and since it’s apparently very impressive so he tells AJ about it. AJ then calls him out for it, saying “you’re not supposed to look at someone’s dick! That’s bad!” Why?
I know it’s really bad form to look at someone’s genitalia in a locker room, especially as a gay person in a perceived straight area. (And believe me, we definitely don’t, because we really are always a bit scared someone will take it the wrong way and that’s not a fun experience). But when you’re both supposedly straight, it’s not really a big deal I’d expect. Unless you want to tell the other person it’s bad because being gay is bad…

So many offhand remarks in this book that feel ignorant and homophobic. And that’s not fun to read. At all. Especially because they are surrounded by gay people.

And then the stupidity of the mc’s themselves, where they misunderstand literally everything. People who can have a job and pay their bills in time can not be that dumb. Also: they have sex and still call each other bro. 😱🤢🤮

So… sorry. I don’t think this book was for me. And I really hope the author goes back to write about gay men, instead of bisexual awakenings, because those books are way better from her hand.

Thanks to GRR and the author for the ARC. Sorry 😬 I really appreciated getting the book, but it was not what I expected.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, so funny!! I smiled the entire way through this book and there were so many laugh out loud moments.

AJ and Slater are so incredibly oblivious and they would totally be bestest bro's with Emmy Sanders' Brad from 10 Ways To Accidentally Fall In Love!

I loved how their relationship developed and you could feel their excitement, nerves and anxieties. The humour between them was great too especially the whole 'they were roommates' conversation, and the only one sleeping bag situation.

The sex scenes were actually fun too! Slater's obsession with AJ's chest was beyond entertaining!

Slater's way of coming out had me giggling too and it was nice to see Cas and Nolan again.

I also love the side characters that work at Sweat with AJ - I know I need to go back and read Bro Split - but I'm obsessed with Fender, Butch and Silas already.

*****
I received an ARC of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love dumb men with big hearts and big tits.

[Kseniia ✨️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

ВСІМ ГАЧІМУЧІ ЗА МІЙ РАХУНОК.
Легенька історія про дурненьких качків з великими цицьками та сталевими пресами, які проводять змагання з дрочки, ну, бо так роблять справжні бро.

"No homo?"
Honestly, maybe homo.

Подвійне бі-пробудження та від ідіотів до закоханих – це все, що мені треба для щастя останнім часом. Весело, мило та гаряче.
P.S. Але спітнілу пахву не обов'язково було лизати.

[purlpur · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

3.5⭐️
максимально вайбові дурники-качки 🏋️‍♂️🏋️‍♂️, які до останнього щиро вірять, що вони натурали (ніт) 😁

тут у нас просто хрестоматійне «no homo»:
➛ дрочити разом на витривалість - не геї
➛ дивитися порно, де хлопець робить те саме, і обговорювати це як справжні бро - не геї
➛ пускати слину на рельєфні тіла й накачані дупці чоловіків у залі - не геї
➛ уявляти всі можливі розпусні сценарії зі своїм сусідом - ну, ви зрозуміли, максимальний вайбік гетеро.

✍️ «немає кращої форми чоловічого єднання, ніж спільна дрочка»
база, дівчата, записуємо 🌚😆

це було весело, по-доброму крінжово, гаряче й прям добре, щоб розвантажити мозок після чогось важкого. моментами я правда нудьгувала, але під кінець ці два ведмедики таки розтопили моє серденько 🥰

і я рада, що все звелося до цієї істини:

✍️ «він кохає мене. і, що ще важливіше, я теж люблю себе. я люблю всі ті частини себе, яких я все життя, бляха, соромився і намагався приховати. бути чоловіком – це те, що я сам під цим маю на увазі. це і тягати залізо, і насаджуватися на член; це і любити спорт, і плакати на плечі у брата; це бути достатньо хоробрим, щоб бути собою, і покладатися на інших, коли мені це потрібно».

[martina (the life of a chaotic reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

i need more straight gym bros maybe-homoing into a relationship

[Evelyn Bella (there WILL be spoilers) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"No homo?"
'Honestly,' I thought, 'maybe homo.'

💀First sign of self awareness detected. Because how are you covered in another man's cum and saying no homo?

Those two words are being asked to do a lot of heavy lifting and they're simply not that jacked.

'Those are MY mountainous man titties to paw at!'

Heh. Ditched the maybe. Definitely homo.

This was okay. Double bi awakening without them being himbos but very delusional instead.

Also, probably the first book I've read where one MC is so into nipple play that he can cum from it.

Explains why Slater doesn't want anyone touching A. J's mountainous man titties.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gonna tell myself this is a true story about what actually happens between gym bros at gyms all across America.

[Cadiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bros being bros!

This book is fun, it's hilarious at times too as both AJ and Slater utterly fail at realising their admiration of each other's bodies is more than just gym bro envy.

It's also super sweet as AJ realises he's maybe grown up repressing a lot of bisexual feelings because of his dad's ignorance and old fashioned views on men having feelings, rather than deliberate homophobia.

Slater definitely had a advantage as his brother and best friend are both gay, and now together (their story is in a novella Only One Beach House), so when he gets feelings about his roommate, he's faster at acknowledging what's going on.

Things perhaps develop a little bit quickly but because they're both so lovely, I really didn't mind!

The gym setting is fun and there's loads of potential characters for future books.

[Notagingerninja · Rating 4 out of 5]

🏋️ Gym bros
🏋️ Double Bi-awakening
🏋️ Roommates

Let’s start this review by saying if you had to drink a shot everytime AJ or Slater said ‘Bro’ you’d be DOA 🪦

This was equal parts entertaining and ridiculous.

AJ and Slater both move to a new city and become roommates in “BoysTown”, an area known to be very queer friendly, unbeknownst to them.

The two men instantly become the bestest of friends, surpassing any previous friendships and become inseparable. Being ‘best friends’ Slater and AJ decide it’s normal practice for bros to have ‘wank’ sessions together on the regular, until a camping trip with AJ’s gym bros leads to AJ and Slater sharing a tent, and things become very confusing for the two “straight” men.

This was lighthearted, entertaining and had plenty of banter, but TBH when I hit the 70% mark I was ready for it to end.

HEA 💙🏋️

[Florence . · Rating 5 out of 5]

June 16 2026 reread

Upgraded to a 5 stars upon a re-read because past me was very clearly wrong, there has not often been a more clear 5 stars book for me.

******

First read on January 19 2026

4 “I’m past ready. I’m tired of waiting for the things I want in my life. I just want to start living it now.” stars

Mini-Blurb: Slater and AJ just moved to a new city and are roommates. As they start exploring their new surroundings, they start fantasizing about the other, which is weird because they are both straight …. And then suddenly things change.

“Falling in love with you wasn’t a choice, Slate. But even if it was… I would still choose you. Out of every single person in the world, I would pick you over and over, every single time.”

This book might have been made exactly for me, because a double bi-awakenings and two idiot gym bros in love is exactly what i’m looking for in a book and to be honest, it exceed all of my expectations, that were very high to begin with.

I always love reading about idiots in love and this one was just everything I was looking for and so much more. They hit it off right off the bath and had such good banter and I loved reading all of their interactions. They were just so perfect for each other in every way. Reading this book was the most fun I had reading a book in ages, I had a permanent smile on my face the entire time I read this one and I kept giggling out loud every 3 sentences.

The vibes in this book were just so right and I had a fantastic time reading it.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was a lot of fun to read! There’s nothing better than two completely straight gym bro roommates, realizing they aren’t so straight after all. I loved Slater and AJ’s story, and I’m already excited for all these side characters to get their own HEA’s.

[Jane aka Coughy019 (Safety info included) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tropes: roommates/friends to lovers
Feels: 2.75/5
Steam*: 2/5
Kinks: nipple play, flip fuck
Angst: low
HEA: HEA
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings/representation: homophobia, internalized homophobia, excessive use of the term bro, toxic masculinity
Cheating between MCs: No
Any cheating: No
Other person drama: they talk about their past hookups/exes, but neither of them are with anyone else after they meet. There are some moments where they are both ogling other guys and realizing that they are attracted to men in general, and not just each other... The number of moments there were and how long it persisted into the book was kind of unromantic.

3.5 stars

Slater is 30. He's always identified as straight. His brother and best friend are dating. He recently broke up with his girlfriend and he's moving to a new town for a new job. His brother sets him up with the roommate who is a friend of a friend. When he meets AJ, the roommate, he admires him because he's a beast of a man. AJ is starting work as a personal trainer at a gym nearby. AJ has also always identified as straight, and he was raised by a homophobic father.

They realize that they are living in boystown, a gay community, and as they are surrounded by gay men and hot gay men at the gym that they both go to where AJ works, they both start to have a conflict of, do they want to be the guys or do they want to f*** the guys. And they go through the conflict of do they like each other as really good friends, or are they attracted and falling for each other. AJ struggles a bit more with internalized homophobia and struggles a bit more to accept his sexuality.

This was a decent book. They were good as friends and they were both hot for each other, and supportive of each other. I thought the side characters were great, they added a lot of humor. It was funny how they were rooting for Slater and AJ's bi-awakenings, while also just being chill and supportive. I liked the running joke about Slater being a horrible cook.

Things I didn't like:
- For the first 65% of the book, Slater and AJ had such similar voices that I kept having to check who was who, and who was talking. It made it hard to follow along and it also made it hard to like the characters. The characters should have had distinct voices.

- Slater drives after a night out of drinking. He says he feels sober, but he has had too many drinks. I hate when a character drinks and drives.

- I found the use of the term bro to be excessive. And I didn't like when they used it as a term of endearment while they were hooking up. It just seemed like corny porn.

- I wish they were a little bit more emotionally mature. They always dude bro'd over emotional moments and avoided having some tough conversations. The happily ever after came a little too suddenly and unbelievably given their lack of emotional maturity.


Some notable moments:

"“Last one up is in charge of dinner,” he shouts, taking the stairs two at a time, his gym bag bouncing against his shoulder and his ass flexing in his tight shorts with every stride. I shake my head and chuckle. Normally, I can’t resist a challenge, but no way am I risking leaving him in charge of dinner. He wasn’t kidding when he said he can’t cook. French vanilla creamer in scrambled eggs isn’t even the worst of his food sins this week. He tried to make ramen on the stove yesterday using soy sauce instead of water to cook the noodles. It managed to be both completely uncooked and burned, and so salty I actually ended up Googling “how much salt can kill you?”"

"I don’t think I can “no homo” my way out of wanting to tongue fuck my bestie."

"CASPIAN:?!?!?! NOLAN: Wait… do you know what that shirt is implying? CASPIAN: Yeah, those are bi pride colors, dude. Are you bi? Is that what this is? You’re coming out to us with a picture in a group chat? CASPIAN: How are you just leaving us hanging like this? CASPIAN: Slate, where the fuck are you?"


*FYI about steam: I rate steam based on a combination of quality & quantity. I note kink separate from steam because I don't want to underrate steamy reads that don't have much kink.

**Note about spoilers: I like to comment on the plot of a book in reviews, so I almost always mark my reviews as containing spoilers. But I try to avoid spoiling the big dramatic moments! As a reader, I personally like to know what I'm getting into before I read a book so I know more about the content and if it's to my taste/mood, so I try to give that information in my reviews for myself when I'm considering rereading and also for other readers.

[Anna Ha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Оціночка 4,5 ⭐
Хороша історія з повною відсутністю сюжету, але дуже-дуже гаряча ❤️‍🔥, з гарним гумором 🤭 та повним відчуттям присутності.. Основна ідея книги - екзестенційна криза, бурхливе бі-пробудження та внутрішня боротьба з блоками, поставленими старшим консервативним поколінням..
Головні герої такі мужні, тестостеронові, "тупі" (їх слова, не мої) качки 😁
Початок книги прямо перевантажений всім занадто гетеросексуальним - думки героїв, виправдання в голові та мускулінні погляди на ситуації 😏
Гумор також прикольний.. Переїзд в гей-квартал одразу кагбе натякає.. 😁
Медвежатко ЕйДжей просто чудовий.. Описи його волохатості - це акцентна точка історії 🤣 (як і гіперчутливість його сосків - 🔥🫠гарячееее).. Ржала з фрази наприкінці книги про "волохаті пальці" 😂
І золотистий ретривер Слейтер такий няшний - мімімі 💞🫶🤭 Чудова пара) Було прикольно читати і спостерігати за їх розвитком відносин..
Величезне дякую за відсутність розриву у 3му акті 💃

[Vanessa GLP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice bros jajja 🫶

[Tare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating - 3.5 stars rounded up

This was OTT bros falling in love (heavy on the BRO). Two jocks (and they were roommates) realize they aren't as straight as they thought they were and falling in love.

[Angelina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝗡𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗼?” 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗹𝘆. 𝗜 𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗸. 
𝗛𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗼?

AJ and Slater are two of the most adorable idiots to ever be, and I loved this so much lmfao.

𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧:
- double bi awakening
- 'they were roommates!'
- idiots to lovers
- only one sleeping bag
- bro, affectionately

[Karina Liebiedieva · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10 Боже, яке дурне😄 Смішна книжуля, проте є мінуси. До Ейджея, спортивного тренера, ділити хату заїжджає Слейтер. Вони стають друганами, а потім зближуються. Проблема в тому, скільки вони ✨їбуться✨ у всіх сенсах перед тим, як поговорити про відносини. Хоча.. блін, я теж не люблю розмовляти😄 Зря нагнала, життєва книга, виходить

[Matthew Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes a book really does not need to be more than two idiots mutually masturbating their way into a committed relationship.

Jacked is not a book of great depth. There is very little angst, arguably none, virtually no plot outside the relationship, no villain, no looming threat and no third-act complication waiting to blow everything up at 82%. AJ and Slater meet, become roommates, immediately get along extremely well, start spending almost all their time together, and fairly quickly decide that side-by-side edging competitions on the couch are apparently a perfectly normal extension of male friendship.

So straight.

Or, as the novel repeatedly puts it, “no homo”. At least until they are forced to share a sleeping bag on a camping trip and finally arrive at the increasingly unavoidable conclusion: honestly, maybe homo?

This is ridiculous. It is also very sweet, occasionally cringy in a way I found more endearing than irritating, and exactly the sort of book where asking why nothing more dramatic is happening feels slightly beside the point. If you need substantial external conflict, intricate plots or deep psychological excavation from your romances, this is probably not going to do much for you. If the premise “two jacked gym bros realise that all the touching, mutual masturbation and desire to spend every moment together might indicate something beyond heterosexual friendship” works for you, then so will this book.

AJ and Slater have immediate chemistry, although I would struggle to argue they are especially distinct characters. There is a stereotype that a certain type of gay man ends up dating someone who could plausibly be his brother, whether through narcissism, or intense in-group bonding. AJ and Slater feel like the literary version of that phenomenon. They are not two sides of the same coin so much as two slightly different mintings of the same coin. One is a catastrophically bad cook, to the point of making scrambled eggs with vanilla-flavoured coffee creamer when he runs out of milk, but beyond details like that, their personalities and internal voices overlap considerably.

Their biggest point of differentiation is how they respond to discovering that heterosexuality may have been more of a working assumption than a permanent fact. Slater accepts his newly broadened sexual horizons with remarkable ease. His older brother and best friend are both gay and together, so men being attracted to men is hardly an unfamiliar concept in his world. AJ has more baggage. His upbringing left him with more rigid ideas about masculinity and emotion, and there is some internalised homophobia for him to work through. Neuhold gives that enough attention to make the two awakenings feel slightly different without allowing it to overwhelm the fundamental tone of the book. This is still a low-angst romcom about gymbros being spectacularly dense.

That also affects how I read the repeated “no homo” joke. In real life, “no homo” can absolutely function as weaponised masculinity, an anxious little disclaimer designed to establish that being perceived as gay would be unacceptable. Here, though, we are reading an MM romance called Jacked, with a half-naked muscular man on the cover, and the conventions of the genre have already given the audience privileged information the characters do not yet possess: these two men are absolutely going to end up together and have a very queer happy ending.

Within that context, “no homo” becomes less a declaration for the reader and more a desperate compact between AJ and Slater. It is the increasingly flimsy verbal agreement that allows them to keep categorising what they are doing as ordinary bro behaviour for just a little longer. Importantly, Neuhold does not drag that denial out until it becomes unbearable. Eventually even these two realise that regularly jerking off beside your roommate while paying suspicious amounts of attention to his body may go beyond “normal” heterosexual male bonding, and the story transitions fairly smoothly into an actual relationship.

The sex is probably where Jacked works best for me. It is not overwhelmingly frequent on-page, but it is consistently well written and unusually specific. I particularly enjoyed the mutual masturbation because it plays with that archetypal, possibly semi-apocryphal image of male sexual experimentation: the frat-house circle jerk, or two guys sitting with their thighs pressed to each other’s on a couch, staring with near-heroic determination at the porn mirrored onto the television rather than acknowledging what the other man is doing six inches away.

There is something quite evocative about using that as the bridge between friendship and conscious sexual attraction, and the book gets a lot of mileage out of it without making every encounter identical. As their relationship evolves, there is nipple play, some armpit and sweat fixation, flip fucking, and other little preferences that make the eroticism feel specific to these two men rather than a generic progression of “hand stuff” to “mouth stuff” to “full penetration” that so many books fall into. I also liked that some of those quirks do much more for one man than the other. They still enthusiastically engage with them because they are both generous lovers who enjoy getting each other off. You love to see it.

The complete absence of a third-act breakup also works. Introducing some enormous misunderstanding, ex-boyfriend, family ultimatum or sudden crisis would have been tonally bizarre in a book that has spent its entire runtime being aggressively pleasant. AJ's family material provides some light character texture, but Neuhold never mistakes it for the beginning of a much heavier novel. Similarly, the gym is populated by an almost statistically impressive number of himbos and himbo-adjacent side characters who are clearly being positioned for future books, but the sequel setup never takes over the story or turns Jacked into a catalogue for the wider Gymbos universe.

There is a version of this review where I complain that the characters need more differentiation, the story needs more plot and the emotional stakes need more weight. All of those things are technically true. I am just not convinced adding them would make this particular book better rather than turn it into an entirely different book.

Jacked knows what it is. It is dumb, horny, sweet, low-stakes and occasionally so committed to the bit that the cringe becomes part of the charm. AJ and Slater are not enormously complicated men, but I believed immediately that they liked each other, believed that they wanted each other, and had a very good time watching them slowly realise that.

[Jacqueleen the Reading Queen♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love me some bi-awakening and a DOUBLE bi-awakening is like kryptonite for me. All the first times and cute nervous gestures. Then the filthy, hot confidence that builds once the relationship gets it's footing. Yes. This has it all folks.

There was also something completely adorable about how everyone at the gym could see the growing feelings between Slater and AJ. They acted exactly like a couple, but were adamant they were only roommates and friends. I think everyone saw what it took these two "straight" boys a lot longer to realize. That a connection like theirs doesn't come along everyday and they should hold onto it tight with both hands.

I laughed a lot in this book. The "No homo" comments may have made me snort a time or two. The side characters, whom were mostly other gays who worked at the gym frequented by the MCs, were a fun bunch. I loved how they all teased one another, but you could tell they were a family. Interested to read Butch's story next!

[sil ♡ the book voyagers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Courtenay aka @ceelovesbooks on Instagram because she put this book in one of her posts and I saw it was a double bi-awakening + "bros" to lovers, and I WAS SOLD! Run me the check, get the book type of thing.

Whenever I see that a book is low on the angst with strangers to best friends to lovers, I just HAVE to get it. Don't care, I have to get it - it just works that well. And this book also has gym bros who become roommates and think they're straight so I knew it was going to be fun, cute and so romantic. It did not disappoint! This was a very fun, wholesome book about two people who vibe so hard and are sometimes very touchy and clingy with each other who realize they actually have feelings for each other.

I LOVED THE CLUB SCENE OH MY GOD. When Slater comes out as bi and tells everyone at the club and AJ doesn't know what to do and the angst is there, very low, but still there, and then Slater sees him talking to another guy and he thinks he's flirting with the guy but NO HE JUST REALIZES THAT SLATER TOLD HIM HE WANTS HIM AND RUNS TO SLATER SOON AFTER AND KISSES HIM IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. Oh, chef kiss the buzz that scene gave me!!! So good.

There's just something about a romance book that has strangers who become best friends then lovers. I love whenever these two people don't know each other at the beginning of the book but grow closer and now there cannot be one without the other and everyone thinks so, you know? Of course, they fall in love and it always ends up being so adorable to witness for me in books. It's just a trope I always enjoy reading and Jacked did it really well.

If you're looking for a gym bros + roommates + they jerk off together before they even realize they're bi + clingy + jealousy + found family, read this book NOW.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

AJ and Slater
Roommates to Lovers / Friends to Lovers
Forced Proximity
Double Bi Awakening
Gym Bros/Dudes
HEA

This was such a cute read, I needed it after some heavy reading and this hit the spot!

Spice - 3/5
Story - 5/5

Highly recommend!

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Christina Sturgill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.5/5 🌟
Spice: 3.5/5 🌶️
Characters: AJ and Slater

This was such a fun book!
AJ and Slater are new roommates and become best friends right away. They spend almost all of their free time together, make dinner together, work out together, and push the boundaries of "bros" together. One shared video and mutual gratification session later and both start to question things a bit more. They are pretty adorable and very loveable. For me, it's all about the vibes and this was definitely my vibe. It's low angst, high steam, very sweet, oddly thoughtful, and a quick/easy read. It's a feel good story that brought me a lot of joy the entire time. I had a cheesy smile on my face the entire time. There is a bit more depth in the story, specifically around AJ and his family and how he grew up. But it's light and doesn't add any real heaviness to the story. It shows some great growth in AJ's character over the course of their relantionship growing and changing. I especially loved the addition of both guy's brothers showing up.
It's such an easy storyline so I'm trying to be as vague as possible because I don't want to spoil anything.

Go into it expecting a feel good, fun, sort of silly time with plenty of steam, swoon, and sweetness and you should have a great time.

[Sara Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick funny read. I laughed so much!! Double Bi awakening, They had instant chemistry but were oblivious to how deep the attraction ran.


"I press my face into AJ’s hairy, sweaty cleavage and my cock jumps and throbs in his grasp. This is officially how I want to die— suffocated between the most massive pair of muscle titties I can find."

AND

“I can’t believe how long it took me to figure out that suffocating between a pair of beefy man titties is definitely the way I want to die.” AJ makes a sound that’s somewhere between a laugh and a moan, and flexes his pecs like the filthy tease he is.

[369Pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️
A double bi-awakening romance between Slater and AJ—two new roommates that discover a lot about themselves, together. What starts as just “jacking off with my gym bro,” leads to the men questioning themselves and digging into their pasts to heal and grow.

These two are light-hearted, sweet, and very, very horny. You’re going to get a low-stakes contemporary romance with:
-gym bros
-roommates
-double bi-awakening
-queer joy
-romantic and s*xual discovery
-a real good flip f*ck
-“bro” (affectionate)

I did really enjoy this book! K.M. Neuhold does such a great job of writing books that have so much positivity and fun for the characters. One thing that I especially loved was that the bi-awakenings in this story were about self-discovery, relief, acceptance, and happiness. There wasn’t any drawn-out denial or self-hatred. This was so refreshing!

If you want to read a book about two jacked bros jacking it into each other’s hearts, then this book is for you! 🙌

I received an advanced copy, all thoughts are my own!

[Анастасія ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

називається як сказати, що ти "гомо" але не усвідомлювати, і називаючи це звичайні "бро":

> дрочити разом(там десь і дотики наче були);
> дивитися порно, де хлопець мастурбує самим теж почати а потім ще і обговорити;
> задивлятися на рельєфні тіла та дупи в спортзалі;
> фантазувати про хлопця;
> ревнувати
звичайно ж, це все нормально для "бро"...

я поставила 4, бо особисто для мене немає "мда" моментів, але трішки бал натягнут, так, через другорядних персонажів, які всі виявились геями💕 хоча, крім брата ейджея, бо той теж бісексуал як виявляється, а по іншим я не запам'ятала інших партнерів. тут навіть тріада була🔥

трішки по моментах, які мені найбільше запам'яталися:

> ейджею подобається запах поту на хлопцям, нагадучи про спортзал та чоловічу дружбу, вже наштовхує на цікаві думки👀
> слейтер абсолютно не вміє готовити на початку, що навіть "якось я з’їв черв’яка на спір, — кажу я цілком серйозно. — Так от, ці яйця гірші."
> слейтер постійно тримає руку у штанях, часто чухаючи яйця🙄
> ейджей любить грати зі своїми сосками🔥
> ейджею виявляється подобається фарбувати нігті 💅🏻
> якщо не помиляюсь в імені, то ейджей облизував пахви слейтер (або навпаки я забула)
> під кінець ейджей з братом погорили з батьком та його застарілих поглядах, і навіть він трішки змінився.