Tropes: hurt/comfort, Rivals to lovers, roommates, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine
Feels: 3/5
Steam*: 2/5
Kinks: n/a
Angst: low
HEA: yes
Pairing: MM
Triggers/potential icks/content warnings/representation: cheating ex, past bullying, trauma of being the product of an affair, anxiety, very ill sister, financial struggles, past death of parent, absentee father
Cheating between MCs: No
Any cheating: Yes, Nick's girlfriend cheated on him at the beginning of the book. And then he dumped her. Nick's the product of an affair between his mom and his married dad, so the dad cheated.
Other person drama: at 24%, before Nick and Caleb got together, but after they already had feelings for each other, Caleb was trying to get over what he was feeling for Nick and he hooked up with a guy. Nick walked in and interrupted them on bed with pants open, handsy.
3.25 stars
Nick and Caleb are in their last year of college. They both play college hockey and they are star players. They used to play on competing teams, but Caleb transferred to Nick's college this year because his sister is ill and he wants to be close by.
Nick is a golden retriever, a popular jock who's always smiling, who is well liked. He's always identified as straight, he's from a wealthy family, but his home life is not perfect. He's the product of an affair, he was raised by his mother until she died and he was kind of reluctantly taken in by his father and his father's wife. He feels like a burden and he always tries to not rock the boat. His girlfriend of a year cheated on him and he dumped her at the start of the book. He's a bit of a doormat and he knows it, he can't stand up for himself because he's conditioned to try to make as little of a ripple on others as possible. He doesn't want to go pro with hockey even though it's his dream because he thinks it will disappoint his father not to join the family company after college.
Caleb is snarky, a little defensive, gives off an a****** vibe because he wants to come off that way. He is gay and he has experienced homophobia himself and through his friends. His family is pretty poor. His dad abandoned to the family when his sister got sick, and his mother works hard to cover the sisters medical bills. Caleb tries to help out. Caleb has already been drafted to an NHL team and he has a place after college.
Caleb gets assigned to be Nick's roommate. At first they clashed and annoyed each other, but Nick has been fascinated by Caleb and Caleb is realizing that Nick is actually genuinely the good guy that he appears to be and he can't help but like him. Over a few months of rooming together, they become friends and realize they have a sexual chemistry together. They start hooking up but they think it has to stay casual, exclusive but casual lol. That doesn't last, they both start catching feels.
This was an okay read. It was sweet and low angst. Caleb and Nick were very affectionate with each other and that was nice. I know they are college boys and jocks at that, but the book suffered a little with them being emotionally dumb college boys. They didn't communicate well. Nick was a frustrating character to watch, because he couldn't adult, he couldn't stand up for himself, he couldn't even realize there was a compromise option where he could pursue hockey and then later join his father's company. It's hard to consider Nick book boyfriend goals when he was behaving the way he did like a little boy who was hurt and damaged, which he was in the past. Caleb being genuinely shocked and exclaiming oh we're dating?! At the 79% mark was just disappointing. Immature, they should have been further along by then. And I didn't like that Nick only decided to pursue the NHL after the 90% mark and things wrapped up so easily for him on that.
Some notable moments:
"“Anyway,” I point out. “That means you need to quit showing up in our room with no warning. You were almost about to walk into a porno earlier, you know?” “Caleb!” Nick hisses. Rhys shudders. “God. Fine. Never again.” “Why are you like this?” Nick levels a stare at me."
Schultz's obsession with Maddox is kind of cute. I hope in his book he's not as much of a man w**** as Caleb says though because it would kill the sweetness of his obsession if he's continued sleeping around specifically while crushing on Maddox. "“Fine,” Maddox says. “If you win, I’ll tutor you once. If I win, you stop staring at me all the time.” “You actually recognize me?” “Clearly. Your staring’s distracting, and I’d like you to stop.” “He recognizes me!” Schultz turns to us, his face all lit up. “You… you heard everything else he said, right?” Rhys asks with disbelief, and Schultz ignores him and pumps a fist in the air."
*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.