I'm Noah Fearly, a former child star with a serious adrenaline addiction and a thorough disregard for my own mortality.
But you might know me by my ClikByte name. Maybe you even follow me? You and ninety-seven million others.
NoFear.
It's not just my name; it's my whole identity. Edgy, daring, dangerous stunts executed anonymously and uploaded to my channel for my followers to view.
But the day my brother nearly died changed everything. I was forced to sign a contract that went against my gut, and now I'm dealing with the consequences of being the newest member of Olympus—a team of ClikByters who live, eat, sleep, and breathe social media content. A team known for hordes of female followers, unhealthy parasocial relationships with fans, and a significant allergy to shirts.
Tattooed, pierced, and rocking every delicious, bad-boy image possible, Olympus has remained in the top spot on ClikByte since the app was created.
The last thing they want or need is a girl messing with their brand.
Look, no one is more surprised than I am that I had to DNF this. As a Tate fan, I have devoured all of her books, but for some reason that I cannot fathom, this book and I were not vibing.
So, here's the thing. I've said this before, and I feel it bears repeating, I think that relationship dynamics should be listed in the front matter of a book. The vague details approach feels like a money grab. People like what they like and don't like what they don't like. But, if they do not know what's in a book, they are forced to either get it and read it and hope for the best, or search everywhere for spoilers. Some people don't care about relationship dynamics, and that is great for them! So, an author putting the relationship situation at the front of the book shouldn't bother them one way or another--fantastic, win/win!
I say all of that, because I'm not too sure where this book is going, but there is a heavy implication (to me) that there will be MM happening within the harem. Listen, I love MM books; I just don't love MM in my RH books. I will extend this to say that I would not be into, nor would I like, MF in my RH books either. For example, if the FMC has a harem member that is female, I would not want that female to hook up with one of the other male harem members. I don't like any of that, or any variation of that--it feels like cheating to me. So, a simple little relationship dynamic heads up at the beginning of the book would really be helpful and appreciated.
Aside from that, I found myself struggling to really get into the story. When I read the novella prequel Oblivion, I was hooked. So, imagine my surprise when 6 chapters into NoFear I found myself skimming the pages!! SKIMMING.THE.PAGES! I've never done that with a James book! Needless to say, it did not get any better for me, and I finally threw in the towel.
I am a mood reader, so it's possible that I'm just not in the mood for this book at the moment. It's possible I pick it up in a month and love it (let's hope so since I have like several copies already on preorder). However, as usual, I'm in the minority when it comes to how I feel about things, so don't base your reading of the book on me; seriously, you'll probably totally love it, like everyone else--but for me, this one is a no (for now).
Listen, I am the reader who cannot read a series until it’s fully completed. But when Tate James announces, she’s coming out with a new series… you would go against everything you believe in too… so imagine my reaction of being victimized by another iconic Tate James cliffhanger… and now I have to wait until August for book 2. Nobody talk to me
I NEED book 2 right now?!?!? And Bubbles doesn’t release until august 11th 😭
I received this book as an ARC in return for an honest review.
First of all the concept of this book is soooo unique!! I genuinely haven’t read anything quite like it before. Noah having to disguise herself as a man in a house full of men? Yeah… that’s bound to be complicated and Tate James really leans into that tension in the best way.
Speaking of tension.. there is SO much of it and I’m absolutely living for it. Noah’s dynamic with each of the guys feels distinct and charged and I honestly can’t even decide which one I like the most 🤭. That being said Skye calling her “twin” I really hope their relationship stays platonic in the upcoming books because their friendship just works so well. He really has her back and I love him for it 🥹💖
This first book definitely feels like it’s laying the groundwork for a much bigger story. There’s a lot of setup and “world” building, but it never felt boring to me because everything is building toward something bigger and I’m really curious to see where it all goes next. 👀
And that ending?! Tate James really said “no peace for you” because that plot twist followed by the cliffhanger had me staring at the page like… excuse me?? I need answers immediately⁉️
August 11th honestly needs to come faster because I already know I’m going to be diving straight into book two. Because I need to know what is happening next 🥲
P.S. I might already be falling for “Daddy” Ace 🤭 (the way I laughed out loud when Skye said “Daddy is a state of mind, Ace.”)
i absolutely DEVOURED this, i stayed up way past my normal bed time and then woke up in the middle of the night and continued it instead of going back to sleep … i was INVESTED.
if there’s one thing i love - it’s a secret girl trope!! i personally LOVED noah’s character and seeing the development between her and the guys … and seeing some perspective changes based on what we saw in Oblivion.
i didn’t expect to love skye as much as i did, BUT I FELL FAST AND HARD!!! CONSENT KING! 👑🤌🏽 SECRET KING! he’s been obsessed with noah before he even met her and I CANT WAIT TO SEE HOW THIS GOES HEHEHE
also MINNIE?! CHICKEN?! OBSESSED. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD SWOON OVER A NICKNAME NAMED AFTER A FARM ANIMAL
xavier .. hehehehehhe. i fear i would love to see those fan edits of him in that milkmaid costume … for scientific purposes of course.
i will say i dont think ive read a tate book that has MM and its alluded to that there MIGHT POSSIBLY? be some in the future (speculation of course). but if there was some i feel like it would make sense with certain members, i wouldn’t be surprised!
anyways now ill be impatiently waiting for the next drop because if tate knows anything … its how to write a cliffy that HURTS.
thank you to tate and her team for the chance to ARC read this, all thoughts and opinions are my own!
Tropes & what to expect: - Why choose romance - Hidden/secret identity - Found family - Amnesia - Murder mystery
I knew after reading the prequel novella: Oblivion, that I was going to need to dive into NoFear as soon as I got my hands on it. 😍
The way Tate writes her books always makes it so easy to binge. And although I always expect a cliffhanger from her now after having read many of her books, it never gets easier to handle waiting for the next book in the series after finishing. 😂
I loved so many of the characters and cannot wait to see how this story unfolds! I will be suffering in silence (maybe silence maybe VERY LOUDLY) until Bubbles releases! 😭
OH AND THE AUDIO IS PHENOMENAL. PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS ONE IF YOU'RE AN AUDIOBOOK FAN! IT HAS A FULL CAST OF NARRATORS! ⭐️
Title: NoFear Author: Tate James Series: ClikByte Book 1
What to expect: *Hidden identity *Extreme stunt influencers *Why choose relationship
Written very well, just not for me. I fear I may be too old for this authors books at this point. The characters are so young and into such extreme activities, all while live streaming every part of their life. It just gives me the creeps thinking of millions of people watching me do anything.
The book ends on a major cliff hanger, and includes several graphic scenes and one death of a side character. Contains no spicy scenes between the FMC and any of the MMC’s.
Safety: One of the MMC’s has an on again, off again girl friend. She gives him a BJ on page, he is picturing a different girl during the act.
Thank you to Edelweiss, the author, and Bloom Books for the opportunity to read and review this title.
I’m here for the Ironside Academy by Jane Washington vibes.
I couldn’t really connect with this story. It felt weird every time there were underlining romantic moments because she’s lying to them all about being a guy. I didn’t like the murder muster aspect. It felt out of place and irrelevant. There’s really not much else to say because not a lot happens here. In saying that, I am really intrigued on where this story is going and I am looking forward to the next book.
I'm a huge fan of why choose, and an even bigger fan of Tate, but wow. She didn’t just outdo herself with this series… she absolutely destroyed all my expectations because WHAT WAS THAT?!
This was so good that I already know I’m going to be thinking about it for days (if not weeks). I’m completely obsessed.
The world-building? Insane. The slow burn? Addictive in the best way possible. The character arcs? Phenomenal. Everything about this book was just… Perfect. I’m honestly blown away by how incredible it was. I already loved the prequel, so I expected something good, but this?? This was on a whole other level. Not just good, freaking perfect.
And now I’m supposed to just wait until August after that cliffhanger?! Absolutely not. I refuse 😭
Tate, you didn’t just outdo yourself, you owned me with this one. I am 1000% sold.
You’ll enjoy this book if you like: 💋 Forced Proximity 💋 Why Choose 💋 Hidden Identity (Gender Swap) 💋 Found Family 💋 Secrets/Lies 💋 Slowburn
Noah Fearly, AKA NoFear on the popular social media platform ClikByte, was forced to sign a contract with the biggest team on the platform when a stunt went wrong and left her at risk for major legal problems. Now she finds herself stuck in a content house with 7 guys, cameras recording their every move, and a major competition looming over their heads. But the biggest challenge of all? Hiding the fact that Noah Fearly is actually a girl and not the little guy they all think she is. She’s a girl with a long history on the platform that could come back to damage her reputation, and her newfound team’s.
I can already tell you, this series is going to make its way into my favorite series of all time list. Immediately hooked from the prequel, and absolutely obsessed the second I started NoFear. I know I’m horrible for begging for book 2 when book 1 isn’t actually released yet but alas… here I am…🤭
This book was seriously addicting. I read the first 80% in a single sitting, and absolutely would have finished it if I hadn’t decided to be responsible and told myself I couldn’t go to work on only 4 hours of sleep. Do yourself a favor and pick up this series immediately.
Noah was easily one of my favorite FMCs in a long time. I’m always here for the girl pretending to be a guy trope, and I LIVE for the tough adrenaline junkie with a soft side she shows those she cares about. She fit in so perfectly with the Team Olympus group and I loved watching her build bonds with each of the guys.
There are seven guys living with her in the Team Olympus house: - Ace Hart, the team leader - Xavier Stone, Noah’s ex-celebrity crush (not that she’d ever let him know) - Zeth ‘Z’ Briggs, the son of a rockstar - Torin Mura, the incredible artist - Park Minho, the former kpop idol - August Gamble, the trickshot marksman - Skye Smith, the golden retriever adrenaline junkie All of the guys were a blast - even if I wanted to whack Xavier now and then. They were all extremely welcoming to Noah and made every effort to make her (him to them) feel safe and included in their found family. Without a doubt though, Skye secured his spot as number one this book. He’s such a great friend and roommate to Noah, I adore this man.
Tate wasn’t kidding when she mentioned a kpop element to this book. As a STAY, it was so much fun to find all the little Stray Kids references. The scenarios that take place while filming content for their ClikBytes felt very SKZ CODE-esque which was so much fun and the group dynamic is also very kpop coded. Between the fan service and the casual affection, I was having such a great time.
I was lucky enough to recieve this ARC from Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own. 🩷
Audio: 5 stars for Michelle Sparks 5 stars for Grayson Owens 5 stars for JF Harding 5 stars for James Cassidy 5 stars for Teddy Hamilton 5 stars for Thomas Burt (who to me sounded like Glen Lloyd) 5 stars for Walker Williams 5 stars for Lucas Webley Duet Narration!!
Book: DNF @28%
There was too much telling not enough showing... and idk it just was boring for all the amazing narrators and the premise... I had high hopes and I need to learn to not go into books with high hopes, I just get let down.
Maybe I'll try again when the series is finished... but at the moment not for me.
3.5⭐️ NoFear is the first book of the ClikByte series. It’s a Why Choose Dark Romance featuring Noah, who is an extreme stunt influencer that is forced to participate in the ClikByte Games that includes her living in a house with all-male influencers, while hiding her identity as a girl.
I was so intrigued by the premise and grew fond of all the guys on Team Olympus. Their interactions with Noah were so interesting because they don’t know she’s a girl but there is obvious chemistry and genuine fondness and friendship between them. I ADORED her relationship with each of the members and how different they were from each other. The found family vibes in this were stellar. While the tension and angst had a chokehold on me I loved the genuine friendship she forged with Skye.
The cliffhanger ending, a murder and lots of angst left me wanting more! If you enjoy your dark romance addictive, with 7 badass, morally grey bad boys, lots of drama and tension so thick you can slice it with a knife…. you won’t want to miss NoFear!
I need everyone to understand that this book was slow burn… But it burned SO DANG GOOOOOD.
We have a badass FMC (our girly pop Noah) forced into pretending to be a guy to survive?? Blackmail?? High stakes?? And then you drop her into Team Olympus… aka a house full of ridiculously attractive, tension-filled men??? The struggle. The suffering. Truly devastating for me personally (I loved every second).
The disguise trope?? Elite. The constant tension of her almost being caught?? I was stressed!!! The dynamics between all the guys?? I was INVESTED.
AND THEN… the MM hints??? Oh I CLOCKED that immediately. Don’t be shy. Don’t hold back. I see the vision and I support it wholeheartedly. In fact, I need it. In and around all of me, preferably.
And that ending?? Disrespectful. Rude. I will be unwell until the next book. PLEASE GIVE IT TO ME NOW.
NO I CANT WAIT UNTIL AUGUST Anyways about the actual book, spoilers ahead! I thought she would last longer without it being uncovered, BUT I do think he’s either 1. get amnesia or something from being under the water for too long or 2. he’s simply going to keep it to himself because it benefits the team. I don’t think this is the end of her posing as a boy!
Tate James like you’ve never seen her before! Creatively inspired, addictively page turning, devilishly clever, and (gasp!) deliriously slow burning, No Fear is like nothing I’ve read before…and epically alluring. It’s playful, it’s fun, yet the stakes are still high and the suspense is thick. This series is going to be a WILD ride, and I can’t wait for more!
I did a reread recently on audio and the production is SO stinking good. It’s a LUXURIOUS duet style FULL CAST, and the casting is so good! Michelle Sparks, Grayson Owens, JF Harding, James Cassidy, Teddy Hamilton, Thomas Burt, Walker Williams, and Lucas Webbley. Oh yes, each of the Team Olympus has a voice. I loved the immersive experience of this one!
BEWARE OF THAT CLIFFHANGER Y’ALL (Bubbles comes out later this year….it’s also delicious!!)
💋Hidden Identity/Girl Disguided as Boy 💋 Forced Proximity 💋Enemies to Lovers Vibes 💋Why Choose 💋Social Media Influencer Team in Olympic Style Competetion 💋Found Family 💋Secrets/Lies 💋Slowburn 💋Strong FMC 💋K-Pop Elements 💋Suspense and Danger and Usual Tate “ish” 💋MASSIVE Cliffhanger
Help! I just started this new series and I’m already obsessed. Literally not a single boring page, though I wish the author gave us more detailed scenes. Unfortunately, the showbiz and entertainment stuff felt a bit like a summary.
It’s a secret girl × showbiz / entertainment business × celebrities and influencers story (three of my absolute favorite tropes!). It’s clearly inspired by the dark side of the Korean idol industry (including the no-dating rule, fanatic fans, and all) but it’s blended with a dark, gritty American side. Honestly, a 'no-dating rule' in an American setting was hard to wrap my head around since I always pictured the US as being way more liberal.
I was worried Noah would be a 'pick me' based on the prequel, but that didn't really happen; she’s more judgmental than anything. My only gripe is that the characters depth felt a bit thin. Even though I know who the main characters are, I don't feel like I truly understand the core of their personalities or what makes them tick. The competition scenes felt a bit rushed too. Detailed descriptions of the entertainment and showbiz activities would’ve made the book way longer, but honestly? I’d take the extra pages for the immersion.
NoFear is an easy 5 stars from me 😮💨🔥 This was such a fun start to the series, even if it’s very much a “setting the scene” kind of book.
The story follows Noah, who’s blackmailed into joining a group of guys while disguised as one herself & competing in an online challenge with them. The dynamic is instantly interesting, & it was so fun getting to meet all the guys & see how they interacted with Noah as everything unfolded.
I highly recommend reading the pre-novella Oblivion first 📚 It adds a lot of context & definitely makes the experience better.
It does lean a bit into insta-love, but honestly I didn’t mind it at all 😅 It worked for the vibe of the story, & you can already feel where everything is heading. There’s no actual spice in this one, but it’s very clear it’s coming in the next books… & I highly doubt it’s going to take its time introducing it 😏
Now, the audiobook?? This is 100% a MUST listen 🎧🔥 Tate James went all in & brought together a full multicast team of eight narrators, done in duet narration style. Every single narrator suited their character perfectly, & it made the whole experience so much more immersive.
Considering how expensive & time-consuming it is to produce an audiobook like this, it’s honestly so appreciated when an author puts that level of effort into the reader experience 🙌 It really shows.
I’m already looking forward to the next book 😌 This series has so much potential & I’m fully locked in for what’s coming next.
4.5 ⭐️ What a journey this book took me on and that cliffhanger?! I loved this premise and these characters after reading Oblivion so I was really excited to finally get into a novel and it did not disappoint. August cannot come sooner because I fear I need more of Team Olympus.
I honestly wasn’t prepared for how quickly this book pulled me in because a group of tattooed influencers living their best shirtless lives was not something I expected to care about this much… and yet I absolutely did. This feels like a new direction for Tate and I really enjoyed the shift. It’s a slower build than her usual chaos but the tension simmers the entire time and keeps you turning pages. The ClikByte world is dramatic, flashy and a little over the top but leaning into that energy made the story ridiculously fun to read.
Noah thrives on bad decisions and adrenaline and I loved how unpredictable she was. Seeing her forced into the Olympus contract set the tone straight away. There are a lot of Olympus boys to meet and while some grabbed my attention immediately, others still have some convincing to do. Watching their resistance to Noah shaking up their image added such a good layer of conflict though. And that ending?? Completely unfair. I closed this book already desperate for the next one.
Thank you to Bloom for sending me and advanced reader copy!
3.75 stars rounded up
I am one of the biggest Tate James fans and will read anything she writes, but I will admit that this book had some things I loved and some things I didn't love.
This is the first book in the ClikByte series which follows our main character Noah after she gets blackmailed into joining a content creator team that is participating in a social media competition, but the thing is, it's an all men team, so she has to pretend to be man. She has a huge following already as NoFear, but she has always worn a helmet cloaking her identity.
First of all I absolutely love this cast of characters and while there are like 8 main characters we are following, I felt like this was a great introduction into them and I loved learning each of these creators niches. I also love that at the beginning we know this is going to be a why choose romance and that as the reader we have no idea who is going to be in this why choose group in the end.
I also love the "She's the man"/"twelfth night" vibes of this story. I love that so many of these main characters are Queer and it adds an interesting element to these men finding themselves attracted to Noah.
This book almost felt like a whole book prequel. There are just so many characters to get to know, and this whole new world of content creation for so many different niches and I feel like the actual story didn't start until the final 25% of this book. This book does end on a cliffhanger so beware of that.
I did read "Oblivion" before jumping into this one. "Oblivion" is book 0.5 in this series so it is the actual prequel novella. The events in this novella aren't really addressed in this book until the very end for reasons that I don't want to give away. It's somewhat confusing because if you haven't read this 0.5 Novella I don't think it would make a huge difference, but it was weird knowing something that most of the characters didn't. It was very weird and I'm not sure I enjoyed this aspect. It either should have been included in this book or not at all, but making it it's own story was very weird and it will give readers very different experiences when picking up this series.
There is very minimal spice in this book. Which I honestly felt fit for this specific story and didn't mind there being basically no spice, but if someone who normally reads Tate James' why choose books picks this up expecting typical Tate James, they may be surprised by that if they didn't know before picking it up, so I felt like it's important to mention.
My biggest problem with this book is in the editing. I'm not someone who usually notices things like this, but it happened so many times it started to stick out even to me. There were moments that were repetitive that had me flipping back cause I had felt I read something before, and when I would flip back I had. There is a moment where Noah explains something to the reader in their internal monologue, and then a chapter or two later Noah explains the exact same thing again in their internal monologue. That type of situation happened multiple times while I was reading this and it really stuck out to me. Now this is an advanced copy that I received so it is very possible it was a version before some edits, but as someone who reads a lot of ARCs this is the first instance I have personally had of feeling like there was a significant amount of editing that still needed to be done. I have a finished copy preordered and I'll be interested to see if that is still an issue when I do a re-read of the finished copy before reading book 2
Overall I loved this and I'm exciting to see where it goes, but it did feel very much like an introduction rather than a book 1.
5 STARS!!! Tate James is like crack to me. I loved this book an actually insane amount. Like fully obsessed, zero shame, no notes. HER PRETENDING TO BE A GUY??? I was eating that UP. That trope gets me every single time and this book did it so well. The tension, the sneaking around, the oh no what happens when they find out of it all??? Inject it into my veins.
And can we PLEASE talk about the guys because OH MY GOD. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that they all kind of take her/him under their wing instead of just being annoying alphahole jerks for no reason. They’re hot, they’re fun, they’re actually enjoyable to read about, and best of all they all feel different. Like actual distinct people!!! In reverse harem!!! Do you know how rare that is these days!!!
Every single guy brought something to the table and I never felt like they were blending together, which made me even more obsessed with all the group dynamics. They were super hot, super readable, and just FUN. I had such a good time with them.
But what I also really loved was the actual plotline. The whole social media/click aspect was so fun to read about. Watching everything revolve around getting views and clicks through insane stunts added this extra layer of chaos and adrenaline that made the story ridiculously entertaining. It gave the book such a fast, high-energy feel, and I was so into it. It wasn’t just romance drama, there was always something wild happening, and that made it EVEN harder to put down.
This was one of those books that completely grabbed me and didn’t let go. I was giggling, stressed, kicking my feet, and living for every second of the disguise storyline and all the character interactions.
If you love reverse harem and Mulan-style girl-disguised-as-a-boy chaos, READ THIS. I had the BEST time.
⋆˙⟡ tropes ⟡˙⋆ 🤫secret identity 🖤forced proximity ❓why choose 🔪mystery element 🎧strong fmc 💋enemies to lovers 🔥slow burn 💬social media competition
⋆˙⟡ thoughts ⟡˙⋆ wow. tate, these cliffhangers!!!!!!! i- the ending. this was addicting. the way tate writes, just has you hooked. the entire thing played out like a movie in my head. it was action packed with dynamic characters and a lot of chaos. soooo i <3 all of the characters, each so different in their own ways, but i adore them all. there is also a mystery element which adds to the darkness of the story that has you like 🤯.
there are seven guys (who are so fun to get to know) and noah, who is pretending to be a guy for the team (who i LOVE). the relationships with noah and each guy makes this why choose feel different in a way because of the uniqueness to the story. i am so invested and would like the next book… immediately.
⋆˙⟡ synopsis ⟡˙⋆ noah, is a former child star with a serious adrenaline addiction and a disregard for her own mortality. you may even know her by her clikbyte name: NoFear. it’s her whole identity... edgy, daring, dangerous stunts executed anonymously and uploaded to her channel for followers to view. the day her brother nearly died changed everything.
she was forced to sign a contract and now dealing with the consequences of being the newest member of olympus: a team of clikbyters who live, eat, sleep, and breathe social media content. olympus has remained in the top spot since the app was created and the last thing they want is a girl messing with their brand.