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Standard Deviation
Not yet published
Expected 22 Jan 26Percy Daniels is anxiety in human form—quiet, guarded, and barely holding his life together one breath at a time. Peer tutoring is his first real job, and he needs it to work. No mistakes. No drama. No getting attached.
Kyle Monroe is Kestrel University’s golden wide confident, loud, and one bad stats grade away from losing everything he’s built. He needs a tutor. What he doesn’t expect is Percy—sharp, blunt, and painfully easy to want.
Their dynamic is a mess from the Kyle pushes too close without meaning to. Percy pulls back even when he’s aching to stay. Every session turns into something charged—late-night gaming matches, too-honest texts, and the slow, terrifying realization that this isn’t just chemistry… it’s connection.
But wanting each other is the easy part.
Letting it be real—out loud, in daylight, with all the fear and history they carry—that’s the hard variable. And when anxiety and pressure spike, one wrong move could send them both drifting.
Standard Deviation is a tender, spicy MM college romance about messy growth, anxious hearts, and choosing love anyway.
Kyle Monroe is Kestrel University’s golden wide confident, loud, and one bad stats grade away from losing everything he’s built. He needs a tutor. What he doesn’t expect is Percy—sharp, blunt, and painfully easy to want.
Their dynamic is a mess from the Kyle pushes too close without meaning to. Percy pulls back even when he’s aching to stay. Every session turns into something charged—late-night gaming matches, too-honest texts, and the slow, terrifying realization that this isn’t just chemistry… it’s connection.
But wanting each other is the easy part.
Letting it be real—out loud, in daylight, with all the fear and history they carry—that’s the hard variable. And when anxiety and pressure spike, one wrong move could send them both drifting.
Standard Deviation is a tender, spicy MM college romance about messy growth, anxious hearts, and choosing love anyway.
437 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication January 22, 2026
2 people are currently reading
1 person want to read
About the author
Harry Applebottom
73 books51 followersHarry Applebottom is a hopeful romantic and a gay erotic romance author here to unabashedly satiate and titillate your inner carnal desires with lots of steam, heart, and love. Harry's works range from short stories and novellas to full-length novels of various subgenres, where every ending ends with a happy one.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Standard Deviation – Harry Applebottom
When I say I devoured this book, I mean I DEVOURed it. I stayed up all night reading, cried more than once, laughed out loud, and immediately wished it was longer—even though it’s already a solid-length book that somehow never drags.
Let me be very clear up front: do not go into this expecting a light, fluffy romance. This is hurt/comfort, angst-heavy, emotionally messy, slow-burn goodness. And I loved every painful second of it.
Kyle and Percy are both sad boys in very different ways, and that’s exactly why the slow burn works—even when it hurts. Percy is anxiety personified, just barely keeping it together, while Kyle is the golden football star with pressure coming at him from every angle. Their connection builds quietly and awkwardly: tutoring sessions, late-night gaming, texts that mean too much, feelings neither of them feels ready to admit out loud.
The middle of this book? Pure angst. I’ll admit I wanted them to stop staying away from each other sooner—but it made sense. Their self-esteem issues, fear, and internal battles felt painfully realistic. This isn’t a neat love story. It’s messy and tender and earned, and when they finally choose each other, it hits so much harder because of everything they’ve carried to get there.
My heart broke more than once, especially with Percy’s storyline. Please, please read the trigger warnings—bullying (not between the MCs) and suicidal thoughts/ideation are present. Nothing is acted on, but there is one scene that could be very triggering.
Kyle and Percy are perfect for each other in that quiet, grounding way where they don’t fix each other—but they make surviving feel a little less heavy. I would’ve loved more family backstory from Kyle’s side, but getting more depth from Percy’s world made everything click emotionally.
Also… Jaime and Tyler? I would absolutely read another book centered on either of them. Just saying.
This book wrecked me in the best way. Messy, sweet, angsty, and completely worth the emotional investment. I would lose sleep over it again without hesitation.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Standard Deviation – Harry Applebottom
When I say I devoured this book, I mean I DEVOURed it. I stayed up all night reading, cried more than once, laughed out loud, and immediately wished it was longer—even though it’s already a solid-length book that somehow never drags.
Let me be very clear up front: do not go into this expecting a light, fluffy romance. This is hurt/comfort, angst-heavy, emotionally messy, slow-burn goodness. And I loved every painful second of it.
Kyle and Percy are both sad boys in very different ways, and that’s exactly why the slow burn works—even when it hurts. Percy is anxiety personified, just barely keeping it together, while Kyle is the golden football star with pressure coming at him from every angle. Their connection builds quietly and awkwardly: tutoring sessions, late-night gaming, texts that mean too much, feelings neither of them feels ready to admit out loud.
The middle of this book? Pure angst. I’ll admit I wanted them to stop staying away from each other sooner—but it made sense. Their self-esteem issues, fear, and internal battles felt painfully realistic. This isn’t a neat love story. It’s messy and tender and earned, and when they finally choose each other, it hits so much harder because of everything they’ve carried to get there.
My heart broke more than once, especially with Percy’s storyline. Please, please read the trigger warnings—bullying (not between the MCs) and suicidal thoughts/ideation are present. Nothing is acted on, but there is one scene that could be very triggering.
Kyle and Percy are perfect for each other in that quiet, grounding way where they don’t fix each other—but they make surviving feel a little less heavy. I would’ve loved more family backstory from Kyle’s side, but getting more depth from Percy’s world made everything click emotionally.
Also… Jaime and Tyler? I would absolutely read another book centered on either of them. Just saying.
This book wrecked me in the best way. Messy, sweet, angsty, and completely worth the emotional investment. I would lose sleep over it again without hesitation.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy
I am struggling with where to begin with this one. It is rare that a book feels comforting while breaking your heart and putting it back together all at once. This is absolutely that book.
At the core, this story is about being scared but doing it anyway. About restraint and release. Hope, and the way it can feel like chaos to a life built around disappointment.
I fell in love with these characters hard and fast. Kyle pretends he is living his best life to mask how lonely and hurt he feels all the time. Percy is one really bad day away from his last day ever.
There is something so raw and real in how the author writes these two. Characters that feel real, whose struggles and thoughts carry visceral weight. Two boys that are so very very similar in the way they see themselves, but who handle life completely differently. One makes himself, his persona, bigger in an attempt to feel... something. Anything. The other makes himself as small as possible to avoid feeling at all. It's how they have adapted to carry on. Both desperate for a soft place to land, someone to truly SEE them, but too scared of the risk involved in being vulnerable, of wanting out loud.
There are parts of the story that seem repetitive and drawn out, but even that, which would be annoying in any other story, feels necessary. Because that is exactly how it feels when your head gets in the way of your heart. When your mind replays the same lies to keep you leashed to the perceived safety and comfort of numbness, of loneliness.
I will be coming back to this one again and again.
(I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.)
At the core, this story is about being scared but doing it anyway. About restraint and release. Hope, and the way it can feel like chaos to a life built around disappointment.
I fell in love with these characters hard and fast. Kyle pretends he is living his best life to mask how lonely and hurt he feels all the time. Percy is one really bad day away from his last day ever.
There is something so raw and real in how the author writes these two. Characters that feel real, whose struggles and thoughts carry visceral weight. Two boys that are so very very similar in the way they see themselves, but who handle life completely differently. One makes himself, his persona, bigger in an attempt to feel... something. Anything. The other makes himself as small as possible to avoid feeling at all. It's how they have adapted to carry on. Both desperate for a soft place to land, someone to truly SEE them, but too scared of the risk involved in being vulnerable, of wanting out loud.
There are parts of the story that seem repetitive and drawn out, but even that, which would be annoying in any other story, feels necessary. Because that is exactly how it feels when your head gets in the way of your heart. When your mind replays the same lies to keep you leashed to the perceived safety and comfort of numbness, of loneliness.
I will be coming back to this one again and again.
(I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.)
Review of advance copy
I received an advance review copy for free from BookSirens, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.t
This book deals with a wide reeceiver football star at his college and a sensitive und insecure tutor in statistics. This the title fits both sty, statistics and the two MCs,
Kyle the football player has a sensitive side to him and has been hurt by being pushed too quickly to come out to his parents by a former boyfriend who then walked away. He reecognizes that his tutor is also sensitive and check in with him regularly until he gains confidence enough to be comfortable in his own mind - initially his body reacted but his mind saw things differently. There is also a tremendous difference in the two familues. Percy's brother Mark terrorizes Percy although it become clear Mark cares but just has never learned to communicate his concern in an appropriate way. Percey's family is poor and Percy also feels that makes him unworthy. Kyle on the other hand comes with a loud sister but parents with a skill at being correct at work and other functions but have difficulty being open with feelings.
The writing is good, The HEA happens. There are some minor skips noted - Mark asjed Percy to phone when he was late or stayed over night but that did not happen in the book. Kyle gets his B and Percy learns from Kyle that being himself is OK.
This book deals with a wide reeceiver football star at his college and a sensitive und insecure tutor in statistics. This the title fits both sty, statistics and the two MCs,
Kyle the football player has a sensitive side to him and has been hurt by being pushed too quickly to come out to his parents by a former boyfriend who then walked away. He reecognizes that his tutor is also sensitive and check in with him regularly until he gains confidence enough to be comfortable in his own mind - initially his body reacted but his mind saw things differently. There is also a tremendous difference in the two familues. Percy's brother Mark terrorizes Percy although it become clear Mark cares but just has never learned to communicate his concern in an appropriate way. Percey's family is poor and Percy also feels that makes him unworthy. Kyle on the other hand comes with a loud sister but parents with a skill at being correct at work and other functions but have difficulty being open with feelings.
The writing is good, The HEA happens. There are some minor skips noted - Mark asjed Percy to phone when he was late or stayed over night but that did not happen in the book. Kyle gets his B and Percy learns from Kyle that being himself is OK.
Review of advance copy
This story delivers another wonderfully heartfelt read from Harry Applebottom, centering on Kyle, a college athlete, and Percy, the quiet tutor who unexpectedly changes his life. What begins as a simple academic arrangement slowly deepens into something far more meaningful, however it’s shaped by fears and self-doubt for both of them. The emotional tension keeps you hooked as both struggle to lower their defenses even when the chance for happiness is right in front of them.
There’s something about Harry Applebottom’s writing that grips you. It’s raw, powerful, and feels utterly real. The scene with Percy and his brother Mark with the knife was so intense and emotional, it was absolutely heartbreaking!
Watching Percy and Kyle grow, learn to trust, and slowly let go of the doubts that hold them back makes the payoff deeply satisfying. The result is a tender, moving story that lingers long after the final page. I absolutely loved it.
4.5⭐️ /5
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
There’s something about Harry Applebottom’s writing that grips you. It’s raw, powerful, and feels utterly real. The scene with Percy and his brother Mark with the knife was so intense and emotional, it was absolutely heartbreaking!
Watching Percy and Kyle grow, learn to trust, and slowly let go of the doubts that hold them back makes the payoff deeply satisfying. The result is a tender, moving story that lingers long after the final page. I absolutely loved it.
4.5⭐️ /5
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy
Another great Harry Applebottom story. Kyle is a wide receiver at college and is told to get a tutor for stats. Percy is assigned as his tutor but has not come out of the closet yet, unlike Kyle who was coerced into telling his parents. Their HEA has a lot of misunderstandings, learning to communicate and to overcome a lot of mental conditioning This book is a must-read.
I received this book free via Booksirens and leave this review voluntarily
I received this book free via Booksirens and leave this review voluntarily
Review of advance copy
A very wholesome and heartwarming novel. Kyle and Percy were too cute. They had me squealing and kicking my feet a lot of times. I just wish they had been upfront with each other in the middle part of the book because it would have saved them the unnecessary break which didn’t just hurt them but was hurting me too😭. All in all a very good one. Was worth every minute read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy
Advanced copy provided for free by BookSirens.
This could have been so much better. The nerd/jock trope is usually a favourite of mine but this one falls flat. There’s a silly miscommunication and freak out break up that lasts for pages upon pages upon pages. And then there’s the constant monologuing. The constant repetition of “am I too needy” and “am I pushing too hard” in literally every interaction.
The steam was ok. That about it.
This could have been so much better. The nerd/jock trope is usually a favourite of mine but this one falls flat. There’s a silly miscommunication and freak out break up that lasts for pages upon pages upon pages. And then there’s the constant monologuing. The constant repetition of “am I too needy” and “am I pushing too hard” in literally every interaction.
The steam was ok. That about it.
Review of advance copy
Such a good story. I only wish they would have had the courage to just reach out to the other instead of going round in circles in theirs heads. But I get it. The longer you feel you arent good enough, the more you believe it.
They both got what they wanted in the end, and both are learning what it means to be loved and accepted.
I received an ARC from Book Sirens for my honest review.
They both got what they wanted in the end, and both are learning what it means to be loved and accepted.
I received an ARC from Book Sirens for my honest review.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews