Carly Bryant writes contemporary romance with messy emotions, awkward charm, and characters who learn to love themselves as much as each other. When she’s not writing, you can find her watching true crime documentaries, overthinking everything, or trying to keep her houseplants alive. She believes love stories should be equal parts swoon and sincerity.
Review of an advance copy from GRR. No incentive was provided in exchange for my honest opinion.
This is an MM romance with a surprising amount of depth, which won't appeal to everyone. It deals with notions of found family, coming out later in life, queer relationships, trauma, but most importantly in my opinion; communicating with you significant other.
Taming Jett is a fascinating title, as it implies that Ellis "domesticates" him in some way. Which I have to admit isn't the way I see it. Jett and Ellis struggle together throughout much of the book. How 2 people can love each other, and be in the same room, but not be able to articulate what they want or need. Their journey is not smooth, they are both flawed individuals, and the author makes no attempt to excuse their behaviour. The use of repetition of phrases and imagery throughout the book to me sets a rhythm of consistency that pushes the reader the contextualise what's happening now to what happened before in a way we wouldn't otherwise.
The story also touches on issues of race and class; how lived experience can sometimes be difficult to explain to someone without a point of reference. It touches on the fears and realities of estrangement within the queer community. The safety of the maybe can be an unassailable incentive to stay closeted; so long as I don't confirm I'm queer, I don't risk losing my family/friends/career.
The spice level is more frequent than typical, but I wouldn't say excessive. All the "PA" references did get a little rote after a while.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this as something that put a lot more substance into a genre that can sometimes feel a little superficial. Some people won't like it for that reason alone, which I get. I would not suggest this as a holiday read for example. A rare 5* for me!
Jett is the ultimate party boy. He is a regular at the club and rarely goes home alone. His life consists of a random string of nameless faces and numbers that he will never call back. No guy is ever worth staying the night. Then one day when he's at the gym, someone catches his eye. He finds himself thinking about the guy more and more. Will this new guy actually be the one to tame Jett (if he can get his act together and talk to him) or will it all end in disaster like every other relationship in his life?
This is the 3rd book the Chaos Coven series by Carly and if you've not been following along, that's ok! Like the rest of the series, you can easily jump into this one blindly. There are cross-overs from the other books, so you will definitely be in for a treat if you go back and catch up. Jett is a great character, and I really enjoyed going along on his journey of discovery. I was rooting for him to find that perfect match finally. Does he? Well, that's something you'll have to read the find out.
The book is spicy, but also full of heart. It's one of the few books that made me cry several times near the end, and I'm not usually much of a person to cry. The topics covered in the book are deep, but approached with such sincerity and reverence that it just hits that much harder. I found several spots to be very tough reads, but that just shows the power of the writing. It had me reflecting on my past and things I had been through. Definitely check out the triggers before you start. Carly does not shy away from some extremely deep and difficult subjects, but it just makes Jett's journey that much more real. Jett is a real guy like the rest of us, and I enjoyed every minute of this ride.
Here is a passionate, heartfelt review written for Amazon, tailored to capture that deep, emotional immersion: **5.0 out of 5 stars — A breathtaking, emotional masterpiece that will ruin you for anything else!** I am completely undone. Carly Bryant didn’t just write a story in *Taming Jett*; she took me on an absolute emotional rollercoaster that left my heart aching, healing, and longing for more. The palpable longing and fierce love between Jett and Ellis is the absolute beating heart of this book. From the very first page, you can feel the heavy, electric tension between them. It’s the kind of soul-deep connection that leaves you breathless. Bryant captures their vulnerability so beautifully—every stolen glance, every unspoken word, and every moment of raw desire feels incredibly real. This story is a stunning reminder that love is rarely a smooth, easy journey. Jett and Ellis have to fight through doubts, past hurts, and their own internal walls to get to one another. There were moments that broke my heart, but watching them navigate the rough seas of their relationship made the payoff so much sweeter. Their journey proves that true love is messy, difficult, and requires immense courage—but it is entirely, unequivocally worth it. Honestly, finishing this book left me with a profound sense of longing. It makes you crave a love that is just as consuming, fiercely protective, and deeply devoted as theirs. It’s a story that stays with you long after you turn the final page. If you want a romance that digs deep into your soul, makes you feel every high and low, and leaves you utterly captivated, please do yourself a favor and read *Taming Jett*. Carly Bryant has created an absolute masterpiece!
We’re following Jett’s story, who is an openly gay event planner in Brooklyn. But back in high school, he wasn’t so sure of himself. Being small and wiry, he was easy pickings for bullies. He tried to blend in to the background to avoid getting pushed into lockers, but three girls spotted him and invited him to join their group, which they called The Chaos Coven (later renamed The Inner Circle). To protect himself from bullies, Jett started working out and built up his physique. With his newfound confidence, he became a bit of a man-whøre, sticking to one and done… until Ellis.
Ellis moved from Long Island to Brooklyn for work. He always thought he was straight, but when he saw Jett at the gym, he felt a connection. Since it was his first time feeling attracted to a man, Ellis wanted to be careful and ‘date’ rather than just have a fling. Even though he usually had his own rules, Jett was okay with it. On the outside, Ellis seems very calm, but he has a lot of hidden anxiety. Jett, being very observant, notices his signs but doesn’t say anything. I really like this because anxiety can get worse when someone confronts it.
They make a lovely couple, but they do have their challenges. When things get tough, they handle things in their own ways. Sadly, this isn’t always the best approach. Their happy ending is hard-won, but it is truly worth it.
Among the content warnings for this story, the characters deal with internal homophobia, parental rejection/disapproval, racial prejudice, past bullying, emotional unavailability, an identity crisis, anxiety and coming out on page. Some of these didn’t necessarily come from where I expected them to. Carly has tackled these brilliantly in her writing. Not only do we see things from Jett’s, we also see it from the outside.
I’m now going to read the other books in the series. The Inner Circle gives us background on the central friendship group, and Loving Lauren is a sapphic story about Jett’s closest friend from the group.
I just loved the writing in this. It's deeper than a lot of romances I've been reading.
This is part of a series, but I haven't read the other books - I believe they're FF when I'm only going to read MM. It didn't matter - there were enough explanations as to who the 3 girls were and who they were to Jett that reading the other books didn't matter in understanding this one.
This is a coming out story, even though Jett is already out. He meets Ellis at the guy, they fall into attraction immediately, go on some dates, and fall into bed not long after. They like each other a LOT, and for the first time Jett has found someone he wants to keep seeing - someone he wants to spend the night with more than once. Ellis had assumed he was straight right up until he met Jett, but seems to be taking all of this fairly easily.........and then both of them have issues with their parents after telling them about their relationship. Ellis goes to a therapist, gets really confused over her advice, and here's the 3rd act breakup. The breakup is actually really sad, and I honestly did wonder if they were getting back together.
Liked this a lot - would be happy to read more by this author.
I really, really enjoyed reading this book. But I don't know quite where to start with this review, so I may edit this multiple times the next few days. 😅
This was my first book by this author. I understand it was second in a series, but I never felt like I missed much by not reading the first.
Jett and Ellis are messy, so very messy. They're both hurting in alot of ways. They fall into this whirlwind relationship by accident and both struggle with familial issues due to their relationship.
I appreciated the communication throughout this book. Even with never getting Ellis' POV, we tend to know how he's feeling because he's mostly communicating with Jett.
I don't this this book is overly spicy, and the physical scenes were mostly well written. There were some repetitive phrases [PA, geometric lines of tattoo, etc] that did get repeated a little too often, but didnt pull me from the story too much.
Overall, this is a book that will stick with me for awhile. I enjoy characters that have to work for their relationship and don't necessarily have the easiest past.
Received an advanced copy: What a delightful read this was, the love story of Jett and Ellis. I really enjoyed the simplicity of their story. They weren't famous this, famous that, two just guys meet in a gym and fall in love. There was a beauty to the ease with which their love story started. I found myself rooting for them instantly. Jett was a great lead character, not perfect, but willing to grow. Ellis was a troubled man with a beautiful heart. His was a coming out story that wasn't as smooth as stories will often tell us, he clearly cared too much what others thought. A wonderful level of spice, their intimate scenes were fire. There pause may have lasted a little long for my liking, I just wanted them back together. But it was wonderful when they did. I also enjoyed the scenes where their parents came around. The book gave me some great laughs and a few tears. I absolutely tore through this book, staying up far too late to finish it. Would absolutely recommend!!
This is a book about Jett. The ultimate one night stand party boy and Ellis, the ‘closeted’ IT guy that manages to break down Jetts walls and stay by his side. The book is spicy but very emotional and made my tear eyed in several places, seeing how Jett became who he was and how Ellis felt about his past but also how they concur every problem together is beautiful. It is written in first person from Jetts POV
I enjoyed Jett and Ellis in all of their messiness. They both had a lot to work through, and their story was heartbreaking at times. Overall a really great read.
I did feel like many places were redundant. Sometimes a paragraph, a page, or a few chapters later and we’d read the same lines over again. It wasn’t reinforcing, it was just redundant; and I felt like the book could have been better and shorter without it.
I enjoyed this book! Overall, a good read. It did broach some serious topics, but I did not find the book heavy. I really enjoyed the story between these two, but I felt that the characters felt a little surface level. I wish we saw more about the build up of there relationship. A good read if you want a romance book with a cute HEA.
This is the third book in Carly's Chaos Coven series. I always like to read the books in order, but there are crossovers, and with this series, it isn't really necessary.
Keep in mind that it has depth and will touch your emotions, so keep a tissue handy.
It is a book that makes you think about your own life.
💞Thank you to the Author and GRR for the opportunity to read and review this ARC💖
Taming Jett is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. This MM romance is written so well that I felt like I was living this journey. So much so, that I cried a couple of times while reading about Jett and Ellis and the ups and downs they went through navigating their relationship, families and life. I stand by saying, I will devour anything Carly writes.
This isn't usually the typical spicy romance I read but I'm glad I took a chance on it! I absolutely loved it. Loved Jett and Ellis. It explores coming out and accepting who you are. Definitely got me in the feels quite a few times.