Love Complicated

Game, Set, Match #1

by Teegan Loy

Life is all about making choices. Some are complicated. Some are simple. But for eighteen-year-old Jalen Marten, none are easy. Jalen has managed to stay invisible for his entire high school career. He has a small group of friends, and it’s enough for him. He doesn’t want or crave attention from his peers. All Jalen wants is to survive high school.

Austin Suter is the hot, talented tennis player who has the entire school bowing at his feet. Girls routinely throw themselves at him, and boys like Jalen stay the hell out of his way. Austin is destined for greatness on the world stage of professional tennis.

The kiss between them wasn’t supposed to happen. Falling in love definitely hadn’t been part of Jalen's plan.

And when Austin turns pro, Jalen begins to realize that the choices he makes will affect Austin’s life. One wrong choice and Austin’s career could be over before it really begins. Jalen is not sure where he fits, or even if he fits at all in Austin’s life. But the more complicated things become, the less the idea of being apart appeals. Love should simplify things, not complicate them.

Genres: M M Romance, Sports, Young Adult, Contemporary, M M Sports Romance, Romance, High School

280 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 11, 2015

About the author

Teegan Loy began writing a long time ago. Notebooks filled with ideas were stacked around the house. One day, she sat down with renewed ambition and something fantastic happened: she completed a story.

Now most of her time is spent writing, but she takes an occasional break to go to the movies, where she imagines her stories on the big screen. She also enjoys watching hockey, filling her IPod with music and driving her daughter around town to various activities.

Reviews

[Rinkyx · Rating 2 out of 5]

OMFG. . . *sigh* . . . This book started out really good. Then it went downhill. Like bad. I almost DNF'd it but I wanted to know if the ending will redeem the overall book itself. HELLZ TO THE MUTHA FUCKIN NAWWW .

I hated Jalen. Hated his character. Jalen needed to grow some real balls. Or maybe a vagina. I unno, but he was missing something because he was wayyy too over dramatic, annoying, whinny, and a spoiled turd. Honestly, Austin's character also annoyed me as well (make up your mind, and I get that your a teen going through puberty and phases but I wanted Clarke to at least zonk him once in the head so he can too be the alpha male he was introduced in the book as, but failed to). And I didnt like the ending. It was bland and I guess by then I didnt even care.

The two stars (more like 1.5 rounded up) are for Clarke and Sarah. They were the best characters in this book.


And wtf happened to that ex-fiance of Austins who was hell bent on destroying Jalen's and Austins love life? Did I miss something? There wasn't even a real reason as to why she turned a whole new leaf and apparently "did the right thing and not stand in the way of true love". Like WTF! There wasnt even a clear explanation about her reasoning to help them in the last 5% of the book when 80% of the book she was a crazy, stalker, evil, slutty biznatch and ready to fuck them over. *sigh* I needa calm down. I just liked this book soo much in the beginning, and then it turned on me and went and disintegrated. Maybe it's just me. A lot of others seem to like this book just fine, so yes, it is probably just me. These are just my thoughts and feelings.

I still am going to check out Teegan Loy's books as they come though, as this was my first ever from this author. If the next one is something I'm not fond of again, then this author just aint for me thats all, and nothing wrong with that. I would still recommend this to others, as again, a lot of people seemed to enjoy it.

Not me though thx.

[Love Bytes Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Heart Review by Dani

What a delightful story!

I am not usually a YA fan but when I read about this New Adult thing I was curious as it seemed to fit to my liking so to speak. And boy did I love this!

I was so pleasantly surprised with this book to the point that I didn’t want to stop reading. I was totally engrossed with not only the main characters Austin and Jalen but also the side characters Clark, Sarah and Jalen’s mom, all three who deserve a mention here.

I am honest when I say I don’t like Young Adult and I am not lying when I say I like some sexiness in the books I read that I miss in that genre. What a refreshing and wonderful feeling to see in this New adult book that there is room for that in a sensual loving and caring way. To me it felt very well done and researched properly.

This book tells us the story of two young men in who are opposites in school.

One is a tennis player who is about to turn pro but wants to enjoy his school, being pushed by his horrible dad to make decisions he doesn’t want to make.

The other the shy guy without an athletic bone in his body but who has a hidden talent.

When those two worlds meet and collide it brings us a love story of young but definitely intense lover that struggle to make it work through what is brought to them by others.

With the fantastic friendship of Austin’s best friend Clark and Jalen’s best friend Sarah, and the wonderful support (what a bonus to this story to read that) of Jalen’s mom, Jae and Austin try to make it work despite the odds.

Where things needs to be kept hidden, they are begging to be let out. When people band together to make their lives hell, it is up to them and the people who love them to make it through the worst.

Author Teegan Loy is at the top of their “game” with this novel. It is wonderfully written and very easy to read, drawing you in and taking you on a ride with love, friendship, excitement and definitely drama.

Very highly recommended to people who like a good contemporary story with the ingredients I just pointed out combined with a sport and art background.

A copy of this book was provided in exchange for an honest review. Please visit www.lovebytesreviews.com to see this and many more reviews, author interviews, guestposts and giveaways!

[Christina Wade · Rating 5 out of 5]

oh my gosh. i absolutely loved this book...like i'm about to go buy every teegan loy book, school-girl giddy, loved it kind of love. i picked it up and didn't put it down until i was finished...i almost didn't blink while reading it. it would be really incredible for there to be a follow up story with how jalen's life pans out or a follow up picking up right where this one leaves off but this book is definitely in my top 5 favorites of the year so far.

i'm going to try to review this without spoilers so it may have holes in it.

teegan's writing was ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC...i loved it pretty much from the word go. the character development was superb...i almost loved a secondary character more than the 2 main characters. clark (a secondary character) might be my favorite character in the book - he is just awesome! the remaining supporting cast is amazing too - even the characters you hate!

i'm going to start with jalen because i think i loved him the most. he is a shy wallflower that has absolutely no idea what an impact he has made and will make on people. he lacks self confidence but when let lose he has an adorably feisty personality. he is beautiful without seeing or knowing it. you can't help but fall in love with him. he has the potential to do great things but really just wants to be happy with austin, doing whatever it is that means they can be together.

austin on the other hand has been groomed to be a professional athlete and in the public eye. he doesn't lack self confidence when he's on the court and because he is so good has never lived a normal life. his home life hasn't been great and when he gets parental attention from jalen's mom you can see how much he craves the love and approval of a parent.

together, austin and jalen are beautiful and their story is heartwarming to the core. the ending is abrupt and leaves the door open for more to the story (which i will hope and pray for every day) but this is an ABSOLUTE must read book.

i cannot wait to read more of everything teegan has written!

[Leaundra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad that the second book is already out because yeah that ending ;-) I loved this from the beginning to the end. Jalen and Austin were so sweet together. I liked them by themselves and even better together. Young and first love can be a bitch sometimes and it doesn't help when you're two guys and one of them is on the verge of being a pro tennis star. It also doesn't help that outside forces are trying to keep them apart. Their friends were the best though, truly the best. Jalen's mom was great, I really liked her and you could tell she only wanted the best for her son. I'm excited to find out how things are going with them.

[charlotte, · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnf @ 22%

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't bad, but it could have been so much better. I wanted to love it because it focuses on a tennis player, and tennis romance stories are so few and far between and I absolutely crave reading romances between tennis players! It was cute and lovely in places, but rather cliched in others. Sometimes I skimmed paragraphs because it was a lot of repetition, too. But still, I didn't hate it by any means and certainly enjoyed it enough to read to the end. I wish the ending had been more of an actual ending, rather than a HFN that just kind of stopped. I may download book two, although not straight away.

[Claire Potterton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great storyline, well developed, extremely likeable characters, the steamy scenes were steamy, the romance and emotion in the story was beautiful.......but this book didn't end, it just stopped. So frustrating! Maybe it's just me, but I like a bit of closure in my stories and there were parts to this tale that,for me, were unfinished. One more chapter, a few paragraphs, just a short epilogue and I would have been a five star happy bunny.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5- I don't normally read YA books and honestly going into it I didn't even check to see that it was a YA book (we normally do not review any YA books on the blog). I really enjoyed the entire story line, another book/story proving that Love is Love, no matter the ages. I'm looking forward to the continuation of these two well written main characters. The side characters were really a great addition to how the story carried out throughout the book.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and story of Jalen and Austin. The whole story and the back up characters were well written. It just was not about the boys coming of age story but about how difficult it is for high school students to deal with the stress of becoming an adult and falling in love. How the adults want you to be and how you want to be? As a high school student, your being pushed and pulled in all directions, just trying to make it out. Great story and beautifully written.

[Ptdog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes, I get put off by the overly angsty protagonist. I was just about to my breaking point when the story ended. Still, I liked this story as a romance and would read a follow up story about these guys. So.... 5 stars!

[Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to, and I can’t even remember why I picked it up.

The two MCs are quite all over the place emotionally, but being 18 is often no picnic, and it felt quite authentic.

Two things that slightly spoiled it for me were right at the end, one of them being the very abrupt ending. But overall a book I really enjoyed. The writing flowed.

[ItsAboutTheBook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review can be read at It's About The Book

I don’t read a lot of NA but I know I’ve really enjoyed every story I’ve read by this author so a novel length book was too tempting to pass up because of a NA tag. I’m glad I read it. This could have easily been a 4.5 star book but I’m not a huge fan of angst and things got pretty angsty towards the end. I still really enjoyed it and the couple despite them being high school students. There was on page sex so if that squicks you out don’t read this. I thought the couple falling in love was beautiful and exciting in that first time all consuming way. I was smitten and that’s what I want when I read a romance. I want to fall in love right along with the characters.

Jalen doesn’t think he’s even on super teen tennis star Austin’s radar until he hits him in the eye with a tennis ball in gym class. Then his life changes forever. He goes from being in the background to everyone noticing him. Jalen has no idea why Austin is suddenly there every time he turns around. Jalen thinks Austin is hot but straight since he’s had a girlfriend for awhile. Until rumors spread they’ve broken up. A friendship leads to a kiss which leads to them becoming each other’s firsts Austin isn’t out publicly so Jalen assumes that he’s an experiment or a fling. He knows their time is limited but he can’t pass up this chance with Austin just because he’s scared of heartache. Jalen knows he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

I really enjoyed the romance in this book. Both the primary between Jalen and Austin and the secondary between their friends. Austin has wanted Jalen from afar for much longer than Jalen can believe. High School is a very confusing and scary time for a kid. It’s even more pressure when you’re on the fast track to being a professional tennis player before you’re eighteen. So Austin has the freedom to get away with almost anything as a star athlete in his school but he’s not free to love Jalen publicly. This creates some problems. Considering Jalen has had a hard time coming to terms with the fact someone like Austin could want him he handles the secrecy and pressure of their hidden relationship very well. But everyone has a breaking point.

The book is told from Jalen’s POV only so you don’t really get into Austin’s head. You do feel that Austin genuinely has feelings for Jalen. You understand the pressure and conflict he must feel to succeed at his career while the small window for him is open. It’s everything he’s been working towards. Falling for Jalen is something he’s struggled to suppress for so long when fate throws them together it’s too much for Austin to resist. He has to act on his attraction for Jalen. Their courtship was a lot of fun to read about. I feel like although is was from one character’s POV I got a good sense of both of their struggles.

While I was happy to see Jalen shine at his singing and songwriting this was the part of the book that seemed more juvenile to me. Jalen has this amazing talent that literally sends his popularity into to orbit overnight. So much that he needs bodyguards at school? Okay. I think this might have made me crazier if I didn’t LOVE the main bodyguard/bouncer who was also Austin’s best friend. OMG he’s amazing! If only there were more like him out there. I adored that he found love with Jalen’s best friend who was also not part of the popular crowd before the tennis ball to the face incident.

To sum up the love story was excellent and sweet. There was such an innocent and fragile passion between the couple that I couldn’t help but be totally absorbed in them. Some of the high school politics were necessary for the story line but frustrating. Jalen’s mom was awesomely understanding. Lots of conflict. Pretty high on angst in the second half as things amp up between their characters and lives. I’d say if you like angst or NA you’ll love this one. If you don’t you may still like it because the romance portion of this story was written beautifully. I could feel the adoration and connection between the characters. Definitely A sigh worthy read.

[Barb ~rede-2-read~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by the publisher through Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words in exchange for an impartial review.


High school senior Jalen Marten wants nothing more than to get through his last year of school without attracting anyone’s attention. But unknown to him, he’s already attracted the attention of tennis protégé Austin Suter, a gorgeous senior who’s on his way to becoming a tennis pro, and if his dad has his way, that will happen before he even finishes high school.

Forcing himself to go to gym class, the last thing Jalen wants is to participate in tennis. He’s never been a team player, and in fact, he can’t even excel in a sport as simple as hitting a ball with a large racket. So when his opponent serves a ball straight into his face, he’s convinced he’s hopelessly doomed. The fact that the opponent is smokin’ hot Austin Suter is beside the point. Reeling from the force of the blow, and with his eye swollen shut, he’s shocked by the concern Austin shows him and even more shocked when Austin shows up at his home later that night to see how Jalen is doing. What follows is an unlikely friendship, and then a hidden courtship, and two young men who fall head over heels in love despite all the obstacles in their way.

Concurrent with their romance, Jalen’s popularity soars when he’s overheard singing one of the songs he wrote. It starts with his music teacher telling him he needs to form a band, and then it moves to the student body when someone overhears him and makes a recording of his songs. Brushfires have nothing on the speed of gossip in a high school, so while Jalen and Austen are trying to hide their love, it becomes almost impossible when Jalen’s popularity soars.

This is a long story filled with humor, angst, heartache, friendship, and of course, love and romance. It follows the journey of Jalen’s and Austen’s romance through all the ups and downs and complications of being teens with raging hormones, peer pressure, high school politics, and meddling parents. Well, one meddling parent—Austen’s father plans to assure his boy succeeds as a tennis pro and when he finds out about Jalen and Austen, he puts even more pressure on Austen to stay in the closet and to continue to date Maddie Kieffer, the girl his father had chosen for him. The same girl who makes life unbearable for Jalen and who is known as both a princess and a bitch in school. Jalen’s heart breaks so many times in this story that it’s a wonder it’s still ticking at the end, but at least the author leaves us with a HFN and there’s the promise of another story to follow.

Teegan Loy is a new author for me, but it won’t be the last time I read her work. Some of the humorous situations in the story made me laugh out loud, and equally, some of the sad scenes made me cry. All of the characters, especially the MC’s best friends, were very well-developed, making the story a pleasure to read. I recommend this to all who enjoy young adult MM romance.

[Morgan Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jalen is a music geek with a “pretty” face and a serious musical talent. He tries to blend in and never draw attention to himself. He’s also a serious klutz. Of course he knows who Ausin is – Austin is the star tennis player/golden boy of high school and straight as an arrow… right?

Austin ends up hitting Jalen in the eye with a tennis ball and this acts as an entrée for the two to talk. It isn’t long before Austin admits he’s had his eye on Jalen for a long time – 3 years! – and just hasn’t known what to do about it.

Neither boy wants to “come out”, both have a lot going on in their lives besides the other (Austin is about to go pro and Jalen is suddenly singing in front of all the school) – but hiding their relationship gets wearing…

In the end, these two guys will have to decide what their priorities are and who vs what is important.

**

This is a book I’ve had on my TBR list forever. When I saw there was a sequel coming out I snatched it up and took that as incentive to read book one right away.

I loved the beginning of this book. It’s full of surprising characters – both Austin and Jalen’s friends are well developed and fun. Jalen’s mom is a superstar parent. Austin’s family is only a little bit a caricature of “evil”… the mom is a sort of a mixed bag and the sister, Ce-Ce is awesome.

By the time I hit the middle of the story I was wondering… where can this be going? Jalen’s music looks like he’s going to be ready to sell albums any minute and Austin looks like he’s ready to drop tennis to be with Jalen because he can’t take the pressure any more, but does that happen?

Without giving away too much – there’s some angst that the boys experience and separation and then a somewhat ridiculous ending that gives the boys a tenuous HFN.

If I hadn’t had the sequel in my hands I would have been so frustrated by where the author left these guys – because it’s in no way settled.

So… based on this story alone … I was captivated and intrigued. I thought the MCs were interesting and unique with a little bit of “super powers” (super star tennis guy and amazing musician) thrown in to mitigate the teenagey angst. The HFN ending took what could have been a 5 star book to a 4-4.25 star rating.

[Arch Bala · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are a lot of things to like about this book. First would be the main characters - I really, really liked Jalen’s character despite his somehow uber-jumpy attitude aka his ninja mode (which I honestly do not get – I mean being jumpy and all) and being whiny all throughout the book. He’s likeable enough that those attributes are easy to disregard. Austin is pretty likeable as well but because the story was told from Jalen’s POV, I somehow didn’t feel much from him. I wonder why it took him years before finally approaching Jalen. It’s so un-Austin based on his characterization.

At the beginning, it was in my understanding that Jalen is one of those kids that doesn’t stand out, get teased and all but after one session of singing at the music room (witnessed by his music teacher and some students) he’s suddenly at the top of the high school food chain. I found it over the top but again, that plot point was easy to ignore.

I do find Austin and Clark’s set up pretty weird though. I was like, why’s Clark acting like Austin’s bitch? It’s just way too weird and the way the big football jock suddenly turned all “kitten that, kitten this” was almost comical and real awkward at times.

Sarah’s a great character as well as Jalen’s best bud. She’s the cliché best friend whose main part in the book is to listen to Jalen’s whining. At least she’s cool enough for me but she could at least have given Jalen some pep talk to boost his self-confidence through the years.

Can I just also mention how I hate the fact that Jalen’s always saying, “Don’t say shit like that, stop saying shit like that” blahblah – I’m like, seriously Jalen – please stop saying that already!

This book actually reminds me so much of Madison Parker’s Play Me I’m Yours – the whole high school setting, the bff, the bff’s big boyfriend, the athlete boyfriend, the wicked ex, the music etc…

Love Complicated is one of those books that started out really great but faltered midway until you’re left wondering at the end what the hell just happened.

I’m hoping for a sequel though because I was not really satisfied with how things ended – still, I thought it’s an A-okay book. Really not that bad.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

[Kirsty Bicknell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Complicated is a Young Adult contemporary romance, in which Teegan Loy's protagonists deal with first love, trust, self-confidence issues and uncertain futures.
Honestly, this is a story which I was unsure of at the beginning, but as Austin and Jalen were given space to develop naturally, by the later stages of Love Complicated I was crying!
I think perhaps one of the main problems I had is that Jalen and Austin are forced to hide their intense relationship from their peers because of Austin's public persona. Yet, Austin is such a dominant character, chasing Jalen until he relents and Austin certainly is no stranger to sex with men. Whilst the two of them allow their relationship to flourish behind closed doors, Austin's tennis career goes from strength to strength, until his father forces the decision for him to turn professional.
Jalen is not a jock or even particularly popular at school until he is overheard singing. I would like to have seen this lead to something more definite for Jalen, but also understand Teegan Loy's decision to focus on the romance.
One of my favourite characters in the novel is Clark, the football player and Austin's best friend. I think we expect him to play the role of bully, but he is consistently loyal, funny and warm-hearted.
The love story of Austin and Jalen is not a simple one and is made more difficult by small-minded attitudes, blackmail and fear. Love Complicated is a novel I really recommend and I will definitely read more by the author.

[Lisa J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I can't resist a jock/nerd trope. This book has that, but it throws in a whole bunch of charm and quirkiness in the form of Jalen Marten. I just adored him. He would have been quite at home in Catch My Breath.

My second favorite character was Clark, Austin's best friend. It was so nice to see a male jock cast as the bestie. He cracked me up, and I loved how he had Austin, and then Jalen's, backs.

The story loses steam toward the end. The dreaded I'm-breaking-up-with-you-for-your-own-good plot takes over, and Jalen becomes a tad bit annoying in his martyrdom. I also thought Jalen's mom was a bit too accommodating. I get supporting your son, but ...

The book is told from Jalen's POV, so there are a few unanswered questions about Austin's motivations. The ending also was unsatisfying, so I hope there's a sequel.

The first 2/3rds were so cute though, that I'm rounding up.

[Tracy~Bayou Book Junkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

*copy provided by author/publisher via pride promotions in exchange for an honest review*

I wanted to love this book so much, but I didn't love it. I liked the premises and the story line was good. My problem with the book was the characters. They are in high school, but they are 18, so they are legally adults. They didn't act 18, I felt more like I was reading about 15 year olds, Jalen much more than Austin. Jalen was so immature and annoying at times. The phrases "Stop saying Shit Like that", "he whined" and "he grumbled" were repeated over and over.

It's a real shame, because I loved the characters together. They were sweet and loving to one another. They had great chemistry. The sex was hot, yet also sweet and tender. I just really wish they would have been more mature.

I did laugh my ass off at times. These characters were funny. Their friends were funny, and I really enjoyed their banter and back and forth. I loved watching Jalen come into his own with his music.

If you can get over Jalen being annoyingly immature at times, well this was a really good read!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must admit I got sucked into this story right from the beginning and stayed up way too late reading. I just adored both of these boys. Jalen is the boy who's spent his entire HS career hiding in the crowd (or so he thinks) and Austin is the school's golden boy. There was no bullying or meanness in this book just lots of insecurities. Jalen's mom is the best! Yes, there is sex but it's the teenage kind....3 seconds long. I feel like we just got started with their story and really, really hope there's going to be another one. It felt more like a HFN than a HEA.

[Trace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, this is a five star read because it appeals to the ooey-gooey, sappy center of me. It's exceptionally talented teenagers-in-love who really, genuinely have a sweet relationship and they made me root for them the entire time. It's the sort of book that makes me want to read a fluffy HEA sequel where they just keep being strong together and triumphing over obstacles.

It's a chicken-soup comfort read sort of warm fuzzy book.

[Theodora IK · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little less than 4 stars for me. From 80% mark, Jalen changed into a bithcy boy with martyrdom issues. Instead of talking, he shut down with his woe-is-me attitude. He pissed me off big time. Too bad, I loved him at first. I almost ran out of patience. Also, Austin's dad should be burned alive on a pyre after being slathered with sugar and doused with fire ants

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

High school is such a terrifying time in a young persons life.
Austin and Jalen's love life is really complicated with Austin trying to turn pro in the tennis world. Jalen is a talented songwriter/singer. The drama of family not wanting them to be together.
This was a fun read that deals with love and sacrifice's that two people will make for love.

[Omega696]

Two very different high school students find that they have something in common after all. Their relationship is not easy thought. Austin is a rising star in a tennis world while Jalen spends his days trying to blend into tapestry. Jalen's music talents forces him to open up to people a bit but his presence in Austin's life is not appreciated by many.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of those book I'm reading before they vanish from Scribd. It reads like it really was written by an adolescent. So. Much. Gary Stu. I'm surprised I finished it, I probably only did because I really enjoyed other books by Loy.

[Angel Pedroza · Rating 3 out of 5]

The language was awkward and stilted and the interaction between high schoolers was unrealistic. The main annoying factor for me was one of the two main characters was the "girl". The reason I gave this book three stars was because the storyline was good.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to four.

This ended just as things started to get interesting with Austin and Jalen. I'm not sure if the author is planning a sequel or if it ended that way in order for the reader to draw his/her own conclusions, but it was unsatisfying to say the least.

[Birte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I seriously hope there's going to be a part 2, because ... this ending? grmph

[Saba · Rating 3 out of 5]

That ending though O_o I totally wanted more.

[Michaela · Rating 1 out of 5]

This started really good, but then it turned into a big cliche.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.