Nate & Casey

by Charlie Winters

Falling in love with the boy next door…


Everything changes for Nate Collins when his family moves to the Indiana sleepy town of Long Beach and directly next door to the home of Casey Appleton. Seven years of nearly-inseparable friendship between them finds Nate developing an unrequited adoration for his best friend, even sending them off to college together… alone and sleeping side-by-side every desolate night.

Christmas break and one drunken kiss later turns into an eighteen-day love affair—one that they both begrudgingly walk away from—each with disparate broken hearts.

But five years later, after a simple trip to the bookstore, Casey makes a purchase that could change his life forever and reunite him with the man who’d once meant everything to him.

But is it too late? With so much time between them and so much left unspoken, can they truly start over?

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Contemporary, Second Chance, Friends To Lovers

237 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Writer of gay fiction. Silver RCA winner of Best Debut Author in 2015 for introductory novel "Fin & Matt" on the Sinfully Sexy blog. The same novel was listed in the Washington Blade's "Top Ten Summer Reads" in gay romance.

(Source: Amazon.com)

Reviews

[Ele · Rating 1 out of 5]

So basically, up until 7-10%, every girl in this book is a stupid, superficial, slutty, drunk bimbo. I tried to let it slide because the characters were basically teenagers at the time, but damn...

"This is the same girl who wrote you a letter going on and on about how much she liked the smell of your colon.” His laugh was deep and infectious. “So she doesn’t know how to spell. Who cares?”
.......................................................................
I didn’t come here to watch you nail some drunken girl who’s majoring in astrology because she reeeally likes looking at the stars and stuff.” [...]
“You should tell her that it’s astronomy, not astrology.”
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Loud [the party], energetic, and full of girls who used the word “like” no less than ten times per sentence.
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“God, you sound like a fucking woman, Collins.”
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She’s pretty.” “For a girl,” he teased. “But you’re right. She’s not that bright.”
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“Is it because she said that she didn’t want to ‘sugar code’ it?
“You’re cruel, Collins,” he said with a wide grin. “Tell me exactly how you feel. Don’t sugar code it.”

Yeah, that's right. Keep making fun of the "stupid" girls. After all, you 're in a state school, and "If you want to transfer somewhere where all of the girls are fucking brain surgeons, you should do that.”

Get the hell out with this kind of mindset!

Needless to say, I was not in the mood after all this but I kept going. It didn't work at all. The MC's actions made no sense. Nate put too much pressure on Casey and didn't give him any space or time. More often than not, he kept throwing hissy fits. The other characters were like caricatures; the boyfriend who suddenly becomes the villain and turns the plot to a whole different thing. The ex wife who is actually turned on seeing her ex husband making out with another man and goes out of her way to bring them together. The parents that want to be close to their children, but when said children want to talk about sex, they close their ears.

“Well, think about it this way. Would you like me to tell you what I did with your mother last night?”

FFS. Your teenage son asks for your help after having sex for the first time, and this is your answer?

I could go on and on about why I didn't like this book, but I 've already said enough. I'm definately the voice of dissent, since everyone seemed to like it, so don't mind me.

But I can't recommend.

[☆ Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Several* parts of this story were far-fetched, with reactions being way over the top, bad situations miraculously working themselves out and life decisions made on a whim, totally out of left field.

BUT... I did genuinely enjoy this one. : )



Although most other books with some of these same "what the fuck's" would've set me off on a rant to end all rants, both MC's were completely adorable and really made me want to root for them, so 4 stars for this fun read.

(It vaguely reminded me of a Cardeno C. 'estranged best friends' story from a few years back. VERY vaguely, but still...)

[Don Bradshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great friends to lovers read. Casey and Nate were childhood friends. The friendship grew into more until one day the couple shattered but the love remained. Nicely written and well plotted with just the right amount of angst. There were a few surprising plot twists that filled in the story perfectly. Well worth reading.

[Denise H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

*** Charlie Winters has another well written book here ! ***
Deeply emotional, amazing characters, smoothly flowing storyline, and the hot sexiness we love ! We begin with the flashbacks to the childhood friends Nate and Casey. The best friends shared everything, and were together more and more as they grew up.
Nate...gay romance author

Nate knew he was gay, and Casey didn't realize he was GFY, gay for you, - gay for only Nate - until college, where they shared a room.
Casey... small town cop

We see their discoveries, first times, and the real true love they had for one another. But for Casey, being gay was still new; his "gayness" was new and he's afraid to be "out". Thus the clumsy split, the poor communication, the torment for each of them. Yes, five years is a long time, but small town's judgments can be deep, guys can be stubborn, and stupidity can take over in their brain and they go with the "what if" mentality. Finally they meet again.


Still they stutter, afraid to speak the truth, but it finally is exposed. There is Nate's manager in all his creepiness, and Casey's sad life, divorce and depression. Can their true love overcome all the badness? There is intense passion, drama, angst, happiness, sad times, and caring friends and family, with secrets of their own.

Wonderful last chapter and great epilogue.
I highly recommend this well done novel of friends to lovers.
ENJOY !!!
================
I really liked Finn & Matt, such a terrific tale, and have been waiting for this one,
Charlie's second novel. I'm very happy.
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[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book and loved the angst. Although, I have to say I was Team Casey and wanted Nate to apologize for his part in the end of the 18 day love affair.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book despite all the annoying shit about it.
The book is about Nate whose gay and Casey who is supposedly straight. They have been BFF's since they were 12. Nate comes out, Casey is good with it and the bromance continues. Nate is in love with Casey and pretty much acts like a douche whenever Casey sees a girl or acts like he is interested in one etc. Tables turn when Nate gets a sort of boyfriend and then roles are reversed.
Look there is a lot of bullshit in this book that annoyed me.
-Both Mc's like to throw hissy fits.
-When either of them get mad they need space.
-After they hook up they both behave like children.
Anyhow the second half of the story focuses on 5 years later. A lot has happened in both of their lives. They have not talked or seen each other in that time after their horrible break up and this half of the story saved it for me. The only thing that hasn't changed is that they both still love each other but there are a lot of obstacles in their way, boyfriend, ex-wife, distance, time, etc. In the end we get the HEA. I liked it, it's a decent read but there is a lot of crap you have to overlook and be accepting of in order to enjoy the end.

[Shelba · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I did enjoy this... and typically I dislike second chance stories... there are a few things that I would have preferred:

1. Less flashbacks. There were a lot, and some of them didn't really add anything to the story.

2. I wish more time had gone by... only because I would like to see them a little older than 24.

3. I hated the whole Santiago thing. I think the story would have been 100% better without Nate being in a relationship, let alone an abusive relationship with a man who cheats on him with a barely legal boy, and who controls every aspect of his life, personally and professionally.

4. I could have done without Casey and Jill calling each other 'babe'. It's like my #1 least favourite pet name (though I dislike them all), but it's super weird to call your ex that, especially in front of their current SO.

5. At one point, Nate discusses a fellow author and says he hates how he includes backstories for all these characters that make one appearance. So, I found it funny when the exact opposite happened in the book. Nate calls Michelle to talk about his book. And I had to do a search to find out who Michelle was, but she hadn't actually been mentioned at any point prior to that. She is brought up a few times, Nate talks to her a few times, and all I know is that she was Santiago's superior. I don't know if it was her company, or if she is just a director, or what. So, I get finding every side character having a backstory annoying, but the same can also be said about introducing a new character 3/4 of the way through the book, and not actually give any information on them, not even an actual introduction.

[Jennifer Shanahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow I really loved this book. I wasnt even finished with it and I had to go back and read the beginning again so I could remember what happened with Nate and Casey when they were y0unger before I read the part when they were older (twice as well). So basically I read this book twice the first time.
They are so so sweet, the two of them and I LOVED their story. Looking forward to reading more from Charlie Winters! AWESOME! LOVE so Much!!!!

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went into this book thinking "This might be a good plane read" and I was right as I think an airplane (or any 'trip' situation) is the perfect setting for this book, because I find it very difficult to imagine me actually sitting down and reading this cover to cover in any other situation. It is not that this book is bad, it's just extremely unfocused, in some regards. Some moments were tender and well done while others just seemed unnecessarily dramatic and frankly did not have much of an impact. Let’s dive in an unpack this novel shall we? (Please not there are a few spoilers, but not really that much I focus more on my feelings than discuss plot points)

Let us begin with The positives of this book, the first of which has to be The entirety of its first section. In the first section of the book we are introduced to Nate and Casey, two teenage boys who have an extremely close bond. It was super cute. Nate is gay and in love with his best friend (which is extremely common, who hasn't been there?) and Casey is his presumably straight bff who doesn't care about Nate sexuality, and just loves his bff (though the possibility of more is hinted at very early on). Their dialogue at the start was extremely believable, they felt real, this is how teenagers sound, this what they talk about, I could imagine having these types of conversations at 17. Then came the first intimate scene and it was actually so well crafted. There was none of the usual new adult tendencies to make sex seem ultra glamorous, especially when it's someone's first time. The author took time to explore the confusion and awkwardness that this first time usually involves. I would give the first half of the book a 3.5 stars. It was so enjoyable.

But then....... it wasn't. After the two boys become intimate, I feel like a totally different author started writing this book. The flow that had been developed became strange. Things got so weird, very quickly. The two boys who had distinct voices in the beginning, suddenly sounded so alike. In fact everyone started to sound alike. And not alike in an intelligent way . Suddenly they all felt like they were 13 year olds. The side characters seemed like puppets with half baked (very similar opinions) and the book's antagonist seemed plucked directly from the worst soap opera you could think of (I have SO many things to say about him but I will let you form our own opinions). The shift in their relationship was also SO WEIRD. From best friend to calling each other babe and baby with no awkwardness in 3.2 seconds flat? I. Don't. think. So. It was almost as if the author could not quite get a handle on the tone their relationship should take and just decided that two boys who have been best friends for YEARS suddenly did not know how to communicate with one another. I didn't buy it. Also the use of the double perspective was unrewarding, because as I mentioned before THEY SOUNDED EXACTLY ALIKE. The plot itself wasn't dreadful, but wrapped up a bit too nicely to be real, though reality was checked at the door from the end of the first section. I will however say I liked the little flashbacks to past moments between the boys (I sincerely feel like Winters should stick to YA fiction, the younger Nate and Casey parts were so superior to the adult parts).

The main focus of this novel IS the relationship between the title characters. And in a word it was problematic. While I really appreciated the conversation it started on the spectrum of sexuality and the nuanced nature of attraction (The fact that Casey did not necessarily see himself at first as universally Attracted to men but without a doubt attracted to Nate) their relationship made some damaging statements about romance and to me primarily read of dependency with a touch of obsession masquerading as love. The boys from a young age speak about how much they capital 'N' Need each other and it was a bit too much for me personally. They never felt in love to me (except maybe in Nate’s unrequited stage earlier in the novel). They felt more addicted for lack of a better word, as though they were crippled by this need to be by one another's side, especially towards the end of the book. It was such an unhealthy relationship under the subtext that actually made me uncomfortable at times, as every positive seemed to be drenched in a neediness that was so restrictive to each individual character's growth. I wondered why they would even want to put themselves through this type of relationship, where the main factor is their dependency. I know these relationships exist in the real world, but I feel like in real world situations, those around you call a thing a thing, while the side characters of this "romance" seemed to cheer on this unhealthy problematic relationship.

In rereading this review it almost sounds like i hated this book, but I didn't (I essentially read this in one sitting so how bad can it be?). I thought the parts that speak to the teenage years were very well done, but that perhaps the author may not have ever heard adults have a conversation because the older Nate and Casey are where this book truly suffered. And while I may not agree with the type of relationship portrayed in this book, I do appreciate the questions it ended up asking about love and romance, even if unintentionally and I will def. be up for reading more from this author. Nate and Casey gets a 3 out of 5 stars from me.

[Soren Mogensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read by Charlie Winters, shame there aren’t more books from the author.

Nate & Casey was a little different in the way the story unfolds over many years but I enjoyed it very much.

[Hrtnsoul28 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nate and Casey was a wonderful story of second chance with your first love. I think if they were both young boys and just sat and talked it would have saved a lot of issues. With Casey finally realizing he was attracted and in love with Nate but not identifying as gay caused issues. Nate was scared Casey was only there because he was afraid of losing his friendship. Years go by and they both have realized they were in love. An ex wife and a current boyfriend later they finally fight for the truth in their lives. I thought Casey's father was wrong not to talk with his son about his issues but in the end it all worked out.

[K Cherry]

It started out great.

This book drew me in at the beginning, but then it just made no sense. How can two boys who love each other as both best friends and lovers so quickly part on a stupid miscommunication of feelings, not speak to each other again for five years, especially since they had been everything to each other since 3rd grade. It was stupid, and then "bam" jump ahead with the dumbest plot after that...just no!!!!

[aneta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put it down !!

I absolutely loved this book . I wanted it to go on and on . I fell in love with both ante and Casey and was rooting for them the whole way through the story .

[Jenn C · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Good but no Fin and Matt.

[M]

DNF 42%