Ti conosco, mi conosci

Loving You #4

by Renae Kaye

Possono due amici, divenuti amanti occasionali, lasciarsi alle spalle errori del passato ed errate supposizioni, per costruire qualcosa di duraturo?

Shane, tranquillo topo di biblioteca, ha un grosso segreto, che custodisce da quindici anni: lui e Ambrose Jakoby, superstar del football australiano, sono cresciuti porta a porta. Sono stati amici intimi e Shane lo ha sostenuto durante gli anni della scuola.
Una notte però, tutto è cambiato.
Prima che Ambrose lasciasse Perth, da spaventato diciottenne, e andasse a Melbourne per iniziare la sua nuova carriera da giocatore, lui e Shane hanno passato la notte insieme.
Per i nove anni successivi, ogni volta che Ambrose tornava in città, i due hanno portato avanti una relazione da amici con benefici. Shane non ha mai saputo, con esattezza, in che termini fossero o in quale modo definire la sessualità di Ambrose. E Ambrose nemmeno. Poi, durante l’ultimo Natale, le cose sono di nuovo cambiate; un dissapore ha messo alla prova la loro amicizia e Shane ha giurato di dimenticare il suo amore non corrisposto.
Ma ora Ambrose è tornato, si sta riprendendo da un infortunio e spera di farsi perdonare. Sostiene di essere pronto a una vera relazione. Shane dovrà decidere se Ambrose è sincero e capire se la sua anima da Tassorosso sia disposta o meno a rischiare.

Genres: M M Romance, Sports, Friends To Lovers, Romance, Contemporary, LGBT, Australia

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 2018

About the author

Renae Kaye is a lover and hoarder of books who thinks libraries are devilish places because they make you give the books back. She consumed her first adult romance book at the tender age of thirteen and hasn’t stopped since. After years – and thousands of stories! – of not having book characters do what she wants, she decided she would write her own novel and found the characters still didn’t do what she wanted. She believes that the world is too complicated for her, so she loses herself in stories. The only thing that keeps her going are her children who are the delight of her life.

Renae lives in Perth, Western Australia. She is a survivor of being the youngest in a large family and believes that laughter (and a good book) can cure anything. Which is why it's a pity laughter is sometimes scarce on the ground.

You can contact her at renaekaye@iinet.net.au.

Reviews

[Morgan Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

In general I’m a huge Renae Kaye fan. She’s had some misses for me – ie The Straight Boyfriend – but in general I love her character development, humor, hurt/comfort abilities and her sense of romance.
We get a bit of the humor and a fair amount of comfort in this in that our primary MC Shane is pretty much pining for his Friends with Bennies BFF for many years and that’s fairly well developed.
However – the payoff is NOT there. What takes this from a 5 star to a 4 star is the lack of completion. Our boys end up together in what feels like a very wishy washy way. Some people will complain at them staying in the closet – I was fine with that – I just never got that final “I love you” scene that made this feel solid and “worth the pain”.
I’m sure others will see it in there – but to me it felt lacking.
It was a page turner and I enjoyed reading every last word, but at the end I was a little disappointed.

[Lelyana's Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You can’t tell your heart what to do. It beats without you thinking of it. So it acts without you thinking of it. You have no choice, unless you want it to stop beating."

Best friends since they were babies didn't make things easier, especially in communication between Shane and Ambrose. There's so many things that didn't spoken up. And it was irritated me the most. Casual lover, and no talk, irked me, a lot. Sure I was glad I met my favorite Jay and Liam again, but the overall story was kinda made my head spinning. Because I wanted to slap Ambrose all the time, and yelled at Shane all the time to have a little 'courage' and self-confident.
I loved Loving Jay so much, expected this last installment of the series was quite as good. But turns out, I put too much expectation on Shane and Ambrose. They had a major problems in their relationship. Communications. And I hate that when the two MCs didn't see it as important. (You can blame my profession as a behavioral therapist).
Not my favorite of the series, but I will read Renae's other books in the future.

* ARC provided by Dreamspinner Press in exchange of an honest review.*

[Axalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shane et Ambrose avec un Culomètre à 🍑🍆

On finit en beauté la saga avec une romance sportive seconde chance 🤩

Shane est le plus discret de la bande, il passe sa vie dans les livres et peut être considéré comme un vrai bon geek. Il a un travail passable également. Et puis tout change quand la super star de foot, Ambrose Jakobi revient en ville.

Vous savez ce que j'ai aimé dans ce tome ? Que Shane et Ambroise soient déjà fous amoureux l'un de l'autre. Et c'est tellement adorable de les voir évoluer ensemble.

Pour plus de contexte, Ambrose et Shane sont amis d'enfance et couchent de temps en temps ensemble depuis que Ambrose est devenu pro. Et, Shane a toujours eu conscience de ses sentiments et, depuis que celui-ci a voulu coucher avec lui en étant en couple, il a pris ses distances. Sauf que Ambrose est de retour après une blessure et décide de dormir chez lui et pas chez sa mère !

J'aime beaucoup le caractère de Ambrose. On comprend très vite qu'il est demi-sexuel, c'était a dire qu'il a besoin de sentiments pour ressentir du désir envers ses partenaires. Et l'auteur l'exploite très bien dans sa relation avec Shane, c'est très intéressant à voir !

Un très belle fin de saga que je pourrais relire à l'occasion ! Dommage par contre que les autres livres de l'auteur n'existent plus en ebook 😭

[AngelFire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't nearly as good as it could have been. I usually really like this author's work but this story wasn't up to her usual standards. To the author's credit, I had no problem understanding what was happening despite this being number 4 in a series I hadn't read. I also loved the MCs and their friends to lovers relationship.

I adored both Shane and Ambrose. They're complete opposites, with Ambrose being a quiet but popular jock throughout high school who excelled at soccer and Shane being a quiet bookworm whose best friend was the only flamboyant gay guy at their high school. Ambrose and Shane are raised by single mothers and their families happen to live next to each other in a duplex from the time the boys are about 7 years old. Their moms join forces to help each other out, resulting in their families basically becoming a unit of 4 with both boys thinking of both women as their moms and being as comfortable in their own homes as each other's. They don't socialize together at school but living in each other's pockets for most of their lives result in them knowing each other very well and enjoying each other's company. I loved how that closeness and familiarity with each other was shown throughout the story, like when they made breakfast together and made each other's food and coffee the way the other person liked without having to consult with each other. Another cute scenario was how Ambrose would constantly go into bookstores when his team was traveling on away games so he could check if they had any books that Shane would like.

Unfortunately, the structure of the book wasn't what I was hoping for. At the beginning, I was really, really confused and if you go into the book without thoroughly reading the summary, you'll probably be even more confused. Instead of telling the boys' story chronologically, the author starts out jumping around between timelines for the first third of the book. The present timeline is when Ambrose gets injured and returns to Perth (and Shane) to do his recovery. But the author constantly switches to different timelines in the past, sometimes through telling and sometimes through showing. We're told about their FWB arrangement that they'd had for several years, we get scenes from their time in high school, we get scenes of Shane's day to day life with his commute and his friends etc. It was structured in a really confusing way and I didn't understand why the author set things up this way.

Basically, the book starts in a place that authors would usually choose as their third act temporary conflict. Ambrose has been a pro soccer player for 9 years and during that time, he and Shane had done a FWB arrangement that started the night Ambrose left to join his pro team in Melbourne. Shane hasn't trusted Ambrose's intentions or commitment so he decides to distance himself from Ambrose. They stop constantly texting and Shane tries moving on with his life. A year passes and Ambrose gets injured and he decides to do his recovery in Perth so he can be close to Shane again (and we learn later that his intention is to fix whatever caused Shane to pull away). The majority of the book involves Ambrose and Shane living in each other's pockets and being adorable together (as usual) with Shane quickly forgetting his prior intention to distance himself. They go back to having sex pretty much immediately too and as far as Ambrose is concerned, things seem a-okay.

This was a problem for two reasons. First - it was a bit boring and repetitive. It was particularly disappointing to remember the many things that the author had told us had happened during those 9 years, none of which were shown on page. Another reviewer pointed out how disappointing it was to be told that Ambrose had bottomed for the first time during that 9 year period but we didn't get to see it happen on page. Plus - Ambrose doesn't bottom for the rest of the book. There were many parts of that 9 year span that I wanted to see and was only told about. I did love the hurt-comfort scenes between Shane and Ambrose, since Ambrose insists on staying in Shane's tiny house instead of the big mansion he'd bought his mom. Shane has to help Ambrose bathe, change clothes, drive him around etc. I loved that but it wasn't enough material to fill the large space in the story that this part took up.

Second - the only conflict during that the majority of the story is that Shane lacks the self confidence to believe that Ambrose would ever be interested in him. This wasn't only boring, but there was no progression to it. At the very end of the book, Shane still doesn't really believe that Ambrose is attracted to him and loves him for who he is, despite tons and tons of evidence that Ambrose is crazy about him and has been for years. Granted - part of the reason this conflict was able to exist for so long is because Ambrose is one of the worst communicators I've ever come across. To the author's credit, despite how annoying this entire plotline was and how insufficient it was to have the pages it had, Ambrose's communication issues were done well. It's not that the guy feels uncomfortable talking about his feelings, but he literally doesn't know how to properly express himself. He often tried to explain to Shane how/why/when he's attracted to Shane and both Shane and I ended the conversation having no clue what the guy was trying to say. It was realistic but at the same time, I hated that the author used this barrier to prolong this boring conflict. There are tons of resources Ambrose could have used to help him communicate better and to help him address Shane's lack of confidence.

I also rolled my eyes at the author's insistence on stretching Ambrose' demisexuality discovery out to be a major plotline when it should have been nothing more than a short conversation. The guy has known for years that's bisexual. IMO, that was the big and important discovery. But somebody being demisexual is the equivalent of somebody realizing that their love language is physical instead of verbal. It's not a big deal at all and I didn't understand why the author spent so much time on it. Shane has multiple conversations with people where they try to figure out 'what's wrong' with Ambrose's approach to sex. Finally, one person mentions demisexuality and you'd think that Shane would rush home, tell Ambrose that this is the word he's been searching for and that's that. BUT HERE'S THE WORST PART! Not only did the author spend way too long on the supposedly earth shattering discovery that Ambrose is demisexual, but Shane doesn't even tell Ambrose that he learned the demisexual label!! In fact, once Shane learns about the word, it never comes up again in the rest of the story! That emphasized how the author didn't care about this plotline and how it didn't matter but it was used to fill pages when she didn't know what else to fill them with.

Speaking of filling pages with plotlines that go nowhere - I'm annoyed how the author handled Ambrose's paternal family issues. Ambrose has spent the first 3 decades of his life knowing nothing about his dad except that he's Aboriginal and ditched his mom and Ambrose. So when Ambrose decides to find his dad, discovers his dad has passed away but he finds out that he has a big extended family on his dad's side, it was a big deal. Having Ambrose and Shane go to meet Ambrose's Indigenous family was also a huge deal. I thought it was odd how the family members never mentioned Ambrose's father or explained why he or anybody else never made contact with Ambrose but I hoped this would be addressed later. There's also a part where the male members of the family pull Ambrose into a lengthy private conversation that the women and Shane aren't permitted to be part of (Shane is the sole POV narrator of the book so we're not privy to the meeting). All of this was really interesting and I was looking forward to learning about Australian Indigenous culture and issues...but here's the problem. THE PLOTLINE ENDED THERE. Ambrose never tells Shane what that private meeting was about. He states he wants to maintain contact with the family members but he's worried they're only interested in his money. AND THAT'S THE LAST WE EVER HEAR OR SEE FROM THIS PLOTLINE. This happened at about the halfway mark and nobody mentions Ambrose's paternal family for the rest of the story. What a missed opportunity by the author!

Shane's paternal situation was handled better but still poorly. Throughout most of the book, we know nothing about Shane's father, then Ambrose drops the bombshell that he's known for years that Shane's mother had negotiated with Shane's father to contribute 18 years of unpaid child support to help Shane buy his home. Essentially, Shane's mom 'found' the home for Shane and the list price already had the child support lump sum applied to it so it was much cheaper than it would normally be. Shane didn't know about any of it and I was hoping this would lead to good conflict between Shane and his mom (who has never told Shane anything about his dad). But that doesn't happen. We do learn who Shane's father is, how Shane came to be and how the house situation came to be, BUT WE LEARN ABOUT IT THROUGH TELLING IN THE EPILOGUE. Literally, the author info dumps the information at the end of the epilogue.

Another problem was the frequent cameo appearances by characters from earlier in the series. To the author's credit, I started out actually liking the group scenes. The author actually put effort into creating meaningful connections between the characters so it wasn't that awkward scenario that usually exists in series like this where a large group is together but there's no explanation for why they all hang out or how they came to know each other. Shane's self deprecating humor was also hilarious and I loved Jamie and Vinnie and how the author used them in the story. But as the story went on and nothing much was happening with Ambrose and Shane, I got annoyed that so much time was spent on those side characters. The worst example of this was near the end when Ambrose attends a Perth soccer game with Shane and the rest of the gang. Not only are the main characters from all previous books there, but many additional characters are there too. There were at least a dozen named characters and I couldn't keep track of who was who. But even worse - the characters spent multiple paragraphs bickering and negotiating about who would sit where AND THIS WAS REPEATED MULTIPLE TIMES!!

I realize I'm complaining a lot about this one but I did genuinely enjoy reading it, hence the 3 stars. Ambrose and Shane's chemistry and dynamic was done really well and I loved their scenes together. I'm disappointed because the story had so much more potential and the author coasted through most of it. It's not terrible but it could have been so much better than it was.

[1000storie1000vite · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romantico e appassionante, come sempre quando si tratta di questa autice, eppure diverso dal solito. La diversità è insita nelle caratteristiche dei due protagonisti. Shane e Ambrose, pieni di emozioni ma, per ragioni differenti, sempre contenuti nell'esprimerle pubblicamente. I loro sentimenti non esplodono impetuosi ma emergono timidi, nonostante la loro profondità.
Ho amato Shane in modo particolare. L'ho riconosciuto spirito affine grazie al naso sempre tra le pagine di un libro, alla sua presunta invisibilità, alla insicurezza latente, al suo esserci ma in modo discreto. Ne ho compreso intimamente i pensieri, le paure, il modo di sentire. È sua la voce narrante che mi ha conquistata con l'ironia dedicata, con i modi eleganti, con il pudore per i suoi sentimenti.
Ambrose rimane più misterioso. Lo conosciamo attraverso gli occhi Shane, e poi attraverso i suoi dialoghi con lui. Ambrose la stella del football, Ambrose non dichiarato, Ambrose che non sa spiegare i suoi sentimenti, che non sa di essere demisessuale, ma a cui interessa anche poco, perché lui non vuole etichette, vuole solo Shane nella sua vita, ma anche lì, a volte, gli mancano le parole.
Con due protagonisti del genere, la lettura diventa meno irruenta è più calma e avvolgente. Le emozioni scorrono calde, profonde, e la storia si dipana con un ritmo sereno e appagante.
È stato un regalo ritrovare tutti gli altri protagonisti dei precedenti libri della serie, ognuno con le sue caratteristiche. Per chi se lo chiedesse, questo romanzo può anche essere letto da solo, poiché la serie LOVING YOU è costituita da tutti, splendidi volumi autoconclusivi.
Ho letto il libro in pochissimo tempo, stregata alla vicenda, dalla delicatezza dell'animo di protagonisti e dallo stile ammaliante e coinvolgente tipo di quest'autrice.
Piaciuto? Da morire
Hugs&kisses

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book to read and review for Wicked Reads.

The story is told entirely from Shane’s point of view and it is clear that Shane doesn’t have a particularly positive self-image. He thinks is he is plain, average and invisible to others. Shane doesn’t tell his friends that on the of biggest stars in ALF is his childhood best friend and part time lover because he doesn’t think anyone would believe him. The last time Ambrose returned home to Perth to see Shane, Shane put an end to their physical relationship. But when Ambrose is injured and returns home to recover, the two men are back in each other’s lives.

Before we meet Ambrose I had a little bit of an opinion about what kind of guy he might be and that maybe he was taking advantage of Shane. However as soon as we met Ambrose I knew my initial impressions were wrong. There is so much more to Ambrose and just the big footy star and he is a really sweet and loving guy. Shane and Ambrose just need to work things out and get on the same page.

I loved so many things about this book. I loved each of the men probably because I could see a bit of myself in each of them. I’m a book worm like Shane and a lover of footy like Ambrose. I love loved watching two such good men work out their feelings for each other and get to a good place. I also loved Shane’s friends and the relationship he has with them and their Sunday tradition of BBQs and football. And most of all I loved being reminded that actions speak louder than words.

Knowing Me, Knowing You made the romantic in me very happy. I smile just thinking about this story. Ms Kaye is a new to me author and I had not read the previous books in this series. The only reason I picked up this book was because I’m a massive footy fan - Go Tigers! I am definitely going to take the time to go back and read this series right from the beginning but for readers out there, Knowing Me, Knowing You can be read as a standalone and I highly recommend it. It is a wonderful romance.

[Gabis Laberladen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darum geht's:

Shane und Ambrose wachsen Tür an Tür auf, ihre alleinerziehenden Mütter sind beste Freundinnen. Weil Shane der merkwürdige Bücherwurm ist, der sich auch noch als schwul outet und Ambrose zu den beliebten Sportskanonen zählt, war ihre tiefe Freundschaft schon immer ihr Geheimnis. Und als Ambrose in der NHL ein Sportstar am anderen Ende Australiens wird, ist es für ihn erst recht wichtig, keine Verbindung zu seinem schwulen besten Kumpel öffentlich zu machen, um die Sportkarriere nicht zu gefährden. Kritisch wird diese wackelige Situation, als Ambrose sich am Knie verletzt und ins heimatliche Perth zurückkehrt, um sich dort zu erholen.

Meine Meinung dazu gibt’s hier

[Marthea · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,25
Cała seria zdecydowanie warta przeczytania, choć najlepsza jest jedynka - "Loving Jay" wymiata 😁 Ma też to, co uwielbiam w seriach - bohaterowie poprzednich części nie znikają, pojawiają się regularnie, i - przede wszystkim - są sobą. Nie jest tak, że nagle przestajesz ich poznawać w kolejnych tomach, bo ich zachowania są zupełnie inne i nie za bardzo mają coś wspólnego z własnym "ja" z tomu, który był im poświęcony. W historii Shane'a i Ambrose'a nie jest inaczej - pojawia się cała banda w całej swojej chwale 😁

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I did really love this book, there was a big miss here IMO. We see the beginning of their relationship but everything in between was skipped. Everything. Ambrose bottoming for the first time and every other encounter they had over the years we didn't get to be a part of. I think it would have been so much better if we'd seen how they were together over all that time. That said, I loved both MCs and their friends and mothers and everything else. Great addition to the series.

[Pati · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a waste! I can't stand a douche bag, cheating MC. This guy has a girlfriend who thinks their relationship is real and he immediately tries to hookup with the other MC and tells him that his girlfriend is "window dressing"! Nope!! I can understand living in the closet. But not toying with other people and not cheating!!

[Giada · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recensione in anteprima sul blog: http://trelibrisoprailcielo.com/2021/...

[Feel The Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recensione a cura di Cleo per Feel the Book

Voto 4,5

Riservato e silenzioso, Shane nei precedenti volumi della serie è sempre rimasto un po’ in disparte all’interno del gruppo di personaggi, nascosto dietro uno dei suoi libri da bravo topo di biblioteca, ma ora che diventa protagonista ci svela i suoi segreti. Essendo io stessa un’appassionata lettrice, mi sono ritrovata molto nelle sue piccole manie, come ritenere un crimine piegare gli angoli delle pagine, nell’amore smisurato che nutre per la lettura e soprattutto nel modo in cui considera i libri un rifugio sicuro.

Essere cresciuto con quello che adesso è una star del football non è il minore dei suoi segreti, Shane ha nascosto a tutti, persino a Jay a cui è molto legato, di essere da circa nove anni una sorta di amico con benefici di Ambrose. Tacere gli sembrava la scelta migliore, ma ora che Ambrose è tornato in città per un lungo periodo forse non potrà più farlo, così Shane si ritrova a mettere in discussione tutto ciò che aveva sempre dato per scontato: la sua tendenza a sminuirsi lo ha influenzato al punto da non avergli permesso di comprendere la sua stessa vita.

Pur essendo una stella del football, Ambrose in realtà non è meno timido di Shane, per certi versi; anche lui non ha mai parlato chiaramente all’amico, dando per scontato che ciò che condividevano avesse per entrambi lo stesso significato. Ambrose è un personaggio più complesso di quello che si potrebbe pensare: non è lo sportivo stereotipato che non ha mai fatto coming out per non rischiare di rovinarsi la carriera, bensì un ragazzo insicuro e dolce, che ha sempre trovato in Shane la propria sicurezza.

Mentre Shane deve capire se può fidarsi del ragazzo che conosce da tutta la vita, ma che forse non conosce affatto, intorno alla coppia ritroviamo tutti gli altri personaggi della serie, con le loro particolarità e stranezze: nel libro ci sono brevi momenti a loro dedicati, simili a saluti ad amici che ci hanno tenuto compagnia e a cui ci siamo affezionati.

Con Shane e Ambrose, Renae Kaye dimostra ancora una volta di saper creare personaggi che colpiscono al cuore, senza mai trascurare quel tocco ironico che rende questa serie particolare e divertente. Jay, Vinnie, Shane e tutti gli altri mi mancheranno.

Editing a cura di Ash.

[namericanwordcat · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars I like this series and was excited to read a new one in this world.

Overall, I enjoy this childhood friends to lovers romance. I do believe if we had gotten Ambrose's point of view as well as Shane's the love story would have be more pleasurable.

Shane is in love with Ambrose but after nearly a decade of sleeping with Ambrose when he is around and not being a star in the AFL, he has decided to disentangle himself especially after Ambrose brings a girlfriend home.

Ambrose is wired a bit differently than most people I think. Demisexual (though Shane and Ambrose don't talk about this reality until way to late in the book and not with the depth needed), introvert, socially less attuned and ocd when it comes to his sport.

The problem is the neither Shane or Ambrose really talk to each other. And its annoying.

They both make me a little nuts. And the pay off at the end of the book should be be larger.

But I like them for each other and the little moments with all the other couples in the series are fun. They do eventually work it out.

There are some really interesting side threads like Ambrose contacting his father's people which make this book more interesting as well as both heroes; mothers.

Good read but I don't know if I would reread.

[JenMcJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good example of the rare sports theme m/m romance that makes an argument for not coming out and having MC's that I could see making that work and still believe that they really do love each other and want what's best for each other. And RK did it without making either of the MC's the "bad guy". Kudos to a fresher look at the sports theme tropes.

Not very many sports theme m/m book do the "stay in the closet" relationship and I appreciated the realistic choices these two made based on their individual relationship and experiences. I think the only thing that might have made this a little better was helping Ambrose realize that his idea of sex and romance is not that uncommon and that other people have the same reality. He's not alone in his approach or feelings.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read this entire series and I enjoyed each one. I usually am not drawn to books with a sports theme, as it usually overtakes the tone of the book, but in this case, it was great! I loved Ambrose and Shane. I love all of their friends stories too, but this was one was favorite. Something about it made me not watch TV for an evening and get through to the end of the book! A GREAT way to end the series!

[Tinnean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a sweet story. And it was fun to see the other guys again. Definitely worth reading.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and sweet, but not my favorite by this author.

[Lori¸¸¸.•*❀Ɍɛɑɗs̱LɪƙɛIʈs̱H̱ɛɍJɔɓ 유❤유 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a to get through this book because I had mixed feelings about it. It was hard to see an MC so in love with the other MC and it didn't seem reciprocated. It seemed like Shane was being taken advantage of by Ambrose but it all worked out in the end. I gave it 4 stars because I wanted to round up from 3.5 stars.

I am actually pretty sad that this series has stopped. I did enjoy it quite a bit.

[Wende · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner

I loved this series and hope there is another book. Shane and Ambrose were a good couple and I loved their story don't get me wrong but my favorite part was the rest of the group. I love that group Jackie included. Okay I love Jackie.P

I just reread this book and I still love the book but why no Hiram story?

[BWT · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too much miscommunication, the demisexual angle is dropped pretty quickly, the payoff for the angst isn't there, but we get to see the characters from the previous stories, and it has a filtered HEA where everything gets tied up with a neat little bow.

[Letture Sale e Pepe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hi lettrici e lettori Sale e Pepe,

Oggi vi presento una delle uscite della collana Rainbow di gennaio della triskell edizioni, mi riferisco a ” Ti conosco, mi conosci” di Renae Kaye, quarto e ultimo volume della “Loving You”, una serie amata che mischia humour e sentimenti.

In tanto devo dirvi che ho apprezzato tantissimo che questo ultimo libro facesse vedere anche i protagonisti dei precedenti volumi, creando proprio quella sensazione di chiusura e di circolo di amore e famiglia che la gang di amici rappresenta l’uno per l’altro.

Al di là di questo aspetto però rimangono comunque centrali i due protagonisti, ovvero Shane e Ambrose.

Sono due tipi particolari con dei caratteri difficili, che spesso ho avuto qualche difficoltà a capire, soprattutto Ambrose mi è sembrato “freddo” in certi punti, il suo essere schietto, determinato e concentrato sul football o comunque su qualsiasi aspetto gli interessi, lo rende anche meno propenso a mostrare i suoi sentimenti o addirittura a prendere in considerazione quelli degli altri (o i suoi in realtà), non per cattiveria però, sembra quasi “superficiale” e per concludere è un pessimo, pessimo comunicatore, così come in realtà lo è Shane, proprio per questo la loro intera storia è basata su accettazione silenziosa di vari problemi e dinamiche non proprio salutari e fraintendimenti.

Mi spiego meglio Shane e Ambrose sono cresciuti insieme, amici fraterni, ma…non sempre, solo dietro le porte di casa, fuori nessuno (o quasi) sa del loro rapporto e questo mi ha destabilizzata parecchio.

Crescendo le cose cambiano un po’, ma se prima era Shane ad essere il segreto di Ambrose, la situazione si ribalta ed è Shane a tenere nascosto di conoscerlo, soprattutto per vergogna e paura.

“Il fatto che fossimo amici, oltre che amanti, regalava al nostro rapporto una strana dinamica.”

Tra il comportamento “freddo” di Ambrose e quello schivo e con zero autostima di Shane, la situazione sembra davvero molto differente da quella che era in realtà, aggiungete poi l’incapacità di entrambi di parlare sinceramente ed otterrete due decenni di frustrazione.

Shane è sicuramente il personaggio che ho apprezzato di più, o quanto meno quello con cui, vuoi per alcune cose in cui mi sono rivista, vuoi per il suo carattere, sono entrata più in empatia. Però è anche vero che quando l’attenzione si focalizzava sulla loro amicizia/relazione in maniera più intensa li ho trovati molto dolci entrambi, quando finalmente hanno iniziato a chiarire mi è piaciuto come riuscivano a capirsi, andando oltre tutte le loro paure e i dolori del passato

“Ambrose mi conosceva e io conoscevo lui. E qualche volta, questo è tutto quello che serve: niente etichette, né anelli, niente grandi annunci, né legami di sangue. A volte l’amore è un rombo di tuono, un’emozione che ruggisce, un’esplosione di ormoni. Altre volte è il dolce fruscio di una pagina che viene voltata, la soddisfazione di un lavoro ben fatto, una reciproca conoscenza.”

Ammetto, che questa situazione che viene presentata per gran parte del libro, questo “si, no, forse, non capisco” , non è riuscita del tutto a conquistarmi, non mi ha catturato come speravo e non mi è arrivata la 100%, insomma purtroppo questo libro, tra i quattro della serie, è quello che ho apprezzato meno e mi dispiace perché pensavo di chiudere in bellezza, visto che i precedenti mi erano piaciuti, invece a mio parere personale è andata calando.

Peccato, anche perché c’erano argomenti interessanti che sarebbero stati molto belli da leggere, come il “particolare” approccio alla sessualità di Ambrose, che viene solo accennato o il coming out dei personaggi sportivi, molto difficile e ancora i problemi di autostima di Shane, tutte cose che avrei apprezzato fossero più approfondite, invece, la scelta stilistica è stata quella di mantenere un “tono” molto leggero su tutto.

Con questo però non voglio comunque scoraggiare chi vuole leggere l’intera serie perché secondo me merita, anche quest’ultimo libro nel suo complesso, anche se a mio gusto personale, non è perfetto, risulta comunque scritto bene e molto romantico, per cui, come sempre, se la trama vi intriga provatelo e buona lettura

- Payne

[Manuela Ghio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con quest’ultimo volume si conclude una serie molto amata, che ha saputo mischiare sapientemente humour e sentimenti. In questo quarto libro seguiamo la storia tra Shane e il suo amico d’infanzia Ambrose Jakoby oltre che rivedere tutte le altre coppie dei volumi precedenti, manca però la verve che aveva caratterizzato i primi due capitoli.
La storia affronta la tematica da amici a amanti, ma si concentra anche sull’accettazione di se stessi e sulla forza dell’amore che riesce a superare qualsiasi ostacolo. Viene posto anche il problema della “demisessualità” che però non è sufficientemente approfondito e anzi viene trattato con un po’ di superficialità. Inoltre manca il punto di vista di Ambrose nella narrazione che è affidata tutta a Shane
e questo limita in parte, almeno per me, la riuscita della storia. Ciò nonostante lo stile sempre scorrevole e lineare di Renae Kaye fa si che la storia risulti gradevole e non troppo lenta.
Ci troviamo di fronte a due personaggi che sono diversi eppure come al solito complementari. Shane è un ragazzo sensibile amante dei libri, un po’ insicuro di se, incapace di accettarsi e di riconoscere i propri pregi. E’ un nerd abituato a stare in disparte e a rendersi invisibile agli occhi della gente per evitare di soffrire e di essere ferito dal mondo circostante. Sembrerebbe un ragazzo poco interessante ma dalla sua ha il fatto di avere buon cuore e un’intrinseca bontà, oltre che un’indole pacata che gli permettono di essere un silenzioso supporto per gli amici, anche se non se ne rende conto. Da sempre è innamorato del suo amico d’infanzia Ambrose, ma ha sempre creduto di non poter essere ricambiato in quanto non si reputa alla sua altezza, ecco perché il loro rapporto è stato per tanto tempo un’amicizia con benefici, che però ora incomincia a essergli stretta.
Ambrose è bello, sexy ed è un giocatore di football affermato ma è comunque rimasto il ragazzino di sempre cresciuto senza un padre. E’ gay ma non riesce ad ammetterlo neanche con se stesso ed è confuso dalle interazioni sentimentali. Per lui Shane da sempre è stato l’amico più caro e il fratello maggiore che non ha mai avuto, colui che lo ha aiutato negli studi e soprattutto il suo fan e sostenitore più grande che gli ha permesso di realizzare i suoi sogni. Verso Shane ha sempre provato un sentimento a cui non ha saputo dare un nome e solo quando rischia di perderlo cercherà di avvicinarsi di nuovo a Shane e di trovare occasioni per stare con lui incominciando ad affrontare e a comprendere quel sentimento che ha sempre nascosto nel suo cuore.
Entrambi dovranno rischiare e capire se stessi oltre che accettarsi per quello che sono e nel contempo dovranno capire il significato della parola amore e quanto è bello vivere alla luce del sole un tale sentimento. Tra incomprensioni e litigi, fraintendimenti e sentimenti feriti, scuse e ammissioni, che rendono la storia reale, si dipana la loro dolce storia che arriverà al lieto fine.
In conclusione ci troviamo di fronte a una storia leggera e dolce che piacerà sicuramente a chi ha già letto i volumi precedenti e che consiglio di leggere a tutti coloro che cercano una storia in cui l’amore trionfa su tutto.

[Smut Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

As soon as I read the description of this story, I had to have it! The theme of an AFL (Australian Football League)
Even though part of the Loving You series, I read this novel as a standalone and had no trouble following along – even with the large cast of secondary characters.

To Shane, books are his life. Everything else is a distraction. He is smart, funny, quiet and very aware of his attraction to males.

To Ambrose Jakoby, football is his life. Everything else is a complication – including any sort of love life. Luckily Shane can help tutor him in his classes so he can continue to aspire to his footy dream.
As they spend many hours together, before and after school, the two forge a strong bond throughout their childhood.

Everything changes when Ambrose is drafted into the AFL as a rising star of the game. But before he moves across the country to start his career, Ambrose and Shane spend one passionate night together, cementing their bond even further. Through the years the friends stay in touch with occasional hookups whenever Ambrose comes “home” in the off season. Shane feels completely besotted with the handsome footballer, but Ambrose is more guarded and feelings are never discussed – leaving Shane to wonder if it’s merely convenient. Because there’s no way the cool superstar would want the plain and boring Shane otherwise, is there?

As Ambrose’s fame rises, and gorgeous female models are seen on the celebrity pages with him, Shane is sure there can’t be any special feelings from ‘Bro-Jak’, as Ambrose comes to be known in the football world. The AFL is well known as outwardly supporting LGBT rights, but the number of “out” players can be counted on one hand – and usually only after their playing career ends.

When Shane decides his heart has to heal, and the sexual aspect of their friendship has to stop, (especially when Ambrose has girlfriends to consider) Ambrose gets injured and comes home to recover. Sparks fly and truths are told, unraveling secrets… and changing both men forever.

Knowing Me, Knowing You is completely engaging, funny, with many fascinating layers, and plenty of geeky references to keep me giggling. The Australian culture is portrayed and described beautifully, including great respect shown to our First Nations people and their customs and traditions.

It’s very exciting to see another Australian M/M romance author who can write a deep and satisfying tale while embracing so many facets of our complex culture.

[Kochka94 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Australie, Perth.
Shane est tranquille, perdu dans ses bouquins, celui dont on ne s'aperçoit qu'il est arrivé au milieu de sa bande de potes qu'au bout de quelques minutes, il se trouve sans intérêt et se surnomme lui-même "tapisserie Shane". Mais Shane a un secret...
Ambrose Jakoby a emménagé à coté de Shane lorsqu'ils avaient 5 et 7 ans. Leurs mères, célibataires toutes les deux, ont rapidement sympathisé et les deux enfants ont quasiment été élevés ensemble. Ambrose a été recruté par la NFL lorsqu'il avait 18 ans, est parti vivre à Melbourne et est devenu Bro-Jak, l'idole des stades, tombeur de ces dames.
Shane a toujours eu le béguin pour Ambrose, sportif, extraverti, ce jeune homme solaire alors qu'il pense n'être qu'un obscur rat de bibliothèque... Et cette nuit ou Ambrose est parti pour Melbourne, tout a basculé... Et durant les 9 années suivantes, lorsque Ambrose revenait à Perth, ils ont poursuivi leur relation amis d'enfance/amis avec bénéfices, sans se poser de questions, sans chercher à comprendre ou à savoir ce qu'il y avait entre eux...
Pourtant, lors des dernières fêtes de Noel, alors qu'Ambrose est rentré accompagné de sa petite amie de l'époque, Shane n'a pas voulu coucher avec Ambrose, ayant décidé de l'oublier et voulant trouver quelqu'un qui l'aime et qui ne soit qu'à lui. Et ce malaise dans leur relation a persisté jusqu'au moment ou Shane apprend qu'Ambrose, blessé au genou, rentre à Perth, visiblement contre l'avis des médecins.
A partir de ce moment-là, nous allons suivre, sur quelques jours, leur réconciliation (bien qu'ils n'aient pas été vraiment fâchés) et surtout comprendre les dégâts que peuvent causer le manque de communication.
Ce livre parle de non-dits, d'estime de soi, d'acceptation, d'image publique et surtout d'amour, qu'il soit charnel, amical, filial, fraternel... Ce livre, très bien écrit et très bien traduit, fait du bien, fait rire (la bande de potes que nous avons appris à connaitre depuis le tome 1 est toujours là), fait réfléchir, bref, un vrai plaisir !
J'ai aimé toutes les allusions à Star Wars, au Seigneur des Anneaux, à Harry Potter et j'ai adoré les allusions aux héros de la génialissime série Tigres et Démons de Sean Kennedy.
A quand le tome 5 ?

[Denisesc21 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve enjoyed this series since I heard book 1, Loving Jay, on Audible when it first came out. And on top of it, it’s Renae Kaye, so that was a double yes to if I should read and review this book. 🙂

This one was a bit of a surprise, because it wasn’t your traditional friends to lovers, or even hookups to lovers. It was a combination of both, yet no one even knew they knew each other, other than their mothers, which created such an interesting family dynamic.

I always enjoy reading all the fun Aussie sayings and cultural references, and with the added Aboriginial references, it made this book very multi-layered. Then we have the group of friends that Shane has made part of his family, and you have a fun, but passionate book.

Shane standing up for himself after nearly 10 years of allowing himself to fall into patterns that could only continue to hurt him was good to see. He loved Ambrose, but knew that he would never be Ambrose’s love if he continued to allow himself to be at the beck and call of a man who barely acknowledged him. Shane was sweet, and quiet, with fantastic internal musings (e.g. “I helped myself to a piece of cake–free cake doesn’t contain calories.“) and hated his job, but loved his people. 🙂

Meanwhile, Ambrose finally opened his eyes and realized that as much as footy had always meant to him, and it gave him an avenue he would have been unable to achieve any other way, it was not something he wanted to be the catalyst to losing the person he cared about most.

With a little help from all those around them, and a little extra footy from the sidelines, they could finally connect.

What a sweet, fun, funny read.

Definitely recommend this one, in fact the entire series!

4.5 pieces of eye candy

[Amy Dufera - Amy's MM Romance Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a huge fan of Renae Kaye, I am not surprised that Knowing Me, Knowing You hooked me immediately.

It's a complicated second chance romance, between Ambrose and Shane who are old friends and formerly hooked-up.

Ambrose's back in town after getting injured. He's a pro footballer and he's home to heal, as well as see Shane. But Shane's not sure how to handle his long time friend. He loves him, but isn't sure if he can actually take a risk.

It's a tender and romantic story of the different types of love, and the beauty of building a relationship based on a lifetime of love.

The author does a fantastic job with the writing of demi-sexuality. It's written with understanding and care. And perfectly described as falling in love with a person, no matter what the body looks like.

I love how Renae tackles the celebrity of Ambrose. There is definitely a difference between someone's public persona, and the real person. This is handled so remarkably, with so many examples thrown in.

One wonderful reminder from this story is that it's special when you find someone who gets you, completely understands you, and loves you the way you are.

And, of course, it's absolutely amazing that Renae Kaye gifts us with all of our favorite men from this Loving You series. It's so much fun seeing them and getting to enjoy them again.

Overall, I love Knowing Me, Knowing You, and I'm so happy with this entire series.

[Blog Coccole tra i Libri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seguiteci sul nostro blog https://coccolelibri.blogspot.com
Recensione a cura di Aylen


Il quarto volume di questa bellissima serie è dedicato a Shane, voce narrante del libro. Shane ci racconta del suo amore per Ambrose, di due anni più giovane di lui, un amore che nasce fin dall’adolescenza e che si sviluppa negli anni, apparentemente in una sola direzione: Shane ama Ambrose, mentre Ambrose usa Shane. Apparentemente. Succederanno tante cose, ci saranno fraintendimenti, sentimenti feriti, liti e in ultimo chiarimenti, per arrivare al sospirato lieto fine che mi ha vista d’accordo su come sia avvenuto. L’ho trovato perfetto per i due personaggi, non avrei voluto avvenisse altrimenti. Nel libro fanno la loro comparsa anche i protagonisti dei volumi precedenti, li ho ritrovati tutti con tanto piacere, sono il simbolo di quella che è la vera amicizia. Come dicevo, il libro è interamente scritto dal punto di vista di Shane, mentre avrei voluto anche poter leggere di quello di Ambrose, l’avrei di certo apprezzato. Una parte secondo me non sufficientemente approfondita è quella della demisessualità, argomento che avrebbe meritato di più e che invece mi è parso trattato frettolosamente e con troppa superficialità. Nonostante queste pecche, nel complesso il libro mi è piaciuto molto e mi sento di consigliarlo a chi ha già apprezzato i volumi precedenti.

Per me 4 coccole.

[Claire Potterton · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the name of transparency, I must own up to being a huge Renae Kaye fan, so any gushing in this review comes from both a place of love, and from the knowledge that this lady has yet to write a bad book!
As is the norm with this author's books, this story is a page turner. Great storyline, beautifully flowing writing that keeps you engrossed in the tale, and eager to know how things will progress. The big, and surprising difference between this book, and all Renae Kaye's others, is that I never really grew to like one of the MCs. I started out disliking him....fairly intensely in fact, and only really moved up as far as thinking he would maybe turn out alright with a bit of work!! But, even with the arrogant toad winning dear Shane's heart, I really enjoyed this story; it was engaging, Shane is just adorable, and I guess he must see something in Ambrose that I just didn't. Being loved by Shane was Ambrose's redeeming feature!
An extra plus for this book, is the fact that we get to catch up with characters from the three previous books in the series too.....and Jay is my all time fave!
Its a lovely story, absolutely recommended by this geek loving reviewer.

Reviewed for divinemagazine.biz

[Uschi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diese Reihe ist einfach klasse! Man schließt die gesamte Clique richtig ins Herz und freut sich jedes mal auf ein Wiedersehen mit ihnen.
Jay bleibt allerdings mein absoluter Liebling. ❤

Ich weiß nicht wen ich hier lieber mag. Shane, der stille Bücherwurm, ist etwas unsicher. Irgendwie verständlich, da Ambrose offiziell Hetero ist. Er ist sich seiner Gefühle nicht sicher und hat Angst verletzt zu werden.
Ambrose drückt diese auch eher hintergründig aus, mit durchdachten Geschenken oder dem Wunsch Zeit mit Shane zu verbringen.
Was wäre aber eine Romanze, wenn einfach alle offen reden würden und auf Seite 20 alles geklärt wäre? Wahrscheinlich nicht sehr aufregend😄

Die beiden brauchen also ihre Zeit, um alle unklarheiten aus dem Weg zu schaffen. Vinnie war da dieses Mal keine große Hilfe. Ich war zwischenzeitlich etwas sauer auf ihn, da er sehr penetrant neugierig war und persönliche Grenzen überschritten hat.

Ich kann eine klare Empfehlung für dieses Buch aussprechen und hoffe dass es nicht mehr allzu lange dauert bis der nächste Teil kommt. Die Autorin plant zumindest noch 2 weitere Bände, was mich riesig freut. Ich kann nicht genug bekommen, von diesen Sympathischen Charakteren. ❤

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knowing Me, Knowing You is a nerd and jock, friends to lovers, friends-with-benefits turned romance story. It chronicles the pathway to love for Ambrose, a star footballer, and Shane, his childhood best friend and all around bookworm. Shane considers himself nondescript and his best friend Ambrose as beautiful and special. They’ve had a friends-with-benefits type arrangement for years while Ambrose was away playing football. A few months before an injured Ambrose returns home to recuperate, Shane cuts off their physical relationship and is determined to “get over Ambrose”. Needless to say, due to true love and timing, that never takes root.

Knowing Me, Knowing You is a cute romance and offers us the opportunity to revisit some other characters from this series like Jamie and Liam, Kee and Tate, and Aaron and Vinnie. Unfortunately, it loses some of its luster with the ending (it’s happy-ish for now).

** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie by Dreamspinner Press, a review wasn't a requirement. ***