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Bent

Bent

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A straight to gay erotic romance

What happens when two straight guys meet and feel an inexplicable sexual connection? I'll give you a hint...one of them is bound to end up getting bent.

From the second Oliver lays eyes on dangerously sexy Ethan Quinn, his life isn't the same. One touch, one taste, is all it takes to ignite a passion that can't be ignored.

Bent is a fast paced, heartfelt story that will hurt (in all the right ways,) and will stay with you long after you've finished reading.

This story is intended for a mature audience aged 18 years or over. It contains erotic themes and BDSM. It is a gay erotic romance. If men loving men isn't your thing, give this story a very wide berth.

110 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2021

116 people are currently reading
941 people want to read

About the author

Jesse H. Reign

19 books1,461 followers
I'm Jesse, and I write contemporary and paranormal MM romance.

Whether my characters are born magical, or whether magic is something they make between the sheets, I strive to take the reader into the mind of the narrator. My ultimate goal is to leave the reader feeling like they’ve made a new friend or have spent a few hours flirting with a brand-new book boyfriend.

I love coffee, chocolate and daydreaming, in no particular order. I love conflicted characters, lust at first sight and angst – no seriously, ALL the angst. Give it to me!

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5 stars
310 (29%)
4 stars
361 (34%)
3 stars
273 (26%)
2 stars
79 (7%)
1 star
21 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews
Profile Image for moonlight ☾ [semi-hiatus].
769 reviews1,644 followers
October 11, 2022
i love stories about gay/bi-awakening (though this felt more of a gfy, if i'm being honest), but this book aint it. 😩 although this story was mainly based on sexual attraction/lust, the first half was still entertaining to where i originally thought i was gonna give it four stars but the second half just ruined it. i know there’s a retelling of this book written in Ethan’s pov, which i’m definitely going to check out at some point bc he was the most confusing one for me and it wasn’t just bc we didn’t get his pov, but even with his actions—i couldn’t tell if he was in this as deeply as Oliver was (he must have been if he was willing to cheat on his gf of 4 years… bc with Oliver’s gf, they were only together less than a year and he was the first one who broke up with his gf between him and Ethan so).

unfortunately, even until the end, all i could feel between these two was lust/attraction, i don’t understand how ‘love’ came into play. maybe if it was a full length book, the relationship could have been more fleshed out/developed, but i’m curious to see if my mind will change about Ethan (as a character) bc i do think Oliver deserves better than him.
Profile Image for Gaby.
1,347 reviews156 followers
December 12, 2025
I don’t know why I like this book so much. I really don’t enjoy cheating in books, and that’s basically all that happens in this one. The first time I read it, I enjoyed it a lot, and I was extremely surprised. Now I just don’t know why, but I couldn’t stop thinking about this book, so I decided to read it again, but in tandem with Bent Backwards, and it just made the whole experience better.
Profile Image for kaye taz.
501 reviews371 followers
February 11, 2025
5 ⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
Format: ebook

The way I disassociated for a few hours and literally absorbed this book. This is a quick, sexy read, but I was literally addicted and couldn’t put it down for even a minute.

Jesse’s writing just always absolutely does something for me, and I eat it up every time.

I was actually kind of nervous when things started so fast, and honestly you have to suspend reality just a bit to get over how Oliver and Ethan first get together, but then everything is smooth sailing afterwards. Just a wonderful buildup of stolen moments and mounting feelings.

Book one is told entirely in Oliver’s POV. But never fear—because book two is the same story in Ethan’s POV. I worried it would be boring to read the same book twice, but it truly wasn’t for me. I’ll speak more about it in the review for Bent Backwards.

This book is porn with a tiny bit of plot. My favorite moments were between the sex, when Oliver and Ethan got closer together emotionally. It’s difficult only seeing it from one perspective, but it made me appreciate the second book even more finally knowing Ethan’s thoughts.

I love them. I love their chemistry, the spice, the emotions, and even the lowest lows of this book. Be mindful that the entire story revolves around them cheating on their girlfriends to be together. If infidelity is a trigger, this duet is not for you.

Crazy enough, I think I liked book two more than book one, but I am obsessed with both. For sure going on the reread list.
Profile Image for Mariam,.
674 reviews560 followers
March 5, 2023
I'm concerned for myself y'all. I finished this back in February. 😵😵😵 How can I keep up with life if I can't keep up with marking my books as finished 😭🥹😭

Honestly, wanted to read this because this cover gave me such Him (Wes and Jamie vibes) so ofc I had to try it out.

Not bad. I like this author, and I like the story. I kinda want an extended epilogue of them but wishes are for losers so I'll take what I get. It was entertaining while I was worried over the LACK of books in my February wrap up
Profile Image for Ed Davis.
2,901 reviews100 followers
May 4, 2022
DNF this was so boring. I hated the way it was written all telling for the main character. I don’t usually rate a book I don’t finish, but I paid for this one.
Profile Image for Jamie.
1,165 reviews94 followers
Read
December 24, 2025
I really don’t know how to rate this yet. It’s basically 95% pure smut and 5% emotion. I need more emotion to feel connected to the characters and I did get that by the end, I suppose. It definitely needed an editor because the typos and inconsistencies were distracting at times. This had the potential to be so much more than what it was and that’s on me for thinking that because maybe this was the authors exact intent.

If you want something down and dirty with minimal communication, this should hit the spot.
Profile Image for Bookish Meag 🩵.
234 reviews100 followers
April 19, 2023
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Spice: 5/5

“It was you, Ollie. All you.” He reaches for me, pulling me close to him. “I just couldn’t deny you.”

Bent by Jesse Reign is a straight to bisexual awakening romance novel. Oliver and Ethan meet through their girlfriends and the attraction is automatic, it’s electric. There girlfriends Liza and Jess are best friends, and push them together. They want them to be friends and spend time together so that they all can get together more. Little do they know, pushing them together would cause an explosion of lust, hands, kisses, and eventually love, it’s just not the what Jess and Liza hoped for.

“I can’t tell if it’s a positive or negative shift, or if there’s suddenly more or less oxygen in the room. I can only say it’s charged.”

The first time they’re alone in Ethan’s house that crash together in a spark so bright, it illuminates. This steamy, hot, masterpiece will have you wanting more.

“I’m possessed. I’ve let him possess me completely. I’ve held nothing back. I’ve kept nothing for me. I’ve given him my body without holding back.”

This book does involve cheating. I know that’s a trigger for some so I wanted to include it in my review. Honestly, the book is so well written, the cheating part didn’t bother me.

“Can I tell you what scares me, baby?” he says when he finally speaks. “’Course,” I say, looking up at him, as he meets my eyes. “When it comes to you,” he says with a sigh, “I already know, forever won’t be enough.”

Happy Reading🔥
Profile Image for ~Nicole~.
851 reviews407 followers
April 4, 2022
This was 🔥🔥🔥🔥 but that’s pretty much all it was. The premises of the plot were exactly my cup of tea. The execution? Not quite.. Too bad because if it had had a bit more development and complexity it would have been fabulous. I loved both MC to death and again…hot , but I wanted more. Much more!
Profile Image for patrícia.
709 reviews135 followers
November 6, 2024
I loved this for the short story that it was.

Sexy, hot, and straight to the point—well,  not that straight! Because two straight dudes, Oliver and Ethan, with girlfriends, totally ignite at first sight.

We have all the doughts, all the questioning, all the cheating, ALL THE MIND BLOWING HOT SEX , all the bondage (yes, I said bondage) until reality finally sinks in... We have breakups, hallowness, and suffering!

This is Oliver's POV; he is very quiet and kind of restrained , but he feels everything! I love to see how he finally understands what that feeling is, and who he wants. He was the bravest.

What I love about this is the amount of depth Jesse can put into such a small book, it's incredible! That said, I really needed more dialogue... We got enough context on their family and friends to go along, but I really would love to actually get their dialogue instead of what happened...

The end was very sweet, and forever will not be enough for these guys!

PS: Alert, gym weight benches can be deceiving!
Profile Image for Marie-Pierre.
218 reviews18 followers
April 2, 2023
I think Jesse H. Reign has magic fingers that are connected to her magic brain. Once again I'm left speechless after reading one of her stories and I desperately want to start Bent Backwards to finally get a glimpse of what was going on in Ethan's head the whole time he and Ollie were together. Although I had no doubt I was going to enjoy the writing, this story took me completely by surprise as I wasn't expecting the plot at all. I devoured it in a couple of hours and I have a feeling this one will stay with me for a while. Hot hot hot, a sparkle of kink and all the good feels.

TW: cheating.
Profile Image for M.
1,204 reviews173 followers
February 1, 2024
I really wished the build up was longer in this book. We start off with a meeting, an immediate attraction and what can only be described as a very hot, but dubiously consensual sex scene. This kind of starts off as gfy fantasy but quickly morphs into a story about sexual obsession. Not gonna lie, Jesse Reign is so good at this kind of thing. She writes with a breathlessness that is just totally arresting. It’s not super realistic, but I enjoyed so much. The second part of this story is from the opposite perspective, I’ve literally already started reading it.
Profile Image for alex (winter break!).
115 reviews11 followers
Want to read
August 24, 2025
the abs 🤤🤤
i don't actually want to read this I just wanted to post this review lmao
Profile Image for AussieMum.
1,392 reviews55 followers
nope-not-for-me-not-interested
October 21, 2021
DNF 30% No Rating
I love stories about sexual awakenings but the writing just isn’t working for me here. Written solely from Oliver’s POV, it’s mostly telling, with very little dialogue, and I don’t feel much for either character at this point. I’m probably just not a fan of this type of erotica.

I did have a quick read of the second book, written from Ethans perspective, and while it gave a bit more insight, it was still a telling book. YMMV.
Profile Image for Lady Macbeth.
1,103 reviews29 followers
April 22, 2024
4 stars
A little too focus on the physical part for about 50% of the book, then more angsty and emotional in the second part, when Oliver catches feelings and all goes wrong.
I enjoyed it a lot especially because of the author's writing: I found Oliver's internal turmoil very well described.
The only thing that prevented me from giving a higher rate was the BDSM part: besides the fact that I do not enjoy that, I found a bit unlikely Ethan's sudden interest in it.
I'm going to immediately start the second book because I didn't appreciate Ethan's behaviour and I need to know his POV.
Profile Image for Mx. T *Chaotic Reader*.
622 reviews116 followers
February 23, 2024
Some people might dislike this because it features cheating, but for me it was an integral and essential part of the story. As many queer people know, the impulse to be just like everyone else (I mean 'The Straights') is one of the main reason why we lie to ourselves and to the rest of the world. Double sexual awakening, third act breakup, only on POV, angsty and smutty. But with emotion. Short read I totally recommend.
Profile Image for Boyanna.
385 reviews102 followers
December 14, 2022
Someone suggested on tik-tok to read "Bent" and "Bent Backwards" together and it was the best suggestion ever!! glad i took it.
I love the experience of reading the same situation from two separated points of view, and i think i would have hated Ethan if I didn't have the chance to see the story through his eyes right away.
That being said... I'm not sure if i loved the experience more than the story because now that i think about it the story wasn't that impressive and there were parts that irritated me and felt like they came out of nowhere...
also warning: there were too many sax scenes at one point that i started skimming through some, if you plan to read these two together as me just have that in mind.
Profile Image for book_reader_addict.
566 reviews34 followers
April 19, 2023
Seriously hot🔥 two straight guys suddenly fall for each other ❤️ insta lust and a slow burning love ❤️
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
Profile Image for Shashini Chiara.
25 reviews
December 10, 2022
Omg i have alot to say about this book even though its a short novella. First i wish the story was long, kinda sad about it but loved it.
Okay, it's talk about my thoughts on this, i loved the couple Oliver and Ethan but there conversations in the beginning of the chapter was really really awkward, even i really felt awkward while reading it and specially after there "sexual moment" at ethan's apartment, at first they acted like nothing happened for while, it really got me screaming 😂 from then there sex partnership continues..... And turns to a relationship👨‍❤️‍👨💗
Next there girlfriends, i feel bad for them but sorry i support your mans tho.
And also i wish there was Ethan's thought too but still i really enjoyed the storyline.
Even tho I've read so many books, this is actually my first time writing a BIG review for a book guys, that's bc this book really gave me thoughts to write a big review for the first time in my lifee 😁
I rate this 5 stars⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spiciness 4🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
💯👍 approved
Profile Image for SJ.
2,020 reviews33 followers
August 11, 2024
Lust becomes love in a very well written book. The words and some heavy emotions flow and the scenes are hot. That each MC has a serious girlfriend is a different plot device in a GFY. It’s a single POV and the author’s afterward says the sequel is their meeting and upending each other’s lives being told from the other MC’s POV. Interesting!

*Reread. If only all MMs were as satisfying as this one.
That it hit me so deeply in the feels more than the first time has me thinking that I was reading a lot more MMs a year ago that gave me reading satisfaction and this was just another good book among many good books.
Now, I was so entranced with it that I immediately read the sequel that I did not read before, felt no need to. I loved it.
Profile Image for Lisa KK.
199 reviews7 followers
December 20, 2023
I’m writing this a fan of Jesse H Reign’s books. Don’t start with this one.

The best part of it was the poor nice girlfriends getting rid of those shallow narcissistic MCs in their lives.

This was not dark enough to be a dark romance.
The bdsm elements were not consistent enough for it to work.
There was not enough of relationship development for it to be cosidered a romance (for me). There was maybe a total of 10 dialogues in the whole book.
Was this maybe an erotic story?
I don’t know what it was. Maybe one of the author’s earlier works?
I would have liked to be warned about the cheating and MF sex scene content in this book.

The evolution of the author and finding their own voice and style in the later books is amazing.
I wish I could delete this from my memory.
Profile Image for Lou~❧Powerless Over 1-Click❧  .
902 reviews
October 23, 2021
The telling (from Oliver's POV) instead of showing bothered me less than having to suspend my disbelief enough to buy into two straight guys deciding to have hot, penetrative sex after eyeballing each other once in a bar in front of their girlfriends. That being said, Ethan and Oliver were dirty boys and totally hot together. The cheating disturbed me, but I was happy to see their mutual lust evolve into something more.

I can't wait to read Bent Backwards: A story retold - straight to gay erotic romance, which tells the same story from Ethan's POV.
Profile Image for Laura.
332 reviews19 followers
January 9, 2023
Woo-boy, does Jesse H Reign know how to write some hot AF spice!! If you want your spice to kick in fast, this is the read for you! But what starts out as two men discovering a whole new side of their sexuality smoothly turns emotional, the transition so skillfully done you almost don’t realize it’s happened. Then it does and you’re left sitting there thinking, of course! Of course he fucking loves him. How could he not?! All the while, the spice just gets hotter (with some kink thrown in, for good measure). This book was told entirely from Oliver’s POV. The best part?! In true JHR style, the second book tells the story from Ethan’s POV. I’m so ready. 🔥

Now there is one overall theme that I know is not for everyone, so if cheating is a big no-go for you then you’ll have to skip this read.
Profile Image for Amy.
2,065 reviews39 followers
April 27, 2024
I’m not a fan of cheating, but there are exceptions to every rule. Like when you meet someone that you just have such a strong overwhelming connection to. Obviously for these guys, they clearly were both straight and in strong relationships with women, but the connection they had together was too bright to ignore. In the end, they belonged together.
Profile Image for Gabriela.
1,206 reviews58 followers
August 10, 2023
Intense. Really intense.

I kind of... like and hate this couple. Can't stand unfaithful people, and that's exactly what they are.
I felt bad about the girls, I can't imagine being in the middle of a situation like that.

BTW, no matter what, Ethan is the worst of them.
Profile Image for Kelly Fox.
Author 56 books787 followers
November 6, 2021
Loved the way this story developed, can’t wait to read the flip side in Bent Backwards.
Profile Image for Sarah.
1,900 reviews115 followers
May 26, 2022
Ok. Lots of tell.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for ✨Shawna✨.
309 reviews9 followers
July 1, 2023
This book was different but not in a bad way 💘
V spicy🌶
Profile Image for ~BookNeeds~.
799 reviews16 followers
January 9, 2022
What a beauty of a story!! I loved it so much and yet I hated it at times. Perhaps one of my favorite couples of all time!!
Profile Image for Monika Vasicova.
264 reviews
April 1, 2024
Cheating trope is not it for me. Especially when it goes for so bloody long
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 134 reviews

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