Every time Mateo referred to Hawthorne as “rabbit” during their sex scenes (which was actually every time they had sex), I had to put my phone down, stare at the ceiling, and take a breather. I was too embarrassed to turn to the next page. It was not cute, not sexy, and just laughable.
As someone who needed braces to fix and straighten my two front teeth (#8 and #9 on the teeth number chart) because they were what is referred to as bunny teeth, if someone called me “rabbit” because of my teeth gap, I would be mortified. Because, yes, that’s why Marco started referring to Hawthorne as rabbit, because he found him to be “like a sexy rabbit” because of his teeth gap.
He just smiles, nodding a couple times with that damn gap between his teeth that makes him look like a sexy rabbit.
I guess he’s just missing the rest of the costume.
And don’t get me started on his inner thoughts referring to him as “my rabbit.”
Absolutely not.
Personally, I’m just not a fan of animal pet names. Very few have done it for me. I prefer the more “basic” and overused endearments instead of animal pet names. So far, ‘rabbit’ takes the #1 spot for worst endearment. I honestly understand the appeal for these nicknames even if they’re not my favorite, and I can get behind them, but not when they are overused.
I’ve heard smut is not this authors strongest suit and I can now confirm it. This is coming from someone who hardly ever comments on sex scenes because I don’t always pay attention to them. My complaints in my reviews are usually more about the quantity of sex scenes, not quality. In short, this was not good quality.
“I need your consent and your promise, rabbit.”
I groan out my praise. “Fuck, rabbit. Yes, that’s perfect.”
“Take yourself out, rabbit. I want to see you.”
“Yes, rabbit,” I tell him, stroking his hair.
“I love feeling you, rabbit.”
But it’s okay, because of course Hawthorne likes it.
I don’t know why he calls me rabbit, but I like it. A whole lot. It makes me feel vulnerable, in a way. Like I’m his prey, and with a single look or touch, he could ensnare me. And he could. He does. It feels like I shouldn’t want that, to be at his mercy. And yet, when he has me in his clutches, I don’t want him to ever let go.
Also, of course Hawthorne’s white, Texan ass had to call Mateo, “Matty.” Same reason I go by Elena and not my full name. What a disgrace. It’s such a sexy name in Spanish. I said what I said.
A couple of other things, good and bad (but mostly bad):
1. I found the sexual tension to be moderate enough. Their relationship is a friends with benefits kind, but they still hang out outside of the room. Their attraction is obvious from the start, very insta-LUST, but I still appreciated witnessing its development a little.
2. I’m always a fan of “older” characters figuring out and exploring their sexuality. Hawthorne is a ‘baby gay’ cowboy. He’s got some kinks that Mateo is more than happy to explore with him. His character development to becoming more confident is lovely.
3. Yet, even with the sexual tension, the relationship was developed too fast, as I would have preferred a slower agreement. This led to too much sex without enough intimacy. Page after page, chapter after chapter, was another sex scene that I was over it. More rabbit calling. Yay. As I said before, the smut in this was not a strength. Can confirm I started skipping. Even the scenes of Hawthorne exploring what he likes and is interested in were redundant. My eyes starting glazing over with boredom.
4. Towards the end, it felt like Hawthorne deserved better. I was not a fan of how Mateo reacted to his confession at all. He felt a little too immature for my liking, as if Hawthorne was at fault. Their ridiculous ‘break-up’ could have easily been solved if they communicated better, but with Mateo’s insecurities and inability to talk getting in the way and not treating the situation seriously enough, there wasn’t much hope.
5. Will is…not a character I came to like, let alone become curious about. I had no interest in book 3 before because it’s an MMM story of Will, his roommate, and some other guy (Will is the son of Easton and Wyatt from book 1), but now that I’ve met him, I have even less interest in his book. He’s very obviously 16 but is the type of teenager I would not have patience for in real life.
6. The story itself is not a memorable one whatsoever. It’s the type of story you can skim and won’t miss any necessary and important information due to how predictable the story is. I found it to be not as original as some people have claimed it to be. Unmemorable stories aren’t the problem though, it’s simply how this was a story I couldn’t bring myself to care enough about to pay attention to certain details. Yet even missing this would not make a difference in perspective.
I settled on two stars for this at first, but because I’ve become more critical, picky, and grumpy, I can’t bring myself to rate this higher when I didn’t exactly enjoy anything. My rating system used to be the kind where two stars were determined by anything I liked, even the smallest things, even if it seemed like I didn’t like the book whatsoever. However, it has changed throughout and now, enjoyment and like are differed. Just because I appreciate and like something does not mean it was fully enjoyable. In this case, I liked and appreciated some of the sexual tension and sexuality exploration, but it wasn’t something particularly enjoyable, especially considering I didn’t pay attention after a while. If I had read the first book now instead of last year, I would have given it 1-star as well.
Overall, not a fan. I started this with hope, thinking I would like it more than book one, but it wasn’t that much better. Perhaps books five and six, because I’m skipping books three and four, will work out? Only time will tell.