The Friendship Equation

Love Equations #1

by J.R. Gray

I never thought I’d go to college a virgin, but unless something changes, and fast, that’s what’s going to happen. In comes Harden Hart, my All American boy-next-door best friend with an offer to help in a way I’d never imagined.

The boy who turned everything he touched to gold had a filthy side to him I’d never seen. Oh, and did I mention he’s straight?

We could keep this fun but we had to hide it from both our fathers. We could smile for the cameras, focus on winning the state swimming championship and maintain Harden’s image. Easy enough, right?

Only Harden didn’t want to hide. His addiction to our not-so-private hook-ups put everything at risk with his father’s planned presidential run, and I risked losing my best friend if anyone found out.

But the biggest risk of all—the risk of breaking my own heart by falling for someone who was never mine to begin with.

Maybe love just isn't in the equation.

***The Friendship Equation is a childhood best-friends-to-lovers, bi for you, forbidden sports romance standalone, featuring a dirty-talking boy next door and his sweet virginal best friend.

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

Audiobook

First published August 25, 2021

About the author

When not staying up all night writing, J.R. Gray can be found at the gym where it's half assumed he is a permanent resident to fulfill his self-inflicted masochism. A dominant and a pilot, Gray finds it hard to be in the passenger seat of any car. He frequently interrupts real life, including normal sleep patterns and conversations, to jot down notes or plot bunnies. Commas are the bane of his existence even though it's been fully acknowledged they are necessary, they continue to baffle and bewilder. If Gray wasn't writing…well, that's not possible. The buildup of untold stories would haunt Gray into an early grave, insanity or both. The idea of haunting has always appealed to him. J.R. Gray is genderqueer and prefers he/him pronouns.

Reviews

[ivy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Omg, thank you to Gloria for recommending this to me. People should not be sleeping on this book!
If you are a fan of childhood best friends to lovers, which I am typically not, then you should definitely pick this one up like right now.
I haven’t had a crush on a fictional character in a long time but I had heart eyes for Harden from page one and kind of disliked Vance the entire book out of jealousy. 😏 🤷🏻‍♀️ Also, because he was always jumping to conclusions and that got annoying.

Swimmer jocks
Politicians son/factory workers son
Steamy locker room shenanigans
Bi-awakening
FIRST times
Sexy, refreshingly honest dialogue - I wanted to add quotes but there are just way too many.

This whole book felt so real. I would love to see an indie film of this. Oh the visuals 😍

[Layla · Rating 1 out of 5]

Time of death... 30%

This was weird and illogical.
The dialogue was stilted and awkward.
I didn't get why Harden suddenly became infatuated with his best friend.

Sigh

[Billie Bloom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put it down! I loved the sheer amount of dialogue, thats my favorite parts of a novel; I also loved the premise, which is why I decided to read it in the first place. Overall was a quick read - light hearted and fun. 💋 First time reading this author and I’m definitely downloading more by him ASAP…

[Mariam, · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars ✨ ✨ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ✨ I'm surprised at the majority of the low rating this book got. I mean, it's not thatttt bad.

My main issue with the book is how the pacing went by too fast and it excluded too many scenes of our main characters for me to feel any sort of soul-deep feelings by the end of the book.

I gave him an exasperated look over the lid of the plastic mug. "What is all of me doing that you want me to stop?"
Harden loved semantics. You had to ask the right question to get the right answer.

It puts the first half of this book in a total contrast because I loved the first half of this book, it wasn't necessarily slow but it took it's time to build up, a complete 180 to the second(more like third) of the book.
I saw someone say there was too much sex and I went into it expecting that and well... I don't count foreplay and then end scene and that's it, sex scenes sooooo.

I loved the friendship Vance and Harden shared, watching it trumped over everything else. The way they just choose each other and fuck everyone else.

Was he warning me off Harden? Telling me to be careful? If anyone thought I’d ditch my best friend because his life was about to get a lot harder, they were wrong.

What I loved the most was watching Harden not take one inch of shit from father. He didn't back down when he was pushed into a corner, he never gave up on Vance, he choose Vance every . single . time!

This would turn into a dangerous game of chicken, but a part of me warmed. Harden wanted me, and it was worth pissing off his father to get me. The knowledge of it sunk into my chest and wrapped my soul tight.

So yeah, I didn't expect this book to be set in highschool but if I look at their actions, it makes sense based on their age.

I also read this book over all my lecture today so I'm feeling pretty smug 😌

He tossed my phone back in my bag and put my hand in his hair.
“Needy?”
“I like when you play with my hair.” He rolled toward me, looking up at me.
“You’re like a giant cat.”
He nodded, rubbing his cheek over my half-hard dick. “Act like you don’t like it.”
“I wouldn’t even pretend to.”

[Marci · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 62% … well I liked the first 7% and then I quickly became fed up with this book. Mainly with the writing and the dialogue.

[Julia (bookish.jka) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Do not even look at him," Harden snapped. “This is not a brother’s best friend romance.”

J.R. Gray is a new to me author, and The Friendship Equation was a brilliant introduction to his work 😍.

I totally loved Harden and Vance and their developing relationship, particularly as the story progressed.

NA, friends to lovers and a double bi-awakening story, I loved the way Harden (in particular) dealt with the changing dynamic in the friends' relationship, and also in his relationship with his father.

Can't wait to read more from this author.

Recommended.

4 steamy ✨✨✨✨

[yaishin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could've been a whole lot more than just sex.

[⭐Toonasa⭐ •Romance Book Lovers' Haven• · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Steamy, Sinful & Flirty Besties-to-lovers Heartfelt Forbidden MM "Bi For You" High-School Sports romance with Love, Banters, Sexual Discoveries, Lots of Swoons, Feels, Swim, Compete, Virgin teach, Truths, Sexy attraction, Care, United, Coming Out, Ache, Always Together & HEA.
I love it!! The sparks are high & so hot🔥😍. Harden & Vance are so awesome, Love'em! DEVOURED this in 6hrs.

#My 1st by Gray & Will be going for more! At the time of start, I hadn't known how "Bi for you" will work out...But ooh, So both our guys have thought they're straight, but not for eachother! I loved the dynamics b/w the two♥️. Especially how Harden always stands up for Vance! We get only Vance's POV, It wasn't lacking but i do hope maybe we'll get a bonus of Harden's pov in future too?
I also hope that we get Liam & Woods' books...I'm curious about them!

Full RTC soon!

[Tare · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really adorable childhood best friends to lovers story. Was it perfect? No. But Harden & Vance were very endearing ❤️

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed Vance and Harden’s story. I’m a big fan of best friends to lovers, and when you add in sexual awakening and first times this was a must read for me! I enjoyed all the firsts that Harden and Vance experienced together. Their chemistry and sexual tension was off the charts! Those firsts they shared together were so hot!! I really could feel their deep connection that came from childhood best friends, which only deepened as they became more. At points I found their conversations a bit off, I think a familiarity was trying to be established but it came off as unnatural for two 18 year olds. I would have also loved to have an epilogue with Harden’s POV, as the story was told from Vance’s. I felt like we missed out on some character connection with the single POV from Vance. I was all there for their HEA but it felt abrupt and I would have loved to know more. It felt like it wrapped up an angst point too quickly and I was left with unresolved questions.

[Lars · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be a little too cringey for me. I didn't like the writing, especially when it came to their communication. It was super weird and repetitive. The steamy scenes were good ig but I got tired of Harden and his sweet/sexy talk towards Vance. At first I adored it but then I was like "okay Harden we get it, you want to always be inside him."
Also I feel like the ending was super rushed. Like the author just made everything alright again in one chapter and we're suppose to believe it.

And can we just talk about the name Harden Hart.....

[Ren || Reading What I Want · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️ 𝙀𝙙𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩. ⭐️

GENRE/TROPES: MM, Friends-to-Lovers
POV: 1st, Vance
SERIES: Standalone
STEAM LEVEL: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Yes. Y’all know I love MM Romance. Something about it just draws me in and it’s some of THE best steamy scenes and this book was unbelievable.

The writing is a bit abrupt and choppy and I LOVED it. It was direct and to the point. No long paragraphs of inner monologue or pages of fluff. Vance and Harden had some of the best banter and discussions. I adored their friendship and then the progression of their relationship.

Harden was a dirty talking alpha who thought he was straight until he decided to help his best friend, Vance, lose his virginity before college. Vance was sweet and innocent and I just wanted to hug him. He had been in love with Harden since kids. My absolute favorite part of this story is the honesty. They called each other out. Their relationship was tender and beautiful. The angst was beyond manageable and NO SEPARATION, y’all! Makes me so freaking happy.

~ "𝒜𝓇𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹, 𝒱𝒶𝓃?" 𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝓈𝓀𝑒𝒹.
"𝒴𝑒𝓈." 𝒫𝒶𝒾𝓃𝒻𝓊𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓈𝑜.
𝐻𝒾𝓈 𝓁𝒾𝓅𝓈 𝒸𝓊𝓇𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝓊𝓅. "𝒢𝑜𝑜𝒹."
"𝒲𝒽𝓎?" 𝐼 𝒶𝓈𝓀𝑒𝒹.
“𝐼 𝒹𝑜𝓃’𝓉 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌. 𝐼 𝑔𝓊𝑒𝓈𝓈—𝒾𝓉 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁𝓈 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝐼 𝒹𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊." ~

And the steam? Lawd, the steam! 🥵🥵 No awkward handling of each other. Just lust and spoken thoughts.

[JonathanSamuelReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Us sleeping together?" Harden said, voice thick with sleep. "Are we...boyfriends?" "Is that what you want to be?" He stroked his fingers down my spine. “Isn’t that the whole conversation we just had?” "Yes." I peeked up at him. "Are you okay with calling it that?" "I'm yours, and it doesn't matter what we call each other as long as I get to keep doing this."


This was wholesome at parts and at other parts that annoyed me, it seemed like they talked in circles a lot and I’m not a huge fan of only one POV so it just kinda took me out of the story and I wish we could have gotten in there heads more cause I didn’t always believe it. The whole dad being the governor and then pulling that snake shit was so foul also. And I don’t know if it’s because I’m in America and America is a shit show right now but I was just so like idk turned off by his whole character and storyline. It’s a me thing not the book but still.

I did really enjoy the narration a lot the parts of the story were good, I’m guessing the flirty Woods guy gets a book and Liam the little brother with the cunt dad winning the election and becoming president so I think I’ll sit that one out 🤣

[magic_of_darkness_and_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 stars
💫 Harden & Vance = BFF to BF 💫

If you want a sweet, warm, funny, romantic book with best friends to lovers theme then this is the one! ❤️

One of the best BFF relationship I have ever read about!🥺❤️ It was a really light read and there were definitely moments to bring the edge, but never with the MC.

I loved their relationship and that they stayed true to their feelings, there wasn't break up or some sort of inner fight and for both of them the choice, the answer was always ONE - each other together! ❤️

4,5 stars because at moments I got really confused like what is happening now? The flow between some scenes was fast.


P.S. Would love to read about Harden's brother and the other swimmer.

[Jacqueleen the Reading Queen♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't read NA too often. I tend to like my MCs a bit more mature because reading about high school kids can seem...well weird to me as a person in their 30s. Thankfully that is exactly how these two 18 year old MCs read. I mean there is still plenty of "teen angst". Harden's father is going to run for president. He expects a lot from his son and that puts a lot of pressure on Harden to live up to his fathers standards. Most kids about to graduate high school would be trying to figure out where the next party is at. Not Harden, and not Vance. They're too busy working their asses off in competitive swimming for a chance to go to the same college together. In fact, a scholarship is Vance's only chance at following Harden to Yale.


"I'd always been the dark to his light."


Vance and Harden have been best friends since they were in Kindergarten. Rarely is one without the other. Hell, they even sleep over with each other most nights. They tell each other everything. That is everything except for the fact that Vance is in love with Harden and that he's still holding his V-card. When Vance accidently spills the beans about never having slept with anyone, his best friend is there like always, offering his help. Luckily I knew exactly where that road was going to lead and I was so there for it.


"His warmth would never go out. I'd always be a moth to his flame, and I didn't want it any other way."


I liked how it was Harden who tended to push Vance into telling him his feelings by being honest about his own. Vance is well aware he isn't straight and is in love with his best friend. What he isn't aware of and needed to be reassured of is Harden. Harden was so open. When he realized he was falling for his best friend he told him. He put all his eggs in the same basket and hoped like hell Vance felt the same. It really made me wish the book was dual POV so we could know what was running through his head in that exact moment.

I also really loved the bond these boys had. They were protective of each other. Being so close for so long forms a strong connection and these two could read each other with just a look. That came in handy in a lot of situations happening in the book. The epilogue was cute. It's always satisfying getting a glimpse of the MCs you spent hours reading about still happily going strong in the future. We're left with little doubt that these two are it for each other and that's a solid HEA if I ever read one.

[Dani · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think frustrating is the best way to sum up this book! The characters talked in circles that had me keep re-reading to work out what I'd apparently missed - I hadn't missed anything! It was also like 97% dialogue with barely any world building or character description so it felt like being a bystander to a conversation but not hearing everything you needed for it to make any sense! The end was super abrupt too. 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Mirjam]

[Love Is All Around · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voto: 3.5
RECENSIONE A CURA DI SLANIF
Vance Finch e Harden Hart sono amici sin da ragazzini, nonostante non potrebbero essere più diversi. Il primo è un buon atleta di nuoto, ma l’altro è il migliore; il reddito finanziario del primo è medio-basso, quello del secondo a dir poco benestante. Insomma, sulla carta dovrebbero non avere nulla in comune, ma incredibilmente sono sempre stati inseparabili.
Adesso che però si presenta la prospettiva di andare all’università e dividersi, i due ragazzi devono fare fronte ai loro sentimenti reciproci. E che importa se Vance è ancora vergine e l’altro etero? Possono pur sempre… darsi una mano, no?
Continua sul nostro blog!

[Hemmel M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The blurb made me expect a high-school novel but this is about YA living with their parents. Well developed characters. Sometimes I found them too adult, with Harden being authoritiv and Vance analysing everything and intelligent reasoning while speaking. And they talked a lot.
Performance was good but sometimes I missed some emotion.
On to the next.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The writing was hard to follow at times?

[Booker · Rating 3 out of 5]

High school romance, friends-to-lovers trope. This is my first JR Gray book and I didn't love it. It's a well-worn premise - lifelong BFFs, one secretly pining for the other. Hetero Harden offers to teach Virgin Vance about sex. The implication is the tutorials will be how to romance and have sex with girls because Harden assumes Vance is also straight. The entire plot, from beginning to end, requires you to suspend disbelief.

The dialog was awkward and sometimes confusing. I can't tell you how many times I thought, "Wait. Whaaat???" There was a buildup about Vance how his teammates would react if they found out he was gay but that was left dangling. Maybe this needed to be a duel POV. I wanted to know more about Harden's unfolding feelings for Vance, but I didn't get enough of that. The fairy tale ending was perfect but not all that satisfying. It was so perfect it had me rolling my eyes.

This story reminded me of Wicked Lies Boys Tell by K Webster (which I liked very much).

I'll definitely give JR Gray another chance because I believe in supporting queer authors, but this one just didn't do it for me 2.5 stars rounded up.

[Cindaren · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 for me. This was so freakin hot and I liked the story too. The writing style was interesting; I've read so many MM books I've started to expect a certain way that the MC characters interact with each other and this book doesn't follow the expected patterns. I really like it.

This was my first book by this author but I've already checked out the next two in this series on KU, and will be reading more. (So much for my resolution to finish my TBR before starting anything new!)

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I've had this one on my TBR for years, but I never got around to getting it. When I finally picked up a copy of it, I knew I had to get to it soon. I enjoyed this one for the most part. I liked Vance, and Harden definitely grew on me as the book progressed. I am a sucker for the friends-to-lovers trope, so I loved the chemistry and romance between them.

However, there were parts that I didn't care for as much. Going into this one, I thought Vance and Harden were in college for the course of this novel. When I realized they were still in high school (though eighteen), it definitely threw me for a loop. The dialogue for a large portion of this one felt awkward and not quite natural. Overall, I'm not mad I read it, and I will more than likely be reading the rest of the series.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.5 stars

Best friends to lovers, a virgin hero, bi-awakening, competitive swimmers, and some dirty talk is what you can expect to find when you open the pages of J.R. Gray’s newest novel, The Friendship Equation. The strength of this novel is the relationship between Vance and Harden and the closeness they share and the heat they ignite when they are together.

The guys claim to know everything about each other, but it’s soon clear that is not fully the case. The initial conversation when Harden finds out that Vance is a virgin is a little awkward, but once Harden offers to help Vance with that, I felt the tension and chemistry between the two of them through every page.

Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.

[kitamikeita · Rating 1 out of 5]

Note: I put off writing the reviews since January. I'm slowly catching up. So my memory will vary according to how long ago I read it and how impactful it was.

I don't remember anything, but my last note "finally it's over" doesn't bode well.

I made a few notes:
- a bit surreal and unbelievable
- everything is too weird
- I don't understand why they do what they do
- are they the only ones in the book? Except for briefly at the beginning, the others are just mentioned
- at times I find it difficult to follow along
- it has mistakes and it's boring
- repetitive
- it's nonsense after nonsense, it is likely to give me a reading slump but I already wasted too much time on it. I want to finish it as soon as possible but at the same time I can't find the strength to read it
- it's not even that the couple is lovley and everything else sucks. No, somehow they are also cringey

- finally it's over.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was like a 3.5. A sweet read but not memorable enough to make it to 4. This is a well done bi-for you, sexual awakening, best friends to lover book. It tells the typical story of one best friend pinning over the other one and out of the blue the other finding an attraction to a guy.

It was a bit cliche but I love that trope and this one was nicely done, with that I mean it was sweet without being overly cheesy.

This was almost 100% relationship development and not much else, but I was fine mostly fine with. My biggest issue would the OTT scenes at the end and one of the MC’s parents.

At first the were against it but changed tune out of the blue? That part made no sense.

Overall a cute read

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overcame my hesitations

I don’t always like reading high school age romance or the bi for you trope but I really enjoyed The Friendship Equation. Both characters are 18 and they are able to define their identity outside of their relationship so those things helped the book work for me. Great dirty talk and electric chemistry between the characters.

[Carola Ficarella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una copertina che scioglie il cuore, il contenuto che lo gela. Una trama molto carina che si è persa con discorsi banali e personaggi piatti.

[Heather Duff · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Do not even look at him," Harden snapped. “This is not a brother’s best friend romance.”

I love love love BFF to lover stories. I’m also a big fan of political storylines. And these two did not disappoint. They were really adorable.

"His warmth would never go out. I'd always be a moth to his flame, and I didn't want it any other way."

I think my favourite part was the sheer amount of dialogue. Dialogue is my favourite part, it’s what makes me feel connected to them, and it is super enjoyable to read. It really captures their closeness, their familiarity, and the love they have for each other. They were also pretty hot together. Not to mention fun and flirty. I do admit to wanting to shake Vance more than a few times and tell him to spit out his feelings already. Grrr. I especially loved Harden and how he handled the developing relationship and how he fought for himself and his relationship.

Shout out to Vance’s dad & MVP to brother Liam, I can’t wait to read his story. He’s a spitfire. I also hope we’ll catch a glimpse of Harden and Vance in his story.

[lovesbooks1986 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best friends to lovers

I like this story but I found it anti climatic I did understand there would be the “problem” in this story that they need to overcome to get their HEA. That’s why I took one star off otherwise I enjoyed the story