The Hater Playbook

Boyfriend Rules #2

by Baylin Crow

My brother's best friend is the biggest player on campus—both on the basketball court and between the sheets.

Not that I can blame the swarm of girls that worship Knight Jackson's size fourteen sneaker-covered feet. I've been in love with him for as long as I can remember. He's been breaking my heart for just as long.

While I'd been busy memorizing every detail about him, he'd never seen me as anything other than Pace's younger brother.

It wasn't smart to crush on a straight guy in the first place, so now that I'm in college, I'm ready to move on. The problem is I'm clueless when it comes to dating.

A brilliant idea occurs to me when I've had one too many shots of tequila. I may not know what I'm doing, but Knight does. And he owes me for the years I spent pining for him, right? Right .

So I text the heartbreaker, asking for help. I never expected him to agree.

And I definitely never expected him to offer to give me lessons on how to drive a guy crazy in bed.

Genres: M M Romance, Romance, Sports, Contemporary, College, Queer, Sports Romance

174 pages, Paperback

First published October 14, 2022

About the author

Baylin writes gay romance stories full of sweetness and steam. She's best known for her Sugar Land Saints series that follows a college football team set in Texas, which she also calls home. Whether writing books or reading them, Baylin spends the majority of her time tucked into the pages of stories about men who love other men. She has two amazing children, a spoiled cat, a hyperactive dog, and a heavy addiction to caffeine.

To be alerted by email when I release a book, please follow me on BookBub or sign up for my newsletter through my website.

Happy Reading! ❤📚

Reviews

[martina (the life of a chaotic reader) · Rating 1 out of 5]

this is what i call “trope baiting”.
let’s start with an excerpt from the blurb:
“So I text the heartbreaker, asking for help. I never expected him to agree.
And I definitely never expected him to offer to give me lessons on how to drive a guy crazy in bed.”

cool, right? MC1 is inexperienced and asks MC2, who is a player for pointers in picking up guys.
sounds amazing.
yeah, no. because it basically doesn’t happen.

minor spoilers ahead.

the pointers thing starts at 51%. yes, you read that right. it lasts for about a page. then there’s another little bit, which of course it’s completely useless. then something that just creates a bit of tension (which is good because i was sleeping with my eyes open by that time) and they kiss at 70%.
they’re fucking by 80% which isn’t slow but it was such a slow book that it felt rushed, because the scenes are sooooo long, full of descriptions and filler dialogues.
at 94% (the morning after they have sex, yes it’s an important detail) they say that they love each other. knight considered himself straight until two days before. no problemo.
and that’s it the next page you have the epilogue.
i think this might be the worst structure that you can give a book.
super slow becomes super fast without reason.
this kind of “slow burn” should come with a trigger warning.

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

This was really good and then it turned into insta love and finished really abruptly 🥺.

That said, it’s still a 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for the start and the general premise of the story.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I really liked this story BUT the pacing was completely off! They don't even get together until past 80%, and then there's such a rush and immediate love declarations!!!! I just think there could have been so much more to the story after they got together. The build up was all great and well paced, but I was genuinely shocked to see only 15% or so left after they got together, I really thought my book hadn't downloaded properly!

Would have liked:
- to see them as an actual couple!!!
- Rook and Noah to have returned as a couple so Knight could be proved right (we already know they're together from book 1!?)
- the reaction from Knights friends etc.
- more reaction from Pace! Dude went for a drive then didn't come back til the epilogue
- more build up before Knight realised he loved Owen, like yes he knew him all his life but he says he's in love the morning after they have sex, having been 'straight' for 20+ years. I'm all for instalove but this seemed to miss potential of showing Knight actually fall in love
- also Vaughn just disappeared??

If there had been more to the actual romance story and them actually being together then I definitely would have rated much higher!!

[Lyn❤Loves❤Listening to Real Voices Only!!!!❤️🎧📚 Addict ON HIATUS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio - 5 Stars
Story 3.5 Stars

[Brey (lil Sebastian) · Rating 2 out of 5]

After really loving the first book in this series I was really upset about not liking this one. It honestly felt like two different books. The beginning set up the pacing and the story really nicely but right around the 60-70% mark the book went from 0 to insta love reall quick. I could understand Owen feeling love but for Knight to say I hove you literally the day after and only a week after kissing. It just didn’t feel true to the story. I really wanted to like this. It may have been better if it was longer and the e progression of the story could’ve been laid out better.

[She Reads So Much · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute brothers best friend college romance. 4.25/5⭐️ 1-2/5🔥🌶

[Dani (Daniiireads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

- brother's best friend
- dating lessons
- virgin/playboy
- sexual awakening

This started out pretty promising and then ended up flopping.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Knight & Owen
Rating: 3.5 ⭐
Narrator: Iggy Toma

- Brother's Best Friend
- College Romance
- Years of Pining
- First Times
- Basketball Player
- Bi-awakening

This was quick and sweet read about a boy who has been pining for his older brother's best friend for years and finally gets him. Now the blurb is a little misleading because Owen doesn't come up with the plan to have Knight help him, Owen's best friend does when they are ribbing in the store for being a virgin. Also, Knight is a man hoooooeeeee and basically having him still be active shortly before he starts this crazy plan with Owen was a little ick.

Knight is a star basketball player that has switched schools back to his hometown. Now Owen and Knight are going to the same school but Owen has been avoiding Knight ever since he got back into town, so like three years. Owen is working on getting over his crush on Knight but it hasn't really gone away over the years. One drunken social media comment leads to Knight making sure they have a conversation face to face. This led to Knight helping Owen make a playbook to getting a man. It's a silly effort, especially since Owen knows who he wants, and Knight starts to crave spending time with Owen. Once Knight realizes that he wants Owen, well he goes all in without hesitation with his free loving self.

This is nice fluffy read with minimal confrontation, so overall enjoyable. I would've liked to see what happened with Rook and Noah, maybe it's another book later on. The author did describe some unnecessary stuff, like how Owen was putting on his jacket. The words space could've been used to show more of them as a couple, that would've made this a higher rating. They don't actually get together until there is like an hour left in the audio and it's like boom together, confusion with the family, and then yay together and here's the epilogue like a year later. You also don't get to see Knights coming out to the teammates or his family, so I'm assuming all was well with no issues.

Verse: No
HEA: Yes
POV: Dual
Breakup: No
Cheating: No
Ages: 21 & Not given but around 18/19?

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was disappointing. I loved the previous book so I was so optimistic for this one. Unfortunately, the romance was very undeveloped. So, it felt like inta love. Just really weird pacing. Hopefully, the next one is better.

[Book Binge: Reviews by Melissa DaSilva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure what happened with this book as I usually absolutely love this author but there was just something completely off with the pacing that made this book not as great as their others. It’s like there was part of the book missing. It’s super slow burn until they have sex and then bam they are together and the book is done.

I liked Owen as a character. Wasn’t a super big fan of Knight (especially remembering him from book 1 in the series which I ended up liking that one much more so recommend that one still). But was cute to see them together. And it was a fun story just was missing something. So still recommend if you want to give it a try and hope you enjoy more than I did!

[Leia Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I didn’t care for this one so much. It’s probably me. It was a slow start, slow enough that Knight had time to sleep with some girls. I didn’t like that. Also, I didn’t feel the chemistry between the MCs. Knight was just too much of a player with women I think in order for me to believe he suddenly was into Owen and in it for life. 🫤

[raccoon reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was weird. It was cruising along just fine. Slow burn. Unrequited crush on a "straight" guy (spoiler alert, he's not). It almost has a nerd/jock feel except it's more like "average joe"/jock pairing. The "he needs help getting a guy. Hey! I'm straight, so I'm the perfect guy to teach you how to pick up guys" (?!?!!) trope because that always makes sense and goes well.

Everything is going along well until the last 85% or so when you go from slow to speed demon in the matter of a chapter. They go from first kiss for the virgin to sex in the matter of days and after having sex Knight (the straight guy) confesses his love?!?!?! I'm just so confused. It just escalated so quickly. And I love insta love but not after 85% of it not being there.

I'm talking myself out of a 3 star review dammit.

The narration was great. The characters were cute. I love Knight's confidence and he was my favorite in the first in this series. I just didn't feel like his sudden confession of love made sense. Sure he may have loved him as his bf little brother but not sexually or romantically attracted to him until that kiss. I wish I'd pinpointed exactly how many hours (or days) were in between the kiss and the deflowering but didn't know I'd need to pay attention because a freaking love confession was coming up.

If you're not too hung up on realistic relationships, and want a low angst book, or a very well narrated book- then give this one a try. Otherwise... yeah. no.

[Lionelle Pmuls (That's Slump Backwards & It's What I Do) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,9 Stars

Review To Come.

[Leanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like I was cheated

I was so excited to read this book, but the pacing is ridiculous. Slower than molasses for 3/4 of the book, then light speed. All sense of the relationship between these guys was completely glossed over. Knight apparently can flip a switch and be in love overnight… also, all these adventurous things that Knight is in to and nothing? We see none of those things displayed other than in passing. The book should have been twice as long to do justice to Owen and Knight’s story.

[Ally · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Basically zero angst but my only complaint is nothing really happens with the two MCs till the last 30% of the book! They barely interact at all the first half because Owen is avoiding Knight and trying to get over his childhood crush then after they get together Knight is already in love? I know that Owen had feelings for Knight forever but I feel like we needed at least some moments in their past that Knight showed he might have had some kind of feelings for Owen for it to work.

I did enjoy that last 30% it was very sweet I just felt like the first half needed more.

[Brielle - currently in a I never update my GR era- · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm really disappointed because of how the book turned out. Everything was fine in the beginning but soon, it became quick paced and bridges were burned...
.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.
How come Knight fell in love suddenly after only one night ???
I feel like ever since he started to get attracted to Owen things went crazy and common sense left the room. He went from being a player 24/7 to being madly in love ??
Well that's why I'm mad. If only the author took more her time and developed their relationship it would have been 100 times better

[moonydew · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars…
A bit disappointing… this book was too short to be doubling up on what happened in book 1 like it did in the beginning. This was practically insta love for Knight which was weird and. Vaughn was like the worst friend ever. I don’t blame him for not really forgiving him. How did he do that? So fucking weird.

1/5 on spice. 1/5 on kink. 1/5 on tears. Why did Knight talk about wanting to try sounding? So out of place omg

[Mami Bear · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars


I didn't enjoy this.

I disliked Knight, he was a dick tbh. And I didn't get why Owen was in love / had a crush on him so deeply.

This would have worked better for me if he had a crush on Knight but had still dated before him. I didn't like the imbalance - Owen was into Knight for so long.

Also the I love you's came out of nowhere and weren't believable to me.

[Candice · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pacing of this was off. The part leading up to them getting together was good, and the end part would have been good, but there was no in between. They just got together and then they're in love and the book's over.

[NurseRox · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 🌟

[Emily · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pacing on this was so off. It read like a novella, things in the beginning draaaggged and then the end was incredibly rushed.

It had potential but the insta love and overall pacing was cringy.

[frannilys · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Don’t let the title fool you. There is no hating or enemies-to-lovers in this book. Just your average my-brothers-best-friend-trope.

And it basically was about how obsessed Owen was with Knight. It was kinda creepy. And Knight just went from 0 to basically being in love with Owen in an instant. They didn’t even know each other that well. Therefore it did not feel like a balanced relationship.

[Head in a book · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this right up until it went from zero to instalove in the blink of an eye and that was basically the end of the story 2.5 ⭐

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this book in an unusual way. It was on a recommendation of sorts. I'd posted that I was looking for a story with elements of the Cyrano plot. This was suggested as it involves a younger guy getting romantic/courting advice from an older, more experienced player. Plus the mentor would actually prefer to be the one doing the romancing rather than helping his young protege with their stated goal.

This tale DOES somewhat have some congruencies with what I was looking for and the characters did seem like folks I would enjoy spending some time with. Given what I was looking for, I was predisposed to like this but the book does have some flaws that annoyed the proofreader in me.

The first, that kept repeatedly bothering me was a missed opportunity. One romantic lead (our Cyrano) is best friends with the older brother of our other romantic lead. That point is quickly and ably established when our Cyrano character refers to the younger guy as "Mini-Walsh" and the kid bristles at the teasing nickname. My problem with this is that that term is never used again in that form. For some reason, the teasing nickname is changed to little Walsh which doesn't work as elegantly and given that that nickname is used a dozen times or so it's a semi-constant reminder that it might have been better.

The mix-up with the nicknames Mini-Walsh vs little Walsh seemed kind of careless given the prominence that it's given.

A similar problem was noted by another reviewer who mentions the many overdone descriptions of lips.
It's part of an author's job to create scenes that the reader can envision. Generally, I believe that it's the author's prerogative as to how they do that. It felt like the author here was somewhat clumsy in that regard. Another facet of that problem was there were so many unnecessary and ineptly placed descriptions. Using an unnecessary adjective can often disrupt the story more than add to it. e.g. When describing a two-man dorm room mentioning that Vaughn is "lounging on the room's uncomfortable bed" might interrupt the flow of what's going on, causing the reader to wonder "Why is only one bed uncomfortable? How does Owen know that that bed is uncomfortable? Is there ONLY one bed?"
Example two... Why does it matter that our protagonist chooses light blue underwear when heading to the shower? Particularly when he's in the midst of obsessing over the other protagonist's reactions to a comment on social media?
And finally, when the character is kvetching about the heater in his crappy old car not working, why does the reader need to know that the car is ruby red? Illuminating the RIGHT details adds to a story; drizzling random details into the story in a Jackson Pollock-like manner doesn't.

Other than the petty "authorial annoyances", the characters are likable, the story is sweet, and is generally well-told. I always enjoy stories where "straight" guys realize that they may be more bent than they previously thought.

This is my first exposure to this author and I enjoyed the tale well enough to add another of her books to my TBR list. I'll be curious to see if the flaws that annoyed me in this book are repeated and whether the author can once again overcome the minor imperfections and still craft an enjoyable story.

I listened to this in audiobook form rather than reading it. Narrated by Iggy Toma, the story moves along well and is ably served by a single narrator. Toma is quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators. Iggy has a bit of an Adam Brody kind of thing going with his narrative voice style - which I find generally works quite well. That style does seem more pronounced here than in other things I've heard him read.

This book is very suitable for a solo narration. The story is told in MM Romances' now standard "he said / he said" chapter-swapping style. The two main characters are distinctive enough that their voices are never confused. And since the tale focuses so heavily on the two main characters, there's not much dialogue provided by the supporting cast, but what is there, is acted in a workman-like way as well.

Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steamy 🔥
Sports 🏀

[Onceupona.spine · Rating 3 out of 5]

|| B O O K R E V I E W 📝      
      
𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Hater Playbook     
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Baylin Crow    
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Romance       
      
𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰:      
I adore this author and her love stories and this one was no different. 
 
This love story follows Owen, who unfortunately finds himself in love with his brother straight best friend.  
We all know how the trope goes. The pinning, the Unrequited Love, the pain of watching the person you want be with every other person but you.   
But finally after years of wanting what he can't have Owen is finally ready to move on and enlists the help of his long time crush to help him Attract guys. 
 
This is your typical Unrequited Love story and in true fashion of the Romance  trope, as soon as Owen is ready to move on is exactly the time that Knight takes notice of his best friends little brother. 
 
What starts as the king of players helping Owen find his match quickly turns into Steamy hot tub moments, startling realisations and finding out that the person you needed all along might be closer than you think. 
 
This was a very quick, very lovely read. My only complaint was that it was over before it even began. 
The romance went at break speed so it felt a little forced, I would have liked for this one to have been much longer than it was to really get to know them as a couple and explore their relationship naturally.  
 
𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐐𝐮𝐨𝐭𝐞:   
"𝘈 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘐'𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦" 
    
𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐎𝐟:     
• Contemporary Romance  
• Steamy Reads   
• MM Romance    
• Sports Romance  
• Opposites Attract  
• Brothers Best Friend  
• Player/Virgin Hero 
• College Romance 
• Unrequited Love  
      
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:       
𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘖𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️    
𝘘𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘖𝘧 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: ⭐️⭐️⭐️    
𝘗𝘭𝘰𝘵: ⭐️⭐️⭐️    
𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴: ⭐️⭐️⭐️    
   
************      
𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (𝟑.𝟓)     
     

[Jewell Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly loved this book. It’s rare I write a review, and when I do it’s always on a 5 star book, but I truly believe this one deserves a review. It’s possibly the best ‘older brother’s best friend’ books I’ve read.

I often find manny of the college romances knocking around are very bland and they lack the grittiness that comes with pining after someone you know you shouldn’t. I think what made this book great was the use of dialogue - and I mean that because something as simple as honest conversation can definitely be lost on many authors. A lot of books emphasise the inner thoughts of the main characters whereas this book truly uses the characters to express thoughts and feelings beyond inner monologue and it was done superbly.

Not to mention the teasing nature between the characters, not just between the main characters but between the best friends. Overall the book felt raw and real which I think is what made me love it the most - not to mention the perfect execution of the older brothers best friend trope.

My only negative to this book was that I wish there was more! Although the bonus chapter at the end certainly made up for things. If this is the sort of trope you enjoy, with a nerdy younger brother pining after the popular jock of his older brother, this is hands down a book I’d recommend!

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t think I’ve ever given one of her books less than 4 stars so this really hurts lol. Ugh I was soo excited for this book because the first book was so good I read it more than once. I’m so sorry to say I was very disappointed. Where was the story? The first 25% of the book was basically just the first book told in Knights point of view. That’s a long way into the book considering how short the book was. There was no interaction with the MCs til like half way through the book. Knight shows no signs of having feelings for Owen and then one day Owen “practices” how to seduce him and then bam Knight Is all about Owen and then they are in love! We never even got to see them together. We didn’t witness any heart to heart convos, any talk of past feelings Owen had, it was just kind of a wam bam thank you ma’am kind of story and not in a good way. We didn’t even get to see peoples reactions to the literal manwhore now having a boyfriend! I feel like I need to go read one of her other books to get this one off my mind. 🙄. One thing I can always say about her books though, are that the sex scenes are HOT so there’s that!

[Carrie Boes · Rating 5 out of 5]

🥰 love it

First, I was so excited that knight would be in the second book. His flirting was cute a extreme especially when it came to Noah for the sake of annoying took in the first book but it made me want to know his story. Just like that, it was already done.

Now, onto the book. Owen crushing on knight and hearing him pinning over his brothers best friend was adorable. When he got older though, the feelings hadn’t stopped. Sometimes when you no where your hearts at, no one else will measure up to them. So on the drunken night when he decides to ask knight for his help to gain experience in finding a guy, he hadn’t expected that guy to actually be his childhood crush.

Knights overly flighting personality and plenty sexual interactions comes to a stand still when his best friends little brother sends him a text that will change his life. Agreeing to help Owen leads to a very hot 🥵 time in the hot tub and a moment where knight realizes he may not be so straight after all, and he doesn’t care.

This book was just as good as the first! Baylin Crow never fails me

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A steamy fun read

This is a fun story. Owen has been in love with Knight, his brother’s best friend, since he was in high school. But knowing Knight was straight and therefore not an option, he’s spent the last three years avoiding Knight as much as possible. But that has gotten harder now that they’re at the same university.

I love how Knight and Owen are with each other—it’s clear they’ve known each other for a long time. I like how there are hints that Knight has probably been attracted, subconsciously, to Owen since high school too. I also love how discovering he’s attracted to Owen doesn’t faze Knight at all. And it’s completely understandable that Owen has a hard time processing and accepting how all in Knight is.

The only thing that would have made this book better is if it had been longer. In a week, Knight and Owen go from not really having seen much of each other for the past three years to dating. I would have liked to see them interact more so we could really see how compatible they are.

Still it was a steamy, fun read.

[falenatales · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know when you choose to read a book because of the tropes ? 
Yes me, when I saw it I was like
brothers best friend 
semi frenemies to lovers 
teaching the inexperienced 
....sign me up
so imagine my disappointment reading this 
I see the idea, but it started like slow you know the good kind of slow but midway it went from 0 to 100 
Whiplash much all of a sudden it was insta love like hää way to confuse a girl

the ending felt rushed, I mean I get it's like 150 pages but what the freak and then boom the epilogue



My basic facts

Genre: Contemporary Romance (M/M).

Series: Standalone 

Love triangle? No 

Cheating?  NO 

HEA?  Yes 

Favorite character?  couldn't tell even if I tried

Would I read more by this author/or of a series?  Maybe

Would I recommend this book/series?  Probably

Will I read this again in the future?  No

Star rating ?  2