CBR15Bingo: Europe square
CBR15Passport: Books from different countries (England)
“A soft pulse of desire went through me, not for sex or pain or humiliation or some other release, but for this, this quiet closeness. Someone to hold in the dark.”
― Alexis Hall, For Real“What could I do with a boy who had brought me to my knees twice, yet still held my hand in the dark? What could I give in return for such kindness? Such faith? I would so gladly bear all the pain he gave me, intended and incidental, and the loss of him when his inclinations took him elsewhere.”
― Alexis Hall, For Real“That’s sort of what love is, I guess. A perpetual state of semideranged partiality.”
― Alexis Hall, For Real
Laurie is a stressed-out trauma doctor who pours himself into his career so he doesn’t have to think about how heartbroken he is still is over his ex. His ex has moved on and Laurie’s friends desperately want him to do so as well as it has been six years since the breakup. On a whim, Laurie takes aspiring dom Toby home with him one night and then promptly drops of him on his doorstep. Toby, nineteen — equal parts overconfidence and sensitivity — does not let Laurie get away with it. They set up rules only to push past them again and again, inevitably drawing them into something beyond the transactional nature of their initial agreement.
I loved this book. Yes, it was incredibly sexy. Yes, it was incredibly frustrating. But it was not predictable. And it was damn funny! I was not expecting that.
My main gripe is that Laurie is the stereotypical grump that thinks he is undeserving of love and, as a result, pushes people away. His friends have known him for years and, when he bothers to spend time with them, they comfort him while disseminating hard truths that he doesn’t enjoy but appreciates.
Laurie has very valid reasons for why he is the way he is. However, there isn’t much emotional growth. In typical romance-book fashion, his need to be with Toby and his love for Toby helps him push past his own fear and self-loathing.
Toby comes across as the stereotypical directionless youth. He’s too guileless to worry whether or not he should go home with Laurie, but that doesn’t mean he is going to deny himself the opportunity. I adored how well we got to know Toby over the course of the story. He is not directionless and he is not flailing. He is doing what he loves. His shame comes not from his job or from who he is, but of who he thinks other people expect him to be. Finding Laurie does help him find some direction, but I believe that Toby would have found it on his own eventually. And maybe that is the thing I do appreciate about Laurie. He pushes down his growing feelings because he knows that Toby will most likely outgrow him. He knows that Toby is still discovering himself and what he wants, and Laurie doesn’t want to tie him down. However, it is clear that Toby is stronger and more focussed than we, or Laurie, are originally led to believe.
I’ve talked a lot about the romance and the evolution of the relationship. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out that this book is hot as hell™.
My final rating
- Five out of five stars for humor
- Five out of five stars for sexiness
- Four out of five stars for the relationship
- And a five out of five stars for one of my new favorite characters of all time: Toby
- Honorable mention: Toby’s Grandad