Chase Hansen. Broke. College drop out. Male stripper. My life wasn’t at all what I imagined it would be. I should have been finishing up college, interning with a well-respected business, partying with my friends. But instead, I was raising my seventeen year old brother, struggling to make ends meet. Love wasn’t even on my radar. Besides, what did I have to offer? A few crumpled singles pulled … pulled from my G-string? Defeated and exhausted, I knew I had zero chance of finding someone to love me just as I am.
Noah Carpenter. Angry. Betrayed. Doctor.
Just when I thought my life was going exactly as it should, everything turned upside down. With my final rotation in medical school complete, I finally achieved my lifelong dream of becoming a doctor. What I never expected was to catch the man of my dreams in our bed with the man of his. Beyond infuriated, I struggled to piece together the remnants of my life. Just when I’d decided to give up on love altogether, I found a man who loved me just as I am
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Melissa Collins has a way of writing characters that you care about. She manages to build background that deepens her characters, and she does this very well with Chase and Noah.
Chase has one more semester of college when he finds out that his parents have died and he is responsible for his sixteen year old brother. Noah is an ER doctor who is in a relationship that has deteriorated. Both are struggling when they meet and feel as if they are not worthy of the others’ time and attention.
This book was done very well. I loved Chase and Noah- and Chase’s brother, Brandon. Noah’s friends were super supportive, as well. I did feel as if the second half of the book was better written than the first; it took me a bit to get into the story, but once I did, it was full-steam ahead.
This is definitely a book that I will read again!
4 1/2 out of 5 stars
I have waited forever for this book. I loved the quick story of Chase and Noah in the anthology last year, but the prospect of more of them was way too good to pass up. Melissa writes books that pull the reader in and characters that you just want to reach through the pages and give huge hugs.
Both Noah and Chase have daily struggles, but after their first encounter neither one of them can get the other out of his head. Noah shouldn’t want anyone new when he just caught his ex cheating. Chase shouldn’t have time for a relationship when he needs to take care of his brother after his parents’ tragic death.
I loved the encounters between Noah and Chase. They were perfectly played out in that as a reader, I was able to see both sides of the story and really cheer for them. The pacing was good and the conflicts were believable. I felt like I was right there with them….and I loved Benny and Wes. They were “extras” with key roles that really brought the story full-circle.
Overall, this story is just as good as (if not better than) everything else I’ve read from this author and I can’t wait for more!!
*** I voluntarily read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review ***
I LOVE Melissa’s work and it’s been sooo long since I’ve read her. When the girls suggested this for a book club read I COULD NOT WAIT!!! This book was everything I’d hoped for in more!
I love her approach to MM romance, she does it in such a delicate way. She writes it the exact same as anyone would a MF story and that makes it so much more special. Writing the way she does makes the story so much more real too, almost as if you were hearing a friend tell you about their life.
Chase and Noah were so great too. Their character development was phenomenal. I loved how “not perfect” they were. They were equally messed up in their own ways, and I love when characters have faults. These two really had a hard time with it at first, and I think that is what helped this story be so real. It was just your average insta-romance. It was a real, dirty, sometimes ugly, sometimes amazing romance. Another great thing were the supporting characters. I loved Benny and Wes and I really think they made a difference two. I loved Chase’s relationship with benny and Noah’s relationship with Wes. These relationships really helped make this story whole.
As I Am is an angsty emotional MM romance. Chase Hansen has to drop out of his final semester in college in order to work any job he can get and raise his teenage brother.
“He saw strength in me when all I saw was weakness, success when all I saw was failure.”
When Chase meets successful doctor Noah Carpenter he will admit to a physical connection but can’t get past his feelings of inferiority.
“Our lips moved together as if they’d always belonged next to each other, as if they’d always been searching for each other, wading through a sea of potential suitors, always finding the wrong one.”
-4 Stars!-
Loved it
I thought this was a great story. Chase and Noah find each other and they keep coming together and then push themselves away from each other and through it all they fall in love to get a HEA
Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team
Sarah –
This is the story of an unlikely romance between a male stripper and a young doctor. It starts with the death of Chase’s parents and Noah’s first big mistake as a doctor. There is instant attraction between Chase and Noah when a bachelorette party first brings them together, but Chase’s grief and new responsibilities leave little room for a relationship.
Chase’s grief feels terribly real in this story. His changed circumstances feel almost impossibly unfair. I loved his grit, his resilience, and the way he cares for his brother. He isn’t ready for a relationship when he meets Noah, but he needs the connection he finds with Noah.
Noah’s world is very different but the emotional and physical strain of his job also feels very real. As a new doctor, he struggles to meet the superhuman expectations he has for himself. The relationship between Noah and Chase develops slowly. Noah’s stress and Chase’s grief don’t always allow them to communicate effectively and some of their arguments feel contrived and a little bit childish. Despite Noah’s age, this book often feels like a new adult romance.
This story isn’t always plausible – there is one scene at the end that I still can’t quite wrap my head around – but it is an engaging and emotional read. I liked and felt for both Noah and Chase.
Angie –
This was a sweet love story involving Chase and Noah, both having some issues they need to overcome before they can fully trust and love each other. Chase has struggled most of his life but is doing his damnedest for his brother, Benny, since their parents died. Noah was trying to make his crappy relationship with Rob work until he walked into his worst nightmare. A hot, chance meeting at a strip club changed Noah and Chase’s lives. While the sex was first and sooo hot, it took a while for these two to trust each other. I liked the buildup of the story and I liked how Benny was part of the entire story and didn’t get pushed to the wayside. I’ll admit I cried a few times. It was a good story!
Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of As I Am by Melissa Collins to read and review.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.
I thought I was getting over the first person/multi point of view thing, you know, but it appears that I still prefer to LISTEN to first person books than READ them.
That said, I enjoyed this, mostly. It’s not a difficult, complicated read. It’s quite emotional in places, Chase has to deal with the aftermath of his parents death, bringing up his younger brother in the best way he can. Noah is dealing with the aftermath of that too, but in a very different way. It’s sexy in places, and inspiring in other, Chase’s brother has a wise head on his 17 year shoulders.
It just didn’t blow me away. It was a nice book, that is the best word I can come with, and ya’ll know how much I hate using the N word!
It’s told from both men’s point of view, and the story flows well.
I just didn’t love it.
3 good stars
**same worded review will appear elsewhere**
I loved Noah and Chase’s story. What these two men went through! Gah!! And to find each other?!
Their journey to HEA was laden with loss, self-doubt, anger and resentment, guilt, insecurity, fear. But they survived. And their story really is special and heartwarming.
And the epilogue?! The perfect ending.