Nobody Else’s

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela –
Nobody Else’s was just too freaking cute. I’ve become a fan of Nell Iris’ novellas over the past year, loving that the author gives me just enough of a look at a couple and where they’re at in their lives and relationship, yet leaves me wanting more of their story because I’ve enjoyed my time with them. Within a couple of hours, I’ve met new friends and fallen in love with them, and Beckett and Levi are no different.

Using the best friend’s little brother trope, Iris is able to start the story with a bit of built-in history that makes Beckett and Levi’s awkward dance both cute and believable. By changing narrators with each chapter, we learn that not only are both men attracted to one another, both doubt the other would see them as a potential love interest. Beckett has some self-esteem issues due to his less-than-fit appearance, not believing anyone, let alone Levi, would be attracted to a boring man with a soft belly and three years on him. On the other hand, Levi worries that he’s too young at twenty-three to catch Beckett’s eye, worried he’ll always be seen as Matt’s little brother. But with the right stars and planets in alignment and some cheeky horoscopes to nudge them along, the two find themselves meeting up without Matt, getting to know one another better, and developing their own friendship. I had mixed feelings when Levi informed Matt that he planned on asking Beckett out, but that was because I went from wanting to throat punch Matt to wanting to hug him, after elbowing him in the solar plexus. But their talk gave Levi the courage to ask Beckett out and it was tooooooo funny watching Beckett go all teenage girl, giddy with excitement, when it happened.

While the date was perfect and demonstrated just how well Levi knew Beckett, I was a tad surprised with how far things went on their first official date – which is the only downside of this being a novella. Even with their built-in history and them having spent time together (including a spur of the moment dinner that could be considered their first unofficial date), I didn’t expect the clothes to come off. However, as neither man is a player and we know they both really like one another, it actually made sense story-wise and in the progression of their relationship. Both are men who prefer a quiet evening in, men who are looking for something long-term and see the potential for it with the other, men who look before leaping, so the decision to get physical fit who they are and is driven by feelings and a long-time attraction, not by lust. I always find meet-the-parents dinners amusing when the boyfriend already knows the parents but is meeting them as their child’s love interest for the first time, and Nell Iris didn’t disappoint. As I expected, the author left me wanting more, but left me with one of the cutest endings I’ve read in a while – I may have awwwww-ed at it. Nobody Else’s was a sweet read and exactly what I needed this evening.

Sarah –
3.5 stars

This is a gentle and very sweet romance. Even though Beckett is in his late twenties, it feels like a new adult story because Beckett and Levi are both quite wonderfully innocent. Tiny details like Beckett’s hang-ups about his weight and Levi’s slightly overwhelming family commitments make the two men come fully to life in a short novella.

For a short book, a little bit too much time is spent on secondary characters like Levi’s brother and mother. I don’t read many short stories or novellas – mostly because I struggle to believe in insta-love stories that race to a happily ever after. And this story is no different. There is limited time spent developing Levi and Beckett’s relationship into a convincing partnership. The happily ever after feels a bit rushed and a bit forced. Levi and Beckett feel incredibly young and a happy for now might have worked better.

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Nobody Else’s by Nell Iris to read and review.