Everyone’s got secrets. Some are just harder to hide.With his father’s ponzi scheme assets frozen, Tom Worthington believes finishing college is impossible unless he can pay his own way. After months sleeping in his car and driving a pirate taxi for cash, he’s ready to do just that.But his new, older-student housing comes with an unapologetically gay roommate. Tom doesn’t ask why Reese Anders has … why Reese Anders has been separated from the rest of the student population. He’s just happy to be sleeping in a bed.
Reese isn’t about to share his brutal story with his gruff new roommate. You’ve seen one homophobic jock, you’ve seen ‘em all. He plans to drag every twink on campus into his bed until Tom moves out. But soon it becomes clear Tom isn’t budging.
Tom isn’t going to let some late-night sex noise scare him off, especially when it’s turning him on. But he doesn’t want any drama either. He’ll keep his hands, if not his eyes, to himself. Boundaries have a way of blurring when you start sharing truths, though. And if Tom and Reese cross too many lines, they may need to find out just how far they can bend…before they break.
Warning: This book contains cranky roommates who vacillate between lashing out and licking, some male/male voyeurism, emotional baggage that neither guy wants to unpack, and the definitive proof that sound carries in college housing.
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I’m lesbian and it’s good to see real life situations play out with realistic characters within the lgbtq world.
a suprising look into a bi guy couple and coming to terms with that identity. surpisingly funny as well
Holy mackerel are these two screwed up. Reese is caustic and self-destructive. Tom is hiding from everyone and everything, including life. These guys take a long time to reach a truce and even longer to open up to one another. It’s clear that they fall hard but fear is blocking them from reaching for more. I liked that Tom pushes Reese towards therapy but his fear holds him from seeking it for himself. When Tom finally reaches for the help he so desperately needs, I cheered.
My favorite lines in the book: “He’s still your guy.” Tom shook his head. “I’m his.”
Audiobook: Excellent narration
Two broken people fix each other
They both have horrible back stories, and both could use therapy, and normally they would never have even met. Overcrowding in uni accommodation forces the issue, but it’s a long time before they start to even communicate. Just like any relationship, with work anything is possible, and Reece & Tom are eventually well on their way to the white picket fence HEA. It’s an unlikely but heartwarming love story that’ll put a smile on your face
This is a really beautiful romance between Tom and Reese. Both have gone through a tremendous ordeal. Tom’s dad is in prison because of a scandalous business deal where a lot of people lost a lot of money, and it has left Tom out on the streets. And although Tom desperately wants to finish college, he will have to pay for it himself and the last thing on his mind is romance. Especially with his rather promiscuous roommate. Reese, who seems to bring a different guy back to their room every night. But Reese is in fact using theses encounters as a way of gaining back some control of his life after a horrific rape.
This story had me in tears, especially when I found out what happened to Reese. But also because of how much the two of them go through. This is a very sensual book, but I though this gave their story credibility.
I have only rated this novel four books because there are several editing errors that need to be looked at. Apart from that it is a fantastic novel from beginning to end.
I thought this book would be fine but I was shocked to read it and find out it was actually really great! Def recommend.
The narration for this audio version is done really well.
This story is full of angst since both main characters have a bunch of stuff that they are dealing with. Because of this they are both in atypical housing. At first they seem to almost repel each other. But they are also drawn together as well. Reese is the first to seem to reach out for a change in his life and this ultimately causes lots of trouble for their budding relationship. Tom has a lot to come to grips with but it was great to finally see him take action. There is a wonderful supportive cast to this story that help keep these two from bottoming out.
Uneven But Still Satisfying!
While this tale suffers from a serious state of claustrophobia it is still well written and highly enjoyable. The usual pitfall that so many authors of these tales succumb to is in full display here, with 95% of the story focused entirely on the actions and conversations of only two people. Each member of the couple is given a best friend but those characters are considerably less fully drawn and end up coming off as fairly disposable. A few random minor characters pepper the story here and there but these characters never even get off the page.
That having been said, the 95% of the story that is focused on our couple is quite good and stands up to the extreme scrutiny that Ms. Cousins puts them under given that there are no other characters to focus on. Her style can be a bit heavy on the metaphors and some serious over repetition of our lead characters motives and state of mind occur. There’s also a few very awkward transitions in time/place that had me so confused I had to turn back a few pages to make sure I hadn’t skipped ahead by accident. These small downfalls however do not take anything away from an otherwise solidly written coming out story about a straight athlete who discovers that he isn’t as straight as he thought thanks to his gay college room mate. While the premise is indeed as old as the hills, Ms. Cousins manages to give it to us again in an entertaining (if not even remotely original) way.
I absolutely loved this book!
Tom is heading back to college after his father’s scandalous arrest and his sudden drop from the 1% into homelessness. Reese is back at school having been promised a private room in off campus housing due to a traumatic incident the previous year. He’s not expecting to walk into his room and find a sleep deprived jock claiming to be his new roommate.
Tom and Reese are both dealing with so much inner turmoil that it’s hard not to feel for them. Everyone Tom thought of as a friend has turned their back on him and sold him out. He’s taken to shutting himself away and overworking himself to pay for just one more semester of school. Reese was violated in the worst way and yet he’s still able to enjoy the world, even if he is struggling when someone gets too close.
Tom’s sudden interest in Reese’s sex life is hot as hell. It’s understandable that neither really trust the other in the beginning, but their chemistry is sexy. When they finally do get together it just gets more complicated and I wanted to cry for them.
The ending wraps up fast, but it really shows the power one’s inner thoughts can have on our everyday life. How perception and reality are two different things and how sometimes it really is better to ask for clarification than to believe the worst in society.
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” -William Shakespeare
I enjoyed the book, and want to read more about the characters, including the followup. The only reason I didn’t give this four stars is that it involves a trope I’m not interested in — I’m not going to disclose, because I don’t want to spoil the book, I really enjoyed some of the supporting characters, like Tom’s best friend, Cash. It was also nice to see a gay character with a loving, supportive father.
A hot read!
Everyone’s got secrets…
Some are just harder to hide…
An excellent execution of a novel! A witty, sexy and emotional read! Loved all the elements of this book and how it was handles – the doubt, the fear and trust. So well done! But I did have a problem with Tom – he kept repeating the same things over and over again in all the chapters. Also, I did get confused towards the end – did they break up? What was happening? I kept getting confused but I will do a reread when I listen to the audiobook then maybe it won’t be as confusing as it is now.
Beautifully written story of struggles and trust. Great characters.
Full of trust, struggles, issues, attraction, romance and emotional baggage.
Perfect for readers of contemporary romances/gay romances.
I absolutely LOVED all the characters and how the author let you grow to know them over time. When you can just SEE the characters because they’re written so vividly and so believably, you can’t help but care about them and want them to overcome all the obstacles life has thrown in their young lives’ paths. Everything about this book rang true and authentic. This is an excellent, excellent read.
Not sure I completely buy in to the premise or the developmemt of the MCs’ storyline, but it was definitely a little saucy, spicy, and overall a distracting read.
enjoyed very much
Loved this book and this Author! Will definitely read again! Would recommend this book to anyone who just wants an easy read.
Following through the story of Reese and Tom was heartbreaking. Two people who clearly needed each other but we’re afraid to accept it.