Sam’s freaking out. He’s 30 in three weeks. And what has he done in his twenties? It’s pretty simple math: nothing exciting at all. But hey, he has three weeks right? Maybe that’s just enough time to tick his way through a 20s Must Do List . . . Luke’s freaking screwed. He’s come out to his family, and his friends. Except there’s a certain someone who doesn’t know yet: his neighbor of 7 years. … yet: his neighbor of 7 years. Who also happens to be his best friend. Who Luke needs to tell the truth, but he just . . . can’t . . . seem to . . .
Jeremy’s freaking over-the-moon.
It’s the countdown to his 15th birthday, and his goal is simple. No matter what, he’s going to spend heaps of time with saucy Suzy. But first he needs to get his over-protective, no-girlfriend-‘cause-you’ll-get-her-pregnant parents off his back. And what better way than pretending he’s gay?
Sam, Luke, and Jeremy. Three guys who have a lot of history together, and a lot of future too—
—well, if they can sort out their issues, that is.
“Taboo For You” is a slow burn, Friends To Lovers story with HEA. This sweet & cozy M/M romance can be read as a standalone.
. . .
A Runner Up for Best Gay Contemporary Romance (William Neale Award), Rainbow Awards 2013
Nominated for Best Gay/Out For You in the Goodreads M/M Romance Member’s Choice Awards 2013
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I love this book by Anyta Sunday, and I’m always trying to tell people how wonderful it is even, though I read it more than a year ago. This book is the perfect mix of funny, touching, and heart-wrenching, as a father turning 30 has a minor freak-out about all the things he’s never achieved in his life; his teenage son tries to manipulate his parents to get the freedom to hook up with girls (this kid is hilarious); and a trusted neighbor starts down a perilous path in the name of love and desire.
Despite the name being Taboo for You, this isn’t some kinky, taboo read. It’s a love story. When Sam writes a list of things he wants to do, including “something taboo,” Luke seizes it as his one opportunity to get close to Sam. Although Luke has come out to his family and co-workers, he can’t seem to tell his best friend of seven years, the man he’s helped so much he’s practically a second father to his son. The man he loves.
This really is a fantastic story. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll come away with a serious case of the warm-and-fuzzies. I highly recommend.
This is a light, sweet, bi-awakening story that is just full of warm fuzzies. It’s about two men, Sam and Luke, who are next-door neighbors. Sam had sex with a girl when he was 14 and by the time he was 15 he was a father. His son Jeremy is now 15, and Sam is turning 30 and wondering what happened to the life he was supposed to have had. He loves his son dearly, but as he sees Jeremy passing the point where his own life went off the tracks, he’s a little jealous, a little regretful, and determined to do some of the things he missed out on by not having a crazy youth when he should have.
Luke loves both Sam and Sam’s kid Jeremy. Jeremy is like a son to him, after years of shared times, from neighborly meals together to adventures Luke secretly funded because Sam is always broke. (Don’t let one odd moment of awareness from Luke about Jeremy near the beginning fool you. Luke feels fatherly toward Jeremy and there is no weird incest/age gap/whatever in this story. “Taboo” is a game, a challenge, not a content warning.)
The way Luke loves Sam is a whole different level. He’s never made a move on Sam, never even told him he’s gay, but he’s been falling in love for a long time. He’s just returned from 6 months helping his family, back home, and that time away opened his eyes to how much he wants Sam and the boy to be at the center of his life. But after so long as just friends, he doesn’t know where to start. The lovely, easy friendship they have now is very precious to him, and he doesn’t want to risk it. However he’s seen the list of things that Sam wrote up to do before turning thirty. And one item in particular might give Luke the opening he needs…
I really enjoyed this story. Occasionally the obliviousness of the characters seems surprising (particularly that Luke could guard himself so well for so long that Sam never guessed he was gay.) But it’s fun, lovely, sweet, with the adventures of Jeremy to add some twists and highlights. A favorite and comfort reread, for sure.
I literally loved everything about this book. It had mature MCs, kids, and best friends to lovers trope. I loved that we got both Luke & Sam’s POV and the wonderful addition of Jeremy’s. So, the story, first you have Sam, who became a father to Jeremy at the young age of 15, but he was a great dad and wanted to give Jeremy a great life. Well enter Luke who comes into their lives when Jeremy is only 7 and becomes part of the family as Sam’s neighbor and new best friend. Luke is gay and secretly in love with Sam and loves Jeremy as well. So, then they embark on a journey to lovers that is funny and sweet and just wonderful. Carole, Jeremy’s mom is a wonderful addition as well as Steven, Simon, Jack and even Suzy. I just adored all the characters and loved the progression of the story. It flowed perfectly and showcased the relationships very well. I would definitely recommend this very wonderful read.
3.5 STARS!!!
This is the second book I’ve read from this author and I love her writing style. The characters are fantastic and she writes in a way that makes me want to continue to read the story. However, it’s always the ending of her stories that leaves me disappointed. She writes stories that are filled with angst, which I love and she makes me want to read until the end to see if the characters I’m rooting for will be together. Then she has a way of letting it happen, only to end the story right then and there. In this story we get a little bit of time after the characters are together before it ends but I don’t think it was enough. I’m always disappointed that I didn’t get just a little bit more. With that being said, it was a good read but I just needed more.
I just hated the POV with the teenage son Jeremy so much that I started trying to skip ahead in my ebook.
This was a really cute story, one that leaves you feeling all warm and happy inside.
Why didn’t I read this sooner?! What an outstanding book! I honestly think it sat in my ‘to be read’ list for so long because of the title. The “taboo” threw me off since this isn’t actually a taboo book (not that I have any problem with taboo books, I just have to be in the mood to read one). Once you read the book you quickly realize why it has this title and it all falls into place. Before I read the book, I didn’t understand where the 15yo son fit into the book, why he was specifically singled out in the blurb. That fact mixed with the “taboo” in the title was really throwing me off. So as you embark on the book, know it isn’t a taboo book in any way and the son just happens to have an important storyline as well. It really was an amazing friends to lovers/bi or Demi awakening book. Anyta Sunday does slow burn like no other!
I’ve enjoyed this author’s Signs of Love series so far and while I grabbed some of her other books, I hadn’t gotten around to reading any of them yet. Then when Made For You, book 2 in this series released, I decided it was finally time to pick this one up.
Taboo For You is a friend to lovers romance featuring best friends and neighbors Luke and Sam. Luke just has been away for months to take care of his mother. During his vacation he has realized he’s in love with his best friend and neighbor and he has come out to his family as gay. Now he’s back and the only person he still has to come out to is his best friend, but he can’t seem to do it.
Sam is turning 30 in a few a weeks and freaking out over it. He became a dad at 15 and has spend a lot of time taking care of his son. He works a boring job and now that he is almost 30 he decides to take some time off and make the most out of what he has left in his 20’s. So he makes a list of wild things to do and who better to help him with that list than his best friend?
This book is told in dual point of views of both Sam and Luke and a few chapters from Jeremy’s (Sam’s son) point of view as well. I found it pretty hard over the course of the story to keep track of whose pov it was at times as both Luke and Sam’s voices are very alike. Jeremy being a teenager and in different situations, was easy to keep separate. But multiple times I had to remind myself or think about whose pov it was, which was a little jarring.
I liked Sam and Luke together. I like friends to lovers romances and it was fun to see them change from friends to more. And Sam is so oblivious for a long time that he feels more and keep rationalizing it away. Although I wouldn’t have minded even more build-up and to read about them being friends before Luke realized he was in love with Sam. Now most of the book felt a bit one sided with Luke already being in love with Sam and Sam not yet realizing he is in love with Sam. I do like the clueless guy theme, but I would’ve liked to see a bit more of Sam being in love with Luke as well as now that didn’t happen till late in the book. And maybe a bit before Luke realized he was in love with Sam.
I especially liked the sweet scenes these two had. It’s clear they care about each other a lot from the start and there are all these little signs and things from which it’s obvious how much they care. Like how Luke would pay for things and take care of Jeremy and Sam. I liked the sex part less actually, especially with how it starts out. One things that bothered me was how they start experimenting as something to tick of Sam’s list, which felt a bit off. And what really bothered me was how Luke doesn’t tell Sam he is actually gay. I understand that he would keep the in love secret, but it bothered me that he didn’t admit to being gay. And then Sam thought it was all new for Luke too and it just cast a shadow for me on their experimenting scenes. I was has happy when the truth finally came to light and their relationship could begin for real. The ending was sweet and happy.
Taboo For You is not a taboo story and I have to admit I find the title not completely fitting, but at the same time that’s the term they use in the book so it kinda works. Anyway the taboo they refer to is just gay sex. And by the end they cleared it up that it wasn’t really taboo. But Sam thinks of it as a bit forbidden and taboo at first, and doing something taboo is on his list.
I really liked the family dynamics in this book. It might’ve been one of my favorite parts as it was so well done and felt spot on. The relationship between Sam and Luke, but also between Sam and his son Jeremy. How Jeremy interacted with his dad, but also with his mother and even with Luke was great to see. In my opinion the author captured Jeremy’s teenage behavior quite well. With how upset he was at things and how he could act quite immature at times. And then there is his little stunt of letting everyone believe he was gay so he could get his parent off his back and spend time with Suzy, but also the nudge of guilt he felt over it.
Besides the main characters there are some fun side characters as well. I liked Luke’s friend Jack and he is the main character of book 2. I am curious for his story as I felt bad for him here and it will be great to see him fall in love. Then there are some friends of Jeremy as well, like Suzy his love interest and his friends Simon and Steven. And Jeremy’s mother Carole also plays a role. I had expected to get to see Luke’s mom in this book, but that didn’t happen.
This story takes place in New Zealand and I had hoped to get a bit of an impression of the country, but that was very limited. There is a short vacation they take that made me remember where they were. But most of the time the location just didn’t matter. I wouldn’t have minded to see a bit more of the location shine through in the story.
To summarize: Taboo For You is a fun friends to lovers romance featuring two best friends and neighbors who are in love with each other. At the start only one of them realizes that tough and it takes the other a while to realize that truth. I liked Luke and Sam together, it was obvious they cared about each other a lot and it was fun to see how close they were and how they grew even closer. I especially liked the sweet scenes between them. It did bother me that Luke kept it a secret from Sam that he was gay, especially when they start experimenting together. I would’ve liked to get to know the characters a bit more as there were multiple hints, but there were some things I would’ve liked to see explored more. I like the author’s writing style and the story flowed well. I had some trouble keeping Sam and Luke’s point of view apart at times as their voices sounded similar. Jeremy, Sam’s son, also had a few chapters from his own point of view and he was easy to recognize. I think the author captured his teenage voice well. I liked the romance between Sam and Luke and the ending was great. I am curious about Jack’s story in book 2. The story takes place in New Zealand, but there weren’t many details to notice the location sadly.
Good Taboo
I’m a lover of Sunday’s books, they always get me hooked. The slow burning love developing between the characters are fascinating.
Here you get three different POV, I love it!
The gay friend that is barley out of the closet, the single dad and the teenage son. I find stories with kids involved more filled with feelings.
Sam is very slow picking up on how he really feels about Luke ( and omg did I laugh about the Star Wars reference ) Luke has loved a little longer.
There’s no unnecessary descriptions of surroundings and dialogues is plenty
This was sweet and so easy to read, I couldn’t put it down.
M/M romance I can probably read again.
Like the suspense of each person feelings for the other yet not jumping straight into bed for years being so close……yet so far
Not a very interesting story, and the kid part was just dumb…..
good easy read.always be true to your feelings!!
What really works for the story is that Sam became a Dad at 14, so he never got a chance to get to know himself beyond his responsibilities as a father. It makes sense that his sexual self-awareness is pretty immature.
We get to see the friendship Sam and Luke have. And there is a synchronicity of the three narrators as they all learn about live for the first time…whether that’s at 15, 29 or 35. (The number metaphor Sam used throughout was a clever simple method to show him working through what he needed to in order to find his truth.)