Can your favorite hockey players finish their first season together undefeated?
Five months in, NHL forward Ryan Wesley is having a record-breaking rookie season. He’s living his dream of playing pro hockey and coming home every night to the man he loves—Jamie Canning, his longtime best friend turned boyfriend. There’s just one problem: the most important relationship of his life is one he needs … his life is one he needs to keep hidden, or else face a media storm that will eclipse his success on the ice.
Jamie loves Wes. He really, truly does. But hiding sucks. It’s not the life Jamie envisioned for himself, and the strain of keeping their secret is taking its toll. It doesn’t help that his new job isn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped, but he knows he can power through it as long as he has Wes. At least apartment 10B is their retreat, where they can always be themselves.
Or can they? When Wes’s nosiest teammate moves in upstairs, the threads of their carefully woven lie begin to unravel. With the outside world determined to take its best shot at them, can Wes and Jamie develop major-league relationship skills on the fly?
Warning: contains sexual situations, a vibrating chair, long-distance sexytimes and proof that hockey players look hot in any shade of green.
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Loved this book. Wes and Jamie are great characters.
*4 Stars*
I really love this series. I smashed through this book quite fast, just like I did with the first one. And whilst this is more of an adjustment to life, and a catch up with where these two are at, I still really enjoyed it, and I just love these two together. Definitely looking forward to seeing them make appearances in other books. Also really looking forward to reading about Jess and Blake.
Highly recommend this series!
Us by Sarina Bowen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Book: Us
Author: Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy
Type: Book 2 in Him Series
POV: First Person – Dual
Genre: MM Romance
Rating: 5 Stars!
Age: Wes – 22; Jamie – 23.
The way I feel about Ryan Wesley…it’s something I thought existed only in the movies. He’s my other half. We complement each other in more ways than I can count. When he’s in the same room, I’m focused on him, and when he’s gone I walk around missing him.
How?? How is this so good?? How is this even better than the first one? Just how?
I devoured this book. Completely devoured it in one day. You know, I kept asking myself why I didn’t give 5 stars to the first book. I wondered what held me back. What was missing. And now I realized it’s so I could give this one 5 stars. It was everything I wanted. Everything. It was so much more than I ever thought it would be. I can’t believe I’ll never have the opportunity to read this for the first time ever again. Loved every single thing about it. I adored Wesmie. They’re so good together. Can’t we have like 10 more books, please? I don’t think I’ll ever tire of them. And the secondary characters… GAH. From all the Channing Clan; Jess, Cindy, Tammy, Scotty, Joe to Wes’s teammates and friends, Blake, Forsberg, Eriksson, Hewitt, Katie, Estrella, and even Lukoczik . Every character (except Dalton) was so well-developed and likeable in their own way. But especially Blake. That ginormous six-foot-three bear of a man was so hilarious; he almost had me shitting my pants (emphasis on ‘almost’). I. COMPLETELY. LOVED. THIS. BOOK.
He holds out a hand that I grab to stand up, and he pulls me into a hug. If I’ve ever doubted his love for me, I’m an idiot.
The storyline, the character development, the backstories, the narrative, they were all holding me hostage with a gun filled with proverbial emotional bullets. I really liked how the plot wasn’t rushed. It was every bit the sweet, fluffy, funny but scorching hot story that I needed it to be. I may have also cried a bit when things resolved themselves. Just a little. Usually I hate angst, but while reading this book? I can’t believe I’m saying this but I wanted more. I adored the relationship between Wes and Jamie. The guys have a great dynamic. I am so glad that there’s still a novella to read. I was smiling throughout the entire book. There were so many sweet and hilarious moments. Like this one for instance;
I’m not sure how long I sleep for, but eventually I register the sounds of dogs barking. There’s a high-pitched Chihuahua and she sounds very pissed off. The Rottweiler she’s barking at… maybe he thinks the Chihuahua is in heat? He sounds kinda happy. Do Chihuahuas and Rottweilers breed? Are their offspring called Rottuas?
“Chiweilers”, I mumble.
The dogs stop barking.
“Did he just say ‘chiweilers’?” a female voice demands. “What the hell is a chiweiler?”
“Rottweiler Chihuahua mix breed,” comes a deep male voice. “Fucking duh.”
Lol. All I can say is that I scared my poor dog. He was staring at me like “What the hell’s wrong with you?” Do Chihuahuas and Rottweilers breed? Apparently they do. Fucking duh. See, that’s why I love Blake. He instantly knew what a chiweiler was. (I swear he has some psychic mind power he’s trying to hide behind his nonchalant personality). So if you like bears, of the human variety, look no further. Also, should we start a petition for more books?? Just kidding. Not really. To sum it up, this book is wonderful and it made me very happy and I recommend it to everybody. If you love pure, heartfelt love stories with no unnecessary drama, then this series is for you.
Wes has taken the trouble to fold a small paper hat for his erection to wear. It’s grinning at me from what must be our sofa. Wes has also drawn a stick arm in salute along with a smiley face.
See this on Goodreads – Us
Follow me on Goodreads – Catherine Russell
The second part of the Him duet has Wes and Jamie together in Toronto trying to navigate Wes’s NHL career and their new relationship and all the strains that goes along with that since Wes doesn’t want to come out until after his rookie season is over.
This book just about broke me. All that these men went through together, their struggles, their anguish, their love, their devotion – ugh all of it, I felt in my bones. I was bawling through a large portion of this book and I loved every single second of it. My heart broke for both of them, I just wanted to give them both a giant, hug tell them that it would be all better and to talk dang it! This is one of those books that the only thing that I found wrong with it, is that it ended. Wes and Jamie own me heart and soul.
In Us, we get more of Jamie and Wesley’s relationship. They’ve been going steady for a few months now and life could not be any better for Wes. He’s doing so good with his team and he has a boyfriend to come home to everyday.
Jamie doesn’t exactly feel the same way as Wes. He’s happy that him and Wes are able to be together, but it has to be a secret for now. And holding that in is getting to be harder and harder every day. Especially when Wes’s new teammate Blake moves in to the same building!
I can honestly say that after reading Him and loving it so much, I wasn’t sure what else was left with there story? But boy was I wrong. I loved Us equally if not more then Him.
Here are two people who are trying their hardest to make their relationship work. But having to do it under the pretense of being roommates is taking it’s toll. I read the series out of order and was already introduced to Blake, but this is the book where we first meet him. And I can honestly say that I LOVE Blake even more after his roll in Us. He’s such a great big teddy bear and had me laughing so much.
Us was such a wonderful book. On more than one occasion I was in tears, because I love Wes and Jamie and felt their heartbreak. I felt for both of these characters and just wanted them happy. I’m so glad I gave a chance on reading Him and then Us! Wesmie is truly the best!
Audiobook
Story: 5
Narration: 5
Overall: 5
Once again Us was narrated by Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan who reprise their rolls of Jamie and Wes. I pretty much listened to Us completely on audiobook and loved it! Both Jacob Morgan and Teddy Hamilton have such a way of pulling me in to the story. I was laughing and crying while listening to this audiobook. The perfect duo to narrate these books! If your’e a fan of audio books, please give Us and Him a chance!
This book was EVERYTHING! Jamie and Wesley are one of my forever favorite couples. They faced so much in this book and my heart hurt for them. I wanted to fix everything. Once again, the side characters were perfect. This was such a well developed, all-consuming read I felt like I was right there. I will be shouting about it to everyone!
I’ve had Us by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy on my TBR since I read Him last year for the Romanceopoly Challenge. I decided to read Us for the Romanceopoly 2020 Challenge, which completed the Rainbow Row square on the board. I was happy to get back to Ryan Wesley and Jaime Canning after reading their first book. Even though the first book had somewhat of an HEA to it, I’m glad Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen decided to continue Wes and Jaime’s story. I needed to read more of these two lovable characters.
The second book is all about Wes in his professional NHL career in Toronto and Jaime in his new coaching job. Wes comes home every night to his loving boyfriend, and life is good for both of them. Unfortunately, both characters have to keep their relationship hidden from everyone in Toronto. Wes has it planned that he would come out after the season ends. Jaime also has to keep it quiet at work, and he ends up having to deal with a co-coach that keeps saying derogatory remarks. Jaime doesn’t want to complain to his boss, but he should, especially with what the co-coach keeps saying around the kids.
At the beginning of the book, everything is going good with Jaime and Wes, until they have a nosy neighbor that moves close to them that happens to be one of Wes’s teammates. He’s always over, and Jaime and Wes can’t have any alone time. Poor Jaime and Wes having to keep their relationship hidden are not healthy for their relationship. This is when tension happens between them, and I felt for these two characters. I didn’t want them to keep their relationship hidden. I wanted them to be out in the open, so everyone could see them happy together. Wes and Jaime are best friends/soulmates. They deserve a happily ever after.
I don’t want to give anything away, especially if a reader hasn’t read the first book. I highly recommend reading the books in order; otherwise, you will miss out on how Wes and Jaime met initially. I love these two. I can’t say it enough how much I love them. I’m glad that both authors gave these two characters a well-deserved HEA. I also love reading how Wes was worried about Jaime in the story and took care of him when he was sick with the flu. There’s also Jaime and how he approached Wes at the very end, which is some of my favorite scenes in the book.
Unfortunately, the only problem I had was when both characters decided not to communicate with each other. They kept their problems of certain situations hidden from each other. Communication is vital in any relationship. Other than that, the book was amazing. There were steamy moments, but not the steaminess that it was like in the first book. I can’t wait to read the spin-off books from this series.
Story Rating: 4 stars
Steaminess Rating: 4 stars
Standalone or part of series: Part of Duet.
Do I recommend this book? Yes.
Will I read other books from the author? Yes.
Tropes/Elements: Sports/Hockey; Friends-to-Lovers; M/M Romance
Big love
I didn’t think I could love a book more than I loved Him, but wow, I was blown away by Us! Jamie and Ryan may have fallen in love with each other in Him, but the real work begins in Us. The day to day reality of moving to a new country, far from your families. New jobs, new friends, new worries. This is what it’s all about. The daily grind. The little things. The big things. Sickness. Joy. Navigating these things on the best of days is tricky, for a same sex couple who feel they have to hide their relationship the problems are almost insurmountable. But Jamie and Ryan still have their big love to fall back on, and I adore them! This is a wonderful duet!
US is the second book in the HIM series and HIM MUST be read before this one.
I fell “in love” with these guys in HIM and my love for them just grew stronger in US. The story from beginning to end was very strong. There are some emotional scenes that caused me to tear up and there were other scenes that had me chuckling out loud. I very much enjoyed seeing how the relationship developed and grew.
I am crossing my fingers that other players and siblings introduced in this duet get their own stories.
I absolutely 100% recommend this duet (books and guys.. haha)
I loved this book so much! I couldnt stop reading!
After reading Him, I knew I needed more Wesmie!! These two are two of my favorite guys in the m/m genre!
This story picks up about 6 or 7 months after Him finished. Wes is now playing professional hockey in Toronto, Jamie is coaching for a junior majors team in Toronto. Trying to establish himself before coming out, Wes is meshing well with his teammates, while Jamie is struggling a little more with his colleagues and players. Keeping their relationship a secret is not easy on them, though.
I needed this story~ I needed to see Wes and Jamie’s relationship progress and how things turned out- how they were accepted by others. I definitely recommend Us (you must read Him first, though)!
Loved Us!
I absolutely adored the continuation of Wes and Jamie’s story. I loved that the authors took us past the ‘honeymoon’ stage of a romance relationship and let us see into the struggles of a partnership. I do have to say Blake took the cake though and I laughed out loud at some of his scenes. Highly recommended!
I love this couple. My brother is gay and in a committed relationship since 1974. I love romances that represent gay relationships in a romantic yet realistic light. I love their presence and relationships in the other hockey books In this series, and how they fit into the larger hockey team family.
I loved this book just as much as the first one, Him. This story revolves around Wes and Jamie’s first year living together up in Toronto where Wes plays pro-hockey and Jamie is coaching kids. Watching these two navigate a new relationship with Wes being gone a lot of the time, plus keeping themselves firmly in the closet for the sake of Wes establishing his place with his team, I have to say that my heart was starting to break for Jamie. This is something that Wes never intentionally wanted to happen between the two of them but was inevitable.
Additionally, Wes’s teammate, Blake, moves into their apartment building a few floors up and quite frankly, he annoyed the hell out of me, at first. He’d show up unannounced, eat their food, watch TV too long—a huge cock-blocker. But after a while, I have to say, I started to like him. Blake actually turns out to be a best friend to the both of them—yeah, he is unbelievably stupid at times, but his support, loyalty and enormous heart makes up for his shortcomings.
In the course of this book, a few situation’s go from bad to worse —I’m not gonna lie, but this is where Wes and Jamie pull it together ~ they were always meant to be together. They love each other so completely; no one knows what the other needs better than they do. They joke and tease each other as usual along with how they know exactly, sex wise, which buttons to press to drive each other’s bodies insane. There are so many beautiful words spoken throughout this book, I’d have to highlight the majority of every chapter.
The turning point of their relationship is when Wes realizes exactly where his priorities stand—when Jamie becomes sick. I won’t go into detail, but my favorite part of this story is when Jamie wants a shower while in the hospital and is so tired of needing help from others. Wes takes such care with Jamie—his tender and loving touch while taking charge and washing him, without making him feel like less of a man, was simply beautiful.
As with the first book, once I started reading it, I didn’t want to put it down. I’d say that they’re probably my favorite MM couple. The ending is fabulous as well. Sarina and Elle did another outstanding job with their story. The storyline is solid, the grammar impeccable, the supporting characters add the perfect amount depth, and of course, our boys Wes and Jamie wind up exactly where we’d want them to be. Positively, a must read … FIVE SHINING STARS.
I could tell you it’s scientifically proven that this book is even better than the first but that’s because I already fell in love with these guys.
I fell in love with them and now they are falling apart…
Yea, I will fully admit to the tears and snot running down my face. No I won’t tell you why.
But I will tell you that this book, Us, and actual Him as well are even better as audiobooks.
It adds a whole new dynamic that makes it more than worth it!
What a delightful follow up to Wes and Jamie’s story.
After reading ‘Good Boy’ I couldn’t stop myself and read ‘Him’ series again What can I say Jamie Canning and Ryan Wesley, a.k.a Wesmie, is one of my favorite couples. This series is the first book I read from the powerful duo Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy. After reading ‘Him’ and ‘Us’, I start reading individual books from both authors and really enjoyed it. I am not going to write separate reviews for the series and I will do my best to not to spoil the story for you guys.
Since childhood Jamie Canning and Ryan Wesley used to spend six weeks of their summers together at a hockey camp. They have a great friendship for years up until they’re eighteen. One bet at the end of the summer camp when they’re eighteen changes everything and Wesley cuts Jamie out because of the guilt, he feels. They’re both seniors and play hockey for their universities and after four years they might play against each other on the frozen four finals. Wesley takes this as a chance to rebuild the friendship he destroyed four years ago.
When they see each other during the finals, they couldn’t find enough time to talk but Wesley holds out an olive branch to Jamie which he accepts gladly. Jamie works as a coach in their old hockey camp every summer and before going in to NHL Wesley decides to go back and work as a coach for the summer and try to fix his relationship with Jamie. Wesley is more or less out of the closet. His college teammates and family knows that he is gay but he still doesn’t have a steady relationship and not really living his love life out in the open. Jamie is still trying to understand why Wesley cut off all communication with him after that summer and when Wesley goes back to the camp, he explains Jamie why he disappeared all those years. What shocks Wesley the most is how easily Jamie accepts Wesley being gay. It doesn’t take them much to go back to being the way they were before. After spending time with Wesley, Jamie starts to realize that he is attracted to his best friend and soon Jamie figures out he’s bisexual.
After their summer together they decide to continue their relationship. They move to Toronto together. While Wesley is playing for Toronto, Jamie finds a coaching job. I really loved Jamie’s family. When Jamie comes out to his family, they were really supportive of Jamie and great towards Wesley. They accepted Wesley into the family right away. Everything seems great with their relationship but their struggles start after the hockey season starts. Because it is Wesley’s rookie season in the NHL, they decide to hide their relationship. But soon enough they both get sick and tired of hiding. Especially Jamie is really having a hard time with hiding. On top of hiding, they both travel too much because of their jobs and soon it becomes hard to spend time together. Ohhh and there is Blake, who constantly interrupts their limited alone time. It was really heartbreaking to see Jamie’s struggles, which left Wesley not knowing what to do in order to make everything ok for them. Will they overcome these struggles and continue their relationship? If they come out how will it affect them and their jobs? That is for you to find out.
Through out the series the banter and chemistry between Jamie and Wesley is incredible. They’re both amazing characters and I was rooting for their happily ever after. Him series is a sweet, sexy, funny and emotional read and I totally recommend you to read the series.
Would I recommend this series: Yes.
Would I re-read this series: Already did.
Would I read future books by these authors: Yes.
The review was originally posted on: http://miabookaddict.com/
I absolutely loved EVERY.SINGLE.THING. about this book!
As much as I wanted more of Jamie and Wes after reading Him, I was actually kind of worried that Us wouldn’t live up to my expectations, and I was so scared of being let down. But I should have known better- Sarina and Elle completely NAILED IT with this book! Nailed it.
“The way I feel about Ryan Wesley…it’s something I thought existed only in the movies. He’s my other half. We complement each other in more ways than I can count. When he’s in the same room, I’m focused on him, and when he’s gone I walk around missing him.”
I didn’t think I could love these 2 boys more, but I do, oh how I do! Seeing them start their lives together, building something so special and beautiful, ahhh…it just gave me all the feels! But life as a couple isn’t all purple Skittles for them, unfortunately. There is a lot they have to learn to handle- keeping their relationship under wraps from Wes’s teammates and the media, and dealing with the separations caused by all the traveling. This is so difficult on both of them, and add in the hard time Jamie is having with his job, it’s almost too much to bear. It was heartbreaking at times watching them go through these rough patches. But with the incredible love they share, and the unbreakable bond they have, there’s nothing these 2 can’t face together.
“I have never felt as raw as I feel right now. I’ve just discoverd that falling in love has a dark side. When you’re mad at the love of your life, it’s impossible to feel joy.”
Wes and Jamie are just so perfectly adorable, endearing, and lovable. They make my heart smile.
I am so in love with Jamie and Wes. I have seen these books around and everyone seemed to be loving them. I finally understand what all the fuss was about. I really liked the first book in this series but I must say that I liked this one more. I loved getting the chance to see this pair during the next stage of their relationship. I am so glad that I finally made some room in my reading schedule for this wonderful series.
This book picks up shortly after the events of the first book. Jamie and Wes are a couple and are happy living together in their apartment. Wes is just starting his NHL career and feels like it would be best to wait until after his first year before letting anyone know that he likes men instead of women. It’s not ideal but they are dealing with it. Things get a little more complicated when Wes’s teammate, Blake, decided to move into the building and be their new best friend.
There are so many books out there that show a couple falling in love and those books are great. I love reading a good story about a couple falling for each other but there is something special about a book that shows an established couple making things work. The way these two feel about each other is never in question in this story. This was about making things work when it is difficult, communicating and working through problems, and giving a little space when necessary. I knew that these two would make it work but it was fantastic to see it happen.
The characters are fantastic in this book. I knew going into the book that I loved Jamie and Wes and I still do. I just love them more. They are both funny at times and so sincere with each other. I did not expect Blake. Blake made this book even better. I started off being rather annoyed by him but he completely grew on me and by the end of the book, I loved him just as much as Jamie and Wes.
The narration of this book was outstanding. Both Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan did a wonderful job with this story. I think that they totally captured the characters’ personalities perfectly. They both handled a wide range of emotions very well. I am pretty sure that I liked this book just a little more simply because of their narration.
I would highly recommend this series to others. Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy are a fabulous writing team and this book is proof. I fell in love with these characters and couldn’t wait to see them make it as a couple. I plan to read much more from these authors including Good Boy which tells Blake’s story.
Audio Review from July 2019
I loved this story! I loved this audio!
I said “awww” too many times to count during this book!
I loved how the NHL team office was supportive to a point and out the brakes on things when it could out of hand (you will understand when you read/listen)!
I ADORED the ending! So freaking funny!
Blake’s character was an absolute riot!! I would love to see him get a story!
Ahhh! Just so fun!!
Same narrators also Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan