Review: Us by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
Us (Him #2)
by: Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy
Publication Date: March 8, 2016
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance
Age Group: Adult
Source: e-ARC provided via BocciPR in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Page Count: 255 pages
Order Links: Amazon | B&N
My Rating: 4/5 stars
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 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.
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 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.
When I saw there was going to be a sequel to Him, I was equal parts nervous and equal parts giddy with excitement. Typically sequels equal more drama and unrest for our couples and I didn't want that for Jamie and Wes. However, I am so glad Bowen and Kennedy gave them this sequel. We definitely got to see their happy ending in Him, but I knew they had more trials to face, especially with Wes's status as the hot, new rookie hockey player. Wes has not come out to his teammates or the world and that is something that plays a huge role in this book. I really love that they explored this, as well as how Jamie is dealing with these new changes in his life.
This book definitely hurt my heart at times and I just wanted to hug both of these guys and tell them everything would be ok. It's not an angst-filled book, but there were moments where I felt the sadness and longing just jumping off the pages. Wes and Jamie are great together but they did need to be more open with their feelings instead of wondering about the other's. They do get to that point, but it definitely took some work on both of their parts. There were also some moments that felt awkward between them even when they weren't having issues and I wasn't sure why. The two have plenty of sexy times and it's obvious they have hella chemistry, but there were times in this book I had trouble feeling their connection with one another.
One of my favorite parts of this book comes in the form of a new character, Blake Ryan. Oh my goodness, Blake was HILARIOUS. He was so obnoxious that you couldn't help but love the guy. He really ended up surprising me with his loyalty and genuineness. Jamie and Wes might have felt a little suffocated by the guy in the beginning, but he really became a true friend and one of the best people to ever have in their corner. I would love a book for him (and Jess!) That would be a fun one to read!
Again, I couldn't be happier to get this sequel. Jamie and Wes's story was not over and I loved getting to see the what comes next now that they are together.
5 comments
I am dying to read this series. I love everything I've read from ELle Kennedy and I have heard great things about Sarina Bowen. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to kill Blake in the beginning but by the end I LOVED him - haha! I really hope we get to see a book from his POV! :)
ReplyDeleteI thought they handled the sequel really well because it could have easily been an angst fest, but I agree, sometimes it was hard seeing the awkwardness between the two. I think they needed this book though to solidify their relationship.
Lovely review, Jess!
Oh I cannot wait to read this! I need to make time soon since it sounds like it's so good! ♥ this review!!
ReplyDeleteYou don't often get amazing sequels, glad to see this one hit the mark.
ReplyDeleteMajanka @ I Heart Reading
Good reading this postt
ReplyDeleteLeave me some comment love! And I will get around to commenting back!
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