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friends2lovers's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
After finishing The Understatement of the Year, I was in kind of an audiobook slump, but I guess the cure was more Sarina Bowen and this narrator duo (Teddy Hamilton and Christian Fox).
This didn't go in the story direction I was expecting. Based on the blurb, I thought it'd be similar to Just a Bit Obsessed by Alessandra Hazard, but in Top Secret they (Luke, Keaton, and Keaton's girlfriend Annika) never actually get around to having a threesome. Instead, the initial set-up of Top Secret is more like a steamy You've Got Mail—Keaton and Luke chat and sext anonymously via a hookup app before finding out they know each other in real life. I loved the anticipation leading up to that big reveal moment. And afterwards, the story and characters continued to entertain, delight, and surprise me.
The only aspect of this I felt iffy about is that for the first 40% of the book Keaton is essentially cheating on his girlfriend with Luke. But Keaton doesn't really acknowledge it as cheating until it's been going on for weeks and even then it's just a realization made in passing in his inner monologue. A part of me wishes the cheating had been more directly addressed, but at the same time I think it was a good choice for the authors to sidestep it, because otherwise the cheating would steal too much focus. Adding guilt and betrayal on top of everything else the characters are dealing with would over-complicate the story.
MM contemporary romance, new adult, college, frat bros, roommates, opponents/rivals, class difference, secret relationship, gay awakening, You've Got Mail trope, 1st person dual POV, audiobook on Audible
This didn't go in the story direction I was expecting. Based on the blurb, I thought it'd be similar to Just a Bit Obsessed by Alessandra Hazard, but in Top Secret they (Luke, Keaton, and Keaton's girlfriend Annika) never actually get around to having a threesome. Instead, the initial set-up of Top Secret is more like a steamy You've Got Mail—Keaton and Luke chat and sext anonymously via a hookup app before finding out they know each other in real life. I loved the anticipation leading up to that big reveal moment. And afterwards, the story and characters continued to entertain, delight, and surprise me.
The only aspect of this I felt iffy about is that for the first 40% of the book Keaton is essentially cheating on his girlfriend with Luke. But Keaton doesn't really acknowledge it as cheating until it's been going on for weeks and even then it's just a realization made in passing in his inner monologue. A part of me wishes the cheating had been more directly addressed, but at the same time I think it was a good choice for the authors to sidestep it, because otherwise the cheating would steal too much focus. Adding guilt and betrayal on top of everything else the characters are dealing with would over-complicate the story.
MM contemporary romance, new adult, college, frat bros, roommates, opponents/rivals, class difference, secret relationship, gay awakening, You've Got Mail trope, 1st person dual POV, audiobook on Audible
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexual content
Moderate: Biphobia and Homophobia
Minor: Toxic relationship
emma_the_reader_girl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Outing, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Theres a bad character in this book that frequently calls one of our main characters a slur thrown at queer, typically men in same-sex relationships. He’s not in the book a lot, but you do hear it more than onceruthiedr89's review
challenging
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Sexual content
empiricalrisk's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
trishnasaha's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, and Homophobia
Moderate: Outing
weraamanda's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Biphobia and Homophobia
nildaliz's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Sexual content
Moderate: Biphobia and Toxic friendship
inkiereads's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I just couldn’t stop listening to the story of Luke and Keaton! So good!
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Steam: 🔥🔥🔥
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia and Homophobia
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