Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Banger

Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

Banger by Kiki Clark

6 reviews

whatselizabethreading's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

As the adult child of an alcoholic, there were some rough moments with this book for me, even as I enjoyed reading Kevin and Hank's love story. The explanation of Hank's reluctance to show his prior bf (Kevin's best friend) that he didn't know how to do something, rather than figure it out himself, certainly rang true of boneheaded male behavior, and Kevin's shitty roommate situation leading to their moving in together certainly helped progress the plot. If you think you might enjoy reading about a blue collar gentleman learning how to court the skittish friend of his ex, this is the book for you.

I received a free copy of this book from the author and am posting my honest review.

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abcdefgerda's review

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lighthearted fast-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

4.0

Another lighthearted and fun read but this one actually touched my feels and gave me (the good kind of) pain. Kevin's love of reading and Hank's indulgence is such a dream. I'm simultaneously soso happy but also.. jealous?

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enayqueerbooklover's review

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Swoon /5 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Angst /5 🥺🥺🥺

Steam /5 ♨️♨️♨️♨️♨️

Plot /5 🧐🧐🧐🧐

LOLs /5 🤭🤭🤭🤭

I do enjoy a good redemption story, and this one features Hank, the ass-ish, kinda desperate ex-boyfriend of Lukas from the first book in the series, “Laying Pipe”. Interestingly, Hank is pretty loveable, and kind from the outset, but it’s the other main protagonist Kevin who’s harder to like. He’s Lukas’ best friend & unwilling to forgive Hank, even though Lukas has. So when Hank expresses interest in Kevin, despite Kevin having been low-level attracted to him for a while, Kevin is super snarky & nasty to Hank.

Despite this rough start, we get to see that Kevin’s earlier family life has left some hidden trauma, and has contributed to his current life being a bit dismal, so once we understand him better we understand his spikiness towards Hank. And once Hank sets his sites on his and is determined to earn his trust, we see the best of both of them. In different ways, both Hank and Kevin really want to be caretakers in a relationship - Hank wants to give Kevin stability, and Kevin wants to be a homemaker. It’s nice to see this role normalised here - no one should be EXPECTED to do this, but many men & women enjoy it. The character arcs for both Kevin and Hank, from the previous book to this one, are just lovely, especially to see two lonely guys get their HEA.

And have I mentioned the steam? No I haven’t… and let me tell you… Kiki knows how to write absolutely gut-clenchingly S3XY times!! With the significant size difference in body type AND relevant appendages 😉, Hank’s gold class rimming skills & dirty talk, and their shared breeding kink….. JEEEEEEZUS. Cold shower coming up…

Hoping there’s more books in this series, because I like this group of friends & average, hardworking guys finding love.

Check out my reviews and MM content on Instagram, Facebook, Goodreads & Bookbub, all under the same name!

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tab_reads's review

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing sad 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

4.0

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fuzzywilson's review

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adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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redhairedashreads's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

4 stars - It was really good

Who knew I needed a possessive but also extremely sweet romance! Hank may have made a bad impression in the previous book when he was dating Lukas, but in this book we really see how much he has changed since. Hank has realized he wants to settle down and have a family and wants that family to be with Kevin, Lukas’s best friend and someone who hates him for what he did.

I went into this expecting to only grudgingly like Hank because of his previous actions, but man he had changed his life around and was willing to actually admit his faults and work to be better. I really loved seeing the growth of Hank’s character and how he has changed his life. Hank was a determined man who wasn’t giving up on having a chance with Kevin. While I don’t usually like this kind of determination, I think Clark wrote it in a beautiful way that didn’t make Hank come across as a creep. Hank was just a giant sweetheart. I loved watching him take care of Kevin and show him it’s ok to want to be cared for and loved. Also he had such a dirty mouth.

Kevin was a man who made some bad choices during college and is now struggling under a mountain of debt. He has spent his life taking care of himself but all he wants is to be a househusband and be taken care of. I loved watching Kevin open up and get over his fears. These two started very rough but it quickly turned sweet and steamy once Kevin let Hank in and I loved it. Also who knew breeding kink could be so sexy.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable, low angst romance. I loved seeing Hank and Kevin fall for each other and start making a future together. I can’t wait to read more books in this series and hopefully see Ford fall next.

Trigger Warnings: alcohol abuse mentioned; references to an abusive and alcoholic parent;

*ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.*

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