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geeknb's review
4.0
These characters both needed a good slap, although one much more than the other (and surprisingly not the one I thought it would be at the beginning of the book). Yet despite being so infuriating that I wanted to shake them, I also wanted them to get their happy ever after.
Well written story of long held grudges and the real truths behind them.
Spoiler
Not that I think it's going to be an easy ride but then I think they both realise that already.Well written story of long held grudges and the real truths behind them.
trin's review
2.0
Assholes fake date. I love fake dating, and I actually enjoyed how douchey these guys were -- it can be quite fun to see jerks overcome by emotions they don't want -- but this dragged, relying far too heavily on internal conflict (poor communication) rather than the seemingly copious opportunities for external conflict (homophobic dad, the media).
This was also one of those claustrophobic books with like four characters in it. If your series is called Bad in Baltimore, maybe you should provide a sense of the city and its people? Instead it felt like 90% of the book was Nate and Kellan arguing in their apartment.
This was also one of those claustrophobic books with like four characters in it. If your series is called Bad in Baltimore, maybe you should provide a sense of the city and its people? Instead it felt like 90% of the book was Nate and Kellan arguing in their apartment.
rimestock's review against another edition
from my calibre library:
I was not much into the premise as I thought--I like fake dating fine but I didn't really like how it was executed here. But also I just can't give a shit about Kellan and Nate.
nellesnightstand1's review
4.0
Kellen might have been a poor little rich boy but he finally stood up to his bully of a dad. He's determined for revenge and uses it as an excuse to see his former best friend Nate again. I love the build up, the tension, the banter and the chemistry. I wish we could've had an epilogue because I was left wanting a little more.
nellesnightstand's review
4.0
Kellen might have been a poor little rich boy but he finally stood up to his bully of a dad. He's determined for revenge and uses it as an excuse to see his former best friend Nate again. I love the build up, the tension, the banter and the chemistry. I wish we could've had an epilogue because I was left wanting a little more.
litagentsaritza's review
4.0
Not one of my favorite KA books but there's just something about best friends turned lovers that hit every single button fir me. Had trouble with the beginning being a little slow but definitely worth the build-up!
seeinghowitgoes's review
3.0
I'm a sucker for the fake boyfriend trope, and possibly even more for the couple who hate one another. What does that say about my personality?
bookish_notes's review
2.0
This review is also posted on my blog.
This book had potential, but it just fell flat for me. It was a huge disappointment, because look at how sharp and pretty the new cover is! The covers in this series are also misleading because they make the books seems like they might be suspense romance (which is a sub-genre I LOVE), but the series is not.
There are a few good points that the story seemed to be inching towards, but it ultimately deliver on anything and the ending left a lot to be desired.
The premise of this story is that Kellan Brooks wants to get back at his father for cutting him off and throwing him out of the house. Kellan is in his late twenties, and comes from a family that has gotten very rich. Kellan is often seen in the tabloids and spent a season as a reality show star. His idea for getting back at his father? Pretending he's gay.
And to do that, he enlists the help of his once childhood best friend, Nate. Nate and Kellan haven't spoken to each other in years after Nate told Kellan he was gay, and Kellan essentially turned his back on him and left Nate to be bullied relentlessly in high school. To top it all off, Kellan's father was highly suspected as the person who stole Nate's dad's work and winded up bankrupting Nate's family.
Kellan is homeless at the start of this book, but manages to convince a reluctant Nate to let Kellan stay with him at his apartment. The premise of the story is already iffy enough - that a seemingly straight guy will pretend to be gay in order to get back at his dad. When Nate takes Kellan home for the first time, Nate basically makes Kellan give him a blowjob in exchange for staying with him. It's sexual assault, and Nate does acknowledge what he's done is way out of line and says what he did was rape and is very upset about what he did, even if he has a lot of pent-up frustration over what Kellan did to him in high school. But it's no excuse, and sexual assault is brought up again later in the storyline regarding something that happened in Kellan's past, and the characters do talk about it, but not at length.
In this book, Kellan does begin to identify as bi, but it's a storyline that disappears in an attempt to wrap up the story quickly. Nate never really accepts that Kellan might like guys, and thinks that Kellan will run off to a woman at the first opportunity. There's never really a talk that resolves this underlying tension between them about Kellan's sexuality, and it all gets swept aside for a storyline that makes even less sense in how it's all resolved.
Kellan does not have a good relationship with his dad, and the death of his brother years earlier never quite brought them together either. Kellan's father tries the entire book to convince Kellan that he's straight and to dump Nate, and that Kellan's sudden attraction is just a phase that can be worked through. Kellan and Nate had an agreement that in exchange for Nate letting Kellan stay with him at his apartment, Kellan would somehow gather the evidence needed to take down his father. WELL. This is all resolved at a blink of an eye, and then it's revealed that maybe Kellan's father didn't really screw Nate's father over that badly and all is forgiven? I don't honestly know what happened, because one moment everyone's talking and staring each other down, and then Kellan and Nate are having sex and the book is over.
There are a lot of missed opportunities that are skipped in this book. The story seems to be hedging towards angst, but when the moment comes to throw a punch, the story takes a giant leap back and glosses over the moment like it's nothing. It got really irritating that at every turn, the story never quite delivers like it should. And the sex scenes between Kellan and Nate are also really awkward. The language and the way the two reference their dicks are so childish, it makes you think that the characters are much younger than their late twenties.
The story was an intriguing premise, but failed to deliver on anything substantial and only winded up giving us an ending that was rushed and disappointing. A highlight character is actually the secondary character, Nate's employee - Eli. Eli has his own book in Bad Boyfriend, but I don't see myself picking up that book and reading it after how I felt about this story.
This book had potential, but it just fell flat for me. It was a huge disappointment, because look at how sharp and pretty the new cover is! The covers in this series are also misleading because they make the books seems like they might be suspense romance (which is a sub-genre I LOVE), but the series is not.
There are a few good points that the story seemed to be inching towards, but it ultimately deliver on anything and the ending left a lot to be desired.
The premise of this story is that Kellan Brooks wants to get back at his father for cutting him off and throwing him out of the house. Kellan is in his late twenties, and comes from a family that has gotten very rich. Kellan is often seen in the tabloids and spent a season as a reality show star. His idea for getting back at his father? Pretending he's gay.
And to do that, he enlists the help of his once childhood best friend, Nate. Nate and Kellan haven't spoken to each other in years after Nate told Kellan he was gay, and Kellan essentially turned his back on him and left Nate to be bullied relentlessly in high school. To top it all off, Kellan's father was highly suspected as the person who stole Nate's dad's work and winded up bankrupting Nate's family.
Kellan is homeless at the start of this book, but manages to convince a reluctant Nate to let Kellan stay with him at his apartment. The premise of the story is already iffy enough - that a seemingly straight guy will pretend to be gay in order to get back at his dad. When Nate takes Kellan home for the first time, Nate basically makes Kellan give him a blowjob in exchange for staying with him. It's sexual assault, and Nate does acknowledge what he's done is way out of line and says what he did was rape and is very upset about what he did, even if he has a lot of pent-up frustration over what Kellan did to him in high school. But it's no excuse, and sexual assault is brought up again later in the storyline regarding something that happened in Kellan's past, and the characters do talk about it, but not at length.
In this book, Kellan does begin to identify as bi, but it's a storyline that disappears in an attempt to wrap up the story quickly. Nate never really accepts that Kellan might like guys, and thinks that Kellan will run off to a woman at the first opportunity. There's never really a talk that resolves this underlying tension between them about Kellan's sexuality, and it all gets swept aside for a storyline that makes even less sense in how it's all resolved.
Kellan does not have a good relationship with his dad, and the death of his brother years earlier never quite brought them together either. Kellan's father tries the entire book to convince Kellan that he's straight and to dump Nate, and that Kellan's sudden attraction is just a phase that can be worked through. Kellan and Nate had an agreement that in exchange for Nate letting Kellan stay with him at his apartment, Kellan would somehow gather the evidence needed to take down his father. WELL. This is all resolved at a blink of an eye, and then it's revealed that maybe Kellan's father didn't really screw Nate's father over that badly and all is forgiven? I don't honestly know what happened, because one moment everyone's talking and staring each other down, and then Kellan and Nate are having sex and the book is over.
There are a lot of missed opportunities that are skipped in this book. The story seems to be hedging towards angst, but when the moment comes to throw a punch, the story takes a giant leap back and glosses over the moment like it's nothing. It got really irritating that at every turn, the story never quite delivers like it should. And the sex scenes between Kellan and Nate are also really awkward. The language and the way the two reference their dicks are so childish, it makes you think that the characters are much younger than their late twenties.
The story was an intriguing premise, but failed to deliver on anything substantial and only winded up giving us an ending that was rushed and disappointing. A highlight character is actually the secondary character, Nate's employee - Eli. Eli has his own book in Bad Boyfriend, but I don't see myself picking up that book and reading it after how I felt about this story.
jolie1883's review
2.0
2.5 stars... didn't get that satisfied sigh at the end of this book... felt like a chapter was missing at the end there..