tiggers_hate_acorns's review against another edition
4.0
I mostly enjoyed this book but found one part that seemed out of sync with the restOthers have noted this as a one-star instant removal. Putting that aside I enjoyed this coming of age book and look forward to reading book 2.
Spoiler
when Rich cheats on Johnny quite deliberately and then gets all woe is me - what did I do so wrong??liza5326's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely LOVE Max Vos. I know that I can always count on him to give me a story that is going to be well-written, fun, hot as hell, and keep me glued to the pages. My Hero was no exception. This was the perfect blend of three of my favorite genres: GFY, friends-to-lovers, and athletes. It was a Triple Crown winner.
Rich is a diver on his way to the Olympics who finds himself reconnecting with the football player he saved from drowning when he was 16. Johnny is a college football star from his hometown and Rich is surprised that he would want to be friends with a gay diver. Then things get really fun! The story is told mostly from Rich's perspective, but we do get a few looks into Johnny's mind. This book is seriously HOT, like melt your insides, Oh Lord I think I might just go up in FLAMES hot! But it actually flows with the story instead of turning into PWP. I am eager to read the sequel because I want more of Rich and Johnny.
Rich is a diver on his way to the Olympics who finds himself reconnecting with the football player he saved from drowning when he was 16. Johnny is a college football star from his hometown and Rich is surprised that he would want to be friends with a gay diver. Then things get really fun! The story is told mostly from Rich's perspective, but we do get a few looks into Johnny's mind. This book is seriously HOT, like melt your insides, Oh Lord I think I might just go up in FLAMES hot! But it actually flows with the story instead of turning into PWP. I am eager to read the sequel because I want more of Rich and Johnny.
walford's review
3.0
I've been trying to think of a way to write this review without using the word 'sweet' five times. So, take that as a given; it's why I read this in one sitting. It helps that gay-for-you is maybe my favorite trope, especially if it's a big, hot jock unable to resist our winsome hero's charms (but, I mean, Diver. Who could resist?).
I'd have given this four stars if it had been better written. And it's padded with a lot of unnecessary information: I don't need to know the names of the five beers being served at a party. I am however delighted that Vos (or his editor) knows that the past tense of 'thrust' (a ubiquitous word in m/m, after all) is not 'thrusted'.
In spite of my complaints I'm on to the sequel, so that tells you something.
I'd have given this four stars if it had been better written. And it's padded with a lot of unnecessary information: I don't need to know the names of the five beers being served at a party. I am however delighted that Vos (or his editor) knows that the past tense of 'thrust' (a ubiquitous word in m/m, after all) is not 'thrusted'.
In spite of my complaints I'm on to the sequel, so that tells you something.
bfdbookblog's review
4.0
***audiobook review***
the vocal performance was pretty good - he nailed several accents for the characters which was surprising. my one complaint is when the character 'whispered' or 'raised his voice', the performer didn't lower or raise his voice. that would have made the performance damn near perfect.
the story was pretty good with 2 very interesting characters. johnny was a bit of an enigma and seems to be just discovering himself. he comes from a great family and is a pretty grounded and mature young man.
rich has had his share of struggles, most of which he works through in this story. i like that he knows who he is and doesn't hide it. i love that he's a jock as well, even if he is on the small side.
the writing was really good - this was my first max vos story, but it won't be my last. my only complaint was the boys declaring their love for each other without truly knowing how they felt. that seemed a bit rush and forced. otherwise, the story was great!
the vocal performance was pretty good - he nailed several accents for the characters which was surprising. my one complaint is when the character 'whispered' or 'raised his voice', the performer didn't lower or raise his voice. that would have made the performance damn near perfect.
the story was pretty good with 2 very interesting characters. johnny was a bit of an enigma and seems to be just discovering himself. he comes from a great family and is a pretty grounded and mature young man.
rich has had his share of struggles, most of which he works through in this story. i like that he knows who he is and doesn't hide it. i love that he's a jock as well, even if he is on the small side.
the writing was really good - this was my first max vos story, but it won't be my last. my only complaint was the boys declaring their love for each other without truly knowing how they felt. that seemed a bit rush and forced. otherwise, the story was great!
the_novel_approach's review
5.0
This book really does have it all folks. There is the uber-hot Olympic hopeful diver, the huge bear from the gridiron and fully developed, well thought out secondary characters that keep these two on track.
So run on out and get your copy of this book, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Jackie's full review can be found at The Novel Approach
So run on out and get your copy of this book, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Jackie's full review can be found at The Novel Approach
coty9816's review against another edition
3.0
I was really looking forward to reading this book. I think it is okay. There are tons of editing issues that really became distracting. I was confused in a few parts where one moment the MC is 16 in high school and the next it is eight years later and he is a senior in college with no warning or, MCs are walking to the car and then are suddenly in the bedroom. I had to skip over some of the sex...it was just too much. Over all, I liked the story.
rissa53's review against another edition
4.0
It made me happy that Rich was able to fix all his relationships and that in the end, everything worked out. Especially with his dad and Johnny. :)
anitalouise's review
5.0
My goodness, it's been a while since I read the sweet yet cum-soaked words of Max Vos. His ability to convey deep love coupled with the dirtiest of smexy descriptions boggles my mind. "Rich could feel the flood of cum inside him. He clamped down on the pulsing rod buried deep inside him. Another gush of cum splattered onto his stomach from his still-erupting cock." "They held each other and they cried. For each other. For themselves. They cried together as only friends and lovers could cry. They cried for a love that was both found and then lost." Oh this was so sweet. Rich and Johnny actually met when Johnny was 12 and Rich about 16. Rich was a lifeguard saved Johnny from drowning. Fast forward some years later and they go to the same school - Rich a senior and Johnny a freshman. Johnny is a big brawny straight football player. Rich is a Olympic class diver and is gay. When they meet again, Rich doesn't recognize Johnny but Johnny has been following Rich's career. What we have is a lovely love story about two guys both very different. Along with this sweet love story, there are some realistic family dynamics between Rich and his dad and Johnny's family. One of my favorite characters is Johnny's cousin, Anita. What a kick ass woman. So often you get bitchy females, but her funny and goofy relationship with Johnny added so much to my enjoyment of the book. Well done Mr. Vos!! Will definitely move book 2 up my tbr. Note, you can read this as a standalone... buy why would you want to.
apostrophen's review
4.0
This was a great pick-me-up read over the last few days as I've been raking leaves for hours at a time. I nabbed it unabridged on audio for precisely that reason: chores are so much less chore-like if I have a fun story to listen to.
Max Vos puts together one of the most unique meet-cutes I've read in a quite a while. As a young(er) man, Rich, a lifeguard, rescues a kid from the local pool. Years later, as a college student, Rich literally runs into a huge burly hairy hulk of a football player and figures, welp, I'm about to get smacked down, hard. But instead, that big guy is kind, the two chat, and Rich learns that the big guy is the kid he once saved.
Johnny comes off as an adorable lug most of the time - he's a big guy, burly and hairy, a football jock, and has a temper when it comes to defending those he cares about. He's also quite conflicted by the feelings he starts to have for Rich. You all know I'm not a huge fan of "gay for you" plots, but there's enough internal conflict here with Johnny that it managed to feel natural, and - praise the author! - the word "bisexual" is even used. Nothing annoys me more than the polarizing "does this mean he's gay now?" binary, and though characters have conversations like that a little bit, they're way more bi-inclusive than most of the discussions I've seen in this sub-sub-genre. Johnny does make quite a few mistakes, but they're organic.
Rich is a great counterpoint character. A little bumped and bruised, he's an olympic hopeful with a strained relationship with his father (his mother has passed) and just as flummoxed by Johnny's attention as Johnny himself, at first. I loved Rich's awareness that he was likely making a really big mistake even as he made it, and I also liked the progression of his relationships outside of the one he has with Johnny. Rich's father, Johnny's parents and cousin, and Rich's best friend - they were living, breathing characters and really well-written.
Also, the sexy parts? Sexy indeed. I'll never look at a powdered donut quite the same way, and I can't praise Vos enough for including some actual body hair with his characters.
I should also mention I quite enjoyed the audio narrator. The right voice actor can make or break a story, and this one definitely added the flavour to his performances. Johnny, especially, had such a perfect "big lug" voice (and I laughed at the scenes where he was speaking with his mouth full), and the various other secondary characters had unique voices, too. All around, this was solid. I love audiobooks, and I try very hard to find LGBT authors on audio to support - I'm glad I found this one.
Max Vos puts together one of the most unique meet-cutes I've read in a quite a while. As a young(er) man, Rich, a lifeguard, rescues a kid from the local pool. Years later, as a college student, Rich literally runs into a huge burly hairy hulk of a football player and figures, welp, I'm about to get smacked down, hard. But instead, that big guy is kind, the two chat, and Rich learns that the big guy is the kid he once saved.
Johnny comes off as an adorable lug most of the time - he's a big guy, burly and hairy, a football jock, and has a temper when it comes to defending those he cares about. He's also quite conflicted by the feelings he starts to have for Rich. You all know I'm not a huge fan of "gay for you" plots, but there's enough internal conflict here with Johnny that it managed to feel natural, and - praise the author! - the word "bisexual" is even used. Nothing annoys me more than the polarizing "does this mean he's gay now?" binary, and though characters have conversations like that a little bit, they're way more bi-inclusive than most of the discussions I've seen in this sub-sub-genre. Johnny does make quite a few mistakes, but they're organic.
Rich is a great counterpoint character. A little bumped and bruised, he's an olympic hopeful with a strained relationship with his father (his mother has passed) and just as flummoxed by Johnny's attention as Johnny himself, at first. I loved Rich's awareness that he was likely making a really big mistake even as he made it, and I also liked the progression of his relationships outside of the one he has with Johnny. Rich's father, Johnny's parents and cousin, and Rich's best friend - they were living, breathing characters and really well-written.
Also, the sexy parts? Sexy indeed. I'll never look at a powdered donut quite the same way, and I can't praise Vos enough for including some actual body hair with his characters.
I should also mention I quite enjoyed the audio narrator. The right voice actor can make or break a story, and this one definitely added the flavour to his performances. Johnny, especially, had such a perfect "big lug" voice (and I laughed at the scenes where he was speaking with his mouth full), and the various other secondary characters had unique voices, too. All around, this was solid. I love audiobooks, and I try very hard to find LGBT authors on audio to support - I'm glad I found this one.
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