Scan barcode
A review by nickoliver
Fake Friends by Saxon James
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.0
CW: homophobia, talk of conversion therapy, internalised homophobia, violence, sexual content, cursing
This is the second book in the "Never Just Friends" series, and for the most part, I feel about this book more or less the same way I felt about the first book: it was entertaining, but nothing that will stick with me for a long period of time. However, there were a few things that were different from "Just Friends"
First of all, this book had way more homophobia in it, including a severe case of internalised homophobia. One of the main characters, Rowan, had homophobic parents and a homophobic grandfather who used to try to beat the "sissy" out of him, which had unsurprisingly resulted in Rowan feeling deep shame for his attraction to men. It was hard to read at times, but it was unfortunately also very realistic.
All that homophobia lead to the plot being extremely anxiety-inducing for me. The premise of the story was that Circus, a kind of social media influencer, needed another man to do a photoshoot with for a client who sold swimwear. None of his friends wanted to, so in a last-ditch effort, he accepted the help of Rowan, a man he used to have a crush on but has now hated for the past five years due to something Rowan had done to him. So their dynamic could be best summarised as a friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers second chance romance. (Plus, there was a mild case of fake dating later on.) Anyway, despite the fact that Rowan only agreed to the deal as long as his face would be disguised in the pictures, I was constantly afraid that someone from their hometown would see the photos, recognise him, and out him to his homophobic family. I was actually pleasantly surprised when that never ended up happening, and Rowan was able to come out at his own pace. In any way, I was anxious throughout most of the book. Made the book a bit less fun than the first novel.
Weirdly enough, I also liked the way Rowan's family reacted to his Coming Out? They weren't miraculously immediately okay with it, which was bitter, but seemed more realistic than if they'd accepted him right away. After all, they'd always been taught that being gay was a sin, and working through that, I reckon, isn't something that happens in five seconds.
Now, the main couple, Rowan and Circus, I wasn't the biggest fan of. I felt very lukewarm about them. I didn't dislike them, but I also didn't see myself rooting for them a whole lot. Plus, while Circus was usually very sensitive to Rowan's issues and tried to help him through them - for example, he knew that Rowan sometimes had panic attacks out of shame after sex and was actively trying to be there for him in those moments -, he was surprisingly weird about Rowan's family sometimes? Circus himself was an orphan, his parents had died five years ago and he missed them terribly, and because of that, he sometimes said insensitive things along the lines of 'Stop complaining about your family, at least you have one!' Personally, I don't see why having horribly homophobic relatives who make you shameful of who you like are a much better alternative to not having any relatives at all. So Circus really rubbed me the wrong way sometimes. He also forgave Rowan for his past actions a bit too fast in my opinion. Rowan didn't really have to do much to gain Circus's forgiveness, which was a bit infuriating.
James tried to tackle some important topics in this book. While Rowan had his problems with internalised homophobia and homophobic relatives - which, again, were things whose execution I did like -, Circus had a slight dependency on social media and was dealing with depression a bit. I didn't think that either of those topics were dealt with very detailed; especially the social media bit was just thrown in there without really being discussed. Circus had a pretty serious problem because he was looking for validation and love online, but James brushed over that the entire time.
Moreover, just like in "Just Friends", James again created very one-dimensional, flat side characters. I just wanted more of them. The only ones who were fleshed-out were Royce and Tanner, the main characters of the first book, but all the other friends from the predecessor were just as bland and not delved into enough as before. And one thing that her characters, especially the queer ones, had in common was the fact that their behaviour sometimes felt borderline predatory? They made me uncomfortable sometimes.
The book had a few plot holes to show for. For example, Rowan had to live with his family, which obviously took a toll on him. But thanks to the photoshoot he did with Circus, he got a lot of money, and yet he never moved out of his family's home? And while I don't know an awful lot about influencers, I do think James made it a bit too easy for Circus, especially towards the end of the book. Those things didn't particularly bother me while I was reading, but in retrospect, they were annoying.
Overall, this was just an okay read. I didn't like the main characters quite as much as the main characters from the first book, and the homophobia was hard to read about sometimes. There were some plot holes, and the side characters were again a bit too flat.
This is the second book in the "Never Just Friends" series, and for the most part, I feel about this book more or less the same way I felt about the first book: it was entertaining, but nothing that will stick with me for a long period of time. However, there were a few things that were different from "Just Friends"
First of all, this book had way more homophobia in it, including a severe case of internalised homophobia. One of the main characters, Rowan, had homophobic parents and a homophobic grandfather who used to try to beat the "sissy" out of him, which had unsurprisingly resulted in Rowan feeling deep shame for his attraction to men. It was hard to read at times, but it was unfortunately also very realistic.
All that homophobia lead to the plot being extremely anxiety-inducing for me. The premise of the story was that Circus, a kind of social media influencer, needed another man to do a photoshoot with for a client who sold swimwear. None of his friends wanted to, so in a last-ditch effort, he accepted the help of Rowan, a man he used to have a crush on but has now hated for the past five years due to something Rowan had done to him. So their dynamic could be best summarised as a friends-to-lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers second chance romance. (Plus, there was a mild case of fake dating later on.) Anyway, despite the fact that Rowan only agreed to the deal as long as his face would be disguised in the pictures, I was constantly afraid that someone from their hometown would see the photos, recognise him, and out him to his homophobic family. I was actually pleasantly surprised when that never ended up happening, and Rowan was able to come out at his own pace. In any way, I was anxious throughout most of the book. Made the book a bit less fun than the first novel.
Weirdly enough, I also liked the way Rowan's family reacted to his Coming Out? They weren't miraculously immediately okay with it, which was bitter, but seemed more realistic than if they'd accepted him right away. After all, they'd always been taught that being gay was a sin, and working through that, I reckon, isn't something that happens in five seconds.
Now, the main couple, Rowan and Circus, I wasn't the biggest fan of. I felt very lukewarm about them. I didn't dislike them, but I also didn't see myself rooting for them a whole lot. Plus, while Circus was usually very sensitive to Rowan's issues and tried to help him through them - for example, he knew that Rowan sometimes had panic attacks out of shame after sex and was actively trying to be there for him in those moments -, he was surprisingly weird about Rowan's family sometimes? Circus himself was an orphan, his parents had died five years ago and he missed them terribly, and because of that, he sometimes said insensitive things along the lines of 'Stop complaining about your family, at least you have one!' Personally, I don't see why having horribly homophobic relatives who make you shameful of who you like are a much better alternative to not having any relatives at all. So Circus really rubbed me the wrong way sometimes. He also forgave Rowan for his past actions a bit too fast in my opinion. Rowan didn't really have to do much to gain Circus's forgiveness, which was a bit infuriating.
James tried to tackle some important topics in this book. While Rowan had his problems with internalised homophobia and homophobic relatives - which, again, were things whose execution I did like -, Circus had a slight dependency on social media and was dealing with depression a bit. I didn't think that either of those topics were dealt with very detailed; especially the social media bit was just thrown in there without really being discussed. Circus had a pretty serious problem because he was looking for validation and love online, but James brushed over that the entire time.
Moreover, just like in "Just Friends", James again created very one-dimensional, flat side characters. I just wanted more of them. The only ones who were fleshed-out were Royce and Tanner, the main characters of the first book, but all the other friends from the predecessor were just as bland and not delved into enough as before. And one thing that her characters, especially the queer ones, had in common was the fact that their behaviour sometimes felt borderline predatory? They made me uncomfortable sometimes.
The book had a few plot holes to show for. For example, Rowan had to live with his family, which obviously took a toll on him. But thanks to the photoshoot he did with Circus, he got a lot of money, and yet he never moved out of his family's home? And while I don't know an awful lot about influencers, I do think James made it a bit too easy for Circus, especially towards the end of the book. Those things didn't particularly bother me while I was reading, but in retrospect, they were annoying.
Overall, this was just an okay read. I didn't like the main characters quite as much as the main characters from the first book, and the homophobia was hard to read about sometimes. There were some plot holes, and the side characters were again a bit too flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Minor: Violence
Also CW for internalised homophobia and talk of conversion therapy