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A review by megwoman25
Hold Me Under by Riley Nash
2.0
MM Romance
Hurt/Comfort Enemies To Lovers
2 “I’m the problem, it’s me” Stars ⭐️
All my friends love this book but I have no idea what to say about it because I didn’t feel anything while reading it, yet, I couldn’t put it down once I started and I stayed up until 6am devouring it. How does that even make sense??? If I’m going to stay up all night to read a book you’d think I would have been interested in some aspect of it but I found the characters bland, the plot predictable and the writing was kind of wonky at times. I know this is a debut so I’m trying not to hold the wonkiness against him but I’m just kind of underwhelmed tbh and for a book so dramatic and angsty, I just expected to feel more.
The only part of this book I liked was how much Ethan did for Victor despite hating him for most of the book. He paid attention to the fine details, figured out Victor’s needs, and then implemented them in his own way. I especially loved the part when they escaped all the craziness in the city, got a quaint hotel, and then went to the store. I’m usually avoiding most of the packaged food I come across but Victor must have felt so safe and seen by Ethan because without saying a word Ethan knew what he needed and gave it to him selflessly.
However, after liking most of this book despite not feeling much, I wasn’t a fan of the last 15-20% of this story. I felt like the pacing was off and because there were too many tropes competing with each other, a lot of the side stories felt unresolved or rushed. I wanted to see anyone who had ever taken advantage of Victor held to karma of the highest degree and the basic summary in the epilogue was just not enough and left me feeling completely underwhelmed. I also thought Ethan’s mom’s condition was glossed over at the end and since it was a big issue throughout the book, I expected more.
The sex scenes were quite good but FFS just because this book made Victor out to be a slutty bottom boy doesn’t mean he doesn’t need some fucking lube. That part of the body is not self-lubricating and I can’t believe how many MM books I read that have one of them just cramming it in there dry or with a bit of spit. Fucking ouch.
And also, I don’t think I fully comprehend what was going on inside the bathroom with the inner door locks and the dog bed. I mean, I have an idea but it was never really mentioned in a way that made sense.
Overall though, I think this is one of those books where the problem is me more than it being a bad book so I’m going to give 2 stars for no spelling issues, a writing style that pulled me in, and a solid idea even if it wasn’t executed quite to my standards. Surprisingly I do want to read Gray’s book because I’ve heard it’s completely different from this one (a huge plus).
Hurt/Comfort Enemies To Lovers
2 “I’m the problem, it’s me” Stars ⭐️
All my friends love this book but I have no idea what to say about it because I didn’t feel anything while reading it, yet, I couldn’t put it down once I started and I stayed up until 6am devouring it. How does that even make sense??? If I’m going to stay up all night to read a book you’d think I would have been interested in some aspect of it but I found the characters bland, the plot predictable and the writing was kind of wonky at times. I know this is a debut so I’m trying not to hold the wonkiness against him but I’m just kind of underwhelmed tbh and for a book so dramatic and angsty, I just expected to feel more.
The only part of this book I liked was how much Ethan did for Victor despite hating him for most of the book. He paid attention to the fine details, figured out Victor’s needs, and then implemented them in his own way. I especially loved the part when they escaped all the craziness in the city, got a quaint hotel, and then went to the store. I’m usually avoiding most of the packaged food I come across but Victor must have felt so safe and seen by Ethan because without saying a word Ethan knew what he needed and gave it to him selflessly.
However, after liking most of this book despite not feeling much, I wasn’t a fan of the last 15-20% of this story. I felt like the pacing was off and because there were too many tropes competing with each other, a lot of the side stories felt unresolved or rushed. I wanted to see anyone who had ever taken advantage of Victor held to karma of the highest degree and the basic summary in the epilogue was just not enough and left me feeling completely underwhelmed. I also thought Ethan’s mom’s condition was glossed over at the end and since it was a big issue throughout the book, I expected more.
The sex scenes were quite good but FFS just because this book made Victor out to be a slutty bottom boy doesn’t mean he doesn’t need some fucking lube. That part of the body is not self-lubricating and I can’t believe how many MM books I read that have one of them just cramming it in there dry or with a bit of spit. Fucking ouch.
And also, I don’t think I fully comprehend what was going on inside the bathroom with the inner door locks and the dog bed. I mean, I have an idea but it was never really mentioned in a way that made sense.
Overall though, I think this is one of those books where the problem is me more than it being a bad book so I’m going to give 2 stars for no spelling issues, a writing style that pulled me in, and a solid idea even if it wasn’t executed quite to my standards. Surprisingly I do want to read Gray’s book because I’ve heard it’s completely different from this one (a huge plus).