CALLING ALL LOVERS OF...
- badass and hilarious plus size heroine
- CFO/rugby player hero (suits AND short shorts)
- camping trip w some interesting revelations
- k*nk exploration and spicy roleplay scenarios
- two hot switches... dom/sub going both wayssss
- surprise pregnancy
- complex family dynamics
- friends with benefits
- friends to lovers
I don’t even want to come back to my body after finishing this book. The reading experience was so swoon-worthy, the perfect complex mix of pure joy and emotional damage. I was totally swept away by Raf and Angie’s love story, and had so much fun reading the wild sexual exploration they get up to during Angie’s surprise pregnancy. Raf steps up to “take care of her needs” despite them deciding to stay “just friends” and CO-parents to the upcoming bbs. SURE, GUYS :) The kink exploration and role-play scenarios they act out were actually so funny to me, it felt so freeing and goofy to be able to laugh along with it as they display their ultimate trust in one another to be the most vulnerable they’ve ever been both in and out of the bedroom.
Angela , Angie, Angel, Zofia Johannson … the GODDESS that she is. It made me feel so happy and seen to read her acceptance and celebration of her fat body <3 IMO, she gets EVERYTHING she deserves to have Rafael worship her body and be at her beck and call through the magical months of her pregnancy. GOOD! FOR! HER! She is also a children’s mental health counsellor, and this is significant to her backstory of having lost her mother at a young age and having to be the one to parent all of her younger siblings when her father couldn’t step in to do that. She defines a parentified child and she is constantly working on boundaries with her siblings and giving herself grace to feel and heal from this trauma.
Rafael Jimenez…. The SLUTTY KING that he is. I’ve never read a more perfect, caring, sunshiny rugby babe in my life. I adored not just himself and his relationship with Angie, but I also loved Raf’s family and the role they played in the book for both him and Angie. Raf has 2 loving moms that are such a strong, healthy example of love. Even though he has this, he still struggles a lot with defining his emotions and desires because of the shallow, unstable relationship with his father. As a child of divorced parents with both mommy and daddy issues, Rafael’s character really spoke to me and offered me validation to know that it’s not a child’s fault if they idolize their parent, even if said parent is a shitty person.
There’s seriously SO MUCH to love about this romance and if any of the tropes strike your fancy, you should totally give this a chance. I can also HIGHLY recommend Sloan Spencer’s other 2 romance novels, the Structure duet, which might even enhance your reading experience of EVOY, because those main characters are here too! We looooooove Marco, Jay, and Cora <333333 CAN”T WAIT FOR MORE INSTALMENTS IN THE RUGBY LOVERS WORLD :’)
Overall rating: 4.5 rounded up to 5
*this review is based off an earc provided by the author*