For Better or Worse

by R. Cooper

To the other firefighters in Montgomery, Javier is a quietly heroic figure with a reputation for staying calm and doing what needs to be done. To the small town gossips, he’s some kind of mysterious ladies’ man, despite how he hasn’t dated anyone in years. Truth is, Javier’s demisexual—it takes him a while to feel desire for someone, and most people don’t want to wait for that to happen. Tired of being hurt, he gave up on dating. He gave up with such determination that two years into spending nearly every free evening making dinners with his best friend, Jimmy, he’s only just realized that he’s in love with him. Jimmy is noise where Javier is silent. He expresses his thoughts and feelings about every subject imaginable—except the reason he moved thousands of miles away from his family to start a new life in Montgomery. He spends his nights with Javier, cooking and jointly taking care of his rescue dog. If he’s noticed that he and Javier have been all but dating each other for the past two years, he hasn’t said, and Javier isn’t going to risk upsetting him by asking. That is, until the very public romance between their fellow firefighter, Scotty, and school librarian, Cole, leads Jimmy to reveal more about his past. Suddenly, Javier has hope. If he has to change the minds of the entire town in order to woo his best friend, then so be it. He’s not someone to let a little fear get in his way, especially when it means a chance to make their date nights real.

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, M M Romance, Friends To Lovers, LGBT, Contemporary Romance, Firefighters

127 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 15, 2017

About the author

I'm R. Cooper, a somewhat absentminded, often distracted, writer of queer romance. I'm probably most known for the Being(s) in Love series and The Suitable 'Verse stories. Also the occasional story about witches or firefighters in love.

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Reviews

[Drache.... (Angelika) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread 07/2025
Love these two idiots, Jimmy and Javier, so much.

Love the demi/ace rep.
"But he didn’t want sex the way others did, the way he was supposed to want it all the time. To this day he could remember the exact feeling of relief at discovering terms like demisexual and gray ace, and his immediate need to know more, and then still, always, that faint shame of not being what he was supposed to be."

Love the genuine way the author includes Italian idioms whenever Jimmy is overwhelmed with feelings.
"He emptied the last of the bottle into each of their glasses as he muttered, “Of course he forgot all about them already. Spezzando il mio cuore and he doesn’t even notice.”

This is a sequel that could work alone in theory, but it's so much better if you read Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter first.

--------

4,25 stars.
Lovely sequel to Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter.
Watching Javier and Jimmy figuring out that they were in love was (as always with this author) so very beautiful.
Love, love, love the ace rep (and that's why I'm rounding up to 5 stars).

[drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

god, i really enjoyed this quasi-sequel to Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter; it was extremely sweet and struck the perfect balance between angst and fluff. it also featured several tropes i gravitate towards, like friends-to-lovers, opposites attract, (heavy!) mutual pining, and even a himbo... it's almost like it was written with my exact tastes in mind.

like a lot of the other R. Cooper novellas i've read recently, this one was light on plot but heavy on character development, which is, again, right up my alley. Jimmy and Javi were just... so well realized in such a short story; i was rooting for them pretty much immediately. 4 stars.

[Drusilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sequel to Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter and follows another couple. It is not essential to have read the first book, but it is better if you have. This book focuses heavily on the two main characters, but there are various cross references and naming of characters from the first book. I think it's annoying if you don't understand what the characters are talking about here.
Regardless, as usual with this author, it's almost a two-character play. And as usual I had my problems getting into it, but that's not a complaint, by now I know I don't understand anything in the first 10-20 pages anyway and the light bulb moment comes later.
Told from Javi's perspective, who is madly in love with his best friend Jimmy, but never mentions it because he assumes Jimmy is straight anyway ... Yes, the usual cliché. But as it is with this author, exceptionally well done in terms of storytelling and minimal plot, which leads to the very end where they finally have an awakening and wow ...
In addition, there are clichés surrounding firefighters when it comes to homophobia, but here there is a lot of support from the secondary characters, which is really heartbreakingly beautifully portrayed.
At the heart of the story, however, are Javi's emotions and Jimmy's past, which he doesn't talk about. Tear-jerking potential, that's all I can say, and not in short supply.
And what I think is extremely well done, although I don't have that many comparisons because I haven't read enough books with characters like this, Javi defines himself as ace/ gray/ demi and has problems with others understanding what that is like for him. I really like how his emotional world is shown in that respect.

“People should feel safe with who they love, safe with the one they love. If you don’t feel that, then the relationship isn’t good for you.” He didn’t think he was buzzed, but something made him keep talking. “Fuck sparks and sex appeal. They don’t mean anything if you can’t be yourself around someone.” 🫠💗🫠

“Me? I’m the only one who turns you on? The one you want? Jimmy Rizzo with the busted nose and the trust issues?”
Javier shrugged. “Yes.”
Jimmy flopped back down to the bed. It didn’t hide his grin.
“Not at first,” Javier admitted, for the sake of honesty. “You grew on me.”
“Yeah, like mold,” Jimmy mumbled. 🤭😍🤭


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Minor spoilers probably ahead

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Content warnings: friends-to-lovers with mutual pining - and yes, they don’t speak with each other …, homophobia
Cheating between MCs: No
Other person drama: No
Breakup: No
Kinks: none

[Gigi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gotta say, this book confused the hell out of me. The way the characters were introduced sounded like I was missing a few chapters or that this was a book in the middle of a series. We are only given bits and pieces of who they are and how they related to one another, including the two main characters. That made this a very difficult read for me.

Also, there was SO MUCH miscommunication and tiptoeing around feelings between Jimmy and Javier that it got exhausting. The first 85% of the book was both men being absolutely clueless about their situation. Their friends realized their feelings long before the two men did.

But the boys were sweet and they got a mild HFN so I'm going to give this one 3 stars and recommend it with caution. I believe there aren't enough books out there with ace/demisexual characters that I would encourage those who want to know more to read this.

[Meep · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can't say I liked this one; there's so much not talking, worrying, talking around themselves without saying what they mean that when they finally got together it got lost.

The knitting club from Scotty's book is referanced without appearing and with little context it felt a judgement on a type of person. While a demi pov was interesting to read it also felt like a lesson; at times it read more like everyone was being put in their place rather than the character opening up to people. I felt the scene with Tiny was taken too far and was squirmy rather than super-ally vibes. Possibly that's my discomfort with big public displays.

We only get Javier's pov which made Jimmy harder to understand. The extent of his fear, very little background is given and even by the end I've no idea how anyone other than Javier sees him. We're told a number of times that they're dating without either realising it, yet don't see them together working, cooking, being; instead it's avoidance and awkwardness.

While every book R.Cooper writes is about the earning and unseen adoration, this I found exhausting.

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This needed another loving edit pass for missing words and so on, but nothing glaring, and who cares when we get suuuper-sweet Javi and fearful Jimmy and all the other firehouse people? This is all from demisexual/gray ace Javi's point of view, so boy does that keep Jimmy confusing for awhile. And with all their cooking, now I'm hungry, too. :) This one is a little less complex than Scott's story, and maybe shorter, but just as important. Loved it.

[Hollis Shiloh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Stories where it's not all about the sex, or immediate physical attraction, mean a lot. Add in the sensitive way R. Cooper portrayed the characters' struggles, sexualities, and feelings while drawing a vivid picture of their lives...all in all a very, very nice read.

[Leanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

A strong start but for me it started to get a bit overwrought and tired towards the end. Could have been tighter and shorter, maybe? I loved reading about an ace MC though, and seeing Scotty and Cole again was lovely.

[iam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and bittersweet romance between two firefighters who've been going through the motions of dating for years but never talked about it.
As a reader I found them dancing around the important conversation frustrating; as a queer person I could understand their caution about coming out, especially with their pasts, and it was bittersweet.

The writing was fine, if a bit confusing and disjointed at parts. Especially transitions between memories and happening in the present were lacking.

I particularly liked the way demisexuality was portrayed in this book.

Content warnings include: sex on-page, homophobia, gossiping, references to a forced outing of a side character and getting kicked out for being gay.

[Marthea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,25
W porównaniu do Scotty'ego, Javier jednak nie powala 😉 Owszem, to fajny bohater, ale jednak Scotty ustawił poprzeczkę bardzo wysoko pod tym względem 😉 Poza tym, miałam wrażenie, że bohaterowie byli - chyba najlepszym określeniem będzie tutaj "chaotyczni". A już zwłaszcza ich rozmowy...

[Achim · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Nicole Field · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an important book for demisexuality, and I'm super glad it exists. I'm just not sure it's a well-written book.

Javier is our sole point of view character in this short novel. It opens with him realising that he's in love. That he's in love with Jimmy. The two of them live in a small town and are more or less accepted as being best friends who have dinner in each others' houses every night. Javier considers multiple times throughout the book that he and Jimmy are dating in all but name.

And, from the hints we get from Jimmy throughout, he feels the same.

The problem is that there is a lot of conjecture. These are two characters who do not talk. I get that. Jimmy is scared and has trust issues. Javier doesn't want to scare him off and lose the closeness they have. But... so much of this story's plot wouldn't have held together if these two characters had one in depth conversation with each other before the end of the book.

While I saw what the book was doing--getting and staying in the head of a demisexual character, having him be unashamed of it, having him coming out to various people in his life and community, staying true to who he was--I just can't give the book a higher rating based on that alone.

[Calila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. But all the awkward half speech got irritating after a while. I just wanted them to actually USE SENTENCES AND CONVEY A FULL THOUGHT. All the beating around the bush was irksome. But I liked the different sexualities, and how they were treated. The side characters were nice.

[Bluebelle-the-Inquisitive (Catherine) · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I’m somewhere between bisexual and very, very picky.” — Javier Ramierez (aka the best extreme over simplification of a bi-demi I've ever read.)

I look up the ace tag occasionally just to see what people are reading. Fairly recently I found For Better or Worse and book written with aspec thems write by R.Cooper. R.Cooper writes and interesting style what I have read of their has been short but well paced and working within their limits, knowing the limits of the genre and the format. I have enjoyed hem. As such when I saw this I know it had to read it. I did make what may or may not have been a mistake when I decided to read it though, I decided to read For Better or Worse without reading Scott and Cole's story Hottie Scotty & Mr Porter first. While you can theoretically read them separately, there is enough groundwork included in this one to make it understandable but I think it would make just a little more sense with the background from the previous story. Scotty (as he is always refed to in this) makes an appearance in this book, in a critical point, he is important to a choice made by Javier. and Tiny (the station Chief). Scotty being a more mainline sexuality paved the way for the acceptance of the others. Or that is a least what it feels like. Let's be honest gay is easier to accept for most people than ace., even for most readers, if you aren't ace it can be difficult I think to get your head around.

Okay, now we're past that. R.Cooper writes their demisexual in a non-traditional way. He has accepted his ace-ness, he knows that. This is not coming of age, not in the least we are past that, Javi is past that. By the time the book starts Javier he is aware of and mostly comfortable with is demi identity, using it interchangably with other terms like grey and queer. This is a book that misses most of the label searching and identification. That's not the game here. The game here is friends to lovers with a queer twist. This is about knowing how to get what you want and balancing the risk vs reward, finding the courage to getgo and get it. But Javier still has moments of why am I like this, what if I wasn't. It's a brutally realistic feel. There is a moment when he chooses to weaponize his sexuality, at least the bi aspect of it. One to test the town's 'accepting' attitude by raising the pride over the fire station and the other is the trigger for the endgame, Javier kisses the (supposedly straight) fire chief Tiny.

The perspective character is Javier 'Javi' Ramirez our lovely demi. the first line kinda sets it up for him "Javier was in love.
The realization echoed through his mind like church bells. Javier was in love with a passion he had never expected to feel and it took his breath away.". He is in love, in love with his neighbour and best friend, Jimmy. And this is that moment of realisaion.

This is single perspective narration so there are some surprises for the reader. We don't ever find out how old Javi is (which I appreciate as a writing choice). Javi as the narrator is less likely to think about his own age. The closest thing we get to his age is in comparison to Jimmy, Jimmy is several years younger than him. Some things that Javi didn't know that serve to build his character. We simply walk into Javier's life with little to no story. All the backstory we get is given as needed. Interestingly Cooper has chosen to limit settings to the firehouse, their houses and once or twice Javi just thinking during his walk home. Those limited settings provide an intimacy and a realness to it, especially for a homebody like Javier. On the writing style. I really didn't like the lack of marker on the section breaks. It was just annoying, especially with decent time jumps between sections

Jimmy is a good Italian Catholic boy, still speaks Italian and falls back into it occasionally. Jimmy is a lot to process he's got those qualities that are clearly admirable but a darkness and a past. Jimmy has an ex-wife, married at nineteen (divorced at twenty-one) to his best friend a good Catholic girl who found herself pregnant out of wedlock. We never met her, never learn her name and I'm okay with that, under what I refer to as the Liliana principle* I adore her anyway. Jimmy does not like labels, does not use labels and is an angry man. He has no tolerance for homophobia. I do quite like him. It is hard not to like anyone who shows that love to their dog, her name is Bacio. Everything he does that may frustrate a reader is seen through the flawed perception of Javier. A reader will likely perceive (as Peyo does) Jimmy's affection for Javi.

Javier understands his uncle's Spanglish but doesn't speak it. That Spanglish is actually kinda funny Peyo likes to speak Spanish to confuse Jimmy, to make him think he doesn't speak English. He's only doing it for Javi's good he is more than aware of Javi and Jimmy's feelings for each other and is just trying to push them together as only he can. I like the use of Spanish and Italian, it really works. For Jimmy it is a sign of exasperation (and other emotions), for Peyo it's just his first language and he likes messing with people. Okay, he likes messing with Jimmy (and Javi stays out of it).

Have a selection quotes.
• “I’ll cook you dinner. Let me feed you. We’ll take the dog for a walk in the sunset. Pfft. Un par de dumbasses. Every night when he’s in your kitchen, you don’t want him to leave. He doesn’t want to leave. El perro no quiere que se vaya. Every night you are over there, I wake up to find you aquí, en un sueño, staring. Tu es gay.” — (Uncle Peyo) I really like Uncle Peyo. He's a meddler, him and Tiny. Translation: A couple of dumbasses.Every night when he’s in your kitchen, you don’t want him to leave. He doesn’t want to leave.The dog doesn't want him to go. Every night you are over there, I wake up to find you here, in a dream, staring. You are gay.
• “I hope they say I’m secretly dating you.” Javier surprised himself again with a joke.
Tiny shook his head.
“No one would believe that,” he insisted. “I’m hopeless in the kitchen.” Which was true since Tiny’s turn to cook almost always involved cans of salsa or chili poured into mac and cheese. Javier was about to comment when Tiny grinned. He startled the shit out of Javier by adding, “And you, Ramirez, don’t want anyone in your kitchen unless they know what they’re doing in there.” — (Javier and Tiny) Okay so all I could think when I read this was Tiny you perceptive f**ker. But also fair point.
• The sky was somewhere between gray and blue, and the flag was bright. Vivid. Flaming, he thought, with too much energy, before forcing himself to calm. Loud, he decided. Present, which was better but not enough. Then, beautiful. — (Javier) This is Javi as he sees the Pride flag flying outside the firehouse for the first time. 🏳‍🌈 I just this it is a beautiful line. I know I've had a moment like this seeing it fly in unusual places.
• “I’m Marilyn Monroe now?” Javier wondered first. “You’d think I’d be Salma Hayek at least.” — (Javier) Don't knock Marilyn like that. She's an icon. An adopted queer icon (but only because she never claimed the term). I would like to direct you to a tumblr thread started by the-bright-path which discusses Ms Monroe.
• “God, what a relief it might be not to have those feelings lighting you up from the inside all the time. But maybe it’s torture too, in a different way. If I didn’t feel this, what else would I have?” — (Jimmy) This is such a brilliant piece of perceptive writing. It is brilliant to see an acknowledgement that the lack of sexual attraction brings with it a whole lot of other issues.
• “Do aces have a flag?” he wondered, teasing or serious, it was impossible to tell. “Is it gray? Tell me it’s not gray.”
“It has some gray,” Javier admitted, although he found the ace colors striking. — (Jimmy and Javier) I really like the Ace flag and others in its family among others demi and aro too.
• “I don’t say anything. I know you like labels, and they helped you, but they haven’t ever for me. You got to keep things like that separate, there. Or you’re that guy. And that guy got tossed from his firehouse because he looked too much at someone he thought wanted him to look. Like… like some sort of stupid fucking secret romance only, you know, there ain’t nothing romantic about a secret like that. That shit blows up and you lose people. The firehouse is supposed to be—I mean, you can work right alongside your fucking cousins, but when it comes down to it, you’re a sinner and a pervert and they aren’t going to take your word for anything. Your ma don’t even believe you. And the guy who made your heart beat fast didn’t have your back. You know who did? The only one who did?” — (Jimmy) Oh god the fu**ing PAIN in this one piece. This exclamation is Jimmy finally telling Javi his truth.
• He reminded himself that although Scotty looked the way he did, he’d chosen a boyfriend who had wooed him with cookies, not fucking. Scotty was a sensitive soul under the muscles. — (Javier) It was this one line that make me want to read Hottie Scotty and Mp Porter I loved that too. Scottie is so sweet under the facade he keeps up. It also explains why we hate the b***h (aka Kathy Blane) so much.
• "He kept his attention on his knife and the food as he spoke. His cuts and chops were clean and practiced.
Javier sighed in pleasure at the sight." — (Javier) This is tied to Tiny's line about Javi not wanting anyone in his kitchen who doesn't know what they are doing there. I read this and thought about kinks or at least serious turn-ons. It feels like cooking or kitchen competency is Javi's major turn-on and I'm here for it. I like things like this, unusual and specific but realistic turn-ons.

“I don’t really notice things like this. Everything looks like friendly teasing if you don’t know what sexual tension is. I get confused.” — Javier Ramierez (aka the aspec mood.)

A representative gif:

*Liliana principle is named after Liliana from the Chronicles of Nick series, Caleb's deceased human wife. She was a highly influential character in the life of her husband until they parted ways. But we never meet her. Her influence is so great that without her the series essentially wouldn't exist. As such she is near-universally beloved by fans. There is a whole range of primarily female characters who fit this mould that I've stumbled across since.

God this review is so messy.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is my new favorite from R Cooper! I would advise reading Hottie Scotty and Mr Porter first, but I loved it all the same. If you have time, there are also a couple of comment-fics with related characters on her tumblr. Definitely worth browsing for, if you have time. :)

[The Novel Approach · Rating 4 out of 5]

For Better or Worse touched my wee jaded heart, and when a book can do that, well, that’s something special. In its short ninety-four pages, R. Cooper accomplished more than just tugging at my heartstrings, though. I grew to care for these characters, and not only that but she orchestrated a beautiful romance based in friendship and secret longing—a longing that, for Javier, was two years in the making; and a friendship that, for Jimmy, had to be enough because he knew he couldn’t have more.

Both Javier and Jimmy work as firefighters in the small town of Montgomery, California, and I liked the complication of the small-town claustrophobia that was obvious in this story, but not overdone. Family is nosy, folks are gossipy, and the knitting circle is in Javier and Jimmy’s business. Straight is the default here, and the gossiping starts because neither Javier nor Jimmy seem interested in any of the eligible women. But, somehow, Javier still gets a rep as a player who’s got a little somethin’-somethin’ on the side. The guys at the firehouse, thanks to Scott and his partner, Cole, are getting with the inclusivity program, though, and Tiny, de facto boss on their shift, is pleasantly self-aware and into supporting the station’s one queer firefighter. The one he knows of, at least. And I thought the way Javier got the outing himself ball rolling was fun.

I liked the way R. Cooper went with the subtle approach in the telling of this story. Javier and Jimmy did a lot of talking around and at each other while ignoring the subject of their spending almost every free moment together, preparing and eating meals with each other, sending leftovers home, all while bobbing and weaving around the fact that they have feelings for each other, and that those feelings had been evolving into something like love for quite a long time. There was no need to be flagrant in the composing of this novella, no reason to map things out down to the minutia. Not when the reason Jimmy landed alone in Montgomery takes nothing more than a silent clasp of the cross he wears around his neck. That tells us everything we need to know, and I appreciated Cooper’s crediting readers for not needing to have everything spelled out for us.

Javier not coming clean sooner about being demi and bi has everything to do with Jimmy, and with Javier not realizing that he’d fallen in love with his best friend until well after it’d already happened. Jimmy not coming out to Javier is deeply rooted in fear—not only of being rejected by yet another firehouse and the people there who feel like a made family, but of losing Javier—he’d rather pine for the guy forever than live without him for a moment. There are so many passages I highlighted in this book, but this one, in particular, hit me right in the feels:

“There isn’t anybody here for me, even if I was brave. Anybody gay,” he added, with a rush of air for that single word. “And if there were—” he scowled “—being in love with somebody who doesn’t love you back, that’s bad. But that’s life, you know? You can get used to that. But trusting somebody with your whole everything and then getting—” Jimmy jerked his hand away from the cross and stared hard at the exposed truck engine. “All I have now is my little life here.” Jimmy swallowed. “And it’s good, and it’s more than I thought I would get. So, yeah, I won’t be dating either. And I won’t get in your way when you do. All right?”

There are a lot of different definitions of what love truly is, but needing someone and then loving that someone enough to push him away…damn if that didn’t break my heart just a little.

Nothing about For Better or Worse is blatant, gratuitous, or in-your-face. It’s simply a quiet and gentle story about two friends who feed each other, body and soul, two friends who love each other but fear confessing their deepest secrets, two friends who have danced around each other and are trying to learn new steps together. Javier and Jimmy were guilty of saying so much in what remained unspoken. Theirs is a story of building trust by taking one of the greatest risks two people can take with each other—throwing caution to the wind and trusting their hearts will be safe with the other.

Reviewed by Lisa for The Novel Approach

[Sevvy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so beautiful !! I'm glad I was alone while reading it coz I must have had the goofiest smile on my face 😁

I love all the characters, the MCs were just adorable and I wanna protect them at all cost. Their relationship was beautiful and felt so real it hurt. I could have done without this level of miscommunication but it fit the story and the characters' backgrounds, personnality, ect.

The confession was everything I hoped for, and the sex was hot and meaningful.

“Out of all the people in this town?” Jimmy demanded, gold gleaming against his bare skin. “Me? I’m the only one who turns you on? The one you want? Jimmy Rizzo with the busted nose and the trust issues?” Javier shrugged. “Yes.”

I wouldn't mind one Jimmy Rizzo for myself honestly...

All in all this was a strong 4.5 stars for me. The only reason I'm not giving it a 5 is because I wish it'd been a longer book!

[Erin]

This one was on my TBR for a loooooong time because it features a demisexual hero. It's complicated, though. Javier doesn't date because of his demisexuality and somehow his lack of obvious partners has garnered him a reputation as a ladies' man in town. Jimmy rents the apartment attached to Javier's house, and while they spend basically all their free time together, Jimmy's past is a black hole. (Clearly, we're dealing with some trauma.)

Basically, if you're into best friends playing house and then realizing they're madly in love (but with the additional hurdle of overcoming the aforementioned trauma) and an imperfect but supportively inclusive firehouse, this is the book for you.

[Mere Rain]

The relationship and character development here are practically perfect, I loved these two, and all the supporting characters.

There were some purely technical flaws, like sometimes not having a paragraph break when there should be one (or having one for no reason) and once in a while it was a little hard to tell who was speaking, but it wasn't a significant problem. [I mostly only mention this because some of Cooper's earlier books were very bad in this regard, and I've seen reviews complaining about it; so, no worries, this one is okay!]

[Mariam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so cute yet so heavy that I needed to take breaks. Maybe that was because I have a sore throat that's messing me up. Anyway, the explicit Demisexual rep in this made me sob with relief. I loved that Jimmy and Javier's friendship is such a tightly knit thing and how Javier interacted with the guys at the fire-station. Tiny especially is a great example of an ally to the queer community.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.9 stars rounded up. I see a pattern emerging in that all the books set in this universe have been average for me. I adore most of R. Cooper's books, but this story conveys a rushed feeling that I am not fond of. It might be the format or simply my reading preferences...

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75☆

This was one frustrating read for me
I actually read Hottie Scotty and Mr. Porter but still the first chapter was quite confusing it felt like I missed the beginning of the story somehow .
I just wasn't feeling this best friends to lovers story.

[Jenn (not Lily) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfection. I kept reading bits aloud to my demi daughter, who kept agreeing with those bits. *Happy sigh.* Why do I wait so long between reading books by this author, when I could have all this happiness sweeping inside me?

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

Sweet friends-to-lovers story. Definitely helps to read Hottie Scotty first ...

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rep: biromantic demisexual mc, gay li, latinx mc

Warnings: ableism

[tysephine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A+ pining

[Plumpka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tym razem bez zachwytów. Nie byłam w stanie połączyć się z postaciami.
Mimo wszystko czytało się dobrze i szybko.

[namericanwordcat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars: I like the tone of R. Coopers writing as it is a bit lush and character driven.

This book is best read after the first book in the series. It is really lovely friends to lovers romance featuring a demisexual and a closeted gay man who are best friends and fire fighters.

Jimmy and Javier share a strong connection but they both need to be much better at talking. I would have loved to hear them talk things out.

I liked the book a great deal but the lack of sharing of thoughts was frustrating. It is a great setting and circle of friends and I would like more in this series but more couple time (which was an issue in the first book as well).

[... · Rating 5 out of 5]

My original 5-star rating and "review" of: 🥰🥰🥰 from 3/10/21 still stand. I just re-read it on 11-2-22 and honestly, I think I picked up even more (or else just remember less from the first time), and fell in love even harder with Jimmy and Javier. Another lovely story that makes me happier to have (re-)read it.

[Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very personal five star.

I can see why some reviewers find the writing hard to follow. Besides the occasional Spanglish and Italian, the author writes in a very reserved manner that sometimes requires a bit of cross-referencing/second thought on what she's referring to, but I find such manner fitting the subject matter well. What's felt deeply (trauma or not, in this case) could be hard to express in a straightforward way. For me, once I manage to follow the writing (despite understanding neither Spanish nor Italian), I can feel the innate fluidity while following Javier's vision, train of thoughts and memories interjected in between. Using third person Javier's POV helps to build up Javier's character as we can view through his eyes and look at him at the same time. We can see Javier as the one who is definitely calm and controlled as seen by the town, and his passion and bravery beyond the cool exterior.

Given the narration readers only see Jimmy in Javier's lens, we don't know Jimmy as much as we know about Javier, but that's fine for me. What's available is already enough. We know what makes Javier falls for him. We also know why Jimmy acts in certain ways as the story unfolds, and his very good reasons to do so.

Supporting characters are also lovely, like Scotty and Peyo. Jaiver and Jimmy's boss, Tiny, is also quite a character. He is definitely a great leader and ally, and a rare one that's definitely above Javier's food chain (laugh).

Reading this story also motivates me to learn more about the asexuality spectrum.