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Before... and After #3
Train to Somewhere
A Before… and After Story
It was only a game. Wasn’t it?
At a party one night, Charlie Dean’s childhood friend Will Tucker accepts a dare and dresses up as a clothes, hair, makeup. Seeing Will that way incites a riot of confused emotions in Charlie—and he responds by lashing out. He never meant to hurt Will, and now he must do some serious damage control.
During a school trip by train, Charlie and Will share a sleeper cabin. Charlie intends to mend fences, while Will figures it’s as good a time as any to broach the subjects of attraction and sexuality. They want to get their relationship back on track. But after the secrets they both reveal, their friendship can never be the same.
It was only a game. Wasn’t it?
At a party one night, Charlie Dean’s childhood friend Will Tucker accepts a dare and dresses up as a clothes, hair, makeup. Seeing Will that way incites a riot of confused emotions in Charlie—and he responds by lashing out. He never meant to hurt Will, and now he must do some serious damage control.
During a school trip by train, Charlie and Will share a sleeper cabin. Charlie intends to mend fences, while Will figures it’s as good a time as any to broach the subjects of attraction and sexuality. They want to get their relationship back on track. But after the secrets they both reveal, their friendship can never be the same.
75 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 18, 2017
29 people want to read
About the author
Susan Laine
91 books222 followersSusan is an award-winning author of LGBTQ erotic romance. She writes for Dreamspinner Press, DSP Publications, Siren BookStrand, Evernight Publishing, and Less Than Three Press. Susan is a Finn writing in English. She likes action flicks, pop music, saunas, and the seasons in Finland. Join Susan's newsletter HERE.
Coming soon new M/M and F/F erotic romances....
Sorry but... I'm taking a bit of a hiatus from writing at the moment. Will keep you apprised of any changes. Huge thanks to anyone who has read my stories and, hopefully, liked them <3
Merry Christmas!
Coming soon new M/M and F/F erotic romances....
Sorry but... I'm taking a bit of a hiatus from writing at the moment. Will keep you apprised of any changes. Huge thanks to anyone who has read my stories and, hopefully, liked them <3
Merry Christmas!
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
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October 21, 2017 1 Heart
Oh boy.
First let me say I really adored the first two books in the Before and After series. They were super sweet watching two best friends turn into lovers so I had high hopes going into this one.
But this was one hell of a jumbled mess with a lot of things gone wrong.
First, there should be a trigger warning on this book for abuse. What Charlie does to Will, his best friend, in the first chapter is abuse. Getting turned on by seeing your best friend dressed as a woman is not an excuse for the abuse Charlie dished out to Will. The author tells us from Charlie’s POV how Will is crying and begging Charlie to stop as Charlie decides he needs to destroy what Will has become to make himself feel better. Sure, Charlie feels bad for doing it while doing it but he doesn’t stop. He has flown into a blind and violent rage of emotion and took it out physically on his best friend.
I think what may be worse is the way Will reacts to it after it’s over. He just needs to find Charlie, ask why and then forgives him? WTAF? I don’t care how long you are friends for, I would not want to see the dude who just abused me, HURT me so that I could find him, make sure HE is okay and then forgive him? Nope. That would never happen.
I was shocked by this event happening within the first pages and then the story just rapidly moves on to the friends now being okay because Charlie admitted he liked the way Will looked all femmed up. What’s super weird is this all happens in Will’s POV where he firmly states, “Neither of them was gay, bisexual, bicurious, or sexually fluid.” Now, I am not saying that people can’t go into a self-discovery mode and explore things they never thought were part of their sexuality but both Charlie was dating a woman at the time and Will had dated women before. Why do I mention this? Because after all is forgiven, we turn the page and the boys are now boarding a train for a school trip where Charlie has upgraded their tiny sleeping car to a suite so they can figure things out.
It was a bit of a whiplash experience being in this book. Everything happens fast and all of the sudden Will goes from being the abused boy to basically a teenage psychologist on LGBTQ labels with his degree awarded by Dr. Google. Again. WTAF?
This book was a hot mess and not in a good way. It was way too short to tackle a subject matter like this. Charlie flew into a rage and hurt his best friend and Charlie did his because of his sexual reaction to a boy. There should have been some sort of counseling involved to deal with his rage reaction but no one tells anyone what happened up there, it’s kept a secret and the boys just go along being friends. That scene… it was sickening and reminded me of a brutal rape scene. I almost stopped reading right there but I wanted to see how or if anything would be resolved.
While on the train, Will decides with his new degree to try an experiment out on Charlie who has already hurt him once and who he is LOCKED in a train car with. This experiment? Will wants to see how Charlie reacts to him in heels and makeup, you know, to see if he goes any further with the abuse than he did the first time? Again. WTAF? I know they are all “I am sorry, I will never hurt you again” and “I trust you not to hurt me again” but really? How is this experiment anything that should have taken place? It was risky and it wasn’t smart at all.
With all of this going on it’s not a surprise that there was never a connection for me with Charlie and Will as a couple. I barely wanted them to be friends after Charlie attacked Will. I read through the book with a feeling of unease and an upset stomach. I don’t think being confined to a small space with someone who hurt you less than a week ago was the next step this story should have taken. I definitely don’t think you decide you are what your friend needs to figure out their new sexuality. It was frustrating and frankly disgusting to have these two go down the path of a physical relationship in any matter so quickly.
On top of all I’ve already talked about, we turn the page and jump 10 years into the future?! Yeah, so after all Dr. Will and his Google degree have diagnosed Charlie as Demi/BiSexual and Will as Fluid with his sexuality, they decide they aren’t going to be boyfriends BUT if they are both single in 10 years, they will take on a relationship. So Charlie has been in love with Will for the last ten years that he’s been dating men and women and Will was in a relationship with a trans girl since about right after the train trip. But of course they are both now single and Charlie has booked the same room on the same train… a train to somewhere. *facepalm*
I wanted to fall in love with this book as I did with the first two but this tried to tackle some heavy issues and have it wrapped up in less than 100 pages. There is no way that could have been accomplished. There honestly was not one single thing about this book that I liked and it’s not one that I would recommend at all.
A copy provided for an honest review.
Oh boy.
First let me say I really adored the first two books in the Before and After series. They were super sweet watching two best friends turn into lovers so I had high hopes going into this one.
But this was one hell of a jumbled mess with a lot of things gone wrong.
Unable to accept it, he’d freaked out and acted like a madman.
First, there should be a trigger warning on this book for abuse. What Charlie does to Will, his best friend, in the first chapter is abuse. Getting turned on by seeing your best friend dressed as a woman is not an excuse for the abuse Charlie dished out to Will. The author tells us from Charlie’s POV how Will is crying and begging Charlie to stop as Charlie decides he needs to destroy what Will has become to make himself feel better. Sure, Charlie feels bad for doing it while doing it but he doesn’t stop. He has flown into a blind and violent rage of emotion and took it out physically on his best friend.
Stomping into the connecting bathroom, Charlie slammed the door shut and locked it. Then he started to yank off Will’s dress. But it was tight and wouldn’t come off, certainly not with Will finally protesting and trying to pull back from the onslaught.
Charlie didn’t relent, though, and he tore at the dress. The sound of ripping fabric was stark in the confined space, echoing from the tiled walls.
“Charlie, please stop,” Will pleaded, fighting to shove Charlie away.
But driven by adrenaline born of rage, Charlie shredded Will’s dress till it lay in tatters on the floor, a scant few pieces still clinging to Will’s body. Then Charlie attacked the silk stockings, which came off without a hitch in thin strips, this time almost soundlessly.
“Ch-Charlie… stop…,” Will begged, tears in his eyes.
[…]
Will sat huddled in the bathtub in his wet underwear, hugging his knees. Black smears of makeup ran down his cheeks, and red smudges of lipstick still covered the sides of his mouth. He looked like a soaked puppy, miserable and confused. Charlie had never seen his best friend so despondent.
He looked… abused.
I think what may be worse is the way Will reacts to it after it’s over. He just needs to find Charlie, ask why and then forgives him? WTAF? I don’t care how long you are friends for, I would not want to see the dude who just abused me, HURT me so that I could find him, make sure HE is okay and then forgive him? Nope. That would never happen.
I was shocked by this event happening within the first pages and then the story just rapidly moves on to the friends now being okay because Charlie admitted he liked the way Will looked all femmed up. What’s super weird is this all happens in Will’s POV where he firmly states, “Neither of them was gay, bisexual, bicurious, or sexually fluid.” Now, I am not saying that people can’t go into a self-discovery mode and explore things they never thought were part of their sexuality but both Charlie was dating a woman at the time and Will had dated women before. Why do I mention this? Because after all is forgiven, we turn the page and the boys are now boarding a train for a school trip where Charlie has upgraded their tiny sleeping car to a suite so they can figure things out.
It was a bit of a whiplash experience being in this book. Everything happens fast and all of the sudden Will goes from being the abused boy to basically a teenage psychologist on LGBTQ labels with his degree awarded by Dr. Google. Again. WTAF?
“Charlie? You need to resolve this or you’re gonna end up in real trouble. Not just friend stuff but, like, mental issues.”
This book was a hot mess and not in a good way. It was way too short to tackle a subject matter like this. Charlie flew into a rage and hurt his best friend and Charlie did his because of his sexual reaction to a boy. There should have been some sort of counseling involved to deal with his rage reaction but no one tells anyone what happened up there, it’s kept a secret and the boys just go along being friends. That scene… it was sickening and reminded me of a brutal rape scene. I almost stopped reading right there but I wanted to see how or if anything would be resolved.
While on the train, Will decides with his new degree to try an experiment out on Charlie who has already hurt him once and who he is LOCKED in a train car with. This experiment? Will wants to see how Charlie reacts to him in heels and makeup, you know, to see if he goes any further with the abuse than he did the first time? Again. WTAF? I know they are all “I am sorry, I will never hurt you again” and “I trust you not to hurt me again” but really? How is this experiment anything that should have taken place? It was risky and it wasn’t smart at all.
A pain he couldn’t explain or account for wrenched Charlie’s heart and twisted his face. “Is… is this what you want to be now? Is this… who you are after all?” His voice cracked, and he had to look away or throw up. And he hated himself for feeling this way.
Especially when his dick stiffened, ferocious as a dog salivating after a bone.
“No,” Will replied.
Charlie’s head whipped up. He saw Will shaking his head and felt a profound confusion.
“Then… why?”
Will locked gazes with him, his eyes mesmerizing and steadfast. “To see your reaction.”
Charlie barked out a vicious laugh. “What, you testing me or something?”
“Verifying a hypothesis, I suppose.”
With all of this going on it’s not a surprise that there was never a connection for me with Charlie and Will as a couple. I barely wanted them to be friends after Charlie attacked Will. I read through the book with a feeling of unease and an upset stomach. I don’t think being confined to a small space with someone who hurt you less than a week ago was the next step this story should have taken. I definitely don’t think you decide you are what your friend needs to figure out their new sexuality. It was frustrating and frankly disgusting to have these two go down the path of a physical relationship in any matter so quickly.
On top of all I’ve already talked about, we turn the page and jump 10 years into the future?! Yeah, so after all Dr. Will and his Google degree have diagnosed Charlie as Demi/BiSexual and Will as Fluid with his sexuality, they decide they aren’t going to be boyfriends BUT if they are both single in 10 years, they will take on a relationship. So Charlie has been in love with Will for the last ten years that he’s been dating men and women and Will was in a relationship with a trans girl since about right after the train trip. But of course they are both now single and Charlie has booked the same room on the same train… a train to somewhere. *facepalm*
I wanted to fall in love with this book as I did with the first two but this tried to tackle some heavy issues and have it wrapped up in less than 100 pages. There is no way that could have been accomplished. There honestly was not one single thing about this book that I liked and it’s not one that I would recommend at all.
A copy provided for an honest review.
October 14, 2017
Found it difficult to rate this one, found that the blurb was a little misleading and that I went into this expecting something different from what I actually got.
My first main issue with this book is that the book was way too short for the subject matter that the author was trying to cover, it felt way too rushed. The first chapter and the conflict in it was resolved way too quickly for the seriousness that the situation should have caused. How you can go from lashing out at your best friend in an attack that could almost be seen as abuse, to finding out your sexuality and being OK with it in the space of 75 pages just isn't doable, and it felt way too jumbled and rushed for my liking.
This one really can't be construed as a romance. It was more of a rushed education in sexual terms, a short experiment and then a long separation between the two MC's.
I've read the other books in this series and thought that they were well told with a clear writing style and usually a good message, unfortunately this book did nothing for me.
My first main issue with this book is that the book was way too short for the subject matter that the author was trying to cover, it felt way too rushed. The first chapter and the conflict in it was resolved way too quickly for the seriousness that the situation should have caused. How you can go from lashing out at your best friend in an attack that could almost be seen as abuse, to finding out your sexuality and being OK with it in the space of 75 pages just isn't doable, and it felt way too jumbled and rushed for my liking.
This one really can't be construed as a romance. It was more of a rushed education in sexual terms, a short experiment and then a long separation between the two MC's.
I've read the other books in this series and thought that they were well told with a clear writing style and usually a good message, unfortunately this book did nothing for me.
October 19, 2017
Full review available at: https://optimumm.blog/2017/10/19/revi...
Rating 3.5*s
Train to Somewhere is the third book in the Before… and After series but each book is a standalone story.
I loved reading Kissing Lessons, which is the second book in the series and I was hoping that I would love Train to Somewhere just as much. But alas, I had mixed feelings while reading Train to Somewhere and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue to read it after what Charlie did to his best friend Will. What do you ask did Charlie do to Will? Well according to the blurb after seeing Will dressed up as a girl, complete with clothes, stockings, hair, and makeup, Charlie has some confused emotions (i.e., he popped a boner) for his best friend and he responds by lashing out. I’m not sure if I would have described it as lashing out when Charlie rips the clothes from his body including his stockings all while Will is pleading with him to stop and then forces him into the shower in his underwear to scrub the makeup and hair gel off of him. I would have considered it abuse and assault, and I was sickened that Charlie would do that to his best friend. And when Charlie finally realizes what he’s done, he is sickened and terribly confused and ends up on a bridge contemplating suicide for what he did to Will and the loss of his friendship. He’s sure that he has lost his best friend and he knows that he only has himself to blame.
But Will comes looking for him and makes him confess to what had happened and what he had been thinking and feeling before forgiving him. A week after the party, they go on a school trip that has been a year in the planning. Will and Charlie, while trying to get their friendship back to what it was, will explore their new feelings and try to figure out their sexuality and through it all, Will reassures Charlie that they will always be best friends and he will never leave him. They both love each other but just as best friends at that point in their lives. They are only eighteen, and they don’t have romantic feelings toward each other.
I liked the epilogue that was ten years after the train ride and how they had kept in touch through the years and were finally ready to be more and finally secure in who they were. I really liked the ending of the book, but I now want to know how their relationship pans out.
Overall, I thought the second half of the book redeemed the first half, but I can’t help but wonder how Charlie would have turned out if Will hadn’t taken Charlie’s first violent reaction well and helped him redirect and process his feelings to be positive instead of negative. Would he have turned out to be a closeted gay that beat up guys that he desired because he couldn’t process his feelings and was adamant that he was straight?
So I’m glad that Will was such a good friend and gave Charlie the unconditional support that he needed and that his life went down a different path.
*** The ARC was provided by Dreamspinner Press. My review is an honest opinion of the book ***
Rating 3.5*s
Train to Somewhere is the third book in the Before… and After series but each book is a standalone story.
I loved reading Kissing Lessons, which is the second book in the series and I was hoping that I would love Train to Somewhere just as much. But alas, I had mixed feelings while reading Train to Somewhere and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue to read it after what Charlie did to his best friend Will. What do you ask did Charlie do to Will? Well according to the blurb after seeing Will dressed up as a girl, complete with clothes, stockings, hair, and makeup, Charlie has some confused emotions (i.e., he popped a boner) for his best friend and he responds by lashing out. I’m not sure if I would have described it as lashing out when Charlie rips the clothes from his body including his stockings all while Will is pleading with him to stop and then forces him into the shower in his underwear to scrub the makeup and hair gel off of him. I would have considered it abuse and assault, and I was sickened that Charlie would do that to his best friend. And when Charlie finally realizes what he’s done, he is sickened and terribly confused and ends up on a bridge contemplating suicide for what he did to Will and the loss of his friendship. He’s sure that he has lost his best friend and he knows that he only has himself to blame.
But Will comes looking for him and makes him confess to what had happened and what he had been thinking and feeling before forgiving him. A week after the party, they go on a school trip that has been a year in the planning. Will and Charlie, while trying to get their friendship back to what it was, will explore their new feelings and try to figure out their sexuality and through it all, Will reassures Charlie that they will always be best friends and he will never leave him. They both love each other but just as best friends at that point in their lives. They are only eighteen, and they don’t have romantic feelings toward each other.
I liked the epilogue that was ten years after the train ride and how they had kept in touch through the years and were finally ready to be more and finally secure in who they were. I really liked the ending of the book, but I now want to know how their relationship pans out.
Overall, I thought the second half of the book redeemed the first half, but I can’t help but wonder how Charlie would have turned out if Will hadn’t taken Charlie’s first violent reaction well and helped him redirect and process his feelings to be positive instead of negative. Would he have turned out to be a closeted gay that beat up guys that he desired because he couldn’t process his feelings and was adamant that he was straight?
So I’m glad that Will was such a good friend and gave Charlie the unconditional support that he needed and that his life went down a different path.
*** The ARC was provided by Dreamspinner Press. My review is an honest opinion of the book ***
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October 7, 2017Charlie and Will are the best of friends and Charlie has a great girlfriend in Ashley. They have a solid circle of friends who get together and everything is great. Until the night a game of Truth or Dare brings out the absolute beast in Charlie. A dare followed by a makeover of Will into Willow, complete with makeup and female clothing, by Ashley and the girls turns Charlie into a raging abusive nightmare. I am sorry, but his reaction wasn’t “lashing out”, it was abuse. Willow is deemed “hot” by everyone except Charlie, who rips off Will’s clothes, forces him into the shower and attacks him to get the makeup and hair gel off. “He couldn’t even see Will clearly, his hands a blur in a flurry of movement.”
When he’s done with his psychotic rampage, “A new kind of shock reverberated through him, and he was appalled by what he’d done. It could only be described as an atrocity.” An atrocity where his best friend was crying, begging him to stop and not understanding what happened. “He looked…abused.”
I almost didn’t finish the story after this because this was seriously disturbing for me to read, but I carried on. I wanted, I don’t know what. Counseling for Charlie? A beat down by all their friends? Something. Unfortunately it didn’t really happen. Will forgives way too easily and then the book turns into more of a tutorial in sexuality by Will for Charlie than anything else. “Gynephilic means that you’re attracted to females…or femininity. That classification gave Charlie pause.” This goes on through various definitions of sexuality and then experimentation for Charlie on Will to see where he might fit.
I was worried that Charlie would also be a cheater but he does break up with Ashley prior to anything happening with Will. The brightest spot of this book was Ashley. Everyone should have an Ashley. “Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me. I don’t out people. And sounds like you’re still figuring things out. I get it. And we, sweetie? We’re cool.” Lovely.
This really isn’t a romance, at least I didn’t consider it so. An abuse, an education, some experimentation and then a ten year separation with an epilogue that makes it appear during their ten years apart they didn’t even stay friends (they were unaware of important things that happened to each other more than a year ago).
So this one wasn’t for me. I have read the others in this series and liked them. I am a fan of this author and I liked her writing style, engaging and clear, but the story itself wasn’t my cuppa.
When he’s done with his psychotic rampage, “A new kind of shock reverberated through him, and he was appalled by what he’d done. It could only be described as an atrocity.” An atrocity where his best friend was crying, begging him to stop and not understanding what happened. “He looked…abused.”
I almost didn’t finish the story after this because this was seriously disturbing for me to read, but I carried on. I wanted, I don’t know what. Counseling for Charlie? A beat down by all their friends? Something. Unfortunately it didn’t really happen. Will forgives way too easily and then the book turns into more of a tutorial in sexuality by Will for Charlie than anything else. “Gynephilic means that you’re attracted to females…or femininity. That classification gave Charlie pause.” This goes on through various definitions of sexuality and then experimentation for Charlie on Will to see where he might fit.
I was worried that Charlie would also be a cheater but he does break up with Ashley prior to anything happening with Will. The brightest spot of this book was Ashley. Everyone should have an Ashley. “Don’t worry. Your secret’s safe with me. I don’t out people. And sounds like you’re still figuring things out. I get it. And we, sweetie? We’re cool.” Lovely.
This really isn’t a romance, at least I didn’t consider it so. An abuse, an education, some experimentation and then a ten year separation with an epilogue that makes it appear during their ten years apart they didn’t even stay friends (they were unaware of important things that happened to each other more than a year ago).
So this one wasn’t for me. I have read the others in this series and liked them. I am a fan of this author and I liked her writing style, engaging and clear, but the story itself wasn’t my cuppa.
Want to read
October 10, 2017It seems that in the book there will be a 10 years separation and something like abuse in one of the first scenes...dunno...to re-check.
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October 9, 2017Review to come
January 10, 2018
This review and much more can be found at The Novel Approach
Will, on a dare, allows the girls at a party to dress him up in drag. His best friend, Charlie, goes ballistic. What he does to Will is unforgivable—for anyone, I guess, except Will. In no time, they are sharing a sleeper car on a school train trip, one that Charlie has maneuvered behind the scenes, without consulting anyone, to supposedly “make amends” with Will.
During said train ride, Will decides it’s time to pull out the pop psychology on sexuality, orientation, attraction, gender, you name it. Now, expecting a guy who lost his sh*t the week before to have this lucid, calm discussion seems pretty out of the realm of believability. Particularly when the leader of said conversation is the victim of this unprovoked attack. Honestly, I didn’t buy a word of it, nor did I accept the conversation Charlie had with his girlfriend. And, the final part of the book—a reunion of sorts—was just the last straw.
Oh boy. Not sure where to start on my feelings on this one. Sorry to say this story didn’t work for me on any level. I didn’t connect with the characters, who I didn’t believe acted or sounded like teenagers. I didn’t believe the dialogue at all. I found it a bit preachy even. I didn’t realize this book was part of a series when I read it, but I’m not convinced reading the previous books would have helped. As usual YMMV, but I just can’t recommend this one.
Will, on a dare, allows the girls at a party to dress him up in drag. His best friend, Charlie, goes ballistic. What he does to Will is unforgivable—for anyone, I guess, except Will. In no time, they are sharing a sleeper car on a school train trip, one that Charlie has maneuvered behind the scenes, without consulting anyone, to supposedly “make amends” with Will.
During said train ride, Will decides it’s time to pull out the pop psychology on sexuality, orientation, attraction, gender, you name it. Now, expecting a guy who lost his sh*t the week before to have this lucid, calm discussion seems pretty out of the realm of believability. Particularly when the leader of said conversation is the victim of this unprovoked attack. Honestly, I didn’t buy a word of it, nor did I accept the conversation Charlie had with his girlfriend. And, the final part of the book—a reunion of sorts—was just the last straw.
Oh boy. Not sure where to start on my feelings on this one. Sorry to say this story didn’t work for me on any level. I didn’t connect with the characters, who I didn’t believe acted or sounded like teenagers. I didn’t believe the dialogue at all. I found it a bit preachy even. I didn’t realize this book was part of a series when I read it, but I’m not convinced reading the previous books would have helped. As usual YMMV, but I just can’t recommend this one.
January 10, 2018
Will, on a dare, allows the girls at a party to dress him up in drag. His best friend, Charlie, goes ballistic. What he does to Will is unforgivable—for anyone, I guess, except Will. In no time, they are sharing a sleeper car on a school train trip, one that Charlie has maneuvered behind the scenes, without consulting anyone, to supposedly “make amends” with Will.
During said train ride, Will decides it’s time to pull out the pop psychology on sexuality, orientation, attraction, gender, you name it. Now, expecting a guy who lost his sh*t the week before to have this lucid, calm discussion seems pretty out of the realm of believability. Particularly when the leader of said conversation is the victim of this unprovoked attack. Honestly, I didn’t buy a word of it, nor did I accept the conversation Charlie had with his girlfriend. And, the final part of the book—a reunion of sorts—was just the last straw.
Oh boy. Not sure where to start on my feelings on this one. Sorry to say this story didn’t work for me on any level. I didn’t connect with the characters, who I didn’t believe acted or sounded like teenagers. I didn’t believe the dialogue at all. I found it a bit preachy even. I didn’t realize this book was part of a series when I read it, but I’m not convinced reading the previous books would have helped. As usual YMMV, but I just can’t recommend this one.
Reviewed by Sadonna for The Novel Approach
During said train ride, Will decides it’s time to pull out the pop psychology on sexuality, orientation, attraction, gender, you name it. Now, expecting a guy who lost his sh*t the week before to have this lucid, calm discussion seems pretty out of the realm of believability. Particularly when the leader of said conversation is the victim of this unprovoked attack. Honestly, I didn’t buy a word of it, nor did I accept the conversation Charlie had with his girlfriend. And, the final part of the book—a reunion of sorts—was just the last straw.
Oh boy. Not sure where to start on my feelings on this one. Sorry to say this story didn’t work for me on any level. I didn’t connect with the characters, who I didn’t believe acted or sounded like teenagers. I didn’t believe the dialogue at all. I found it a bit preachy even. I didn’t realize this book was part of a series when I read it, but I’m not convinced reading the previous books would have helped. As usual YMMV, but I just can’t recommend this one.
Reviewed by Sadonna for The Novel Approach
October 17, 2017
This was a decent read. I believe that there was more of explaining technical terms then there was of anything else so that took away from I believe could have been a incredible story. So that is why I gave this book a three star.
Charlie and Will are best friends. There has never been anything more between then friendship and neither wxoected that to ever change. Well that is until a game of truth or dare made Charlie start to question himself and also his reaction, which was not positive by the way.
From that night on both Charlie and Will know that their friendship is going to change forever but the question is can they remain friends with so many new feelings both good and bad? Can these two figure out what is going on between them or is their friendship not enough to withstand the new changes coming their way?
This really was a good read I just wish it would have been more about what was happening between the two men and not so much towards the technical terms. I believe that took away from the book though it is good knowing the difference between specific terms.
I will definitely be looking forward to more books in the future by Susan Laine. I will not let one book that was not my favorite turn me off to an amazing author.
Was given this galley copy for free for an open and honest review
Charlie and Will are best friends. There has never been anything more between then friendship and neither wxoected that to ever change. Well that is until a game of truth or dare made Charlie start to question himself and also his reaction, which was not positive by the way.
From that night on both Charlie and Will know that their friendship is going to change forever but the question is can they remain friends with so many new feelings both good and bad? Can these two figure out what is going on between them or is their friendship not enough to withstand the new changes coming their way?
This really was a good read I just wish it would have been more about what was happening between the two men and not so much towards the technical terms. I believe that took away from the book though it is good knowing the difference between specific terms.
I will definitely be looking forward to more books in the future by Susan Laine. I will not let one book that was not my favorite turn me off to an amazing author.
Was given this galley copy for free for an open and honest review
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February 21, 2023So many good/bad train puns in this one. Oh, I guess there was some other plot in there too, but it did not make as much of an impression on me.
September 8, 2019
Not a fan of this one. Especially of the abuse in the first chapter. I'm sorry but if your reaction to seeing someone who is supposed to be your best friend dressed in feminine clothes, is to beat them up, maybe you're not as close as you think you are.
Then it is never really addressed well afterward.
Then it is never really addressed well afterward.
September 26, 2018
The wooden dialogue between the teenage Lacrosse player and the wrestler sounds more like that of a middle-aged housewife with her dictionary open. Hot set-up / unrealistic execution. Don't bother.
October 21, 2017
After the first two in this series, I was eager to read this one. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this one as much. It was completely unexpected what Charlie did to Will at the beginning of the story. I almost DNF, but I kept reading because I wanted to know if it got any better. Will forgives Charlie almost immediately, which was difficult for me. I felt as if this story was lacking the romance that was present in the first two. I hope the next one will be similar to After the Romance Novel and Kissing Lessons.
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May 14, 2018review to follow
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