What do you think?
Rate this book
Straight Until You #1
Not So Straight
Brandon is straight... he's always been. So why is it so hard to stop feeling so jealous and possessive over his new co-worker?
Brandon and Sebastian fight by day and play with fire during the night. Neither is willing to explore more, neither is willing to question what it means that they are straight but can't keep their hands away from each other.
They'll get one weekend. One weekend to try all the things they shouldn't do. A weekend to explore each other and cross boundaries that will change them both forever.
Can they walk away after they try?
Not So Straight is a Gay Romance, straight to gay novel with mature content.
Brandon and Sebastian fight by day and play with fire during the night. Neither is willing to explore more, neither is willing to question what it means that they are straight but can't keep their hands away from each other.
They'll get one weekend. One weekend to try all the things they shouldn't do. A weekend to explore each other and cross boundaries that will change them both forever.
Can they walk away after they try?
Not So Straight is a Gay Romance, straight to gay novel with mature content.
- GenresM M Romance
249 pages, Paperback
Published July 29, 2020
36 people are currently reading
51 people want to read
About the author
Lara Hale
14 books22 followersWriting an ‘About Me’ section should be easy, right? Especially when you are a writer. Believe me, it isn’t. Writing about oneself is more difficult than coming up with an entire story because you can judge the characters, improve them, and/or make people hate them. You can control all emotions felt toward them. You can’t do that with yourself.
I am thirty-two years old, and I first started writing in 2018. After a back injury that changed my lifestyle and my willingness to do pretty much anything fun, I decided to start reading, which I always said I hated—ironically.
Funny how the right story can change your entire perspective, right?
I started reading romance novels; I found them so exciting and packed with emotions. I often found myself crying over something someone made up and I couldn’t believe a book could have that much power. Then one day, I decided to write my own story—Against All Odds. I can tell you with certainty that the story needs to be completely re-written because of all the mistakes in it, but I’ve learned so much since I first started. The one thing I learned about myself that surprised me the most was that I was apparently good at this writing thing. That, I never saw coming.
At first, I started writing what most people see as “regular romance novels,” but it wasn’t after I read the first Gay Romance that I understood, MM Romance was my thing. I love writing about two men exploring life as no others know, sometimes not even themselves. There is just something so powerful about men putting their guards down for each other. Plus, the steamy times can get wild. I like creating flawed characters that make mistakes, characters that go through anything us human beings can go through. One of my favorite things to do when I write is research. Why? Because I love educating through my stories. I love showing people that it is okay to love who you love regardless of their gender. It is okay to make mistakes and learn from them. It is okay to make jokes and find comedy through the most challenging times.
I love animals and I believe all animals have the right to live and breathe like any other sentient. I have two dogs, both of them rescued/adopted. There is Thunder, the big brother, the protective grumpy one, and then you have Lightning, the crazy one that runs into anything and trips over his own feet.
I don’t have much more to say, for now, other than to ask you to be kind because I am a newly self-published author without the funds to pay for a professional editor yet.
Thank you always,
Lara H.XO
I am thirty-two years old, and I first started writing in 2018. After a back injury that changed my lifestyle and my willingness to do pretty much anything fun, I decided to start reading, which I always said I hated—ironically.
Funny how the right story can change your entire perspective, right?
I started reading romance novels; I found them so exciting and packed with emotions. I often found myself crying over something someone made up and I couldn’t believe a book could have that much power. Then one day, I decided to write my own story—Against All Odds. I can tell you with certainty that the story needs to be completely re-written because of all the mistakes in it, but I’ve learned so much since I first started. The one thing I learned about myself that surprised me the most was that I was apparently good at this writing thing. That, I never saw coming.
At first, I started writing what most people see as “regular romance novels,” but it wasn’t after I read the first Gay Romance that I understood, MM Romance was my thing. I love writing about two men exploring life as no others know, sometimes not even themselves. There is just something so powerful about men putting their guards down for each other. Plus, the steamy times can get wild. I like creating flawed characters that make mistakes, characters that go through anything us human beings can go through. One of my favorite things to do when I write is research. Why? Because I love educating through my stories. I love showing people that it is okay to love who you love regardless of their gender. It is okay to make mistakes and learn from them. It is okay to make jokes and find comedy through the most challenging times.
I love animals and I believe all animals have the right to live and breathe like any other sentient. I have two dogs, both of them rescued/adopted. There is Thunder, the big brother, the protective grumpy one, and then you have Lightning, the crazy one that runs into anything and trips over his own feet.
I don’t have much more to say, for now, other than to ask you to be kind because I am a newly self-published author without the funds to pay for a professional editor yet.
Thank you always,
Lara H.XO
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 25, 2021
DNF almost immediately. The writing, especially the dialogue, was weird/stilted/just plain bad.
September 18, 2020
Seb & Brandon are two straight guys who fight their feelings for one another. Their relationship grows into a beautiful love for eachother. This book will grab you from the beginning and you will have a hard time putting it down. Lara you did an amazing job in writing this book as well as getting it published. So proud of you.
August 2, 2020
One of my favorite m/m books
I am a fan of m/m books and this has been one of my favorite. There were a few errors in grammar, but overall easy to read and follow. The story was interesting and keep my interest. I really enjoyed reading.
I am a fan of m/m books and this has been one of my favorite. There were a few errors in grammar, but overall easy to read and follow. The story was interesting and keep my interest. I really enjoyed reading.
November 11, 2020
First let me say Lara is a phenomenal writer. She can take any book and make you feel like you are in the story. There isn’t a story she hasn’t written that I haven’t loved. Every chapter leaves you begging for more. Her stories are full of so much emotion. You laugh, cry, get angry, and get excited with the characters. The love portrayed is so raw and so real. And it is no different for Brandon and Seb. These two come from pasts that have broken them but together despite some stubbornness from each, they find a love that one only dreams about. Join these two on their journey of finding true love. I’ve already read this three times and I can’t get enough.
December 21, 2020
So this is my first full on guy on guy read, and I loved it❤️ The main couple are unawares that they are anything but straight, that is until they meet each other. ❤️ It is an amazing read when they had no idea what they felt and watching it grow.
Throughout the book I had many emotions 😀 happy, sad, mad(I mean people need to stop being homophobic already...) However, in the end I was happy with the results.
I give this book a 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Throughout the book I had many emotions 😀 happy, sad, mad(I mean people need to stop being homophobic already...) However, in the end I was happy with the results.
I give this book a 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
September 30, 2021
3.5 stars
As soon as the story started, I thought 'I can't read this writing style' - I nearly dnf the book. But the blub sounded really good and I persevered until I couldn't put the book down. It's a great story, interesting characters and lots of drama. I love drama. There is also lots of sex, which bored me after too many scenes. If you like lots of sex, then you'll love it. Even though I didn't like the writing style, I would read more from this author.
As soon as the story started, I thought 'I can't read this writing style' - I nearly dnf the book. But the blub sounded really good and I persevered until I couldn't put the book down. It's a great story, interesting characters and lots of drama. I love drama. There is also lots of sex, which bored me after too many scenes. If you like lots of sex, then you'll love it. Even though I didn't like the writing style, I would read more from this author.
September 18, 2020
I absolutely loved this! The journey that Seb and Brandon took to be together was heartwarming as they came to terms with their feelings for each other. I loved being able to see how their relationship evolved as their relationship progressed. Lara Hale is one of my favourite LGBTQ writers and I am so excited she has published her first book.
December 26, 2020
Dnf @45 pages
November 2, 2021
Dnf, this story was not for me, I find the dialogue weird and it's really fast burn, illogical fast burn
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
did-not-finish
February 17, 2022Badly in need of even a half decent editor. DNF'd pretty quickly.
September 8, 2022
Weirdly written. Combo of first and third person. I couldn't get past the writing to get more than a few pages in.
July 19, 2023
*She wrote one of my favourite mm books Beyond Our Own Lies*
Definitely not used to this writing style but it works so well. It's fresh and light and real and closer to spoken than written language if it makes sense.
Seb and Brandon are so sweet navigating their feelings but at times their miscommunication was frustrating or the fact that Seb wouldn't understand Brandon's feelings which for me were mostly understandable, throughout the whole story.
Also they are surrounded buy a ton of sh1tty people. So much of drama in the second half because of other people. I only really liked Brandon's sister. Everyone else not only didn't support them but created a lot of problems on top of having to figure out their feelings.
But then, lots of cute scenes in the end
The ending was unique and really really nice.
Definitely not used to this writing style but it works so well. It's fresh and light and real and closer to spoken than written language if it makes sense.
Seb and Brandon are so sweet navigating their feelings but at times their miscommunication was frustrating or the fact that Seb wouldn't understand Brandon's feelings which for me were mostly understandable, throughout the whole story.
Also they are surrounded buy a ton of sh1tty people. So much of drama in the second half because of other people. I only really liked Brandon's sister. Everyone else not only didn't support them but created a lot of problems on top of having to figure out their feelings.
But then, lots of cute scenes in the end
The ending was unique and really really nice.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews