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Must Mean Something More
He was Adam. He was straight. He was just my friend. We weren’t actually dating.
This was the year that my Mom’s guilt trips finally worked. I was going home for Christmas. Although the prospects of this trip didn’t seem too great. I hadn’t been home since I’d come out as gay a few years ago. And I certainly wasn’t planning on bringing anyone home with me.
But then my straight friend Adam volunteered to come with me as a buffer between me and my judgmental family. Turns out he did too good a job because one moment my uncle is making a homophobic joke and the next thing I know Adam is kissing me just to piss him off.
So now everyone thinks we’re dating and instead of correcting them, we’re going along with it. Just me and my straight fake boyfriend. My straight fake boyfriend who is also super hot and who I now can’t stop thinking about kissing.
What could possibly go wrong?
This was the year that my Mom’s guilt trips finally worked. I was going home for Christmas. Although the prospects of this trip didn’t seem too great. I hadn’t been home since I’d come out as gay a few years ago. And I certainly wasn’t planning on bringing anyone home with me.
But then my straight friend Adam volunteered to come with me as a buffer between me and my judgmental family. Turns out he did too good a job because one moment my uncle is making a homophobic joke and the next thing I know Adam is kissing me just to piss him off.
So now everyone thinks we’re dating and instead of correcting them, we’re going along with it. Just me and my straight fake boyfriend. My straight fake boyfriend who is also super hot and who I now can’t stop thinking about kissing.
What could possibly go wrong?
148 pages, Paperback
Published October 25, 2020
2 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
July 21, 2024
4 stars
Well, that was very sweet.
I mean, apart from the awful homophobic family. Which is a significant portion of this book, so if you're sensitive to bigoted family interactions then I would definitely steer clear.
But .
Globally the communication in this was good too, and I found them to be a very believable couple. They have a few perfectly realistic mishaps, but I liked the way they talk it out, and don't hold back from sharing their feelings in the moment. It's a difficult situation they find themselves in and I think it was handled very humanly.
Given this I was somewhat surprised about the fact that , but not upset about it.
This did feel horribly unresolved for Eli's sister, Dani. Who is also queer and seems to be sticking around with the shitty family, . She also seems to have a bit of a drinking problem which was joked about a little too much for my liking. I would really have appreciated an epilogue in the future featuring her.
This appears to be self-published and I do understand that self-pub authors can't always afford professional editing, but this really needs to be looked over for typos. Some examples include: “verocity”, “bowel” instead of “bowl” (oh my), “rediculous”.
Well, that was very sweet.
I mean, apart from the awful homophobic family. Which is a significant portion of this book, so if you're sensitive to bigoted family interactions then I would definitely steer clear.
But .
Globally the communication in this was good too, and I found them to be a very believable couple. They have a few perfectly realistic mishaps, but I liked the way they talk it out, and don't hold back from sharing their feelings in the moment. It's a difficult situation they find themselves in and I think it was handled very humanly.
Given this I was somewhat surprised about the fact that , but not upset about it.
This did feel horribly unresolved for Eli's sister, Dani. Who is also queer and seems to be sticking around with the shitty family, . She also seems to have a bit of a drinking problem which was joked about a little too much for my liking. I would really have appreciated an epilogue in the future featuring her.
This appears to be self-published and I do understand that self-pub authors can't always afford professional editing, but this really needs to be looked over for typos. Some examples include: “verocity”, “bowel” instead of “bowl” (oh my), “rediculous”.
December 1, 2023
This was embarrassingly bad. Like I would be so embarrassed to have my name on this book. The grammar mistakes are things my 3rd graders could fix, the storyline was so bland and so dry, and it had absolutely no unique writing style. Truly anyone could have written this exact book with zero writing experience.
Do I like that it’s Christmas and gay? Love. Do I like the fake dating profile? Yes love. That’s why it got 2 stars…because of the potential.
I’ve read plenty of novellas that mean A LOT to me but this one was just so bad I regret spending real money on it.
Do I like that it’s Christmas and gay? Love. Do I like the fake dating profile? Yes love. That’s why it got 2 stars…because of the potential.
I’ve read plenty of novellas that mean A LOT to me but this one was just so bad I regret spending real money on it.
December 1, 2024
I enjoyed this… up until the last 1/4. And being a short novella, it was shocking how fast, abrupt and how everything changed in the last quarter.
The writing, the plot, the story telling all switched and it felt super rushed. There was a conflict that wasn’t needed, a 3rd act of “maybe they won’t” that wasn’t needed… it really brought what I thought was a good 4 star to a 3.
The writing, the plot, the story telling all switched and it felt super rushed. There was a conflict that wasn’t needed, a 3rd act of “maybe they won’t” that wasn’t needed… it really brought what I thought was a good 4 star to a 3.
December 9, 2022
Were there lots of grammatical errors in this book? Yes. Was it still super cute and deserving of five stars? Absolutely. I did find Eli to have many questionable character moments but by the end he really grew and developed and that was great to see especially in such a short amount of time. There was only like one really spicy scene but it was great and the rest of the book was really cute. I liked seeing a Christmas story addressing conservative and religious family and their treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals especially around the holidays where families are supposed to get together and love one another.
December 11, 2020
So Disappointed
It’s a good storyline, with decent character development and unfortunately saddled with horrible editing. Errors egregious enough to knock my rating down two stars. I figure if the author cares not how her story is presented, why should I rate based on anything less than what it is?
It’s a good storyline, with decent character development and unfortunately saddled with horrible editing. Errors egregious enough to knock my rating down two stars. I figure if the author cares not how her story is presented, why should I rate based on anything less than what it is?
December 25, 2024
DNF @ 72%.
Sure, I don’t like fake dating, holiday books and giving shitty family endless chances to not be shitty, but for whatever reason I decided to read this.
And the romance part is cute. The fake dating is not bad. The shitty parents and shittier extended family suck, as expected.
At one point Eli’s mother gets pissed at him for the disrespect of kissing his bf in front of family, his bf calling out homophobic comments, sitting on the bed in the separate room Adam is staying in, and Eli’s mother slaps him.
Eli and Adam should have peaced out then, if not sooner… but I was super disappointed that Eli’s sister, who is “bi or pan or whatever” and not out to their parents is like “I’m not defending them but you never talk about being gay and this is the first time you’ve shown that you are gay so you need to be patient”.
Fuck that. Why does he need to show he is gay? Why does he need to talk about being gay? Why does he have to be patient while he waits for his parents to come around to not being bigots?
I’m out.
Sure, I don’t like fake dating, holiday books and giving shitty family endless chances to not be shitty, but for whatever reason I decided to read this.
And the romance part is cute. The fake dating is not bad. The shitty parents and shittier extended family suck, as expected.
At one point Eli’s mother gets pissed at him for the disrespect of kissing his bf in front of family, his bf calling out homophobic comments, sitting on the bed in the separate room Adam is staying in, and Eli’s mother slaps him.
Eli and Adam should have peaced out then, if not sooner… but I was super disappointed that Eli’s sister, who is “bi or pan or whatever” and not out to their parents is like “I’m not defending them but you never talk about being gay and this is the first time you’ve shown that you are gay so you need to be patient”.
Fuck that. Why does he need to show he is gay? Why does he need to talk about being gay? Why does he have to be patient while he waits for his parents to come around to not being bigots?
I’m out.
December 6, 2023
Ayyy, esta es la novela gay navideña que necesitábamos.
No negaré que me da muchas vibes a la película navideña sáfica de Kristen Stewart (tantas vibes que me tengo que preguntar quién copió a quién), peeero...igual disfruté mucho la historia.
Nuestro protagonista tiene mucho miedo de volver a su hogar con su familia por Navidad. ¿Por qué? Porque su familia es el peor grupo de homofóbicos jamás creados en el universo. En serio, me sorprendía lo terrible que la gente puede tratar a alguien de su familia.
Es por eso que decide llevar a un compañero de trabajo para fingir que son pareja y que su familia por fin acepte que es gay y feliz. Sin embargo, esto no sale bien porque su familia lo toma como una ofensa, pero...en este territorio tan hostil, ¿realmente podría surgir el amor? Ya se enterarán.
Ay, de verdad que fue una historia tierna, bonita, de descubrimiento y hallar la valentía y el amor en nosotros mismos. Sin embargo, la partes de la homofobia y los insultos de la familia hacia el prota si fueron mega fuertes y me dolían en el alma.
Pero no solo eso, me desesperaba que el prota no les pusiera un alto o les gritara o los insultara, sino que tratara de agradarles...me desesperaba tanto porque ellos no merecían esa bondad, pero...lo entiendo, debe ser tan duro ser menospreciado por tus padres, por la gente a la que más amas.
En general, es una muy buena opción para estas fiestas y para agradecer al universo que nuestra familia no es una mierda homofóbica. Espero la adaptación de Netflix dentro de muy poco.
No negaré que me da muchas vibes a la película navideña sáfica de Kristen Stewart (tantas vibes que me tengo que preguntar quién copió a quién), peeero...igual disfruté mucho la historia.
Nuestro protagonista tiene mucho miedo de volver a su hogar con su familia por Navidad. ¿Por qué? Porque su familia es el peor grupo de homofóbicos jamás creados en el universo. En serio, me sorprendía lo terrible que la gente puede tratar a alguien de su familia.
Es por eso que decide llevar a un compañero de trabajo para fingir que son pareja y que su familia por fin acepte que es gay y feliz. Sin embargo, esto no sale bien porque su familia lo toma como una ofensa, pero...en este territorio tan hostil, ¿realmente podría surgir el amor? Ya se enterarán.
Ay, de verdad que fue una historia tierna, bonita, de descubrimiento y hallar la valentía y el amor en nosotros mismos. Sin embargo, la partes de la homofobia y los insultos de la familia hacia el prota si fueron mega fuertes y me dolían en el alma.
Pero no solo eso, me desesperaba que el prota no les pusiera un alto o les gritara o los insultara, sino que tratara de agradarles...me desesperaba tanto porque ellos no merecían esa bondad, pero...lo entiendo, debe ser tan duro ser menospreciado por tus padres, por la gente a la que más amas.
En general, es una muy buena opción para estas fiestas y para agradecer al universo que nuestra familia no es una mierda homofóbica. Espero la adaptación de Netflix dentro de muy poco.
January 10, 2024
First 5-Stars of the year!!!!!
I know it's a little late for christmas romances...anyways haha
I loved it. Every.Fucking.Word.
I love Eli's and Adams relationship so much <3
Dani is so cute and strong, i hope she and Eli can stay in contact...
About the rest of Eli's Family... I hate them. I hate that they call him selfish while being selfish. I hate that we're in 2024 and still a lot of LGBTQ+ Members get treated like shit. Like they were less important, like they have less Rights.
If you love someone, your fucking Kid, you don't do this stuff.
I hate that Eli had to go trough this, mostly alone, while everyone in his family looked at him disgusted. They are the disgusting ones.
But thanks Adam Eli got the strenght to let them go. It's not his problem after all. It hurts but it's better for everyone.
But I loved the book. It was so easy to read and it wasn't boring at all!
(It shows that straight-looking people can still be gay or bi or pan or wathever ;))
I know it's a little late for christmas romances...anyways haha
I loved it. Every.Fucking.Word.
I love Eli's and Adams relationship so much <3
Dani is so cute and strong, i hope she and Eli can stay in contact...
About the rest of Eli's Family... I hate them. I hate that they call him selfish while being selfish. I hate that we're in 2024 and still a lot of LGBTQ+ Members get treated like shit. Like they were less important, like they have less Rights.
If you love someone, your fucking Kid, you don't do this stuff.
I hate that Eli had to go trough this, mostly alone, while everyone in his family looked at him disgusted. They are the disgusting ones.
But thanks Adam Eli got the strenght to let them go. It's not his problem after all. It hurts but it's better for everyone.
But I loved the book. It was so easy to read and it wasn't boring at all!
(It shows that straight-looking people can still be gay or bi or pan or wathever ;))
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 31, 2022
I wanted to shake Eli. He let his homophobic family treat him as less than human. He didn’t want to cause his mom anymore pain, but he was reluctant to call her on the pain she caused. A parent should have their kid’s back. She should have been mama bear, defended her cub, and took on all haters.
Adam is the bright spot. He has no problem standing up to the hate. In the end Eli, finally realized his family will never change. With Adam at his side, he is ready to cut all ties with them and move on with his life.
I wish the book had an epilogue. Sending Eli’s parents and extended family wedding photos would have been sweet revenge,
Adam is the bright spot. He has no problem standing up to the hate. In the end Eli, finally realized his family will never change. With Adam at his side, he is ready to cut all ties with them and move on with his life.
I wish the book had an epilogue. Sending Eli’s parents and extended family wedding photos would have been sweet revenge,
December 7, 2025
I’m conflicted. While I mostly enjoyed this, some things really kind of annoyed me.
Like first, so apparently Adam has had a crush on Eli this whole time, like years. And apparently it was obvious Eli had a crush on him.. but instead Adam faded some other people (women) instead.. and then finally Adam’s solution to date Eli was to invite himself along to Eli’s Christmas trip? Like they hang out all time according to the book.. so why was all this needed? But okay.
Also Adam is (rightfully) quick to stand up for Eli, but when Eli’s mom straight up slaps Eli at one point right outside the guest room Adam is in, Adam doesn’t even leave his room??
Like first, so apparently Adam has had a crush on Eli this whole time, like years. And apparently it was obvious Eli had a crush on him.. but instead Adam faded some other people (women) instead.. and then finally Adam’s solution to date Eli was to invite himself along to Eli’s Christmas trip? Like they hang out all time according to the book.. so why was all this needed? But okay.
Also Adam is (rightfully) quick to stand up for Eli, but when Eli’s mom straight up slaps Eli at one point right outside the guest room Adam is in, Adam doesn’t even leave his room??
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2020
This had the potential to be a good book. It was cute and well written. Adam was a great character. I hated Eli. He was pathetic and weak. He refused to stand up to his family. I wanted to reach into the book and smack him. His family was horrible. There was a lot of hate in this book from his family. I feel like half if not more of this book was his family hating him for being gay. Very negative to me. I gave it two stars just because it was well written without grammar issues.
January 7, 2024
Out of a horrible Christmas comes real joy.
A story that sounds true, about real people, narrow minded and truly ghastly, an extended family of religious and homophobic cruel people. Even Eli’s parents aren’t much better. I wouldn’t wish this family on anyone. The book ends far too soon, a HEA is definitely there, but I wanted more resolution and Dirty Jenga should be a thing.
A story that sounds true, about real people, narrow minded and truly ghastly, an extended family of religious and homophobic cruel people. Even Eli’s parents aren’t much better. I wouldn’t wish this family on anyone. The book ends far too soon, a HEA is definitely there, but I wanted more resolution and Dirty Jenga should be a thing.
December 27, 2025
I do love the fake boyfriend trope.
I read this book in a couple of hours, however if I was Eli it would of been over in seconds. Adam was a lifesaver and a fake boyfriend or not I was cheering inside when he spoke to Eli's family.
I did feel it ended abruptly as I was enjoying Eli and Adam together. I would have like an epilogue to see how it all finished.
3.5* rated up to a 4*
I read this book in a couple of hours, however if I was Eli it would of been over in seconds. Adam was a lifesaver and a fake boyfriend or not I was cheering inside when he spoke to Eli's family.
I did feel it ended abruptly as I was enjoying Eli and Adam together. I would have like an epilogue to see how it all finished.
3.5* rated up to a 4*
January 1, 2023
I read this novella without pause, not because of any suspense but because it was a good story (and I had the time !). I liked the main characters, even if Eli sometimes annoyed me : they felt real. I really disliked the family but loved the sister.
November 10, 2021
2.5 stars
January 1, 2023
I wanted a cute holiday hallmark but gay read, and this was perfect. Quick to finish with decent pacing and a candy cane sweet ending.
May 7, 2023
a little edit might be useful. unfortunately, the writing style was not at all my jam.
December 7, 2023
A fantastic train read on the way home for the holidays!
December 31, 2025
3 point something, rounding up. This is single POV, and the narrator does put up with some truly shitty behavior from his family. However, I felt like I was reading a perspective we don’t often get in m/m stories. The family that doesn’t disown you, but just sort of ignores who you are and tries to pretend you never came out. The fake boyfriends romance also takes a bit of an unexpected path. By no means a perfect book, but something different, which was refreshing.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews