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A Gym Rat's Guide to Love
Stephen is embarrassed about the top surgery scars bisecting his chest but wants to gain muscle. So why not lift in the middle of the night when the gym is empty? That’s the plan, at least until a friendly, muscled gym bro, Ryan, shows up night after night, giving him training tips and advice.
For Ryan, lifting weights started as a way to wind down from his mentally-taxing job. Now it’s practically his religion and he spends more time at the gym than his house. Training Stephen is a great excuse to avoid going home. Not that he has anyone to go home to.
A friendly wager between them sparks something more. But can each man bulk their heart up enough to embrace love?
“A Gym Rat’s Guide to Love” is a low-stakes steamy M/M romance with a trans masc main character and a happily ever after. Each book in the T-Guides series stands alone and they can be read in any order.
For Ryan, lifting weights started as a way to wind down from his mentally-taxing job. Now it’s practically his religion and he spends more time at the gym than his house. Training Stephen is a great excuse to avoid going home. Not that he has anyone to go home to.
A friendly wager between them sparks something more. But can each man bulk their heart up enough to embrace love?
“A Gym Rat’s Guide to Love” is a low-stakes steamy M/M romance with a trans masc main character and a happily ever after. Each book in the T-Guides series stands alone and they can be read in any order.
97 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2021
12 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Roan Rosser
18 books10 followersMy urban fantasy novels mainly feature the trans and queer protagonists grappling with things like identity and found families that I wished I could have read about growing up.
When not writing, you can probably find me beating up pixel baddies or in front of one of my sewing machines adding to my overstuffed closet or my army of homemade plush dolls.
If you find yourself blinded by the vivid colors and loud patterns of my homemade shirts, know that I’m only trying to warn you that I may be poisonous. Or venomous? Or both? Probably both.
I escaped from the bowels of Utah (namely Provo) and now live in the sunny Pacific Northwest United States.
When not writing, you can probably find me beating up pixel baddies or in front of one of my sewing machines adding to my overstuffed closet or my army of homemade plush dolls.
If you find yourself blinded by the vivid colors and loud patterns of my homemade shirts, know that I’m only trying to warn you that I may be poisonous. Or venomous? Or both? Probably both.
I escaped from the bowels of Utah (namely Provo) and now live in the sunny Pacific Northwest United States.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 30, 2023
3.5 ⭐️
Like battle scars.
Damn. 😭🥹
This is probably one of the cutest novella. I could see their connection, Ryan and Steffen. Even though they were just gym buddies, their bonding progress was realistic. They actually took their time together. I thought it would be all fluff, but this book also had angst for a short while. This was also so easy to read I inhaled this in one sitting 😙 For a novella, I think it was all well done.
How Ryan handled the news was everything 🥹❤️ he didn’t mind, and he liked Steffen so much anyway. Ah, just lovely!
I teared up…..🥹❤️
”The imperfections made Steffen’s chest even more beautiful. Like battle scars.”
Like battle scars.
Damn. 😭🥹
This is probably one of the cutest novella. I could see their connection, Ryan and Steffen. Even though they were just gym buddies, their bonding progress was realistic. They actually took their time together. I thought it would be all fluff, but this book also had angst for a short while. This was also so easy to read I inhaled this in one sitting 😙 For a novella, I think it was all well done.
How Ryan handled the news was everything 🥹❤️ he didn’t mind, and he liked Steffen so much anyway. Ah, just lovely!
It didn’t change anything about how I feel about you. It’s like. . .” Ryan waved his fork in the air like he was trying to grab something, “like, nothing about you changed. You’re still the same person I had a crush on, I just know a little more about you than I did before.”
I teared up…..🥹❤️
September 9, 2023
This was very sweet! My first by the author, will definitely be reading more. Pacing was a bit rushed in parts but overall was very readable, I finished in one afternoon.
Tags: gym buddies to lovers, trans MC, accountant MC, training for a power lifting competition
Tags: gym buddies to lovers, trans MC, accountant MC, training for a power lifting competition
November 18, 2022
realistically fantastic
This is a modern queer romance, the first book in a series that should be read in order! First off, I love that a main character is trans masc (as most trans romance seem to be fem fetish romance if that’s your thing) and it shows him starting the process of building up his muscles as he meets a new friend that offers to train him! There’s so many realistic parts of this story that it made me happy!
This is a modern queer romance, the first book in a series that should be read in order! First off, I love that a main character is trans masc (as most trans romance seem to be fem fetish romance if that’s your thing) and it shows him starting the process of building up his muscles as he meets a new friend that offers to train him! There’s so many realistic parts of this story that it made me happy!
March 29, 2023
The second book I grabbed for the #transrightsreadathon. The blurb is pretty spot on, aside from calling the book steamy, that’s not really accurate. I would definitely rank this 1/5 in terms of heat.
*Minor plot spoilers*
0-75% adorable sweet
75-90% pace felt off and the drama didn’t feel like it fit quite right
90-100% within 3 weeks (or 15 pages…😵💫)
- The boys move in together (a week after first sleep over)
- Steffen fired from his job and starting new career focused education (he picked a whole career in less than 2 weeks…)
- Ryan starts a side hustle complete with clients and new referrals
It all felt a tad rushed. I would have been happy with the HEA without it all. This exactly what an epilogue is for, tying up all those too big for the book loose ends by giving us a glimpse into the future.
I really appreciate that this novella didn’t focus on pain and fear, but rather growth and happiness.
*Minor plot spoilers*
0-75% adorable sweet
75-90% pace felt off and the drama didn’t feel like it fit quite right
90-100% within 3 weeks (or 15 pages…😵💫)
- The boys move in together (a week after first sleep over)
- Steffen fired from his job and starting new career focused education (he picked a whole career in less than 2 weeks…)
- Ryan starts a side hustle complete with clients and new referrals
It all felt a tad rushed. I would have been happy with the HEA without it all. This exactly what an epilogue is for, tying up all those too big for the book loose ends by giving us a glimpse into the future.
I really appreciate that this novella didn’t focus on pain and fear, but rather growth and happiness.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 1, 2021
Cute short read
I liked the characters. The story was cute and I enjoyed it. How’m’ever there were some inconsistencies that could have been caught by a good editor. Nothing terrible but it confused me and pulled me out of the story.
That being said I’ll still be looking for the next in the series
I liked the characters. The story was cute and I enjoyed it. How’m’ever there were some inconsistencies that could have been caught by a good editor. Nothing terrible but it confused me and pulled me out of the story.
That being said I’ll still be looking for the next in the series
November 30, 2021
Well done!
Great read. Keller continues to provide great characters and interesting plots. A great voice for these times! Looming forward to the rest of the series.
Great read. Keller continues to provide great characters and interesting plots. A great voice for these times! Looming forward to the rest of the series.
December 22, 2022
Retuned to KU
May 6, 2023
Miscommunication but gay people.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews