Sweet Young Thang (Theta Alpha Gamma, #3) in Riptide Publishing

May 30, 2013 Jen rated it really liked it

Shelves: fv, m-m, tenino

Collin and Eric

I really enjoy this series. I also like the glimpse of Sebastian. He makes me happy. :) Full review to come on Fiction Vixen Book Reviews

I read Frat Boy and Toppy a couple of months ago and loved it. I waited so long to pick it up because it has such a silly title. Sweet Young Thang has an equally silly title, and cover, but I learned that Ms. Tenino can write the heck out of story so this time I didn’t hesitate to pick up the book.

Sweet Young Thang is the story of Collin, the f ...more

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Jul 20, 2013 Debra ~~ seriously slacking on her reviews ~~ rated it really liked it

Shelves: firemen-emt, arcs-and-for-review, part-of-series-or-serial, m-m, college

3.5 Stars

Sweet Young Thang is Anne Tenino’s third book in the TAG Series, but works well as a standalone. As with the previous books, it is infused with humor and two wonderful main characters. While I enjoyed the romance and the interactions of all the TAG members, the mystery aspect of the book just didn’t work all that well for me.

We first met Collin in Frat Boy and Toppy. He is still single here and, thanks to his very controlling Uncle Monty (a TAG Alum), is the liaison to the Alumni Assoc 3.5 Stars

Sweet Young Thang is Anne Tenino’s third book in the TAG Series, but works well as a standalone. As with the previous books, it is infused with humor and two wonderful main characters. While I enjoyed the romance and the interactions of all the TAG members, the mystery aspect of the book just didn’t work all that well for me.

We first met Collin in Frat Boy and Toppy. He is still single here and, thanks to his very controlling Uncle Monty (a TAG Alum), is the liaison to the Alumni Association and planning the alumni weekend. Thanks to the recent TAG policy change they are the only frat that openly welcomes gay members, something not fully supported by the TAG alums or other frats on campus. When a water heater explosion and fire at the TAG house occurs, Collin meets EMT Eric who is 16 years older and a former TAG brother. There is an instant attraction and soon the two are inseparable. Problems arise as Collin is still in the closet to his family and all but a few of his frat brothers and is under pressure from his Uncle, who believes the trouble at the TAG house is directly related to the membership policy. When his Uncle advises him that the alumni association will be withdrawing funding unless the policy change is removed, Collin must decide whether his Uncle’s expectations for his future are what he really wants and needs.

The relationship between Collin and Eric is insta-lust to insta-love at warp speed. The entire book takes place over the course of one week. While this is often a deal breaker for some readers, I didn’t mind it much. There is so much going on for Collin in that week, he quickly bonds with Eric, who is determined to keep him safe and provide support. Unfortunately, while they were a sweet couple, that certainly had some hot and sexy times, I wasn’t emotionally invested in their relationship since there really was no build up between introductions and I love you. Although the mystery of who is sabotaging the frat was a bit drawn out and unnecessary, it did serve to bring to a head the relationship between Collin and his overbearing Uncle Monty, who had been a father to him for most of his life.

One thing you can count on in Anne Tenino’s books is the humor. The TAG brothers are priceless in their determination to accept their gay brothers and exceed the expectations laid out during their “sensitivity training”. Anytime there is a membership meeting you know it will devolve into hilarity (I fully expect “What would Tim Gunn do?” to be the house’s new motto in the next book). If anything can inspire a group of frat boys into action it would be the threat of losing free beer, internet and cable.

In the end, this was a low angst romance. We get to catch up with the couples from the previous books and get a new frat member who is sure to need his own book in the future. It didn’t grab me as much as Frat Boy and Toppy, but was a fun light read and I look forward to the next installment.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Sep 07, 2013 BookAddict ✒ La Crimson Femme rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley-reviews, m-m, romance

Hello Mr. Sexy Fireman! So Eric Dixon is a paramedic instead of a fireman for the fire department, details. Eric is a TAG alum who meets up with closet gay Collin. Finally Collin receives his own book. In this very sexy story, Collin is a sweet young thang. Not a fan of Collin from glimpses in the previous books, this one redeems him.

Collin is a guy who's family dynamics are not too different than anyone else's - dysfunctional. He still is a nice guy. He tries to do what's best and he's a good l Hello Mr. Sexy Fireman! So Eric Dixon is a paramedic instead of a fireman for the fire department, details. Eric is a TAG alum who meets up with closet gay Collin. Finally Collin receives his own book. In this very sexy story, Collin is a sweet young thang. Not a fan of Collin from glimpses in the previous books, this one redeems him.

Collin is a guy who's family dynamics are not too different than anyone else's - dysfunctional. He still is a nice guy. He tries to do what's best and he's a good listener. Ms. Tenino makes him quite adorable in this story. His attraction to Eric is Daddy-licious! A Bear and a Twink spy upon each other across the room in a bar...Yes, this is corny but it happened. There's more to it than this, but the utter ridiculous situations Ms. Tenino adds to her books is what makes it so good for me. She doesn't make fun of people or her characters. Instead, each character kind of pokes fun at themselves. They are good-natured which is an increasingly rare species in the wild civilized world we live in.

Here are a few passages where Ms. Tenino's sense of humour cracks me up.

"Of course, you're old enough to be his father." [Val, Eric's coworker]

"So, you're saying I provided substandard care to a patient in order to indulge in my pedophile urges?" [Eric] (location 680)

"Big mistake the Alumni Association made. You should never threaten a frat boy's beer." (location 2338)

"Dude!" He [Danny] stood up, reaching out to grip Collin's shoulder. "You mean no one told you you're gay? Shit, man, I'm sorry, I didn't know..." He turned to Kyle. "What am I supposed to do in this situation? They did not cover this in that sensitivity training class we took fall term. That's a major oversight, man. Major oversight. Told you that class sucked." He turned back to Collin. "But, I mean, I just figured if I know you're gay, you must know."

Collin opened his mouth to explain he did know, but Danny wouldn't shut up. (location 2383)

Ms. Tenino cleverly weaves in humour with a serious topic. This book is about acceptance and how gays have to hide from family and friends. Where is the safe haven? Collin wants to create a safe haven. With this little thread about sensitivity training and how the TAG frat brothers try to be more understanding, it's pretty damn funny. They go to another extreme which shows how even the best of intentions may be offensive. Love it!

The suspense part of this story is rather weak. It was loosely constructed and not as tightly layered as some of Ms. Tenino's previous books. Still, with her quirky sense of humour, stance on gay acceptance and sweet manlove, it more than makes up for it. This m/m romance is recommended for all romance lovers. It's a beautiful story with a heartwarming theme.

*provided by NetGalley ...more

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Apr 19, 2013 Heather C marked it as did-not-finish

Shelves: series

I think I made it to about 28%. The whole romance and plot was feeling very contrived and predictable. And the use of the pet name "Sweet Thing" was already annoying me. ...more

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Nov 11, 2016 Liz (Bugetta) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: m-m-romance, contemporary-romance, audiobook, new-adult-and-college

3.5* My review is pretty much the same, though Nick J. Russo's narration helped me enjoy the story a bit more than I did when I read it. I've also started enjoying May/December relationships more than I did when I first read this but the big problem I had is the same: this story took place over a very short time period (a week I think), so it felt like instalove and I had a hard time buying the HEA. I enjoyed it, but it's definitely not the best of this series (that would be Frat Boy and Toppy). ...more

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Jul 22, 2013 Rachel Emily rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary-m-m, romance-m-m, desert-island-keepers, cops-fire-law-etc-m-m, may-december-age-gap-m-m, high-school-or-college-m-m, coming-out-m-m

I love, love, loved this! One of my favorites this year, for sure! I just adored Collin and Eric together, they were absolutely adorable. And so, so hot together...loved the photography and intimacy in later scenes. I know it was fast paced, but it felt natural to me, I didn't mind the quickness of it all.

I also loved the TAG boys, with their concern over their sensitivity training and their coming out scene with Colin. Too funny! And I also liked that this was longer than the previous books and ...more

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Apr 20, 2014 Liz (Bugetta) rated it liked it

Shelves: contemporary-romance, m-m-romance, e-book, part-of-a-series, humor, new-adult-and-college, kindle-lendable

3.5* I'm not a big fan of May/December relationships so I kind of put off reading this book for that reason. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would - Anne Tenino's writing is great and really funny, but I still couldn't quite buy into the HEA -- especially given the timeline of the story (basically a week) but I found both MCs to be really likeable and the mystery aspect of the story was a nice addition. So a good read, but not my favorite of the series. ...more

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