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

Jul 23, 2013 Shirley Frances rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-2-review, reviewed, 2013, mm-read, mm-series, glbt

Collin is a college student acting as a liaison to The Alpha Gamma's Alumni Association, which is headed by his uncle, Monty. Having lost his father as a young boy, Collin's life has been steered by Monty's influence. Having found a group of accepting friends, Collin opens up and comes out to them. He hasn't come out to his family or other frat brother because he fears the repercussions, especially in regards to Monty.

I loved this concept. A college boy struggles with coming out with his family Collin is a college student acting as a liaison to The Alpha Gamma's Alumni Association, which is headed by his uncle, Monty. Having lost his father as a young boy, Collin's life has been steered by Monty's influence. Having found a group of accepting friends, Collin opens up and comes out to them. He hasn't come out to his family or other frat brother because he fears the repercussions, especially in regards to Monty.

I loved this concept. A college boy struggles with coming out with his family and falls head over heels for an older man who happens to be an alumni of his fraternity. There were so many things to be expected from the concept alone. Pair that with what I have come to expect from Anne Tenino and I was definitely eager to get started.

Anne Tenino did not disappoint. She managed to bring all the concepts I have to expect from her to make this a sweet, romantic story that felt real. There were the funny moments, the one-liners and the hot sex. There were also the emotional moments that made the connection between Eric and Collin something viable.

I loved that Eric was older than Collin. His maturity brought a lot to the realness of their relationship. He was instantly attracted to Collin and once they got together it was easy to see how well they complemented each other. He was so happy at finding the right person in Collin. He never faltered in being supportive or understanding, even when Collin over reacted or questioned his intentions.

Collin. Now there's a character. Sweet, with a self-deprecating sense of humor and a heart of gold, he won me over immediately. I remembered him from Frat Boy and Toppy and I was glad to see that he had grown and that he allowed himself to be somewhat open about his sexuality. I admired his pursuit in establishing the clause that welcomed gay and bisexual students to TAG and felt for him whenever he struggled with his feelings about coming out.

I enjoyed the mystery behind the explosion and although I could have done without some of the time spent on that it didn't affect my enjoyment of the story in the least. Of course, I would have been content with having the book centered around Eric and Collin's doubts about their relationship and Collin's struggles with coming out completely. That would have been an even better story.

Although Sweet Young Thang is the third book in the Theta Alpha Gamma series and characters from the previous books make an appearance, it can be read as a stand alone too. It was great to visit with the members of the fraternity. They were hilarious and when the time came for Collin to come out, they were more than accepting. Sebastian was his usual self - arrogant and clueless most of the time. Brad was as always understanding and supportive. There was a new addition to the frat that I'm eager to get to know more about too. Here's hoping Anne brings his story to the page.

I received this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange of my honest opinion. ...more

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Aug 13, 2013 Pat rated it liked it

"Sweet" is the operative word in this third installment of the Theta Alpha Gamma (TAG) fraternity series, and not in a good way. In fact, the love interest of the protagonist calls him about every possible variation of "sweet" there is, proving why at age thirty-something he's unattached until he meets a sweet, young college boy.

After fraternity brother Brad came out at the end of Frat Boy and Toppy, TAG is the only fraternity to accept gay and bisexual members. As alumni liaison, Collin Montes ...more

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