His Undoing by Aria Grace
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The blurb…
When Mike found out he would be sharing a dorm with a former football star, he was terrified. He’d been bullied by jocks all his life for being scrawny and weak and didn’t have high expectations of how it would go. To his surprise, Brett was a great guy that was easy to get along with and seemed to enjoy his company. When Mike learned that Brett was gay, it was a shock but it also explained the threatening letters that Mike had been receiving. Was Mike really at risk because of a jealous ex? Was there even anything to be jealous of?
So what did I think?
This was a great gay-for-you story. Told from the point of view of Mike, “The kids I grew up with called me a fag. I’m not gay but I guess small features and a lack of arm and chest definition were enough to consider me effeminate by most standards.”, the story starts when Mike arrives at his dorm and meets his room-mate Brett.
Brett is the typical tall and muscled jock. However, as Mike gets to know Brett, he realises that Mike isn’t all what he expected and he certainly didn’t expect him to be gay. The men develop a close friendship which, to the reader is obviously more, but Mike is yet to acknowledge it.
The story involves a traumatic assault on Mike which provides a further push for the relationship development as Brett’s protectiveness and nurturing side really kicks in. Although I did think the resolution of the attack on Mike seemed a little strange. I didn’t understand the approach Brett wanted to take and thought it a bit abrupt.
It was great that Brett was not the stereotypical jock (so often these stories are about the jock realising he is attracted to the geek). Rather the story focuses on the ‘non-gay’ Mike gradually realising that he is more attracted to Brett than his newly-found girlfriend. I wasn’t overly happy with Mike’s treatment of the girlfriend but the way the story was written, Maggie was alright with the outcome and happy to transition to good friend so I guess all was okay.
This story is a nice blend of good characters and interesting plot with some drama thrown in. The sex was also good (it was nice to see Brett not taking the stereotypical role – or at least the role I would have expected – in their first encounter, particularly as Mike was very new to sex).
A nice happy ending although it did seem a bit abrupt – a short last chapter that basically summarised that all was right in the world or at least HFN. “Everything was still new and confusing at times, but I was happier than I’d ever been.”
A copy of this book was provided by the author in return for an honest review.
For more information on Aria Grace and her books, visit her website.
More than Friends by Aria Grace is also available, currently for free, on Amazon. Click here to see the book.
Buy His Undoing at Amazon.