Simply Graceless

Tuesday, August 11, 2026

His To Ruin (Years Between Us #2)

Here's Evan Barnes's "His To Ruin." It's the second novella in the Years Between Us series, which are all novellas surrounding age-gaps.

["He said I was too innocent. He was wrong.

He’s connected to my family and I’m supposed to be off-limits for him. But he’s watching me like a predator.

Rylan says I’m too naive for a place like Verdict, a decadent club where the only rule is that there are no rules. He thinks he needs to protect me. But his protection feels more like a possession.

When he drags me into a dark, private room to teach me a lesson, I expect a lecture.

Instead, his touch becomes a different kind of education. He shatters my world, awakening a raw, desperate need I never knew I had… a need only for him.

I walked into this club thinking I was straight.

Now, I’m on my knees, and he’s just getting started. He’s not just breaking the rules"]

There's something that's just extra (delicious, exciting, dangerous) about a brothers-best-friend trope. It's cliched, but it's never enough (I will literally never get enough of this trope--top five favorites). And this one was just as exhilarating and forbidden as you'd expecct.

Especially considering the setting. And how naive Theo really was (I mean, baby, it's clearly a sex club--at least on many of the floors). But he had Rylan there to take care of him...and take care of him. ;)

Oddly enough, with this brothers-best-friend book, I wasn't feeling as though I was missing something eevn though we didn't see the brother/best-friend confrontation. Maybe because this novella was more of a short story?

Trigger Warnings: dub-con, bullying-ish, and more.

#tamedbyhisbestfriendsdad #historuin #evanbarnes #yearsbetweenus #yearsbetweenusseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Tamed By His Best Friend's Dad (Years Between Us #1)

Here's Evan Barnes's "Tamed By His Best Friend's Dad." It's the first novella in the Years Between Us series, which are all novellas surrounding age-gaps.

["I was straight. Until I met my best friend’s father.

My summer was supposed to be about beer, soccer, and girls at my best friend’s ridiculously luxurious mansion.

Then his father showed up.

Gavin Horton was a predator with dark eyes that promised things I’d never dared to imagine.

My first mistake was opening my mouth. A stupid, crude joke at a barbecue was all it took to get his attention.

My second mistake was thinking my best friend’s father didn’t hear me. He saw my cocky, straight-guy bravado as a personal invitation.

From that moment on, he made it his personal mission to teach me a lesson in humility. He was determined to take my words and make me eat them, proving my witty mouth was good for more than just talking back. He didn’t seduce me with sweet words. He cornered me. He challenged me.

Under his intense pressure, I found myself breaking.

I was falling for my best friend’s father, and he wasn’t just seducing me… he was claiming me."]

This one was completely different. Age-gap certainly helped. As did the narrator being more of a jock-y, frat-ish bro, trying to fit in and impress his friends.

I wasn't as impressed by that character as much to be perfectly honest. It could be the internalized homophobia (not a fan of that trope typically). Could be the brat vibes he was giving off. Sure he wanted attention and didn't know how to get it, sure he was struggling with his own identity, but it just didn't feel as..something as the other narrators.

Still a fun story though. The back and forth dynamic, the pull of their chemistry, their (probably not so secret) clandestine meetings.

Trigger Warnings: internalized homophobia, and more.

#tamedbyhisbestfriendsdad #historuin #evanbarnes #yearsbetweenus #yearsbetweenusseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

One Bed With The Bully (Side By Side Tonight #2)

Here's Evan Barnes's "One Bed With The Bully." It's the second novella in the Side By Side Tonight series, which are all novellas surrounding travel mishaps.

["What’s worse than being trapped in a motel room with your bully?

Being trapped in a motel room with your bully… and only one bed.

I thought I knew what to expect—his usual insults and mocking smirks.

I never expected the raw hunger in his eyes when he looks at me, or the way his hands seem to know just how to break me down.

The tension between us is so thick you can taste it, and after he catches me in my most private moment, all bets are off.

He knows I want something I shouldn’t, and he’s not going to let me run from it."]

Romance Pro Tip--How to end an argument on a high (and win..?): kiss your enemy. And it rarely, if ever, works (to end/win the argument...to get the HEA? Yes.)

I love how all of Evan's work is very, very similar, and yet none of it is repetitive. It still all feels very fresh and unique. A few new facts here and a few tweaks of characteristics/settings here--bam! new book. And just to prove my point, I'm going to (continue to) binge Evan's entire backlog.

Trigger Warnings: mentions of bullying, and more.

#claimedbythejockwhilecamping #onebedwiththebully #evanbarnes #sidebysidetonight #sidebysidetonightseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Claimed By The Jock While Camping (Side By Side Tonight #1)

Here's Evan Barnes's "Claimed By The Jock While Camping." It's the first novella in the Side By Side Tonight series, which are all novellas surrounding travel mishaps.

["I had come on that trip to find peace. Instead, I had found a possessive football star who had decided I was his.

He was a celebrity athlete, a walking mountain of muscle and arrogance who had looked at me like I was a problem he wanted to solve with his body.

And now, he was sleeping inches away from me in a tent so small I could feel the heat of his obsession.

He had told me he was protecting me from the dangers lurking in the dark. He had lied.

The only predator in those woods had been him.

He had put his hands on me in the dark, vowing to teach me everything my straight, anxious body had secretly craved. All he wanted was to break me down, build me back up, and own every single piece."]

This one was more hot/cold than hurt/comfort. And they felt more mature. It wasn't that college-aged-kids being dramatic and running from the feelings and the hurt; it was more of an indifference kind of lack-of-communication.

These two were somehow softer. Maybe it was the lack of bully stereotype. Maybe it was the only-one-bed, nighttime danger aspect. Maybe it was because they weren't classmates, just friends of friends, so the connection felt more pure. Maybe it was that the "villain" really didn't feel like it could be Payton (and something just went bang outside--yay). I don't know. I just know that I enjoyed it.

Trigger Warnings: anxiety, threats, stalking, and more.

#claimedbythejockwhilecamping #onebedwiththebully #evanbarnes #sidebysidetonight #sidebysidetonightseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

Puck Me, Valentine (Seasonal Firsts #3)

Here's Evan Barnes's "Puck Me, Valentine." It's the third novella in the Seasonal Firsts series, which are all novellas surrounded around seasonal celebrations.

["As the star of the hockey team, Devlin Bower has spent years treating me like an annoying shadow. I’m the "sunshine nerd" who would rather save a turtle than go to a party. And he’s the "ice king" with a heart of stone and eyes only for the pro leagues.

I’m used to being overlooked.

I’m not used to being targeted by a sick Valentine’s Day prank that paints me in the most graphic, humiliating light.

And I’m definitely not prepared for Devlin to pin me against my dorm room door in the middle of a thunderstorm, his dark eyes burning as he demands to know why I sent him a note detailing every filthy thing I want to do to him.

The problem? I didn’t send it.

The bigger problem? Now that Devlin has a taste of me, he isn’t letting go.

He claims he’s "taking responsibility" for my safety.

But behind closed doors, his protection feels a lot like possession.

Between the heated confrontations and the rainy nights that changed everything, I’m discovering that this "barbarian" athlete isn’t just guarding my skin—he’s starving for it.

As the shadow on campus closes in and the mystery of the letters deepens, I’m caught in a different kind of trap.

The threat in the shadows is terrifying, but there’s a god in my bed who is far more dangerous. One wants to ruin my reputation, but the other wants to consume me whole."]

Hurt/comfort should also be called fluff/confusion. They're both a whiplashing of sweetness and being utterly lost. Being possessive and overly protective and utterly precious one moment and then being cold and cruel and cryptic the next. Poor Val. Then again, he got a bold love declaration, a grand gesture, and barbarian willing to face literal storms for him (and his turtle).

I like how these books aren't to drawn out. They're short and could be longer, but there's no lingering around the HEA. Though, I do wish there was a bit more on the mysterious letter senders and Sasha finding out about these two.

Trigger Warnings: violence, threats, stalking, bullying, and more.

#brutalcrush #thejockwhostolethenerdschristmas #puckmevalentine #evanbarnes #seasonalfirsts #seasonalfirstsnovellas #seasonalfirstsseries #seasonalfirstsnovellasseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Jock Who Stole The Nerd's Christmas (Seasonal Firsts #2)

Here's Evan Barnes's "The Jock Who Stole The Nerd's Christmas." It's the second novella in the Seasonal Firsts series, which are all novellas surrounded around seasonal celebrations.

["All I wanted was one perfect Christmas. Instead, I got the King of the Ice.

Planning Ashford College’s Christmas party is my one chance to reclaim the holiday joy my family forgot long ago. Twinkling lights, hot chocolate, an ice rink... I had it all planned out.

Then he got involved.

Raiden Blackwell is a scarred, six-foot-three enforcer on the hockey team.

We should be invisible to each other. Instead, he's made my life a misery of shoulder checks and mocking smiles.

But when I snap and challenge him in front of the entire college, the game changes.

Now he's my partner in organizing the party he seemed determined to ruin. And he was supposed to mock my festive spirit.

Instead, he's cornering me everywhere, turning our arguments into breathless, stolen moments in the dark. And when a saboteur begins to tear my plans apart, my sworn enemy is the only one who seems to know how to fight back.

Is he the monster who wants to steal my Christmas, or the dark protector sent to save it?

With every stolen touch and furious kiss, I'm less and less sure. This holiday season, I'm finding out that the greatest danger and the greatest desire come wrapped in a package I never expected."]

Listen, I know bully-romances are toxic. I know that romanticizing bullying and mistreatment of others is horrible. But it's up there in the dark romance sub-genre that's just so oddly satisfying. I don't know if it's the redemption arc or the possessive/obsessive thing or the "I'm the only one who hurts you" trope. It's just all so satisfying.

And this one had a little hurt/comfort. Some moments of sweetness followed by disbelief (of the fluff, of deserving the fluff, of the real intentions of the fluff). It was a little chaotic, but it was still that obsessive and protective emotional thriller.

Trigger Warnings: violence, threats, stalking, bullying, kidnapping, and more.

Brutal Crush (Seasonal Firsts #1)

Here's Evan Barnes's "Brutal Crush." It's the first novella in the Seasonal Firsts series, which are all novellas surrounded around seasonal celebrations.

["I tutor the hockey captain I hate.

Zane Ivarsson is a monster on the ice and a nightmare in the library.

He’s everything I’m not: privileged, powerful, and cruel. But there’s a darkness in his eyes I recognize, a possessive fire that ignites a terrifying pull deep inside me.

But he isn't the only monster in my life.

Someone else is watching. Someone who leaves obsessive gifts at my door. Someone who calls me his “little bee.”

Someone whose threatening notes seem fixated on my interactions with Zane, praising me with a dark craving that makes my skin crawl.

My stalker’s final Stay away from the Sigma Halloween Party.

So, of course, I go.

But on a night where every predator wears a mask, I walk straight into a trap. The party is a hunt, and I’m the prize.

Suddenly, the only one intent on protecting me is the man I should fear the most.

He says he’ll keep me safe in the dark. But what happens when the monster wants to keep you all for himself?"]

Well that was just fabulous. I knew it would be a little trope-t, but I didn’t feel cliched or overly done. It was a beautiful balance of dark and stalkery plus fluff and hidden sweetness. It was obsessive and protective and secretive and a bully romance and a horrible Halloween hunt with some backstabbing hockey players.

I think we all knew that the stalker and Zane (the bully) were the same person, but there was a few fantastic red herring clues to make you second guess.

Trigger Warnings: violence, threats, stalking, bullying, and more.