Study in Craving My Best Friends Big One (Only One Room #2)

Here's Evan Barnes's "Study in Craving My Best Friends Big One." It's the second novella in the Only One Room series, which are all novellas surrounding shared dorm rooms.

["My best friend Steve–all muscle and classic jock charm–is finally my roommate. I figured living together would be easy. No surprises, no drama. We know everything about each other.

I was wrong.

On the very first night, everything changes.

First, a glimpse of him that I can’t unsee. My God, he has the biggest package imaginable.

Then, a quiet, loaded comment from him that flips a switch inside me: “Guys can do everything faster and better when it comes to having a really good time.”

What the hell does he mean?

And more importantly, why is the straightest guy I know suddenly looking at me with an intensity that feels like pure craving?"]

Another very sweet novella/short story. It had barely any angst, just best friends...getting closer. And do I love best friends to lovers romance (another top five trope). These two were adorable. Total opposites attract, loud and muscle-y jock meets total nerd who thinks of everything in terms of computer programing and the scientific process. Of course they're fire friend cheimstry ignited when they let more into their relationship. 

#thejockssecretobsession #studyincravingmybestfriendsbigone #turnedbythebully #evanbarnes #onlyoneroom #onlyoneroomseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

The Jock's Secret Obsession (Only One Room #1)

Here's Evan Barnes's "The Jock's Secret Obsession." It's the second novella in the Only One Room series, which are all novellas surrounding shared dorm rooms.

["For two years, my grumpy roommate was a wall of muscle and silence.

Darren Stenbeck, the college’s hockey god, barely knew I existed. I was the friendly, talkative and one hundred percent straight nerd who lived on the other side of the room.

Then I found his sketchbook.

The secret he’d been keeping wasn’t just his incredible talent. It was a filthy, detailed fantasy–with me on my knees, at the center of it all.

Now, a leaky ceiling has forced us into a single bed.

He’s spent two years looking at me with those icy eyes, but his art showed me how he really sees me. And the most terrifying part?

That drawing didn’t just expose his secret desires. It awakened my own."]

I love how soft Darren was...and yet he was still the stereotypical grumpy athlete, closed off and a little cold. He was so obsessed with his roommate, drawing pictures, protecting him, over-the-top jealous. It's just a dichotomy, and it might be a little toxic, but it's addicting. 

Another couple I could have read even more of. Nothing felt as if it was missing, nothing was too fast. I just wanted more.

#thejockssecretobsession #studyincravingmybestfriendsbigone #turnedbythebully #evanbarnes #onlyoneroom #onlyoneroomseries #books #queerbooks #queererotica #bodicerippers #bookstagram #bookphotography #ilovebooks

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