2 out of 5 stars
Kindle Unlimited. 153 pages. Published December 23rd 2019
Blurb:
Baxter Rawlins: a real heartbreaker.
He broke my heart ten years ago.
Back in high school, Baxter pretended he didn’t know me. I was a skinny, plaid-shirt-wearing nobody. I was openly gay, but nobody even cared — except Baxter, when he wanted a hookup. That was all a nerd like me could expect from the star quarterback and prom king. He treated me as his shameful secret.
I’ve stayed away from Baxter for a decade now, even when he came back to visit Honey Bay.
I’m older now. Wiser. I know I deserve better. But I can’t stop thinking about those fleeting moments in Baxter’s arms.
Andy Silver: my one weakness.
Every time Andy smiled at me from under his floppy hair, I couldn’t help myself. How could a nerd in wire-rimmed glasses be so hot?
It was a high school fling. I spent ten years running away from it. My parents never would have understood who I really was. Disappointing my father was out of the question. I couldn’t live the life I wanted, even if I loved Andy more than he ever knew.
Bumping into Andy ten years later was the shock of my life. That shy nerd is a celebrity now? And he works out? I shouldn’t dwell on how much I miss being with him, even if every sight of him sends me there.
My parents sent me to Honey Bay for business. I might just stick around for a second chance at love.
Remember Him is a 42,000-word small-town second-chances gay romance. On their way to a feel-good happy ever after, a jock and a nerd dodge windmill blades, fog up the windows, and discuss the fine points of timber, lumber, and plain old wood.
Likes:
- Two classic tropes – second chance at love and jock/nerd.
- Baxter realized how much he hurt Andy.
- Baxter is no longer the big man in town.
- Andy’s new lifestyle.
Dislikes:
- Andy and Baxter acted like teenagers.
- Neither man was particularly interesting.
- Despite first person POV, the story lacked depth.
- Lots of little inconsistencies.
- No reason given for why Baxter was afraid of disappointing his dad.
- Andy’s nerdy/geeky/dorky/quirky/cuteness got old fast.
- Unexplained celibacy.
DNF 55%
I didn’t hate this book. Most books I DNF because I can’t stand them. This one I just didn’t want to keep reading. Put simply, I wasn’t hooked. Not by the characters, the plot, or a desire to see how it would all turn out.
To be fair, before I get into my many complaints, I will say that the plot itself isn’t bad. It’s got two classic tropes – second chance at love and jock/nerd pairings. Plus, Andy isn’t the skinny nerd he was back in high school. He’s got muscles now! And I do love when an ugly duckling grows up into a beefcake.
Even better is that Baxter is well aware of how much he hurt Andy, without needing to be told. He apologizes numerous times, and even came to town with a gift for Andy, even though he didn’t know if they would see each other. It really showed just how much Baxter never forgot Andy. The only forgetting was done by the townspeople, who no longer treat Baxter like he’s the prom king golden boy.
On the downside, this book suffers in the same areas as a lot of other self-published books. The line editing was good – no spelling errors or missing punctuation – but the story needs a good editor and some honest beta readers.
Despite being first person point of view, the story lacked depth. Andy and Baxter haven’t seen each other since high school. I was expecting lots of emotional turmoil. I was disappointed. The story didn’t delve into either man’s emotions. It made for flat, bland reading.
Andy and Baxter were twenty-eight and acted like teenagers. Dick jokes galore. I understand that they haven’t seen each other since high school and it’s easy to fall into old habits. The immature joking would have been fine in small doses, but it was constant. Neither man felt like an adult.
Andy was especially cringy. I felt like I was constantly being beaten over the head with how awkward yet adorkable he was. I didn’t find him adorkable. His ironic thumbs up and constant eye rolling got annoying fast. It also didn’t feel realistic. Yeah, he’s a nerd, but he’s not the socially awkward guy he was in high school. He’s a well-liked fixture in the community.
Baxter was fine without actually making it to ‘likeable’. He’s terrified at his dad finding out that he’s gay and lives in fear of being a disappointment. But it was never explained why. Baxter basically let his dad plan his life. He never tried to do anything other than follow orders to get a business degree and join the family business. He even married a woman as camouflage (which I think is a really shitty thing to do and didn’t improve my opinion of him).
The sex scene needed work. It’s not always easy to get it right. For me, words like ‘dickhead’ are a weak insult, not an actual description to be used in smut. Don’t even get me started on ‘cockshaft’. Also, both men are gay but for whatever reason, neither of them was ever with another man in the 10 years they were apart. But don’t worry, despite never having sucked a dick in his life, Baxter is fully capable of deepthroating on his first try.
My final complaint is about all the little inconsistencies and things that don’t make sense. There’s a fair amount of things like rolling down the car windows although they were rolled down just a few pages prior. Baxter also drove his car from New York City to Florida just on the off chance he saw Andy. According to Google, that’s an 18 hour trip. That’s just plain stupid.
Overall, it was the little things that sunk this story. I stuck with it as long as I could, but there are so many better books out there, I couldn’t justify spending the time to finish it. Which is a shame because I think the author has talent. They just need better editing.
Love is Love Reviews 