Top Secret

I think it's more of a 3.5.

I just found out this book was releasing about a week ago and I was ecstatic because I love these two authors and their first collab together Him is one of my all time favorite romance novels. I have a feeling nothing will ever match the joy I feel when reading that book, but I still had high expectations from this one. And as I suspected, it didn't completely live up to them nor did it disappoint in any way.

Keaton is a rich third generation legacy kid at his college and knows his privilege, but he is not too much of a show off about it which I liked. He is also a biology major and complete science nerd which was such a refreshing change and I adored it. He is also not very freaked out about possibly being bisexual and is open to explore that side of him and I enjoyed this laidback attitude of his. He did seem to come across as pushover where his father was concerned, but being unable to handle parent's expectations felt quite realistic in his scenario. Luke on the other hand is comfortable in his sexuality but has lived a hard life with a broken family, which makes him quite emotionally unavailable. But I liked that he was hardworking and very ambitious, sure of what he wanted to achieve in his future. I just felt I didn't get to know him as much as Keaton.

They are mostly antagonistic towards each other in real life initially but the friendship starts off as anonymous on a hookup app and I thoroughly enjoyed their interactions. The banter was fun and sexy, sometimes very hilarious which kept me smiling most of the times. It also takes time for their relationship to develop emotionally in real life and I was all for it. However, it didn't work out very convincingly for me. There are also a few side characters, especially in the fraternity but I didn't feel like we got to know anyone well enough. I really liked Keat's ex-girlfriend Annika for being such a great friend and also being decisive in her choices. The biggest surprise definitely were Keat's parents and I didn't see that coming but I'm glad for how their arc played out.

I love reading these author's books because I mostly know what I'm getting into and I love the comfort of predictability. This story is fun and fast paced, with lots of hilarious dialogue and some very emotional moments, making it a good complete package. I'm also a huge fan of books where the relationship develops through messages or emails, and I thought that part was written exceedingly well. And while I thoroughly enjoyed their sexual connection in real life, I didn't feel like the couple's emotional arc was given enough time to develop. I definitely would have liked to see more time spent on developing Luke's accepting of his feelings for Keaton. The ending just felt a tad rushed and abrupt and while I totally wanted the HEA, I think it just suddenly happened. I have heard that there's a wonderful extended epilogue for newsletter subscribers but it hasn't showed up in my email yet and I'm eagerly waiting, hoping it will give me a little more satisfaction for this couple's love story.

Overall, I just wanna say that this love story was entertaining and fun and quite sexy, a very quick read for when you just want to breeze through a book. If you are a Sarina Bowen or Elle Kennedy fan, you should check it out. As this one looks like a stand-alone for now, it might also be a good choice for anyone wanting to newly explore the m/m romance genre. While it didn't wow me like some of their previous works, it was quite enjoyable and I had a good time reading it.

originally rated this 4 stars, but i bumped it down a few months later to 3 because as time went on i realized i actually didn't really love it as much as i had WANTED to love it, and i actually had a few problems with it.

since i loved their other collab so much, i def expected a lot from this, which maybe isn't fair. i love how sarina and elle write dialog and alternating perspectives it's FIRE, i really super enjoyed the frat house stuff (idk why, maybe because i also loved Greek? lmao) and the boys were cuuuute. keaton especially was v cute and jumped off the page for me, and i was super invested in his journey through all of this.

but around 60% the book sort of went ... off for me. i think, looking back months later, it was because i didn't understand or connect with the reason why the boys suddenly were just. together. at that point. they just ... jumped into it? and the hilarious thing is, i felt like they had a decent emotional connection UNTIL THEY GOT TOGETHER and then it was just like ... why do they even like each other? did i miss something? it felt like it lost its tension suddenly, and jumped over the part where they fell for each other irl. the end was really cute and buttoned it up a bit, but also like couldn't remember or figure out why keaton even cared at a certain point. he was too good for luke lmao ...

also, no there's no outright cheating in this book, but actually there IS emotional cheating. that's ... not great. it was handwaved/”explained”, and looking back i see how it built narrative tension to the turning point where it came to a head, but i think it could've been handled better. technically it IS still cheating bc they were falling for each other before keaton told his girlfriend. i'm not a fan of that, even if the mc was ~confused~ and was doing it under the guise of something else. cheating is fucking selfish and harmful, end of story. the girlfriend basically just existed as a roadblock to the mcs relationship, she wasn't even real. honestly? she was completely fridged. not only is that a habitual sexist trope, but it's boring as shit. do fucking better, it's 2019 jfc

this WAS fun, and if you like the sound of it or just enjoy m/m, i would rec it. but keep in mind it has some issues, and also i think i just expected too much from it.