HeartShip and HeartOn by Amy Jo Cousins

You probably know that I am madly obsessed with male/male romances.  Actually I have been since the seventh grade when I started reading Yaoi (male/male manga).  Is my nerd showing yet?  Oh god.  I have noticed, in my many reads, that gay romance tends to be a little darker, a little more dangerous—although that may be because I read mostly gay historical novels where their sexuality could mean their death.  These moderns male/male romances—HeartOn and HeartShip—by Amy Jo Cousins strike a different chord.  They’re sweet stories of boys struggling to define their sexuality and discovering that just maybe sexuality isn’t a straight line.

Now, can we talk about the names of these novels?  Absolutely hilarious.  I love me an author with a sense of humor.  The first book to read is HeartShip. Though it’s entirely possible to read the books on their own I still suggest reading them in order because there’s references to HeartShip in HeartOn.

HeartShip

Benji never meant to catflish a hot college football player in Minnesota when he met fellow anime fan online.  But when @joshfortytwo announces he’s coming to Miami for a spontaneous visit Benji is pretty sure the left tackle—whatever that is—expects to meet a cute girl in a bikini, not an aging twink hoping to finally get his life together when he finishes massage therapy school.  Josh doesn’t let himself wonder about questions like: why don’t you want to ask @princessglitter is she’s a girl?  Why don’t you tell your friends that you can’t hang on Sunday nights because you’ve got a date to watch anime with your new BFF?  Why do you call it a date?  All he knows is that he needs to escape from the stress of having been injured and just before the bowl game, and @princessglitter has somehow become his best friend.  But when Josh’s secrets and Benji’s sex appeal smash together for forty-eight scorching hours they’re going to feel the heat from Miami to Minnesota.

This novel wasn’t my favorite of Amy Jo Cousin novels, but it was still well-written, hilarious, awkward, and on and on.  I think my issue with it personally was just that I couldn’t find anything to relate to in the characters but that’s the best issue to have with a novel because it means that anyone and everyone else could feel differently.  Benji and Josh were super cute together and there is some positively adorable dialogue going on in this book.  Nerds will rejoice for sure.

HeartOn

When an injury sidelines NFL player Deion McCaskill—maybe permanently—he heads to Miami to stay with an old college teammate and his boyfriend.  He packs his tailor-made suits, anxiety about the future, and the bisexuality he’s ignored for years because it didn’t fit with his drive to succeed at football’s most elite levels.  Set designer Carlos Kelly has always known he’s bi, but datingwomen is easier than making waves with his Puerto Rico/Irish Catholic family.  His friends and coworkers from the theater community might be almost entirely on the rainbow spectrum, but Carlos keeps things simple.  Except for this heat that keeps flaring between him and the hot football player visiting his best friend.  Two weeks.  Two guys who’ve never explored their bisexuality before and don’t plan on coming out, ever.  One promise to let each other try out every fantasy they’ve ever had.  Zero feelings involved.  At least, that was the plan…

HeartOn has plenty of references to Josh and Benji, so if you enjoyed their relationship in HeartShip you’re in for a treat.  It’s funny that two books from the same author can evoke such different emotions in me as a reader.  While HeartShip was all ‘awwwwws’ and ‘soooo cutes’, HeartOn was like a punch to the romance gut (in a good way).  Deion was just such a fun character to experience; hot, charming, generous, and ridiculously silly about his feelings for Carlos.  Together the two of them were one hilarious misstep after another.  Everything about their relationship was explosively funny and adorable with a capital A.

Both these books are easy-breezy romances.  They’re not the type that are going to get your blood heated or keep you on the edge of your seat.  They’re easy reads with warm, fuzzy feelings all the way throughout.  Sometimes you don’t want something that’s going to have you constantly stressing.  These are perfect reads for after—or during—a long day at work.