Review: Off Campus by Amy Jo Cousins (Bend or Break #1)
Tom shook his head. All his determination not to take advantage was bullshit, when it was perfectly clear that he was still doing just that. He looked straight at his boyfriend. “You deserve better than this. You know that, right?”
Reese drifted to a halt at the edge of the sidewalk. His pause spoke volumes as he let out a slow sigh. “Yup, I know.” He tilted his head to one side and shrugged, working on a smile. “But I’m attached.”
When life as he knew it imploded, leading to his father's arrest for a Ponzi scheme that led to families and individuals losing their hard-earned money and the freezing of his own family's assets, Tom Worthington took time off from school to try and figure out a way to finish his education without the funds that he always thought he could rely on. Illegally using his car as a taxicab is his main source of income, and while he ends up with very little sleep during the weekends, he considers himself fortunate to be back at Carlisle College and ready to spend his time either studying or holed up in what was supposed to be a single-resident dorm room for older students. His first day back, however, Tom realizes that a mix-up of sorts must have happened because he's now stuck with a roommate who makes it clear he doesn't like sharing.
Finding out that he's got a roommate was the last thing that Reese Anders was expecting, especially after he was promised that he could have a dorm room all to himself. After what happened to him, it was just one of the concessions the school was willing to make. He doesn't want a roommate, especially one who reminds him of his roommate--a jock--and his roommate's friends. So, Reese is ready to make Tom Worthington as uncomfortable as possible and if it requires Reese unabashedly bringing his hook-ups back to their room, then it's a small sacrifice on his part. But Tom isn't scared away by Reese's extracurricular activities or by the undeniable fact that he's gay, and soon, the two are forging a hesitant friendship, one that has them seeing each other through new eyes and realizing a new set of possibilities.
I make no secret of my love for M/M romances and I'm finally working my way through my list of to-be-read M/M genre list. I have books I have yet to read and then there are the books that I have read before but have yet to write reviews for. Author Amy Jo Cousins's Bend or Break series has been on the list since the first book came out in December 2014 and with five books already released, I felt it was about time I started reading. Well, it took a whole weekend but I finished all five books and now I'm still experiencing a series hangover that all began with Tom Worthington and Reese Anders's story, Off Campus. Both Tom and Reese have had a year that they would rather forget and while the year they're forced to spend together starts off on the wrong foot, it proves to be an absolutely life-changing one for these college men.
This was more Tom's story and how life was after the arrest of his father. After taking time off from school, Tom returns as a completely different person than the big man on campus he once was. He shuns his friends--except for his ever-persistent best friend and teammate Cash Carmichael, who refuses to stay away from Tom or to allow Tom to hide away in his dorm room--and his love for running. Meeting and being around Reese allows Tom to discover things about himself that he would have probably never acknowledged had they never been forced together as roommates. I loved how these two just seemed to fit and make sense in a way that they balanced each other out and were able to provide a safety net of sorts while still encouraging each other to venture out of their respective comfort zones and really live openly.
A series starter like this works because it's anchored by a cast of characters that you want to learn more about. Whether it be Cash or Reese's own bestie, Stephany Tyler--a snarky bisexual who puts Cash in his place time and again while they both give off certain vibes that around each other--or even the pain in Tom's side that is Jack Tarkington, this book has supporting characters that stick with you. Of course, Tom and Reese were truly the stars of this story and what a story it was. There was nothing simple about either of their situations as individuals or what they were facing as a couple, and I appreciated that the answers didn't come easily and that they both had to work at wanting to make it--whether on their own or together. While Off Campus may have been released in 2014, it's a 2015 favorite read and receives five-plus stars. ♥
Date Read: 21 November 2015
Learn more about Amy Jo Cousins.
Comments
Post a Comment