Read my reviews of the previous books in the Roll For Love series:
- Natural Twenty (#1)
- Charisma Check (#2)
Disclaimer: I received an electronic advanced review copy of this book from the author.
Novak teased a relationship between Jason and Lewis in the epilogue of her previous book, leaving me with so many questions. Starting with: How do these characters even meet? As a convention veteran, I know all about how chance meetings amid thousands of people can develop into legitimate friendships, so I had no problem buying both the meet-cute between these men and how it develops into something more. The benefit to an online friendship is that it is the friendship that must evolve first, and it can then create a solid platform upon which any physical attraction can grow.
Because of that relationship arc, the dark moment in this book has nothing to do with a specific conflict between Jason and Lewis. The differences in their lives (especially financially) are addressed but handled in a mature fashion. The drama of this book instead focuses on a topic that is probably near and dear to most MM romance readers’ hearts, which is the portrayal of queer relationships in popular media. (In fact, I bonded with Novak on Twitter over this very thing after reading Charisma Check.)
Sure, this could have easily been a book about a television actor challenging the status quo, with no romance aspect necessary. But I loved how Lewis supports Jason through this challenge and even rallies other familiar characters from this series to the cause. The happy ending to this book exists in multiple layers, all of which were satisfying. Though Novak has no plans to continue this series (that I’m aware of), she has solidified herself as a must-read author for me in the future.
Rating: 5 (out of 5) stars. Cross-posted to Amazon and Goodreads.