Chris Fischer knew that coming to Holsum College would mean new experiences - he was miles from home and knew no one when he first arrived. And it didn't take long: he had a completely new experience with Peter Cohen during his orientation weekend (nothing sexual, and it surely didn't make him gay). Other things in his life allowed him to forget about it until he found himself moving in next door to the guy he barely knew. The wall between them being paper-thin, Chris quickly learned he was going to get to know Peter better than he had expected - and would get to know more about himself than he ever imagined.

The novella is a relatively quick and easy read, flowing very well from chapter to chapter. I had no trouble connecting with the characters - the situations, dialogue, and storytelling helped make them very easy to relate to. Avoiding some of the cliches of M/M stories set in college, I found College Boys to be unique, intriguing, and one of the best gay erotica I've read in some time.

(eGalley provided by Siren Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.) ( )

4.5 stars. 4.5 stars. College Boys by Daisy Harris is a fabulous romance with two very charming protagonists. To read my review in its entirety, please visit http://www.bookreviewsandmorebykathy.com/2012/05/09/college-boys/ ( )

3.75 HEARTS--A story just about every MM reader read...except me.

You know what they say...



Love that episode.

Anyhoo, what can I say that hasn't been said already? Probably not much.

Set in Vermont, Chris, Tennessean straight college soccer player moves into a single dorm room that has been shoddily split into two singles rooms with a paper thin wall to separate him and his neighbor. His neighbor is Peter, a gay student who Chris had a morning wood, totally not gay encounter with earlier in the year.

Uh-huh.

So while Chris gets to mourn his mother's passing in peace away from his teammates, he also gets to know Peter and they become friends. And masturbatory helping aids? Well, the wall separates them, so...it's totally not gay. Right?

I came for the 'out for you' but was pleasantly surprised with the additions to the plot. I liked Chris mourning. (wished it didn't get pushed to the wayside once the sexy times started. But who wants dead mom thoughts when boners are present?) I really liked Chris working through accepting that his sexuality wasn't as concrete as he'd thought - though the homophobic teammates were assholes and sometimes Chris made dick moves, his heart was in the right place. I'm glad it wasn't another gay boy dating a closeted boy story.

And the sex read natural. I liked the progression. Well most of it. And my smut loving heart rejoiced when I got the double whammy. You know what time it is: Virgin meets Butt Virgin Time




*purrs* And tears (during sex).

There were things I felt were too soon like the level of HEA. Not saying twenty-somethings aren't that mature but...virgins making such weighty promises after such short amount of time? *raises eyebrow* Methinks the hormones might be talking here. Also while I did applaud Chris' acceptance...it might've been a little hasty.

Overall, enjoyable story. It's hot, there's a solid plot and I'll be back for more of this series.



A copy provided via Netgalley for an honest review. " ( )

College Boys was provided to me via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I hope this meets their criteria. I'm willing to provide a much more boring review if not.







 VS!




Steeeeeeeeeep right up, Folks! This ain’t the fight your grandma wanted to see, but you'll tune in anyway! We’re on LIVE and you haven’t watched scrappy fighters like these in a while. I promise you, if you’re looking for dirty, you’ll get dirty. This ain’t no alphabet soup match, what you see here issssss gonna be real!



Who will win? Who will lose? I don’t know, it promises to be a real barnburner!



This fight was a tense one, because while College Boys was short and Frat Boy and Toppy really had some depth going for it, College Boys packed a better punch, sticking basic moves and beating the weak ending of Frat Boy and Toppy.



There’s not much difference here, as it deals with a straight-until-proven-gay jock and a book smart gay guy who is out. College Boys’ Jock was smarter than Frat Boy, but I hear Toppy is a fan favorite. Aw, does that make you sad? Perk up, bibliophile!



You’ll notice I don’t remember their names. I think there was a guy named Max? Maybe Paul, maybe Ryan. That might have been the pissy room-mate though, we kicked him off the mat when he got too involved in the match, no reaching through the ropes to help out your favorite, Javier!



Going into the fight, I thought College Boys was too much of a lightweight, granted it’s only a hundred pages or so between them, but I honestly thought you couldn’t compare a novella to a novel, as short as it was. And up until the final round, I was sure that it would be clear win for Frat Boy and Toppy, but College Boys persevered where the others stamina finally wore out. Once they came out, Frat Boy and Toppy were down for the count. (Not even some kinky stuff was gonna put the crowd in a good mood again.)



It was in this final round that I allowed myself to compare Frat Boy and Toppy to this fighter I saw a couple years ago when it was on netflix, one that looked more like a college project than an indie festival winner, even though it was great. Really carried the crowd. I compared the coming out scenes, and found Frat Boy lacking in comparison to Defying Gravity. It’s always the veterns who do things better, huh?



All the previous development went out the window. Was the coming out supposed to be funny? Was the final clinch supposed to be the eye of calm in a storm? A public kiss would have been a simpler and more satisfying ending. I see so many stories try and force a final KO. Whether it’s an epilogue or just one final moment before the impossible tale ends, it never works, but Frat Boy and Toppy, while putting up a tough fighter, left a lot to be desired, flubbing the fight just when the odds were in their favor, and trying too hard for that high-score finish.



Frankly, College Boys was hotter on the mat, though there was some fluffing around at times, psyching himself up for a satisfying clinch that we all were waiting for. Also, that angst about the first couple hits that Frat Boy and Toppy tried to land? Totally worth it, not even the worst crying I’ve ever seen in a fight. Balanced out by all the stamina shown in the other rounds. Ah, who am I kidding, College Boys is a sweet one!



And boy did that fight have some action, it makes me think that no one really knows why they think phone sex is hot, until they live on the other side of a very thin wall of someone they lust after. Let me tell you! Then they think of it as a poor substitute. Don’t deny it, just tune in when College Boys picks up the gloves again. You’ll thank me, and stick around for the sequels while you’re at it.



College Boys by Daisy Harris

104pp. Siren. 9 Apr 2012.



Frat Boy and Toppy by Anne Tenino

174pp. Riptide. 25 Mar 2012.

3.5 stars. Cute, light, fun read. I'll definitely be checking out the rest of this series. ( )