My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.
I think I’m burnt out on football player romances. As someone who is not a sports fan, I suppose that’s not too surprising. I’ve seen lots of 4 and 5 star ratings for HeartOn, and I get how those readers took such a liking to Deion and Carlos. However, I felt like there wasn’t enough insight into each of their struggles with coming out as bi to their families. I wanted to know how each dealt with coming out and the reactions from their families. And, specifically for Deion, was there any backlash from sports fans or former teammates? The whole premise of the story revolves around the fears Carlos and Deion have about everyone else’s acceptance of their relationship and sexuality. But once they resolved to commit to each other, it was like that issue became insignificant. I needed more angst to invoke some feelings.
I did appreciate the frank discussion Deion and Carlos had about the realistic and not so flattering aspects of gay sex. No other book I’ve ever read has addressed this topic in such a sensible and practical manner. Kudos to the author for getting real.
Prior to reading HeartOn, I was not aware of the previous book in this series that features Benji and Josh. I really liked Benji (I’m partial to flamboyant characters) and have added HeartShip to my TBR list. Oh, and Owen gets his own story, which is awesome because the tidbits of his character in HeartOn snagged my interest.
In short, while I didn’t dislike HeartOn, I found it to be slightly lacking in the drama but enjoyed the development of Carlos and Deion’s relationship.
***ARC provided by author for unbiased review.***