2.75 ( )

Wow, the anxiety rep here is a little too close to home. The beginning where he’s thinking about germs and freaking out? Nope that is not at all something I can read right now.

Almost this entire tale is told by Oscar. Since I started with book 2...maybe the first one and the last one will let us hear more from Jack. I don’t really see how anyone could possibly put themselves in the position to try to love either of them...maybe they do deserve each other. We learn right off that Oscar has anxiety and depression.... big time! It didn’t say... but I think low self-esteem should also be on that list. I found myself feeling compassion for him, but have to wonder why his friends didn’t try harder to encourage him to find help along with the pills.... not JUST with the pills. I sincerely hope that medical offices are not really just handing these meds out and not seeing that the people they are giving them to are damaged beyond what a mere pill could ever hope to cure. I liked Jack, but I didn’t understand why he accepted Oscars’ behavior as anything resembling “normal”. Being around Oscar for any length of time is simply exhausting for the reader. Jack’s grandfather was a hoarder...making “collections” for 20 or more years...so I found it almost impossible to believe that when his grandfather died Jack would actually still live in the house with that mess...let alone give/pay someone as emotionally unstable as Oscar the task of cleaning out the house. It seemed an unrealistic task for someone with Oscar's problems. I dd find places in the book that was humorous but I’m not sure if I’m up to the task of tackling the other two books. ( )

The Hate Project by Kris Ripper
The Love Study #2

Adored this Carina Adores romance! It had me smiling, caring, chuckling, and hoping for the best for two rather prickly characters. I will say that the story grew on me and I was not enamored at all by the end of the first chapter BUT by the end of the second chapter I was invested and wanted to know what would happen.

What I liked:
* The slow build of the relationship
* That the two men were not “easy” to love from the first moment you met them
* The group of friends that go by a name that would be censored if I typed it in her…they are there for one another no matter what.
* Being able to read and understand this book without having read book one in the series first
* Stepping into a world that is not my own
* Oscar: anxiety plagued, quirky, caring, organized, interesting, a person that as explained helped me understand better someone I know.
* Jack: bright, cautious, caring, loves his grandmother, a person with potential that is tapped in this story.
* That both characters became more and more real as I read, I was invested in them and their HEA was something I truly wanted them to achieve.
* Evelyn: Jack’s grandmother is a character and oh so lovable!
* The way the hoarding aspect of the story was handled
* Finding out what “The Secret” was
* All of it really except…

What I didn’t like:
* Having to say goodbye to the characters when the book ended…

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin-Carina Adores for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars ( )