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The Deepest Desires #1
Barred Desires
Luca Gray Hart
I have everything I could ever want - a great family, awesome friends, a girlfriend, and I’m headed off to my dream college. But the past is always there, lurking like a shadow in the night…
Branson Joseph Adler
I love men. I love everything about them. Their feel. Their smell. Their taste. It’s no secret to my friends and family that I’m gay. But I do have one secret…
What happens when you give in to the temptation and your world turns upside down?
It’s forbidden.
But it’s ours.
*Barred Desires is the first book in The Deepest Desires interconnected series. It is a forbidden MM stepbrother romance, and it is angsty, emotional, and steamy.
I have everything I could ever want - a great family, awesome friends, a girlfriend, and I’m headed off to my dream college. But the past is always there, lurking like a shadow in the night…
Branson Joseph Adler
I love men. I love everything about them. Their feel. Their smell. Their taste. It’s no secret to my friends and family that I’m gay. But I do have one secret…
What happens when you give in to the temptation and your world turns upside down?
It’s forbidden.
But it’s ours.
*Barred Desires is the first book in The Deepest Desires interconnected series. It is a forbidden MM stepbrother romance, and it is angsty, emotional, and steamy.
246 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 25, 2022
About the author
Ashley James
18 books1,025 followersAshley James is a romance author who enjoys writing (and reading) LGBTQIA+ books. She is from Washington State—and no, not Seattle—and currently resides in South Carolina with her two kids and hairless kitties, Goose, Maverick, and Houston. Ashley is introverted and slightly (okay, majorly) awkward. She refuses to make this section sound like a tacky dating app profile, so she won't be telling you how much she enjoys music, how she thoroughly enjoys dancing and singing in her kitchen, despite not being able to carry a tune, and she won't be telling you about her love of toxic and broken fictional men.
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March 26, 2022
so...don't mind me. i'm just here (im)patiently waiting for knox and aston's story. 😌
February 8, 2023
What was the point of so many aspects in this book?
this review could contain spoilers. I have no idea
Okay first of all, I did enjoy it. It was angst free and relatively drama - free and so yeah it was a pretty quick read.
Luca and Branston are stepbrothers who both share a fair share of trauma. Luca being straight begins to question everything when he realizes that he’s attracted to Branson.
what did I like?
- Luca and Brandon had a cute relationship going on with no miscommunication
- They had an incredibly supportive family and friend group
- The sex scenes were pretty hot
What I didn’t even get
- okay so, spoiler alert Luca was abused by his baby sitter aka his parents’ friend. We see Luca’s girlfriend touching him without his consent and triggering him into getting a series of nightmares for days. But what I don’t get is why that storyline never got developed. We get one scene where they meet the pedo and he panics and tells Bran everything. But that’s it. No action was taken against the man nor did that plot continue after that.
- Next up, Bran Drama. So when Luca’s dad slips into a coma, we get Bran’s backstory which felt oddly out of place since we don’t have a single indication throughout the book that Branson had been through anything. He seemed to be the guy that had no baggage and his POV’s were always problem free. So it just came out of nowhere imo.
- Then we have Luca’s dominant side. So By the beginning of the book, we have one sex scene with Luca and his ex girlfriend where we witness Luca’s filthy fucking mouth but when he gets with Branson he’s more submissive. I really wish we could’ve read a scene where Luca dominated Branson like he did with his ex.
- Remember that bitch who said this was drama free? Yeah well that wasn’t me. Now we have the ex hex. Courtney or as Branson like to call her cuntney because he is cool. She was such a loud character. Whiney and her presence in the book was not required after a point and I didn’t get why the author kept bringing her back
The book wasn’t bad 👍
this review could contain spoilers. I have no idea
Okay first of all, I did enjoy it. It was angst free and relatively drama - free and so yeah it was a pretty quick read.
Luca and Branston are stepbrothers who both share a fair share of trauma. Luca being straight begins to question everything when he realizes that he’s attracted to Branson.
what did I like?
- Luca and Brandon had a cute relationship going on with no miscommunication
- They had an incredibly supportive family and friend group
- The sex scenes were pretty hot
What I didn’t even get
- okay so, spoiler alert Luca was abused by his baby sitter aka his parents’ friend. We see Luca’s girlfriend touching him without his consent and triggering him into getting a series of nightmares for days. But what I don’t get is why that storyline never got developed. We get one scene where they meet the pedo and he panics and tells Bran everything. But that’s it. No action was taken against the man nor did that plot continue after that.
- Next up, Bran Drama. So when Luca’s dad slips into a coma, we get Bran’s backstory which felt oddly out of place since we don’t have a single indication throughout the book that Branson had been through anything. He seemed to be the guy that had no baggage and his POV’s were always problem free. So it just came out of nowhere imo.
- Then we have Luca’s dominant side. So By the beginning of the book, we have one sex scene with Luca and his ex girlfriend where we witness Luca’s filthy fucking mouth but when he gets with Branson he’s more submissive. I really wish we could’ve read a scene where Luca dominated Branson like he did with his ex.
- Remember that bitch who said this was drama free? Yeah well that wasn’t me. Now we have the ex hex. Courtney or as Branson like to call her cuntney because he is cool. She was such a loud character. Whiney and her presence in the book was not required after a point and I didn’t get why the author kept bringing her back
The book wasn’t bad 👍
September 14, 2022
Me, towards the beginning: well I’ll continue on, I don’t hate it.
Me, now that I’m done: I hated it😃😃😃
Me, now that I’m done: I hated it😃😃😃
March 12, 2024
MM Romance
Stepbrothers
2 Stars ⭐️
This is a new MM author and this is their debut book. Originally I gave this book 3 stars because I usually give new authors more leeway than established ones knowing they can only improve from here. However, every time this book pops up on my feed or in notifications, I cringe 😬 remembering parts of it. Therefore, I’m lowering my rating to 2 stars because while I have all the same issues I had before, I can’t get over the way the women in this book were treated and talked about. Add in the cringy preview for the next book and no matter how much I love the enemies to lovers theme, I dont know that I can do it. I really hope this author makes some changes. Just because I prefer reading about two men doesn’t mean I want to read books that degrade women. The misogyny in this book is hideous.
“It’s humorous how low-maintenance and easy-going guys are. No doubt if we were girls, this would be a huge ordeal, one that would require hour-long discussions about feelings and shit.”m
Stepbrother romances are usually one of my favorite MM tropes because they are a bit angsty, taboo and there’s always that “are they going to get caught” tension running through it. Unfortunately, none of that happened in this book. There was no angst, no tension because neither one really gave a fuck if they got caught and there wasn’t anything taboo about it, when it’s obvious everyone knows but doesn’t care. I was disappointed but with a debut book, the writer can only improve from here so this is what I’d like to see changed in future books.
1.) When reading MM, I don’t want MF scenes especially detailed ones. Luca has a girlfriend for a bit in this book and I didn’t need the sex scenes between them. A fade to black is perfectly acceptable when it’s other characters and not the main couple. As for the girlfriend, I don’t understand why women in MM books always end up as villains and are used as unnecessary plot devices. This book had enough going on that their split could have been just a simple break up scene especially since they hadn’t been getting along for ages. The girlfriend could have been used to create tension and/or angst though between the brothers. The author tried to do this but it just didn’t quite work for me. I never felt Branson’s angst, just anger.
2.) This book was very wordy at times and some of that gave away the plot going forward. For instance, it was said numerous times how Courtney, the girlfriend, had a spare key and how that came about off page. When they broke up, it was mentioned again that she kept the spare key when she left blah blah. So much was said about this key that I knew she was going to bust in on the stepbrothers and sure enough a few chapters later, it played out exactly like that. It would have been better for me to have had no idea she even had a spare until she busted in and caught them.
3.) I really dislike when trauma occurs in books like what is happening to Luca throughout this but the characters don’t get the help they need. Luca has never confided in anyone about what happened to him and it’s obvious he has demons from it and while he tells Branson eventually, that doesn’t wrap up the issue. There should have been follow through with telling the parents, Luca getting counseling etc but by implying all of that trauma went away because Luca felt safe with and loved by Branson didn’t work for me. This kind of subject matter is too important to get swept under the rug.
4.) There was a lot of things happening off page in this book and being mentioned later. For instance, something would happen like Luca walking in on Branson and that dude or Luca kissing Branson and in the next chapter, it would be 1-3 months into the future. I think that’s why it was so hard for me to really get invested in their love story because I spent no time with them unless they were at their parent’s house for the holidays. I just felt so disconnected from this book and this couple but I also liked them and wanted to be invested in them. I wanted to be interested in them and I just wasn’t.
This is a weird review because on one hand I liked parts of this book like the secondary characters. I really want to read Aston and Knox’s book although I’m not crazy about the fact that in the preview for it in this book, it starts off with a detailed MF sex scene. Yet, I think their story could be really good because it appears to be enemies to lovers. And I liked Branson and Luca overall but I just felt like something was missing the entire time like there had to be more to this book than there was. There are tons of sex scenes and exploring each other but not much substance between them except getting each other through the events happening in this book. It was really hard for me to stay interested in their story when it didn’t hit the basic things a stepbrother romance should be.
I went into this with low expectations after reading reviews but because I really was looking forward to this at one time, it was still disappointing. The books I’ve been the most excited about in 2022 have just been rather lackluster and I keep hoping the next one I want to read will make up for these blah ones but it just hasn’t happened.
Stepbrothers
2 Stars ⭐️
This is a new MM author and this is their debut book. Originally I gave this book 3 stars because I usually give new authors more leeway than established ones knowing they can only improve from here. However, every time this book pops up on my feed or in notifications, I cringe 😬 remembering parts of it. Therefore, I’m lowering my rating to 2 stars because while I have all the same issues I had before, I can’t get over the way the women in this book were treated and talked about. Add in the cringy preview for the next book and no matter how much I love the enemies to lovers theme, I dont know that I can do it. I really hope this author makes some changes. Just because I prefer reading about two men doesn’t mean I want to read books that degrade women. The misogyny in this book is hideous.
“It’s humorous how low-maintenance and easy-going guys are. No doubt if we were girls, this would be a huge ordeal, one that would require hour-long discussions about feelings and shit.”m
Stepbrother romances are usually one of my favorite MM tropes because they are a bit angsty, taboo and there’s always that “are they going to get caught” tension running through it. Unfortunately, none of that happened in this book. There was no angst, no tension because neither one really gave a fuck if they got caught and there wasn’t anything taboo about it, when it’s obvious everyone knows but doesn’t care. I was disappointed but with a debut book, the writer can only improve from here so this is what I’d like to see changed in future books.
1.) When reading MM, I don’t want MF scenes especially detailed ones. Luca has a girlfriend for a bit in this book and I didn’t need the sex scenes between them. A fade to black is perfectly acceptable when it’s other characters and not the main couple. As for the girlfriend, I don’t understand why women in MM books always end up as villains and are used as unnecessary plot devices. This book had enough going on that their split could have been just a simple break up scene especially since they hadn’t been getting along for ages. The girlfriend could have been used to create tension and/or angst though between the brothers. The author tried to do this but it just didn’t quite work for me. I never felt Branson’s angst, just anger.
2.) This book was very wordy at times and some of that gave away the plot going forward. For instance, it was said numerous times how Courtney, the girlfriend, had a spare key and how that came about off page. When they broke up, it was mentioned again that she kept the spare key when she left blah blah. So much was said about this key that I knew she was going to bust in on the stepbrothers and sure enough a few chapters later, it played out exactly like that. It would have been better for me to have had no idea she even had a spare until she busted in and caught them.
3.) I really dislike when trauma occurs in books like what is happening to Luca throughout this but the characters don’t get the help they need. Luca has never confided in anyone about what happened to him and it’s obvious he has demons from it and while he tells Branson eventually, that doesn’t wrap up the issue. There should have been follow through with telling the parents, Luca getting counseling etc but by implying all of that trauma went away because Luca felt safe with and loved by Branson didn’t work for me. This kind of subject matter is too important to get swept under the rug.
4.) There was a lot of things happening off page in this book and being mentioned later. For instance, something would happen like Luca walking in on Branson and that dude or Luca kissing Branson and in the next chapter, it would be 1-3 months into the future. I think that’s why it was so hard for me to really get invested in their love story because I spent no time with them unless they were at their parent’s house for the holidays. I just felt so disconnected from this book and this couple but I also liked them and wanted to be invested in them. I wanted to be interested in them and I just wasn’t.
This is a weird review because on one hand I liked parts of this book like the secondary characters. I really want to read Aston and Knox’s book although I’m not crazy about the fact that in the preview for it in this book, it starts off with a detailed MF sex scene. Yet, I think their story could be really good because it appears to be enemies to lovers. And I liked Branson and Luca overall but I just felt like something was missing the entire time like there had to be more to this book than there was. There are tons of sex scenes and exploring each other but not much substance between them except getting each other through the events happening in this book. It was really hard for me to stay interested in their story when it didn’t hit the basic things a stepbrother romance should be.
I went into this with low expectations after reading reviews but because I really was looking forward to this at one time, it was still disappointing. The books I’ve been the most excited about in 2022 have just been rather lackluster and I keep hoping the next one I want to read will make up for these blah ones but it just hasn’t happened.
March 13, 2024
I can hear his heartbeat settle when I lay my head on his chest. It’s at this moment, curled up beside him, that I know. I’m in love with my stepbrother. Nothing has ever felt like this, felt this right. We fall asleep wrapped up in each other and stay that way the whole night.
This story has a lot of tropes I usually avoid…
Stepbrothers
Bi awakening
OTT ex girlfriend
Losing a parent
Childhood SA
But it was told in a way that actually made these characters compelling, it was hard to put down.
*Really wish the author would not have used so many musical references, those will be very dated in just a few years.
This story has a lot of tropes I usually avoid…
Stepbrothers
Bi awakening
OTT ex girlfriend
Losing a parent
Childhood SA
But it was told in a way that actually made these characters compelling, it was hard to put down.
*Really wish the author would not have used so many musical references, those will be very dated in just a few years.
March 7, 2022
*** I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book***
Barred Desires is a wonderful debut novel that features a complicated love story between stepbrothers who develop a more intense connection once they both move away for college.
Luca and Branson have a great relationship with one another, but everything intensifies where long-buried hidden feelings slowly move toward the surface as Luca wrestles with his long-forgotten demons and Branson's strong protective side comes out.
Luca and Branson have amazing chemistry with one another and their connection is more than obvious as they try to navigate their growing feelings towards one another.
Overall this is a mildly angsty stepbrother's romance that has many moving moments combined with explosive steamy scenes that made for an entertaining story.
Barred Desires is a wonderful debut novel that features a complicated love story between stepbrothers who develop a more intense connection once they both move away for college.
Luca and Branson have a great relationship with one another, but everything intensifies where long-buried hidden feelings slowly move toward the surface as Luca wrestles with his long-forgotten demons and Branson's strong protective side comes out.
Luca and Branson have amazing chemistry with one another and their connection is more than obvious as they try to navigate their growing feelings towards one another.
Overall this is a mildly angsty stepbrother's romance that has many moving moments combined with explosive steamy scenes that made for an entertaining story.
March 19, 2022
" His soul calls to mine, like no matter what we do, we are destined to collide."
So many great tropes in this DEBUT offering, Barred Desires, from new-to-me (obviously!) author Ashley James, including:
🌶 Step-brothers
🌶 Friends to lovers
🌶 Forbidden love
🌶 Steamy 🔥🔥🔥
🌶 Bi-awakening
🌶 MM romance
This is the first book in the Deepest Desires series of standalones and it is Luca and Branston's story.
The boys have been raised as step-brothers and get along pretty well as youngsters. Bran is openly gay and Luca is straight, with a long-term high school girlfriend (Courtney) who becomes more and more annoying as the story progresses!
Branston is older and has been away at college, Luca eventually joins him and they end up living together with some other guys and gradually become closer. They both have experienced an 'oops' moment walking in on the other during steamy times, which start a series of wholly different steamy thoughts, that gradually progress to something more....
There are some triggers, so please take care to read the author's TWs, but this is essentially a low angst, high steam, 'forbidden' MM romance, with a HEA.
What more could you ask for?!
4 steamy stars ✨✨✨✨
So many great tropes in this DEBUT offering, Barred Desires, from new-to-me (obviously!) author Ashley James, including:
🌶 Step-brothers
🌶 Friends to lovers
🌶 Forbidden love
🌶 Steamy 🔥🔥🔥
🌶 Bi-awakening
🌶 MM romance
This is the first book in the Deepest Desires series of standalones and it is Luca and Branston's story.
The boys have been raised as step-brothers and get along pretty well as youngsters. Bran is openly gay and Luca is straight, with a long-term high school girlfriend (Courtney) who becomes more and more annoying as the story progresses!
Branston is older and has been away at college, Luca eventually joins him and they end up living together with some other guys and gradually become closer. They both have experienced an 'oops' moment walking in on the other during steamy times, which start a series of wholly different steamy thoughts, that gradually progress to something more....
There are some triggers, so please take care to read the author's TWs, but this is essentially a low angst, high steam, 'forbidden' MM romance, with a HEA.
What more could you ask for?!
4 steamy stars ✨✨✨✨
March 6, 2022
TWs: on page description of SA, drug use, description of the death of a loved one, cheating
**also slight spit kink 😏
4 stars!
This was a stunning debut from this author! I'm always baffled by how people can just write pages and pages of one story and make fictional people come to life in my mind's eye, and Ashley James did that! Ever since I saw the teasers, I knew I had to sign up for an arc, and I'm so glad I did! 🥰
This is a story of stepbrothers and their inevitable attraction to one another. It reads like a snapshot of a crucial moment in time of both of their lives. We get a steamy, swoony, story of an all-consuming type of love.
"I have never felt so wholly consumed by another person in my life. I want to physically crawl inside of him and never let go. He’s mine."
While Barred Desires didn't feel completely taboo to me (I'mbrokendon'tworry), it did have those forbidden love trope/scenes ((like holding pinkies in public spaces 🥺)) that added to the "aww" and steaminess of the story. And boy, was it steamy! Like I'm talking 🥵🥵 level steamy. Sheesh. I mean after years of living together as both friends and family, Luca and Branson both have awkward, somehow similar, but disconnected moments of walking in on each other having sex with someone else. And bam! Feelings unlocked 😌
"My soul was made for his soul, my body chemistry was designed to fit his, and our hearts were made to beat together."
Like I said above, this book reads like a snapshot of day-to-day happenings in the two MCs lives, seeing as not much drama happens within their relationship itself, we just get the progression of it. Everyone was very accepting and supportive (except Luca's ex of course), no miscommunication tropes. It was refreshing 💙 Yes, this story does cover some very difficult topics and there were some dramatic elements, but it didn't feel overly angsty to me because you get the sweetness of these two falling in love at the forefront.
One thing that didn't make this a complete 5 stars for me was the way things were handled with Courtney and Mike. It feels like the fact that Luca still probably needed therapy was swept under the guise of the 'true love fixes every problem' trope. There were some real issues there that I wish were better resolved.
All in all, it was a solid debut and I am certainly looking forward to Aston and Knox's book! (It smells like enemies-to-lovers aka my weakness 🥲)
**also slight spit kink 😏
4 stars!
This was a stunning debut from this author! I'm always baffled by how people can just write pages and pages of one story and make fictional people come to life in my mind's eye, and Ashley James did that! Ever since I saw the teasers, I knew I had to sign up for an arc, and I'm so glad I did! 🥰
This is a story of stepbrothers and their inevitable attraction to one another. It reads like a snapshot of a crucial moment in time of both of their lives. We get a steamy, swoony, story of an all-consuming type of love.
"I have never felt so wholly consumed by another person in my life. I want to physically crawl inside of him and never let go. He’s mine."
While Barred Desires didn't feel completely taboo to me (I'mbrokendon'tworry), it did have those forbidden love trope/scenes ((like holding pinkies in public spaces 🥺)) that added to the "aww" and steaminess of the story. And boy, was it steamy! Like I'm talking 🥵🥵 level steamy. Sheesh. I mean after years of living together as both friends and family, Luca and Branson both have awkward, somehow similar, but disconnected moments of walking in on each other having sex with someone else. And bam! Feelings unlocked 😌
"My soul was made for his soul, my body chemistry was designed to fit his, and our hearts were made to beat together."
Like I said above, this book reads like a snapshot of day-to-day happenings in the two MCs lives, seeing as not much drama happens within their relationship itself, we just get the progression of it. Everyone was very accepting and supportive (except Luca's ex of course), no miscommunication tropes. It was refreshing 💙 Yes, this story does cover some very difficult topics and there were some dramatic elements, but it didn't feel overly angsty to me because you get the sweetness of these two falling in love at the forefront.
One thing that didn't make this a complete 5 stars for me was the way things were handled with Courtney and Mike. It feels like the fact that Luca still probably needed therapy was swept under the guise of the 'true love fixes every problem' trope. There were some real issues there that I wish were better resolved.
All in all, it was a solid debut and I am certainly looking forward to Aston and Knox's book! (It smells like enemies-to-lovers aka my weakness 🥲)
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November 1, 2022
I was apprehensive going into this book because of the mixed reviews, but at the same time, I am excited for Kismet and decided I wanted to read this series before Kismet.
Barred Desire is the story of Luca and Branson, two step-brothers who both have traumatic pasts. Luca has dealt with childhood sexual assault and Branson abuse from a drug-addicted father. They have both also dealt with the loss of a parent.
They have a close relationship as brothers but get strained as feelings shift from brotherly to romantic. It was an overall emotional and well-written story. I loved the bi-awakening aspect for Lucas and how he did not have a 'freak out' with his step-brother. I loved their chemistry, and you can feel the love they have for each other is so deep. I adored how Branson was there to comfort Luca in his time of need and vice versa. The sexual chemistry between these two is wow. Ashely James did an amazing job with the sex scenes. They were romantic, tender, flirty and just plain sexy.
There were a few things I did find issues with.
How Luca's traumatic childhood was or was not handled is an issue. I feel like Luca has a lot of unresolved trauma, but it is never really addressed once we learn about it. I also think that the fact Luca's father never finds out what happened to him is odd. The man who sexually abused him still runs in the same circle, and while he did moved away, his father still views Luca's abuser as a family friend. It would have been a powerful healing moment or a step towards healing by confiding in his father.
I love step-brother romances, and one of the aspects I love about it is the taboo nature of it. Their relationship did not feel like it was taboo. Mainly because of how accepting their family and friends were. There was no conflict or tension surrounding their relationship…. just acceptance. Also Luca's sexuality isn't really addressed either.
Also, I would say another aspect (and this might turn away readers) is the nickname Branson uses to refer to Luca's girlfriend and the reaction Luca has. The whole girlfriend issue was also very one dimensional. She was an easy villian.
Overall, I did enjoyed Barred Desire and am excited to read Knox and Aston's story! 3.5 round up to 4. I think this was a good debut work from Ashley James.
Barred Desire is the story of Luca and Branson, two step-brothers who both have traumatic pasts. Luca has dealt with childhood sexual assault and Branson abuse from a drug-addicted father. They have both also dealt with the loss of a parent.
They have a close relationship as brothers but get strained as feelings shift from brotherly to romantic. It was an overall emotional and well-written story. I loved the bi-awakening aspect for Lucas and how he did not have a 'freak out' with his step-brother. I loved their chemistry, and you can feel the love they have for each other is so deep. I adored how Branson was there to comfort Luca in his time of need and vice versa. The sexual chemistry between these two is wow. Ashely James did an amazing job with the sex scenes. They were romantic, tender, flirty and just plain sexy.
There were a few things I did find issues with.
How Luca's traumatic childhood was or was not handled is an issue. I feel like Luca has a lot of unresolved trauma, but it is never really addressed once we learn about it. I also think that the fact Luca's father never finds out what happened to him is odd. The man who sexually abused him still runs in the same circle, and while he did moved away, his father still views Luca's abuser as a family friend. It would have been a powerful healing moment or a step towards healing by confiding in his father.
I love step-brother romances, and one of the aspects I love about it is the taboo nature of it. Their relationship did not feel like it was taboo. Mainly because of how accepting their family and friends were. There was no conflict or tension surrounding their relationship…. just acceptance. Also Luca's sexuality isn't really addressed either.
Also, I would say another aspect (and this might turn away readers) is the nickname Branson uses to refer to Luca's girlfriend and the reaction Luca has. The whole girlfriend issue was also very one dimensional. She was an easy villian.
Overall, I did enjoyed Barred Desire and am excited to read Knox and Aston's story! 3.5 round up to 4. I think this was a good debut work from Ashley James.
April 21, 2022
This book attempted to raise the issue of SA and R*pe that men face at the expense of pushing misogynistic rhetoric and I can’t vibe with that. Yes. The stigma that men can’t be SA’d by their partners or otherwise is rampant and it’s brought to light in this book. But the way the author went about it wasn’t correct.
It wasn’t until the 90% mark that it clicked for me.
There really was no reason to be this misogynistic:
It’s humorous how low-maintenance and easy-going guys are. No doubt if we were girls, this would be a huge ordeal, one that would require hour-long discussions about feelings and shit.
what? Ms author accomplished misogyny and pushed toxic masculinity together so beautifully I’m wowed 🤩🤩. Great job 👍🏼😀👍🏼.
And then for no reason this snippet of a conversation that could have been completely left out:
“Weston, where’s Jessica?”
“She’s on her way, I guess.”
“It’s almost midnight. What’s taking her so long?”
“Who fucking knows. She’s a chick, I think that explains it all.”
Disrespectfully, choke 🥰.
Anyway the writing was horrible, the dialogue, atrocious. And if you’re wondering about the smut? ******SPOILER*******It was mostly them blowing each other off and going at it like rabbits while their dad lay in a coma in the hospital.
That’s it from me. Off to better horizons 😩❤️🩹
Cw/tw:
Drug abuse (minor)
Sexual harassment (major)
Sexual assault (major)
Mentions of death of loved ones (minor)
It wasn’t until the 90% mark that it clicked for me.
There really was no reason to be this misogynistic:
It’s humorous how low-maintenance and easy-going guys are. No doubt if we were girls, this would be a huge ordeal, one that would require hour-long discussions about feelings and shit.
what? Ms author accomplished misogyny and pushed toxic masculinity together so beautifully I’m wowed 🤩🤩. Great job 👍🏼😀👍🏼.
And then for no reason this snippet of a conversation that could have been completely left out:
“Weston, where’s Jessica?”
“She’s on her way, I guess.”
“It’s almost midnight. What’s taking her so long?”
“Who fucking knows. She’s a chick, I think that explains it all.”
Disrespectfully, choke 🥰.
Anyway the writing was horrible, the dialogue, atrocious. And if you’re wondering about the smut? ******SPOILER*******It was mostly them blowing each other off and going at it like rabbits while their dad lay in a coma in the hospital.
That’s it from me. Off to better horizons 😩❤️🩹
Cw/tw:
Drug abuse (minor)
Sexual harassment (major)
Sexual assault (major)
Mentions of death of loved ones (minor)
February 2, 2023
4.5 Stars
I have never felt so wholly consumed by another person in my life. I want to physically crawl inside of him and never let go. He’s mine. This wild possessiveness is new to me, but it rages deep in my soul. Only for him.
The reviews for this book were so mixed, I wasn't sure if I was going to end up liking it or not. But I must say that I REALLY really liked it. So I'm super happy that I gave it a shot.
Time stops, the outside world completely disappears, the only thing existing is him and I—together. This is the moment that will likely change everything forever. But I don’t fucking care anymore.
There are some very heavy topics discussed in this book. Both MCs have gone through some terrible shit, but the way that Bran and Luca were there for each other and supported one another was fantastic. It really helped their relationship move forward beyond just their sexual attraction.
I don’t care how wrong it is, or about any of the reasons that this could blow up in our faces. All I know, at this moment, is I need Luca like I need my next breath.
The sex in this book is super SPICY and HOT. I loved the dirty talk! There is also some spit play/spit kink(?) in this. Normally, that is not my jam, but I didn't mind it here. So I'm either starting to like it or it was written really well.
“You gotta keep it down, baby,” he says while thrusting into me unapologetically, “or our parents will know what a needy little slut you are for my cock.”
I also appreciated how the parents noticed that things were changing between their kids before Bran or Luca even said anything. Also, omg Branson! What were you thinking when you told your mom??? So much second hand embarrassment.
His lips are softer than anything I have ever known, perfect like untouched snowfall. His kiss tastes sweet like ice cream on a summer day and heals me like medicine after being sick. His kiss revives me, brings me back to life, and I never, ever want to be without it. Without him.
There are some really sweet moments here as well. Luca calling Branson "Bran Bran". Too freaking cute. I also enjoyed all the side characters and am really looking forward to reading more about them in the following books.
My soul was made for his soul, my body chemistry was designed to fit his, and our hearts were made to beat together.
I have never felt so wholly consumed by another person in my life. I want to physically crawl inside of him and never let go. He’s mine. This wild possessiveness is new to me, but it rages deep in my soul. Only for him.
The reviews for this book were so mixed, I wasn't sure if I was going to end up liking it or not. But I must say that I REALLY really liked it. So I'm super happy that I gave it a shot.
Time stops, the outside world completely disappears, the only thing existing is him and I—together. This is the moment that will likely change everything forever. But I don’t fucking care anymore.
There are some very heavy topics discussed in this book. Both MCs have gone through some terrible shit, but the way that Bran and Luca were there for each other and supported one another was fantastic. It really helped their relationship move forward beyond just their sexual attraction.
I don’t care how wrong it is, or about any of the reasons that this could blow up in our faces. All I know, at this moment, is I need Luca like I need my next breath.
The sex in this book is super SPICY and HOT. I loved the dirty talk! There is also some spit play/spit kink(?) in this. Normally, that is not my jam, but I didn't mind it here. So I'm either starting to like it or it was written really well.
“You gotta keep it down, baby,” he says while thrusting into me unapologetically, “or our parents will know what a needy little slut you are for my cock.”
I also appreciated how the parents noticed that things were changing between their kids before Bran or Luca even said anything. Also, omg Branson! What were you thinking when you told your mom??? So much second hand embarrassment.
His lips are softer than anything I have ever known, perfect like untouched snowfall. His kiss tastes sweet like ice cream on a summer day and heals me like medicine after being sick. His kiss revives me, brings me back to life, and I never, ever want to be without it. Without him.
There are some really sweet moments here as well. Luca calling Branson "Bran Bran". Too freaking cute. I also enjoyed all the side characters and am really looking forward to reading more about them in the following books.
My soul was made for his soul, my body chemistry was designed to fit his, and our hearts were made to beat together.
April 10, 2022
THIS REVIEW IS FULL IF SPOILERS:
why did I not DNF this one ?? Although I got so irritated I ended up skimming the last 20% and didn’t even bother with the epilogue
For me this was not good - the book starts with the prologue with one of the MC’s - Luca as a 9 year old being sexually assaulted by one of his parents friends. Then the book starts with the stepbrothers story, which is nothing really special at all. The story, their friends, family the writing was bland and surface level.
So Luca had a girlfriend, no issues until now then she is the evil woman and then becomes a psycho harassing attacker. All out of nowhere.
The sex scenes were skimworthy
The biggest problem with the book is how the abuse was handled, Luca never told anyone, suffers for 10 years and ignores it. Now he decided to tell his new boyfriend all. One night cry , that’s is and not a word again … I can’t understand how anyone could put this out there. It’s almost like minimizing how awful and how real anyone who dealt with trauma would be best actually dealing with the issue
Anyway that’s my thoughts so….
why did I not DNF this one ?? Although I got so irritated I ended up skimming the last 20% and didn’t even bother with the epilogue
For me this was not good - the book starts with the prologue with one of the MC’s - Luca as a 9 year old being sexually assaulted by one of his parents friends. Then the book starts with the stepbrothers story, which is nothing really special at all. The story, their friends, family the writing was bland and surface level.
So Luca had a girlfriend, no issues until now then she is the evil woman and then becomes a psycho harassing attacker. All out of nowhere.
The sex scenes were skimworthy
The biggest problem with the book is how the abuse was handled, Luca never told anyone, suffers for 10 years and ignores it. Now he decided to tell his new boyfriend all. One night cry , that’s is and not a word again … I can’t understand how anyone could put this out there. It’s almost like minimizing how awful and how real anyone who dealt with trauma would be best actually dealing with the issue
Anyway that’s my thoughts so….
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2022
Soooooo…my first thought after finishing this book was ‘that was stupid’…
Did I like the book? Yes, I mean I did finish it, so it was palatable.
Was I totally capitvated by the characters, romance or story? No.
And tbh, once I got to ~75% I just started skimming the sex scenes. Bc I think there is such a thing as too much smut when it’s not doing anything to develop characters or relationships.
It also just felt like the character development had literally NOTHING to do w the story and nothing about the romance seemed to really offer anything to heal the individual traumas.
It was also pretty insta-lovey and that’s not my jam. Also, people who actually have affairs w stepsiblings—do they actually refer to the relationship at taboo??
I do think the author did a really good job w Luca’s trauma and PTSD. But I would have liked that experience to impact his character more and not get tied up so neatly/quickly.
Idk, overall it was a chill time and I think my expectations kind of set me up to be disappointed. But w/e win some y’a lose some.
PS there was also some very casual misogyny which just seemed completely unnecessary. Like completely.
Did I like the book? Yes, I mean I did finish it, so it was palatable.
Was I totally capitvated by the characters, romance or story? No.
And tbh, once I got to ~75% I just started skimming the sex scenes. Bc I think there is such a thing as too much smut when it’s not doing anything to develop characters or relationships.
It also just felt like the character development had literally NOTHING to do w the story and nothing about the romance seemed to really offer anything to heal the individual traumas.
It was also pretty insta-lovey and that’s not my jam. Also, people who actually have affairs w stepsiblings—do they actually refer to the relationship at taboo??
I do think the author did a really good job w Luca’s trauma and PTSD. But I would have liked that experience to impact his character more and not get tied up so neatly/quickly.
Idk, overall it was a chill time and I think my expectations kind of set me up to be disappointed. But w/e win some y’a lose some.
PS there was also some very casual misogyny which just seemed completely unnecessary. Like completely.
February 24, 2023
3.75 stars!
Barred Desires was intoxicating and addictive. A lot of my Goodreads friends didn't rate this story all that high but I really enjoyed it - especially the smut. Luca and Branson are stepbrothers and have never seen each other in any other light. Branson could appreciate Luca's fine male physique but Luca is straight and Branson is gay and that was the end of it. However, little events happen and snowball Luca and Branson into each other in the best way.
What starts out as scratching an itch and exploring turns into something incredibly deeper and more passionate and I adored Branson and Luca. Their relationship was emotional and sweet and I loved that the angst was on the outside rather then between the two of them.
The love these two had for each other was heartwarming and the way they stood up for each other was soul searing. The smut was hot as hell and frequent. I would almost categorize this as erotica from the second half of the book to the end.
My only complaint is there were two rather large and traumatic events that Luca and Branson went through in their lives and I didn't feel like they were resolved effectively. Especially Luca's past trauma. That was heavy. The second half of the book did get a little cheesy and Luca lost some of his alphaness but overall I really liked this story and I'm looking forward to reading the next in this series. Here's to Luca the sweetie and Branson the bad boy finding their other halves.
Barred Desires was intoxicating and addictive. A lot of my Goodreads friends didn't rate this story all that high but I really enjoyed it - especially the smut. Luca and Branson are stepbrothers and have never seen each other in any other light. Branson could appreciate Luca's fine male physique but Luca is straight and Branson is gay and that was the end of it. However, little events happen and snowball Luca and Branson into each other in the best way.
"I’m not in love with him or anything. I just want to shove him to his knees and fill his throat with my cock from time to time. No big deal. "
What starts out as scratching an itch and exploring turns into something incredibly deeper and more passionate and I adored Branson and Luca. Their relationship was emotional and sweet and I loved that the angst was on the outside rather then between the two of them.
"It’s hard when he looks at me the way he does. When he feels like home. His soul calls to mine, like no matter what we do, we are destined to collide."
The love these two had for each other was heartwarming and the way they stood up for each other was soul searing. The smut was hot as hell and frequent. I would almost categorize this as erotica from the second half of the book to the end.
My only complaint is there were two rather large and traumatic events that Luca and Branson went through in their lives and I didn't feel like they were resolved effectively. Especially Luca's past trauma. That was heavy. The second half of the book did get a little cheesy and Luca lost some of his alphaness but overall I really liked this story and I'm looking forward to reading the next in this series. Here's to Luca the sweetie and Branson the bad boy finding their other halves.
"I have never felt so wholly consumed by another person in my life. I want to physically crawl inside of him and never let go. He’s mine. This wild possessiveness is new to me, but it rages deep in my soul. Only for him. "
March 25, 2022
A 100% biased review of Barred Desires by @authorashleyjames
In most of the reviews of Barred Desires you’ll read things about how this is an MM step-brother romance with minimal angst and a decent amount of spice for two very sweet and devoted characters. All of those things are true. Branson and Luca go off to college and find themselves caught in each other’s orbit in a way that is less than purely brotherly. They go after what they want an are pretty shameless about the whole thing. No miscommunication?! How novel and refreshing.
To me, the best thing about this book is how the childhood trauma of both characters is handled. Ashley did such an amazing job making it clear how events in childhood can harbor shame that affect us into adulthood. How secrets are kept at the detriment of ourselves and how opening yourself to the trust of another person can help relieve part of that burden. This isn’t a story about the monsters of their past, it’s about how together they find the strength to overcome what they’ve gone through and find happiness on the other side.
On a personal note, when your best friend puts out a book you put sappy shit on the internet. I’m crying I’m so happy everyone else is seeing how amazing you are Ashley. Seriously. I could not be more proud to call you my friend. You were so real in telling this story that is raw and somehow made it so sweet to be accessible to people who might not otherwise read it. Thank you for letting me be a part of the journey. Love you to pieces.
In most of the reviews of Barred Desires you’ll read things about how this is an MM step-brother romance with minimal angst and a decent amount of spice for two very sweet and devoted characters. All of those things are true. Branson and Luca go off to college and find themselves caught in each other’s orbit in a way that is less than purely brotherly. They go after what they want an are pretty shameless about the whole thing. No miscommunication?! How novel and refreshing.
To me, the best thing about this book is how the childhood trauma of both characters is handled. Ashley did such an amazing job making it clear how events in childhood can harbor shame that affect us into adulthood. How secrets are kept at the detriment of ourselves and how opening yourself to the trust of another person can help relieve part of that burden. This isn’t a story about the monsters of their past, it’s about how together they find the strength to overcome what they’ve gone through and find happiness on the other side.
On a personal note, when your best friend puts out a book you put sappy shit on the internet. I’m crying I’m so happy everyone else is seeing how amazing you are Ashley. Seriously. I could not be more proud to call you my friend. You were so real in telling this story that is raw and somehow made it so sweet to be accessible to people who might not otherwise read it. Thank you for letting me be a part of the journey. Love you to pieces.
June 17, 2022
4.5
Oh my .... 😍😍😍
These baby boys are everything!!
I'm madly in love with them!!
To be honest I loved even each side characters of this story.
Not Courtney tho. She is a psycho b*ich ��😤
Luca & Branson' story is forbidden but there is not really angst or something that comes between them once they start to fall for each other. And i'm greatful for that.
I loved the fact the once they understood they wanted each other there were no doubts, no shame, just plenty want and so much affection 😍
The connection between Luca and Branson is freaking amazing, and their way to tease each other made me giggle like a schoolgirl with her first crush.
Barred Desires may not be angsty but it doesn’t mean it isn’t intense and emotional: there are so many heartbreaking moments that made my eyes watery.
It's the perfect beginning of a series which promises to be fantastic.
I can’t wait for the next one!!
And in my opinion it's a marvelous debut work.
I suggest you to keep an eye on Ashley James, you won’t regret it.
Oh my .... 😍😍😍
These baby boys are everything!!
I'm madly in love with them!!
To be honest I loved even each side characters of this story.
Not Courtney tho. She is a psycho b*ich ��😤
Luca & Branson' story is forbidden but there is not really angst or something that comes between them once they start to fall for each other. And i'm greatful for that.
I loved the fact the once they understood they wanted each other there were no doubts, no shame, just plenty want and so much affection 😍
The connection between Luca and Branson is freaking amazing, and their way to tease each other made me giggle like a schoolgirl with her first crush.
Barred Desires may not be angsty but it doesn’t mean it isn’t intense and emotional: there are so many heartbreaking moments that made my eyes watery.
It's the perfect beginning of a series which promises to be fantastic.
I can’t wait for the next one!!
And in my opinion it's a marvelous debut work.
I suggest you to keep an eye on Ashley James, you won’t regret it.
March 29, 2022
I've never read a story like this before and I'm not sure how to feel about it. I liked the spicy scenes and the fluffy parts, but the plot beyond that was boring and I skimmed most of the book. Also the way everyone reacted to them when they found out was super cringey and way to calm dude😭
Also, if you do want to read this definitely check the trigger warnings because I could not read the sad parts, and I think that contributed with me not connecting to the characters much.
But.... 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars for the 🌶🌶🌶
Also, if you do want to read this definitely check the trigger warnings because I could not read the sad parts, and I think that contributed with me not connecting to the characters much.
But.... 2.5 rounded up to 3 stars for the 🌶🌶🌶
February 8, 2024
1.75⭐
Can a stepbro book be even more boring?
The writing was too formal for a college stepbro "forbidden" (there was no forbidden) romance, the dialogues weren't palatable, a touch of misogyny and a few repetitive sex scenes and voilà, an afternoon wasted.
I'm not even going to get into it that much, I'll just point out some of the things that were simply awful for me personally - if not terrible.
🟡 I'm here only to get to Kismet, but looking at this book I'm not sure anymore it's worth it; next book is Aston and Knox, enemies to lovers, so I'll stick around for that
🔴 No sense of forbidden, none at all, not even a bit, no tension, no pining, nothing
🟢 Words of a 19 year old college guy.
“Well, the sex was hot to watch, but it was you I couldn’t take my eyes off of. The blissed- out look in your eyes, your sweaty, defined muscles, the primal way you manhandled him… it was fucking hot. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.”
The primal way you manhandled him. Right.
"Yo, Bran, that was a really primal way you manhandled him."
Nope, I can't see it. 😐
🔵 Comparing ass to pussy again, because why not
"He’s tighter than any pussy I’ve ever been in, and it’s work to not come as soon as I’m sheathed to the hilt."
Forgive Luca, the education he's paying for hasn't kicked in, he's not at the anatomy part yet.
🟣 A woman villain and unprocessed trauma that doesn't get dealt with
Luca's girlfriend Courtney is called Cuntney - and we all know how Americans are sensitive about the word cunt, so this was really bad - she's a witch too. Of course she is.
I really have no problem with her being the villain, but Courtney's biggest sin in this story was just her persistence to hold on to Luca, she wasn't inherently bad at all. She tried to out Luca and Bran to their parents and it really didn't fit her character, so she should've been bad from the start to make that work.
Her touching him in his sleep without prior consent was definitely bad, but that particular part of the story with Luca's past trauma wasn't well developed, so it looked like the story was trying to make Courtney the bad guy - but hadn't dealt with the real bad guy, which was Luca's former babysitter that's also present in the story. He got away scot free, no consequences, no confrontation, absolutely nothing for sexually assaulting Luca when he was a kid.
But Courtney is the bad guy, right.
🟠 Can't go to bed without a little bit of misogyny. And I'll point it out in every book I read, I'm done.
"It’s humorous how low- maintenance and easy-going guys are. No doubt if we were girls, this would be a huge ordeal, one that would require hour- long discussions about feelings and shit."
That's such a stereotype. I can tell you one thing. My dad had lifelong friends, I'm talking 40-50 years of friendship, they were all straight men, simple men, if that matters. And I've heard them talk privately at our house on numerous occasions for hours and the stuff they got into was not only deep, it was extremely private, like I couldn't imagine my dad ever saying shit like that to my mom.
So I have no idea why aren't we letting these stereotypes die down.
“Weston, where’s Jessica?”
“She’s on her way, I guess.”
“It’s almost midnight. What’s taking her so long?”
“Who fucking knows. She’s a chick, I think that explains it all.”
This author obviously doesn't know any high maintenance men - and there are plenty out there, some groomed to such perfection you wouldn't even dream of spending that much time on yourself.
And even if they did know such men, it appears those men could do no wrong in this book, that man could take 5 hours fixing his hair in the bathroom and this book would just be like "oh, he's so hot, he always looks amazing, of course he needs that long to look this good, hello?", when if it's a woman she's just a chick who's making everyone late. 👏
"He responds to this with a giggle, a real schoolgirl giggle, and wiggles his ass into me."
Oh my god, you know what, I've read this one so many times and I totally forgot that guys don't giggle! So true. And there's that teenage girl hate again, it's been a few days, I was missing it already!
🔵 So many subplots. Why? Abuse everywhere and just gets glanced at, nothing particular gets resolved, it was just put into the story so it seemed it had depth - well it didn't. Everything was superficial, boring and I wasn't really excited about anything, I couldn't care less about these two characters, the story didn't pull me in.
The sex was boring too. Where was Luca from the beginning of the story when he had sex with Courtney? He seemed really good and I was looking forward to him staying that way or even better with Bran, but it didn't happen. Luca's character had amazing potential, but got lost in this story. They were seriously getting on my nerves when they got intimate - and that never happens!
I'm going to move forward and try out the second installment and hopefully it gets better.
Can a stepbro book be even more boring?
The writing was too formal for a college stepbro "forbidden" (there was no forbidden) romance, the dialogues weren't palatable, a touch of misogyny and a few repetitive sex scenes and voilà, an afternoon wasted.
I'm not even going to get into it that much, I'll just point out some of the things that were simply awful for me personally - if not terrible.
🟡 I'm here only to get to Kismet, but looking at this book I'm not sure anymore it's worth it; next book is Aston and Knox, enemies to lovers, so I'll stick around for that
🔴 No sense of forbidden, none at all, not even a bit, no tension, no pining, nothing
🟢 Words of a 19 year old college guy.
“Well, the sex was hot to watch, but it was you I couldn’t take my eyes off of. The blissed- out look in your eyes, your sweaty, defined muscles, the primal way you manhandled him… it was fucking hot. I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.”
The primal way you manhandled him. Right.
"Yo, Bran, that was a really primal way you manhandled him."
Nope, I can't see it. 😐
🔵 Comparing ass to pussy again, because why not
"He’s tighter than any pussy I’ve ever been in, and it’s work to not come as soon as I’m sheathed to the hilt."
Forgive Luca, the education he's paying for hasn't kicked in, he's not at the anatomy part yet.
🟣 A woman villain and unprocessed trauma that doesn't get dealt with
Luca's girlfriend Courtney is called Cuntney - and we all know how Americans are sensitive about the word cunt, so this was really bad - she's a witch too. Of course she is.
I really have no problem with her being the villain, but Courtney's biggest sin in this story was just her persistence to hold on to Luca, she wasn't inherently bad at all. She tried to out Luca and Bran to their parents and it really didn't fit her character, so she should've been bad from the start to make that work.
Her touching him in his sleep without prior consent was definitely bad, but that particular part of the story with Luca's past trauma wasn't well developed, so it looked like the story was trying to make Courtney the bad guy - but hadn't dealt with the real bad guy, which was Luca's former babysitter that's also present in the story. He got away scot free, no consequences, no confrontation, absolutely nothing for sexually assaulting Luca when he was a kid.
But Courtney is the bad guy, right.
🟠 Can't go to bed without a little bit of misogyny. And I'll point it out in every book I read, I'm done.
"It’s humorous how low- maintenance and easy-going guys are. No doubt if we were girls, this would be a huge ordeal, one that would require hour- long discussions about feelings and shit."
That's such a stereotype. I can tell you one thing. My dad had lifelong friends, I'm talking 40-50 years of friendship, they were all straight men, simple men, if that matters. And I've heard them talk privately at our house on numerous occasions for hours and the stuff they got into was not only deep, it was extremely private, like I couldn't imagine my dad ever saying shit like that to my mom.
So I have no idea why aren't we letting these stereotypes die down.
“Weston, where’s Jessica?”
“She’s on her way, I guess.”
“It’s almost midnight. What’s taking her so long?”
“Who fucking knows. She’s a chick, I think that explains it all.”
This author obviously doesn't know any high maintenance men - and there are plenty out there, some groomed to such perfection you wouldn't even dream of spending that much time on yourself.
And even if they did know such men, it appears those men could do no wrong in this book, that man could take 5 hours fixing his hair in the bathroom and this book would just be like "oh, he's so hot, he always looks amazing, of course he needs that long to look this good, hello?", when if it's a woman she's just a chick who's making everyone late. 👏
"He responds to this with a giggle, a real schoolgirl giggle, and wiggles his ass into me."
Oh my god, you know what, I've read this one so many times and I totally forgot that guys don't giggle! So true. And there's that teenage girl hate again, it's been a few days, I was missing it already!
🔵 So many subplots. Why? Abuse everywhere and just gets glanced at, nothing particular gets resolved, it was just put into the story so it seemed it had depth - well it didn't. Everything was superficial, boring and I wasn't really excited about anything, I couldn't care less about these two characters, the story didn't pull me in.
The sex was boring too. Where was Luca from the beginning of the story when he had sex with Courtney? He seemed really good and I was looking forward to him staying that way or even better with Bran, but it didn't happen. Luca's character had amazing potential, but got lost in this story. They were seriously getting on my nerves when they got intimate - and that never happens!
I'm going to move forward and try out the second installment and hopefully it gets better.
March 29, 2022
⭐︎
3.5 Stars Rounded Up!
⭐︎
Trigger Warning for: On page allusions to CSA. There's never anything written full out. But Luca has flashbacks a time or two of the very start of the CSA he experienced. Also, he describes an incident when he's telling Branson about it. Be aware of that going into this.
Overall for a first novel, this one was pretty solid. I think it could have been improved in a few areas, but given that this was the author's first book, I'm rating on a bit of a curve. Instead of rounding down I'm rounding up because it was, overall, done well.
I enjoyed Luca and Branson together, and I loved their chemistry together. I felt their connection, and I felt that their relationship was done well.
My gripes with this stem more from other aspects. Mostly how the forbidden aspect of this didn't feel very forbidden. The stepbrother part of this didn't turn out to be that big of a deal? Their parents it handled it so well, and their friends as well. Hell, the only one who didn't handle it well is Luca's evil ex-girlfriend, so....
I know this already had angst with what happened to Luca and with Branson's dad, so part of me understands that maybe the good reactions to their relationship was to balance out the angst, but I just...wanted a bigger explosion when their relationship was revealed. I wanted more of a push and pull between them from "it's not right, we can't" to "but I can't stay away from you I have to have you."
It's just...to me, why include slightly taboo or taboo if it just...isn't going to be a big deal at all? Instead this just felt like a regular romantic relationship - which was done well, don't get me wrong. If they weren't stepbrothers I wouldn't be so hard on it right now and I'd probably be giving this a full on 4 or 4.5 stars, but it is supposed to be a stepbrothers romance, so I wanted more of that forbidden aspect.
I wouldn't mind their parents eventually being able to accept it, but couldn't we have gotten some drama when they found out? It was just all too easy, it takes away from the whole "oooh oh no they're stepbrothers, it's ~forbidden" aspect of it, you know? It's kind of disappointing when you're expecting that taboo aspect to the story.
Especially when these two have been brothers since they were 9/10 years old, so while it isn't their whole lives, it's a good portion of their lives, from when they were still kids. The taboo-ness of that is upped just from that rather than if they became stepbrothers as teenagers or older.
I just wanted more from that part of the story and it didn't really deliver all that much.
My other gripe is that I wanted Luca to
Also as how as these two were together, I was actually starting to feel like this leaned too close to too much sex near the very end. I skimmed one or two sex scenes, because it was too much and they felt unnecessary at that point. I loved how into these two were with each other, don't get me wrong, and for most of this I loved the sex and it was so hot to read.
But when Branson's getting turned on by seeing Luca's happy trail while they're in the , I started to feel like okay, there's a little too much sex in this near the end.
So I had my gripes with this, I had my problems with it, and there are just areas where this could have been improved upon, but overall I did enjoy this. I loved how Luca and Branson got together and I absolutely adored their chemistry, and how sweet they were together.
Overall I enjoyed this a lot. I just think in some way it could have been better, is all.
Definitely recommend this though, if you can get past the Trigger Warning. I will also definitely be tuning in for Knox and Anson's book, because it promises to be enemies-to-lovers and I can't pass that up!
So an overall solid first outing, which could be improved upon, which I hope the second one will do.😘
Trigger Warning for: On page allusions to CSA. There's never anything written full out. But Luca has flashbacks a time or two of the very start of the CSA he experienced. Also, he describes an incident when he's telling Branson about it. Be aware of that going into this.
Overall for a first novel, this one was pretty solid. I think it could have been improved in a few areas, but given that this was the author's first book, I'm rating on a bit of a curve. Instead of rounding down I'm rounding up because it was, overall, done well.
I enjoyed Luca and Branson together, and I loved their chemistry together. I felt their connection, and I felt that their relationship was done well.
My gripes with this stem more from other aspects. Mostly how the forbidden aspect of this didn't feel very forbidden. The stepbrother part of this didn't turn out to be that big of a deal? Their parents it handled it so well, and their friends as well. Hell, the only one who didn't handle it well is Luca's evil ex-girlfriend, so....
I know this already had angst with what happened to Luca and with Branson's dad, so part of me understands that maybe the good reactions to their relationship was to balance out the angst, but I just...wanted a bigger explosion when their relationship was revealed. I wanted more of a push and pull between them from "it's not right, we can't" to "but I can't stay away from you I have to have you."
It's just...to me, why include slightly taboo or taboo if it just...isn't going to be a big deal at all? Instead this just felt like a regular romantic relationship - which was done well, don't get me wrong. If they weren't stepbrothers I wouldn't be so hard on it right now and I'd probably be giving this a full on 4 or 4.5 stars, but it is supposed to be a stepbrothers romance, so I wanted more of that forbidden aspect.
I wouldn't mind their parents eventually being able to accept it, but couldn't we have gotten some drama when they found out? It was just all too easy, it takes away from the whole "oooh oh no they're stepbrothers, it's ~forbidden" aspect of it, you know? It's kind of disappointing when you're expecting that taboo aspect to the story.
Especially when these two have been brothers since they were 9/10 years old, so while it isn't their whole lives, it's a good portion of their lives, from when they were still kids. The taboo-ness of that is upped just from that rather than if they became stepbrothers as teenagers or older.
I just wanted more from that part of the story and it didn't really deliver all that much.
My other gripe is that I wanted Luca to
Also as how as these two were together, I was actually starting to feel like this leaned too close to too much sex near the very end. I skimmed one or two sex scenes, because it was too much and they felt unnecessary at that point. I loved how into these two were with each other, don't get me wrong, and for most of this I loved the sex and it was so hot to read.
But when Branson's getting turned on by seeing Luca's happy trail while they're in the , I started to feel like okay, there's a little too much sex in this near the end.
So I had my gripes with this, I had my problems with it, and there are just areas where this could have been improved upon, but overall I did enjoy this. I loved how Luca and Branson got together and I absolutely adored their chemistry, and how sweet they were together.
Overall I enjoyed this a lot. I just think in some way it could have been better, is all.
Definitely recommend this though, if you can get past the Trigger Warning. I will also definitely be tuning in for Knox and Anson's book, because it promises to be enemies-to-lovers and I can't pass that up!
So an overall solid first outing, which could be improved upon, which I hope the second one will do.😘
March 28, 2022
"It's humorous how low-maintenance and easy-going guys are. No doubt if we were girls, this would be a huge ordeal, one that would require hour-long discussions about feelings and shit."
Ouch.
Spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution.
This book had a lot of potential. It was written really well and I can honestly say that I look forward to what this author does in the future, but the story itself fell flat for me. Aside from not ever feeling the intense emotional attraction between Luca and Branson that I was being told about, there were some things that ate at the back of my mind as I was reading that I couldn't get past. My biggest issue was with the character of Mike, who sexually abused Luca as a child. I understood why Luca never said anything to anyone when he was little, but he mentioned a statute of limitations on filing charges against his abuser and a quick internet search will tell you that there are none in Washington state. You can chock that up to a 19 year old not knowing any better, but I wished something would have been done to wrap up that storyline other than Luca just getting it off his chest. Mike had a son who he could have also been abusing. Not to mention other kids he might have had access to. It would have been nice if Branson had at least convinced Luca to talk to his dad about it, but instead Branson snuggled Luca's trauma away and all was well with the world.
There was also cheating in this book. Luca didn't seem to care that he still had a girlfriend when he kissed Branson both the first AND second time. I guess his plan to break up with her was good enough for him, but not so much for me. Mind you, I didn't feel bad for his girlfriend because she was awful (gotta love those villainous females), but he stayed with her for an unnecessary amount of time after acknowledging both his attraction to Branson and his disdain towards her. It made me like him less, especially when he later said that he and Branson didn't get together until after he broke up with her, which put a lot of weight on the term "get together" and completely ignored what happened beforehand.
And finally, once Branson and Luca had sex for the first time, this book became nothing more than a sex fest. Talked about your trauma? Have sex. Dad had a heart attack? Have sex. Dad's in a coma? Have sex. It was borderline inappropriate at times and I got so bored of it.
So I'm giving this book 2 stars because, even though I wasn't a fan, it didn't put me off reading future books from this author. It was a debut and the writing was good and it held promise, but this particular story just didn't work for me.
Ouch.
Spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution.
This book had a lot of potential. It was written really well and I can honestly say that I look forward to what this author does in the future, but the story itself fell flat for me. Aside from not ever feeling the intense emotional attraction between Luca and Branson that I was being told about, there were some things that ate at the back of my mind as I was reading that I couldn't get past. My biggest issue was with the character of Mike, who sexually abused Luca as a child. I understood why Luca never said anything to anyone when he was little, but he mentioned a statute of limitations on filing charges against his abuser and a quick internet search will tell you that there are none in Washington state. You can chock that up to a 19 year old not knowing any better, but I wished something would have been done to wrap up that storyline other than Luca just getting it off his chest. Mike had a son who he could have also been abusing. Not to mention other kids he might have had access to. It would have been nice if Branson had at least convinced Luca to talk to his dad about it, but instead Branson snuggled Luca's trauma away and all was well with the world.
There was also cheating in this book. Luca didn't seem to care that he still had a girlfriend when he kissed Branson both the first AND second time. I guess his plan to break up with her was good enough for him, but not so much for me. Mind you, I didn't feel bad for his girlfriend because she was awful (gotta love those villainous females), but he stayed with her for an unnecessary amount of time after acknowledging both his attraction to Branson and his disdain towards her. It made me like him less, especially when he later said that he and Branson didn't get together until after he broke up with her, which put a lot of weight on the term "get together" and completely ignored what happened beforehand.
And finally, once Branson and Luca had sex for the first time, this book became nothing more than a sex fest. Talked about your trauma? Have sex. Dad had a heart attack? Have sex. Dad's in a coma? Have sex. It was borderline inappropriate at times and I got so bored of it.
So I'm giving this book 2 stars because, even though I wasn't a fan, it didn't put me off reading future books from this author. It was a debut and the writing was good and it held promise, but this particular story just didn't work for me.
March 10, 2022
Why are Stepbrother romances so hot?
This debut book by Ashley James was such a great start.
Branson and Luca were really hot together.
Both had horrific childhoods so seeing their love develop and how they sought comfort and strength in each other was really awesome. I loved that their trust in each other was instantaneous and unwavering.
The only thing I didn't like was the fact that the douchebag Mike never got his comeuppance for being a sick f#@k - even if it was just a kick in the balls from Branson - since they couldn't do anything about it legally.
I also don't care much for on page MF sex involving my MC's.
As for ‘Cuntney’ – OMG, I wanted to slap the bitch right out of her…🤭
But those little things don't take away anything from the fact that this was a steamy read that I enjoyed.
Bran Bran and Luca were just too good together... 💙🔥💙
This debut book by Ashley James was such a great start.
Branson and Luca were really hot together.
Both had horrific childhoods so seeing their love develop and how they sought comfort and strength in each other was really awesome. I loved that their trust in each other was instantaneous and unwavering.
The only thing I didn't like was the fact that the douchebag Mike never got his comeuppance for being a sick f#@k - even if it was just a kick in the balls from Branson - since they couldn't do anything about it legally.
I also don't care much for on page MF sex involving my MC's.
As for ‘Cuntney’ – OMG, I wanted to slap the bitch right out of her…🤭
But those little things don't take away anything from the fact that this was a steamy read that I enjoyed.
Bran Bran and Luca were just too good together... 💙🔥💙
June 24, 2022
The stars are for the smut and because I believe in Ashton and Knox😂
October 30, 2023
i was so fucking bored.
April 27, 2024
3.5 stars ⭐️
July 27, 2022
Sadly, I’m not too impressed. This book was not too good but not too bad at the same time. I felt little to no chemistry between both MMC’s and I cannot speak for everyone but personally, I like some conflict within my stories and this story did not really have any.
Sure the mc’s had trauma which brought some concern and something happened to the dad but other than that, no conflict and little to not plot really took place. Then again though, this could be my reading slump talking 🤷🏻♀️.
Sure the mc’s had trauma which brought some concern and something happened to the dad but other than that, no conflict and little to not plot really took place. Then again though, this could be my reading slump talking 🤷🏻♀️.
January 5, 2023
Although I didn't hate this tale of two stepbrothers who find true love in each other's arms, there was a lot that just didn't cut it with me.
The big standout is the transition of Luca into a straight guy into GFY for his brother Branson. We didn't get much, just a little, of Luca's insights into why this happened, or how he felt about it. It was just over and done quickly. Likewise, although Branson pushes back at first, he gives in pretty easily and accepts Luca's affections as if the previous ten years of Luca's straight identity had never happened. Striking since one of Branson's rules was never to fool around with a straight guy.
Having dual past traumas was interesting but although Luca's helped shape his reactions to his former girlfriend, I never got much of a sense of how Branson was harmed by his. There was a lot to mine here but it seemed glossed over.
And the near constant sex, my goodness, was just overkill. It was too much because none of it moved the plot forward but was just there for titillation, I guess. The last 20% of the book is just Luca and Branson having sex, with a few stops along the way for various things that happened. It got super boring after a while, and the author, like many in this genre, deemed it necessary to explore just about every sexual position possible, and of course, had to have both guys bottom, which for one guy was very out of character. (There are some slight D/s aspects to their relationship.)
Then there's just the writing itself. The dialog was wooden in so many places, and the lack of true introspection from our MCs was disappointing. Things moved along quickly, with very little buildup, just to get from once scene to the next. I was also very disappointed to read the two guys talk about how their STD tests came back "clean." Very stigmatizing, and everyone should know this by now.
I'm kinda interested in what happens in the next couple of books, and since they're rated higher than this debut novel, I might give them a go. As far as plots go, Barred Desire had a pretty good one, but the execution was lacking.
The big standout is the transition of Luca into a straight guy into GFY for his brother Branson. We didn't get much, just a little, of Luca's insights into why this happened, or how he felt about it. It was just over and done quickly. Likewise, although Branson pushes back at first, he gives in pretty easily and accepts Luca's affections as if the previous ten years of Luca's straight identity had never happened. Striking since one of Branson's rules was never to fool around with a straight guy.
Having dual past traumas was interesting but although Luca's helped shape his reactions to his former girlfriend, I never got much of a sense of how Branson was harmed by his. There was a lot to mine here but it seemed glossed over.
And the near constant sex, my goodness, was just overkill. It was too much because none of it moved the plot forward but was just there for titillation, I guess. The last 20% of the book is just Luca and Branson having sex, with a few stops along the way for various things that happened. It got super boring after a while, and the author, like many in this genre, deemed it necessary to explore just about every sexual position possible, and of course, had to have both guys bottom, which for one guy was very out of character. (There are some slight D/s aspects to their relationship.)
Then there's just the writing itself. The dialog was wooden in so many places, and the lack of true introspection from our MCs was disappointing. Things moved along quickly, with very little buildup, just to get from once scene to the next. I was also very disappointed to read the two guys talk about how their STD tests came back "clean." Very stigmatizing, and everyone should know this by now.
I'm kinda interested in what happens in the next couple of books, and since they're rated higher than this debut novel, I might give them a go. As far as plots go, Barred Desire had a pretty good one, but the execution was lacking.
July 27, 2022
2.5 stars
Unfortunately, this was really poorly written. There was minimal character development. The dialogue didn't match the characters age demographic or their character (it was hard to tell who was talking sometimes). The plot ... I'm still not sure what this was about. I feel like the author just threw in as many tropes as possible (nightmares, shared bed, gfy, forced proximity, etc.) and hoped a story would come out of it.
I still read the whole book, which is why it got the rating it did. But, I'm so cranky about one particular element of the story. One of the MCs (Luca) was a victim of child abuse/molestation. It's written in detail from memories and dreams several times. There was absolutely NO RESOLUTION to this. They even showed the abuser embracing Luca. He literally got away with what he did to Luca and kept his wife, family and normal life. The authors excuse for this was statute of limitations ... so factually incorrect. There's such a thing as historical child abuse cases. This whole scenario detracted from the story and Branson as a character because he is the only one that knows and their was no encouragement to tell the parents, authorities or even get bloody therapy! This was an awful element of the story that could've been handled so much better, but felt super juvenile how it was written.
Also, the way the female (Luca's ex) was written was deplorable. One second the author made her seem nice, the next she was flirting with everyone, and then just simply trying to get her boyfriends attention repeatedly. There was no consistency with Courtney and it was not a very good representation for the 1 out of 2 female characters in the book (sorry Jessica got one line in the entire book, she doesn't count).
I will definitely NOT be continuing on with the series. I haven't been this disappointed in a book in a long time.
***trigger warnings: childhood sexual abuse/molestation, drug use, overdose
Unfortunately, this was really poorly written. There was minimal character development. The dialogue didn't match the characters age demographic or their character (it was hard to tell who was talking sometimes). The plot ... I'm still not sure what this was about. I feel like the author just threw in as many tropes as possible (nightmares, shared bed, gfy, forced proximity, etc.) and hoped a story would come out of it.
I still read the whole book, which is why it got the rating it did. But, I'm so cranky about one particular element of the story. One of the MCs (Luca) was a victim of child abuse/molestation. It's written in detail from memories and dreams several times. There was absolutely NO RESOLUTION to this. They even showed the abuser embracing Luca. He literally got away with what he did to Luca and kept his wife, family and normal life. The authors excuse for this was statute of limitations ... so factually incorrect. There's such a thing as historical child abuse cases. This whole scenario detracted from the story and Branson as a character because he is the only one that knows and their was no encouragement to tell the parents, authorities or even get bloody therapy! This was an awful element of the story that could've been handled so much better, but felt super juvenile how it was written.
Also, the way the female (Luca's ex) was written was deplorable. One second the author made her seem nice, the next she was flirting with everyone, and then just simply trying to get her boyfriends attention repeatedly. There was no consistency with Courtney and it was not a very good representation for the 1 out of 2 female characters in the book (sorry Jessica got one line in the entire book, she doesn't count).
I will definitely NOT be continuing on with the series. I haven't been this disappointed in a book in a long time.
***trigger warnings: childhood sexual abuse/molestation, drug use, overdose
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2022
This book sucked. This book was so juvenile. I was in the mood for some gfy and I came across this on KU.
First off , the writing is awful. My writing sucks but I know I can do better than that. The character development were nonexistent. I could not believe these boys were in college, the way they spoke and acted made them seem way younger.
Secondly, the drama. Gosh, the drama. There was so much drama for no absolute reason. The one with the neighbor that was just thrown in there for some gratuitous trauma. His father's medical drama, his ex's drama. It was just too much. It made me start to roll my eyes with every reveal. At the end of reading this I realized I was better off not reading the book in the first place because I was annoyed at how much it sucked.
The only thing that was interesting was Knox and Ashton's drama, I am so curious but after this drama fest I am so scared to even attempt reading it.
First off , the writing is awful. My writing sucks but I know I can do better than that. The character development were nonexistent. I could not believe these boys were in college, the way they spoke and acted made them seem way younger.
Secondly, the drama. Gosh, the drama. There was so much drama for no absolute reason. The one with the neighbor that was just thrown in there for some gratuitous trauma. His father's medical drama, his ex's drama. It was just too much. It made me start to roll my eyes with every reveal. At the end of reading this I realized I was better off not reading the book in the first place because I was annoyed at how much it sucked.
The only thing that was interesting was Knox and Ashton's drama, I am so curious but after this drama fest I am so scared to even attempt reading it.
March 26, 2022
Here’s something different from every four/five stars pretty much everyone is giving this book. Don’t get me wrong, glad you liked it!
It was okay, so two stars. It was okay and I’m disappointed it was only OKAY. I wanted to love it because all these tropes in the book DO it for me. But there were a lot of things that I didn’t like.
LIST OF NEGATIVES:
- Right off the bat we get two explicit scenes of the MC’s having sex with other people. Which I don’t like, might be a me thing but I was like oh here we go that’s how we’re starting this BOOK ugh.
- Wasn’t a fan how Luca talked about his gf even though yes she was annoying and turns out a bit loca but many many times Luca thinks OH WHY ARE WE STILL TOGETHER I can hardly STAND her boohoo and yes we get why later but it was too repetitive
- At some points in the book, I believe it was Branson, talks about how they’re both adults so why call a woman a Cunt. I’m sure the author only named her Courtney so she could be called Cuntney multiple times. Not very mature, no matter how much of a bitch she was
- I don’t want to say I’m trying to defend Courtney, she was absolutely horrible. Sexually assaulting her bf just because he was responding isn’t okay at all, and I wish everything about that whole scene was talked about more, although I’m glad they told her how consent is uh everything. No means no people
- And what happened to poor Luca had to go through when he was a child needed to be handled more responsibly. Just because Luca has a perfect guy he’s in love with doesn’t solve all the problems. Nightmares GONE because he’s sleeping in Branson’s arms now. Kid needed therapy and to talk to his dad. Being in a relationship doesn’t fix every trauma
- Also my god. When Andrew was in the hospital for days. In a coma for days. The MCs just go back to a hotel to fuck. Why. Idc if they’re playing it off as distracting each other from the fact that their father could DIE. If it was my father, nothing could distract me from worrying about my fucking parent being in a dangerously critical condition. Bye.
POSITIVES: Although there’s a lot of negatives, I didn’t completely hate it.
- Branson and Luca were good together in the end hopefully once Andrew gets better they can talk about Luca’s trauma
- Never once did I forget which POV I was in, they had their distinct voice
- Glad the parents were okay off the bat with their relationship
- That’s it? Sorry. Let’s hope the second book is better for me!
It was okay, so two stars. It was okay and I’m disappointed it was only OKAY. I wanted to love it because all these tropes in the book DO it for me. But there were a lot of things that I didn’t like.
LIST OF NEGATIVES:
- Right off the bat we get two explicit scenes of the MC’s having sex with other people. Which I don’t like, might be a me thing but I was like oh here we go that’s how we’re starting this BOOK ugh.
- Wasn’t a fan how Luca talked about his gf even though yes she was annoying and turns out a bit loca but many many times Luca thinks OH WHY ARE WE STILL TOGETHER I can hardly STAND her boohoo and yes we get why later but it was too repetitive
- At some points in the book, I believe it was Branson, talks about how they’re both adults so why call a woman a Cunt. I’m sure the author only named her Courtney so she could be called Cuntney multiple times. Not very mature, no matter how much of a bitch she was
- I don’t want to say I’m trying to defend Courtney, she was absolutely horrible. Sexually assaulting her bf just because he was responding isn’t okay at all, and I wish everything about that whole scene was talked about more, although I’m glad they told her how consent is uh everything. No means no people
- And what happened to poor Luca had to go through when he was a child needed to be handled more responsibly. Just because Luca has a perfect guy he’s in love with doesn’t solve all the problems. Nightmares GONE because he’s sleeping in Branson’s arms now. Kid needed therapy and to talk to his dad. Being in a relationship doesn’t fix every trauma
- Also my god. When Andrew was in the hospital for days. In a coma for days. The MCs just go back to a hotel to fuck. Why. Idc if they’re playing it off as distracting each other from the fact that their father could DIE. If it was my father, nothing could distract me from worrying about my fucking parent being in a dangerously critical condition. Bye.
POSITIVES: Although there’s a lot of negatives, I didn’t completely hate it.
- Branson and Luca were good together in the end hopefully once Andrew gets better they can talk about Luca’s trauma
- Never once did I forget which POV I was in, they had their distinct voice
- Glad the parents were okay off the bat with their relationship
- That’s it? Sorry. Let’s hope the second book is better for me!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 23, 2022
How is this Ashley's debut book?! This book is filled with hot and steamy scenes BUT also so much heartache, love and understanding. My heart broke for these boys but damn the two of them together was beautiful.
It's crazy how one college party can change everything. When Luca walks in on Bran with another guy it sparks something within him. But Luca is straight.. well at least he thinks he is. So he pushes back his emotions and proceeds to find his girlfriend. But his thoughts keep wandering and one thing leads to another and over time Luca and Courtney (his GF) start to drift apart. Then one night something so extreme happens that is the last straw for Luca and in his state of panic Branson is there to protect him.
This story was so beautiful and the way the two brothers came together was effortless. They brought out the best in each-other and i couldn't get enough.
⭐️10/10 recommend - standalone (Deepest Desires Series)
😈MM / forbidden / taboo / stepbrothers / forced proximity / bi awakening / sweet
🌶🌶🌶
⚠️past tense: CSA + abuse, grief, drug & overdose
It's crazy how one college party can change everything. When Luca walks in on Bran with another guy it sparks something within him. But Luca is straight.. well at least he thinks he is. So he pushes back his emotions and proceeds to find his girlfriend. But his thoughts keep wandering and one thing leads to another and over time Luca and Courtney (his GF) start to drift apart. Then one night something so extreme happens that is the last straw for Luca and in his state of panic Branson is there to protect him.
This story was so beautiful and the way the two brothers came together was effortless. They brought out the best in each-other and i couldn't get enough.
⭐️10/10 recommend - standalone (Deepest Desires Series)
😈MM / forbidden / taboo / stepbrothers / forced proximity / bi awakening / sweet
🌶🌶🌶
⚠️past tense: CSA + abuse, grief, drug & overdose
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