Oh this was . . . Really bad. Like just terrible. I can't think of a single thing this story did well. This was the BL equivalent of AIDS and AIDS still ain't as bad as this.
The art was mid, it was a little janky. Usually serviceable enough but it did often push into the "bad" territory, especially in regards to the face. The plot was thin and nonexistent, I honestly can't remember much of it. It felt like all the plot lines kind of just dissolved into nothing outside of the personal relationships, and even then they weren't immune. And the characters . . . God, the characters. They were unironically some of the worst characters I've ever read.
For context, I can handle most tropes; rape, abuse, incest, general toxic relationships, stuff like that I actually quite love. I do not have an "ick" . . . Except for cheating. I just can't stomach cheating . . . And all three main characters of this story cheat on each other. It was fucking terrible. I have so rarely seen a story so quickly ruin itself in the way this story did, and then it just kept going. It was like as if there was a car crash in the middle of a highway, and the other cars kept on going straight instead of steering around it, so the crash just constantly grew bigger and bigger with more and more cars colliding into each other. This story is that wreck. It's just abysmal.
One thing to note is that this is a love triangle. You can't tell that from the cover and it's not said in the description. This story follows Jordyn and his exploration of his newly liberated sexuality after he found his wife cheating on him. The day following his break-up, he gets on a gay hook-up app and invites a stranger—Owen—to go out and get drinks with him. They end up going back to Jordyn's house only for it to go south, with Owen being offended by the degrading, pornographic dirty talk Jordyn tries. However, at his lowest emotionally, Jordyn pleads in apology and begs him to be his friend. Owen reluctantly agrees, mainly because he can tell Jordyn isn't exactly at his best and he takes sympathy, and that's the beginning of their relationship.
The next day, when Jordyn arrives at work he finds out there's a new employee—Simon, the son of a higher-up—and he's been assigned to look over him. After a few days of lowkey flirting, Simon comes onto him and they end up dating.
It's kind of strange, because straight from the get-go you know Jordyn and Owen are going to be the main couple, but the first quarter of the story is dedicated to Jordyn and Simon. I was never able to get fully invested in their relationship as I knew it wasn't going to last.
What absolutely ruined the story for me comes in about the midway point; having watched Jordyn and Simon act couple-y, Owen realizes that he does in fact like Jordyn, so he tries to win him over. Which is whatever. But there are multiple scenes where Owen comes onto him, and though he does verbally protest, Jordyn never pushes him away. In fact, he eventually ends up going along with it and flirting back . . . All while Jordyn is still in a relationship with Simon. Instantly that just poisoned all relationships and all characters for me. I can't fucking stand cheaters.
Around the midway point, Simon also starts becoming restless in his relationship. There's a bit of an age gap between him and Jordyn, so Simon is a lot more reckless and "fun" while Jordyn is too mature and reserved for his tastes . . . But Owen is, at least physically, exactly what Simon likes. So Simon starts crushing Owen. And then during the night after the three of them had a sleepover—since Jordyn wanted them all to be friends as he doesn't really have a social circle, especially amongst other gay men—Owen wakes up, sees Jordyn and Simon cuddling, and decides to leave. Except Simon follows him.
Simon proposes to Owen that if Owen fucks him, he'll break up with Jordyn . . . And it's just so fucking frustrating to me. Because one: though he says he'll break up with him, both characters knew he wouldn't, and two: Simon making that proposal is insane because he does, even if it's just a little bit, genuinely like Jordyn. It seems like he has quite deep feelings for him, at least from the impression I got.
. . . And Owen agrees. They go to a motel and fuck. I fucking hated it. During this whole period of the story, Owen is trying so desperately to get Jordyn to date him, he's incredibly dedicated and head-over-heels . . . So him going and fucking his boyfriend just left a bitter taste in my mouth. Aside from obviously just being a nasty move, it totally felt like emotionally cheating. While it's not exactly that as they obviously weren't together, if I were Jordyn, I don't see how I'd ever get past it. You want me so bad but you go and fuck my boyfriend? Bro. Kill yourself.
