Social Skills
Connor made my heart ache nearly from the first page through the end. This book is his journey through freshman year of college. He's navigating the already difficult waters of being in college compounded by paralyzing shyness and anxiety. The story is told from his 3rd person POV, and it's great. It wasn't easy to read his pain and panic, but it was well done. I felt for him.And I felt for Jared. Despite wanting to smack some sense into him at times, I understand his struggle. It wasn't OTT or deliberately hurtful. This is just another teenage dude starting college and not wanting to be ""different"". He's a football player and popular guy. He's used to that, and he's got expectations in his mind that he needs to live up to. I empathized even while wanting him to get it the hell together.
I was cheering for them to figure things out though. I wanted the HEA for each of them. And the struggle was worth it.
The story is an emotional ride. It was slow in some places, but I didn't want to put it down.
I don't read much YA romance, and I only read a bit more NA romance, mostly m/m. I'm not an expert at all. That said, I think this is classified as YA, and I'm not really sure why. The characters are in college, and the sex is explicit. It's not really titillating, and they're emotional maturity is certainly lacking, so maybe that's the reason for the YA label. I genuinely don't know, but I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoys m/m NA romance. Don't be put off by the YA label.
