![Top Secret by [Sarina Bowen, Elle Kennedy]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/415QHkckiVL._SY346_.jpg)
On the positive side, Bowen and Kennedy write well. The story is sexy, well-paced and fun to read.
That said, there were a couple of issues I had. The first was the lack of a real connection between Luke and Keaton. I just never felt like they GOT each other, or that they were falling for each other in a way that went beyond sex. Luke never opened up to Keaton enough for the emotional side of the relationship to be real.
Another reason I found it hard to really get into the book is that it felt like a repetition of some of Bowen's Ivy Years books but in a M/M context: townie with family problems falls for rich kid at elite college. I also don't find fraternity culture appealing. I have had this issue with some of Bowen's other books... in some of her Ivy Year hockey books, the characters come awfully close to feeling like frat boys. I do get the appeal of athletic men, but I prefer them to be intellectual and interesting... not over-privileged beer-ponging adolescents who sit on the sofa playing video games. Now in this story Keaton is supposed to be more interesting than your standard fraternity bro: he's a secret science geek with a big heart. But at the same time it's just really hard to relate to a dude with a huge trust fund who is willing to join a frat in the first place. I know, I know-- we're supposed to get a sense of his generosity of spirit when he comes out to his bros to defend Luke, but it just felt flat.
Finally: the setting throwing Luke and Keaton together felt contrived. Elite universities offer financial aid. So if Luke's family is that poor he surely would qualify for financial aid for room and board, independent of his "townie scholarship". And he wouldn't have to join a frat (which given his background doesn't really seem like something he'd be into). Also: Don't fraternity members have to pay dues? So how is staying in the cheapest room at the frat really the best deal for Luke? Details like this bugged me.
- File Size: 1583 KB
- Print Length: 282 pages
- Publisher: Tuxbury Publishing LLC and Elle Kennedy Inc (May 7, 2019)
- Publication Date: May 7, 2019
- Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B07RD7ZPPM
- Text-to-Speech:
Enabled
- Word Wise: Enabled
- Lending: Enabled
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#25,607 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #599 in LGBT Romance (Books)
- #490 in Gay Romance
- #693 in Sports Romance (Books)
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