"Learned Reactions," by Jayce Ellis
Contemporary MM Romance
1 Smooch ~ Cozy
2 Smooches ~ Warm
3 Smooches ~ Simmering
4 Smooches ~ Red-Hot
5 Smooches ~ Scalding
Book Blurb
Carlton Monroe is finally getting his groove back. After a year playing dad to his nephew and sending him safely off to college, it’s back to his bachelor ways. But when his teenaged niece shows up on his doorstep looking for a permanent home, his plan comes to a screeching halt. Family is everything, and in the eyes of social services, a couple makes a better adoptive family than an overworked bachelor father. A fake relationship with his closest friend is the best way to keep his family together.
If things between him and Deion are complicated, well, it only needs to last until the end of the semester.
Living with Carlton is a heartbreak waiting to happen, and once the adoption goes through, Deion’s out. He’s waited two decades for Carlton to realize they’re meant for each other, and he’s done. It’s time to make a clean break. But it’s hard to think of moving away when keeping up the act includes some very real perks like kissing, cuddling and sharing a bed.
Even the best charades must come to an end, though. As the holidays and Deion’s departure date loom, the two men must decide whether playing house is enough for them—or if there’s any chance they could be a family for real.
My Review
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of this book. I am providing a voluntary review. All thoughts and views are my own.
Oh gosh. This story had me feeling some kinda way, y’all. Imagine my surprise when I finished it, began to format the blog post so I could write this review, and realized… Learned Reactions is book two in the Higher Education series. You best believe I was all over the author requesting an ARC for book one—which I’ll be posting a review for, ah, last week 🤣—because I absolutely had to read Jaq’s story. In fact, I also got down on my readerly knees and begged Jayce Ellis to pretty, pretty please write a book three with Carlton and JaQuan’s other friend, Lawrence, and the man who oh-so-clearly will be his love interest. 😍
Anyway, back to the story at hand. Thankfully, this series definitely operates as standalones, as I hadn’t even realized there was a book one until after reading this one. However, now that I know there is, I’m dying to see how the timelines work out… because we may or may not catch a glimpse of Jaq’s boy in this book, and things didn’t seem quite resolved. I’m kind of guessing there’s some overlap, and that makes me super excited to see how that plays out.
Okay… we’re going to try this again. Sorry, y’all, I’m having trouble focusing as these characters have me all over the place—in a very good way! Carlton and Deion were absolutely precious together, and Olivia—aka Ollie—was such a delightful supporting character. She was a fourteen-year-old through and through, but was such a sweet burst of toil and trouble wrapped into an angelic package you can’t help but love. But if I had to pick a favorite character, it would hands down be Deion. My god, my poor little heart. This boy dang near shredded it to pieces with his kindness and yearning and all-around goodness and… yeah. Carlton, on the other hand, had my hackles up through quite a bit of the story. You’ll understand why when you read, but… I’ll admit, once I understood a little better, his struggle became super relateable and I suddenly couldn’t wait for him and Deion to arrive at their well earned HEA. Which, when they finally do, you will get all the feels. I promise.
I would absolutely recommend this to all MM romance readers, but especially those who love real characters facing real, down-to-earth situations. And Ellis has such a solid, strong, and unique voice. You will lose yourself in her words and forget all else. Which… is there anything better? Isn’t that what we all look for in a good book—something to give us a reprieve from the day-to-day grind? Trust me. You’ll find that here. 💞
Jayce Ellis
She/Her
Jayce Ellis started writing as a child (just ask the poor sixth-graders forced to listen to her hand-written cozy mystery), then made the tragic mistake of letting the real world interfere for the next two decades. When she finally returned to her first love (her husband and two turtles, Chompers and Desi, remain locked in an eternal battle for second), she’d transitioned from mystery to romance, and there she’s found her true passion.
Jayce writes about people a bit like her, Black and queer and striving to find the good in a world fixated on the bad. She prefers her angst low and her characters hot—a term encompassing all shapes, sizes, and complexions.
There may be a hint of irony in Jayce’s day job as a family law attorney, but she soothes herself in worlds where people communicate and find a way to work things out and reach a real and true HEA, even if there’s rarely a neat, tidy little bow wrapping everything else up. Because really, where’s the fun in that?
Connect with Jayce below!
So, what are you waiting for? Learned Reactions will be available for your reading pleasure on or after its release date of March 9th, 2021! Get your copy today!! 📖
