Review: Really enjoyable gay romance!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 4, 2012
I have a tumultuous relationship with this series. I absolutely adored book one, College Boys, but felt after that one things steadily went down hill. I liked book two, Diva and The Frat Boy, but I wasn't wowed by it. Book three, Townie and The Twink, came right on its heels and I wasn't feeling that one at all. At the end of book three I wasn't sure I would continue with the series. In the past Harris has always redeemed herself with follow up books so I made myself a promise to check out book four and then if two in a row didn't work for me, I'd call it quits. I'm glad I made that promise to myself because I really liked Player and The Prude!I instantly liked Matt and his awkward sense of self. I found him to be believable which is a quality I think the last few books were lacking. Matt, being raised by a religious family was torn between his life as a gay young man and his biblical upbringing. He found a semi happy medium with holding on to the one aspect of his religion he had some control over, his virginity. He seemed at times to be at odds with himself. The opinions of his fanatical parents and those like them seemed to leak into his brain unannounced. I liked his internal struggle and thought that in the end, staying true to himself, was exactly what he needed.Brooks was a bit of a harder sell for me. He's your typical frat boy, jock type with his over the top personality. I wanted to dislike him on principle alone. I hated guys like him. Brooks grew on me because he was all bark and no bite. He acted like he did in a attempt to fit in with the a particular crowd of guys. Mainly the rich ones. Underneath it all his feelings and desires were just like every one else. Sure his bet that he could bag Matt was a touch "She's All That" but still, it made for a good plot. Brooks took the time to show Matt that he could let go of his past and move forward with the future he was meant to have.Brooks and Matt are wonderful together. I enjoyed their slow warm up and thought it worked much better then the typical fast moving gay couples I read about. It annoys me to read of gay men being all so promiscuous. I don't have a ton of knowledge in the area but I assume it works just like heterosexual couples. There are sluts and there are traditional. I tire of reading about the sluts. The gay that seem to bang anything with the correct parts. I want the same emotional connection I read of other books and while I don't think I totally got it in this book I will say it was a step in the right direction.I look forward to book number five, which is already in my TBR pile!I give Player and The Prude by Daisy Harris 4 stars!Nikki @ Ramblings From A Chaotic Man