This review is going to be a little different than the usual format because, one, it’s the second book in a series and, two, it will contain spoilers. Don’t get me wrong, the first one in the series, Pretty Boy, is great as well, but the subject matter in the second one was executed exceptionally well and I want to talk about it. So, if you don’t want to be spoiled, feel free to click out, read the book, and come back. 🙂

Lover Boy is the second in the Boys of Apartment 13 series by Brianna Flores. This one follows Cade’s story, starting from where the first book left off. His best friend, Liam, moves out of their shared room in Apartment 13. Cade is not only dealing with the fallout from his mistake at the end of book one, but now he needs a roommate in order to make rent. His parents share that Cade’s stepbrother, Nic, was planning on going back to college and would be a perfect solution. The problem is that these boys have hated each other since they were forced to live together when they were teens. Now they not only have to figure out how to cohabitate while sharing the same room and bathroom, but they also work at the same diner. Over the course of the book, we see them struggle to deal with their past and make sense of their newfound attraction to each other.

Overall, the story is a solid MM, stepbrother romance with forced proximity, enemies to lovers, forbidden love, and secrets revealed tropes. The general plot isn’t ground breaking, but the nuanced details of the character development are executed in such a way that I haven’t read before. So here’s where the spoilers are going to begin. Final warning.

We meet Nic when he’s young, having just been removed from his mother’s home due to his mother’s negligence. She’s suffering from severe depression after a miscarriage and discovering that her husband had a long term affair with a woman who was now his wife and mother to his stepson, Cade. We learn that Nic self soothes through burning himself repeatedly in his thighs, so this behavior coupled with the possible genetic predisposition gives us a clue that Nic is destined to have depression himself. He confirms this later on when he talks about his meds affecting his sex drive.

Nic stops taking his anti-depressants and anti-anxiety meds around the same time that he decides to elevate his situationship with Cade to a physical level. He’s aware of the side effects that his meds can have on him and he wants to enjoy the experience as much as Cade. I felt this moment so deeply; the times when your brain convinces you to fuck around an find out. The logic is so convincing, so attractive, so alluring. On top of that, you feel good! So you can handle going off. Just for a little while. For those of us who have gone through this in their lives…yeah…it never works out well, does it?

Throughout the story, Flores subtly and ever so slowly shows us signs of Nic’s spiral. It starts as feeling fine. Then small, daily things start to get a little harder to do. He starts questioning his past; his memories become shrouded in self-doubt and worthlessness. He starts to question his relationship with Cade. Why would Cade want to be with him? He’s not good enough. Eventually, we watch as Nic reduces his day down to the bare minimum; getting out of bed only to work and do some basic necessities. More than that is exhausting. Even though Cade is unaware that Nic takes medicine to treat his mental health, he does notice Nic’s unusual behavior and expresses his concern to Nic’s father (Cade’s stepfather).

The slow progression was beautifully written, as it was intensely accurate to the mental health experience. I love how Flores doesn’t write in any big, dramatic event caused by Nic’s descent into the dark. She trusts that the reader is going to come along on the journey and understand that the quiet removal from reality is just as impactful. She doesn’t need Nic to act out or attempt suicide to make a statement. She speaks to those of us, who have walked through the seductive notion that we are better than our meds, better than our brain chemistry. We can be like the “normals”. We don’t need this stuff. But the next thing we know, we have retreated from the world because existence is excruciating.

If you’ve read Lover Boy or any of Briana Flores’ books, let me know below! You can find her stuff on the links provided at the end of this post. Would love to hear if you’ve read any other books where the author depicts realistic mental health journeys.

Be well all!

Book Details

Title: Lover Boy (Book #2)

Author: Brianna Flores

Categories: MM Contemporary

Series: Boys of Apartment 13

Author Contact:

• Instagram

Purchase Links: (Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, and eBook. Available on Kindle Unlimited. The deluxe version of the hardcover is preeeetttyyyy…)

• Amazon