The Official Description: Falling for his roommate gives ex footballer Micah the second chance he deserves, and what could be better than loving your best friend?
Micah
I’m a broke ex-football player with a bum leg and PTSD. Last summer, I had two choices: the streets, or find a cheap room to rent in the city. I chose the second option, which landed me with a brand-new problem, cos I hadn’t banked on my roommate becoming my best friend. Or that before long I’d find myself head over heels in love with him. Trouble is, even if Sam likes me back, I ain’t fit to be no one’s boyfriend. I don’t know how. All I do is wade through every precious moment and hope that he doesn’t regret the day he ever met me.
Sam
I’m a gay book nerd with no business falling in love with hunky athletes. Micah is the dictionary definition of beautiful, inside and out, he just doesn’t know it. And he definitely doesn’t know I’m ridiculously in love with him. The embarrassing kind of love.
He’s all I can think about.
But it’s not as simple as loving someone who doesn’t love me back. Micah is damaged goods—at least, that’s how he’d put it. The world has chewed him up and spat him out, and he thinks he deserved it. That he’s still the battered mess he was a year ago.
I want to shake him, and shout in his face that he’s not. To force the truth on him and make him believe in himself the way I do. But I can’t save Micah. One day, perhaps he’ll realise that he already saved himself.
Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link – Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow with Kindle Unlimited
Cover Design: Black Jazz Design
Just the facts: M/M romance, hurt/comfort, recovery, learning to communicate
Great dialogue and well developed characters. On top of that, this book will stay with me for a while. – Kinzie Things
My thoughts bit: This book is one of the ones that is so much more than a romance. Let me talk about why.
First of all, Leigh writes great characters. They don’t fall into the normal categories in romance books; they are always quite unique and authentic-feeling. This book is another great example of well-written characters.
Sam is a book nerd who is getting an English degree while he slings beer at a local bar. He’s sweet and bright, quirky and entertaining. He’s also pretty much head over heels for his roommate, Micah. Micah is a retired football player. He got into quite a mess while he was still playing. he was using drugs and living a bit of a wild life. Then things came crashing down around him when he was caught by photographers with another man. As his life exploded out of control, he had a nasty accident left him with PTSD, pain and a life he didn’t know how to live.
When these two men come together, there is something between them that enables them to sink down into a friendship that buffers them from the world. They get along great and they like spending time together… more than roommates should. It’s sweet, funny and I fell in love with these characters.
As the book continues, it becomes clear that both men have. feelings for one another… the problem is that Micah is so lost that he doesn’t even think he’s worth loving. He’s carrying the weight of his past mistakes and can’t seem to forgive himself. There’s a lot of push and pull between them and Sam, at times, feels as though he should give up on things ever turning out the way he wanted to.
I really enjoyed the way I got to follow along with Micah as he struggled, lost himself, tried to find the surface again and wondered why Sam was in his life at all. It was such a ride and I went through a lot of emotions. It felt pretty damned real to me and that doesn’t happen all the time when I’m reading. I was already a fan of Leigh’s writing and this just solidified that for me.
Great story, well-written and emotional.
The warnings bit: Please be aware, I’m by no means an expert on what may or may not have the potential to disturb people. I simply list things that I think a reader might want to be aware of. In this book: (SPOILERS) mentions past substance abuse, depictions of PTSD, depictions of panic and anxiety attacks, invasion of privacy, homophobia in sports.
Garrett Leigh is an award-winning British writer and book designer.
Garrett’s debut novel, Slide, won Best Bisexual Debut at the 2014 Rainbow Book Awards, and her polyamorous novel, Misfits was a finalist in the 2016 LAMBDA awards.
When not writing, Garrett can generally be found procrastinating on Twitter, cooking up a storm, or sitting on her behind doing as little as possible, all the while shouting at her menagerie of children and animals and attempting to tame her unruly and wonderful FOX.
Garrett is also an award winning cover artist, taking the silver medal at the Benjamin Franklin Book Awards in 2016. She designs for various publishing houses and independent authors at blackjazzdesign.com, and co-owns the specialist stock site moonstockphotography.com with renowned LGBTQA+ photographer Dan Burgess.
Website: http://www.garrettleigh.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/garrettleighauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Garrett_Leigh
Readalikes: Other similar reads you might like:
- Hold Me Up (Chasing Gold #1) by Colette Davison
- Where Love Grows by Jay Northcote
- Someday, Someday by Emma Scott
I received an ARC of Falling For My Roommate by Garrett Leigh via Signal Boost Promotions in exchange for an unbiased review.
Kinzie Things 