Headstrong by Eden Finley

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Title: Headstrong
Author: Eden Finley
Series: Vino and Veritas #3
Published by: Heart Eyes Press
Release Date: March 22, 2021
Format: eARC
Pages: 260
Genres: Romance, LGBT, Contemporary, Sports Romance
Source: Heart Eyes Press
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 COYER Spring, Lenoreo's 2021 Diversity Reading Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:

Blurb:

A straight guy gives gay hookup tips to a virgin. What could go wrong?

When I first met Whit, I couldn’t get away from him fast enough. He’s a hockey player, and I hate everything to do with the sport that once broke my heart.

But I can’t help feeling sorry for the guy. He’s newly out and desperate to meet someone, but his eagerness seems to scare potential hook-ups away.

Agreeing to be his wingman should’ve been simple. Watching him flirt with other guys made things complicated.

Whit challenges me in every aspect of my life, from my hatred of hockey to the new questions I’m asking myself. Like why a straight man suddenly can’t stop thinking about kissing another guy.

I think the answer lies somewhere on Whit’s lips...

My Review:

I received a free copy through Heart Eyes Press in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.

4.5 stars — Well that was a whole heck of a lot of fun!  And not just fun, but lots of depth too.  I had heard great things going in, but honestly that just makes me wary that I’m going to be the one who doesn’t belong to the cool group.  Fear not!  I fell in love from basically the first moment Whit opened his mouth, and things just took lots of delightful turns that worked for me.

I’m not huge into Gay For You books.  At least not old school ones.  This is the kind of GFY I can get into — you know, where they might be the catalyst for figuring out their bisexuality, but the situation doesn’t have them violently rejecting being gay.  It could easily have gone that way, but it really didn’t.  At least it didn’t for me.  I kind of loved seeing Rainn’s struggle with these confusing new feelings, and what all it meant.  It wasn’t quite as delightful as Jamie in Him/Us, but it was seriously along those lines.  He wasn’t rejecting the notion so much as trying to figure out what it meant for who he was as a person, and what he had always known about himself.  I think everyone’s experience is unique, and this was just one of them.  I loved the overarching message about not feeling pressure to put labels on things — to define them at your own pace.

Now don’t get me wrong, Rainn was frustrating in quite a few other ways — that boy had hangups on his hangups.  But I appreciated that while he was confused about these new sexuality developments, he wasn’t horrified or anything.  Nope, he was too busy being horrified about the future and plans and going after happiness.  It may have been frustrating, but I did feel for him.  At first I thought it was kind of over the top, but as I got to know him, I could see underneath it all to his scars, and while I might not *get* it, I got it enough through his perspective.  I can’t imagine what he went through.

Whit was a fucking shining light in this book.  He was ridiculously hilarious, and adorable, and loveable, and just…yeah, a new top book character for me.  I appreciated that he was struggling with his own issues and fears, and he was far from perfect.  It was interesting to watch how wary he became, but I got it.  I think what I loved the most is that he didn’t dwell too much.  He made decisions, he went for them, and he actively sought out happiness.

The two of them together…damn, they were just fire.  I loved seeing them develop those (sometimes confusing) crushes on one another, and the way they would banter and tease.  I loved how their steamy chemistry was just so obvious and delightful.  I loved that I could see how they TRUSTED one another, and how important that was.  And I loved how they complemented one another.  Whit pushed Rainn, and Rainn pulled Whit back at times (I was a goner for that birthday present).  And even their fights made sense and were a natural progression of their relationship and their own individual growth.

Lots of great background characters, Whit’s family was hilarious.  And I appreciated seeing glimpses of a few other characters at V&V.

So yeah.  This book was a delight for me.  I can definitely see this one getting on my reread list.  And now I must prepare for book hangover.