Undone by Leslie McAdam

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Title: Undone
Author: Leslie McAdam
Series: Vino and Veritas #18
Published by: Heart Eyes Press
Release Date: August 12, 2021
Format: eARC
Pages: 280
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance
Source: Heart Eyes Press
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 COYER Summer, Lenoreo's 2021 Diversity Reading Challenge
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:

Blurb:

My new roommate has the worst taste in men.

I mean, Murph’s special. He’s funny and flamboyant and full of life.

While I’m straight, even I can tell these guys aren’t good enough for him.

I had to yell at one date, toss another one out the door, and throw a beer in another’s face.

Kind of embarrassing, really. I don’t know what’s gotten into me.

I ask my sister what’s wrong with me and she says I’m jealous.

Jealous? Please. Me?

Come on.

Only thing is, I hate the thought of Murph kissing any guy. Ever.

Except, maybe ... me?

Undone is a contemporary m/m romance about a dreamy insurance agent that might not be as straight as he thinks, an adorable bartender who adds sparkle wherever he goes, and maybe one or two jokes about swords.

My Review:

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

3.5 stars — There were parts of this book, delightful little parts that I absolutely ADORED, and they are the reason I’m inevitably going to round up.  Because while there were a lot of things that didn’t work for me, those moments, those quips, those emotions just kept me coming back…and that’s enough for me.

This was not the book I was expecting.  Something about the blurb, I guess I expected Jason to be more guy-guy — maybe the hints of aggression?  I think that’s one of the things that didn’t work for me.  The way Jason was written, the jealousy just didn’t quite make sense to me…not the way it was presented anyways.  The author mentions being inspired by a real life story, and I wonder if she tried to hold on to pieces of that instead of seeing that Jason would take it in a different direction.

The thing is, the things I loved about Jason and Murph, I absolutely ADORED.  I loved Jason’s sweetness, his kindness, his need to care for others.  I loved how in tune he could be with others emotions, and how he genuinely wanted to take care of those he loved.  BUT, I guess I didn’t get his lack of self-awareness quite as much.  Like, I did to a certain degree, but I needed something just a bit more to understand how that all fit.  Just a wee bit more depth to merge all the pieces of him into something more consistent.  Because when it was right, he was such a great and intriguing character.

Murph, on the other hand, felt pretty consistent with how he was portrayed in Unforgettable (in case you read that one first and were curious).  He’s got a LOT going on with him.  I kind of loved that we got this flamboyant, OTT, stereotypical gay guy, but we got to see the depth with him to remind us that stereotypes only touch the surface of a person.  I loved how fun and sassy he could be, some of his quips just had me smiling for days.  I will admit that the damage done from his ex…well, again, I got it, I got where it was coming from, I felt for him, but something felt…I don’t know, I wanted a bit more depth there too.

The thing is, they were freaking adorable with one another for quite a lot of the book.  But there was also a lot of back and forth repetitiveness that often drives me crazy in romance novels.  The “I’m crushing on him, I want him, but he’s straight, so I should move on, but he’s perfect, I want him…etc.”  (obviously a Murph example)  The two of them were so self-sabotaging, this reader got tired of it.  It’s like, I don’t mind a bit of it, but it just went a titch too far/too much.  It resulted in me being annoyed with them, particularly Murph, though Jason wasn’t without his moments.  Maybe if their doubts had been more nuanced it would have been different??  I don’t know.  I’m just one reader.

I was also not a fan of how one-dimensional some of the secondary characters were — his Dad, Marnie, and even to a degree Becky.  On the other hand, the V&V crew were showcased beautifully and felt so natural!  *shrugs*

SO yeah.  So much cuteness, seriously, I just needed something unnamable.  😛