Us by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy
Narrated by Teddy Hamilton & Jacob Morgan
Series: Him #2
Publisher: Audible Studios on Brilliance Audio
Publication Date: March 28, 2017
Date Read: October 3, 2019
Length: 7 hours 45 minutes
Source: Purchased
★★★★★
Can your favorite hockey players finish their first season together undefeated?
Five months in, NHL forward Ryan Wesley is having a record-breaking rookie season. He’s living his dream of playing pro hockey and coming home every night to the man he loves – Jamie Canning, his longtime best friend turned boyfriend. There’s just one problem: the most important relationship of his life is one he needs to keep hidden, or else face a media storm that will eclipse his success on the ice.
Jamie loves Wes. He really, truly does. But hiding sucks. It’s not the life Jamie envisioned for himself, and the strain of keeping their secret is taking its toll. It doesn’t help that his new job isn’t going as smoothly as he’d hoped, but he knows he can power through it as long as he has Wes. At least apartment 10B is their retreat, where they can always be themselves.Or can they? When Wes’s nosiest teammate moves in upstairs, the threads of their carefully woven lie begin to unravel. With the outside world determined to take its best shot at them, can Wes and Jamie develop major-league relationship skills on the fly?
Warning: contains sexual situations, a vibrating chair, long-distance sexytimes, and proof that hockey players look hot in any shade of green.
I am so in love with Jamie and Wes. I have seen these books around and everyone seemed to be loving them. I finally understand what all the fuss was about. I really liked the first book in this series but I must say that I liked this one more. I loved getting the chance to see this pair during the next stage of their relationship. I am so glad that I finally made some room in my reading schedule for this wonderful series.
This book picks up shortly after the events of the first book. Jamie and Wes are a couple and are happy living together in their apartment. Wes is just starting his NHL career and feels like it would be best to wait until after his first year before letting anyone know that he likes men instead of women. It’s not ideal but they are dealing with it. Things get a little more complicated when Wes’s teammate, Blake, decided to move into the building and be their new best friend.
There are so many books out there that show a couple falling in love and those books are great. I love reading a good story about a couple falling for each other but there is something special about a book that shows an established couple making things work. The way these two feel about each other is never in question in this story. This was about making things work when it is difficult, communicating and working through problems, and giving a little space when necessary. I knew that these two would make it work but it was fantastic to see it happen.
The characters are fantastic in this book. I knew going into the book that I loved Jamie and Wes and I still do. I just love them more. They are both funny at times and so sincere with each other. I did not expect Blake. Blake made this book even better. I started off being rather annoyed by him but he completely grew on me and by the end of the book, I loved him just as much as Jamie and Wes.
The narration of this book was outstanding. Both Teddy Hamilton and Jacob Morgan did a wonderful job with this story. I think that they totally captured the characters’ personalities perfectly. They both handled a wide range of emotions very well. I am pretty sure that I liked this book just a little more simply because of their narration.
I would highly recommend this series to others. Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy are a fabulous writing team and this book is proof. I fell in love with these characters and couldn’t wait to see them make it as a couple. I plan to read much more from these authors including Good Boy which tells Blake’s story.
About the AuthorsSarina Bowen is the RITA® Award winning author of over two dozen contemporary and LGTB romance novels. She most recently hit the USA Today bestseller’s list in February, with Brooklynaire. Formerly a derivatives trader on Wall Street, Sarina holds a BA in economics from Yale University.
Sarina Bowen is a New Englander whose Vermont ancestors cut timber and farmed the north country since the 1760s. Sarina is grateful for the invention of indoor plumbing and wi-fi during the intervening 250 years. On a few wooded acres, she lives with her husband, two boys, and an ungodly amount of ski and hockey gear.
Sarina’s books are published in a dozen languages on four continents. In 2016, The Romance Writers of America honored HIM by Sarina Bowen & Elle Kennedy with a RITA award for Best Contemporary Romance, Mid-Length.
A New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Elle Kennedy grew up in the suburbs of Toronto, Ontario, and holds a B.A. in English from York University. From an early age, she knew she wanted to be a writer, and actively began pursuing that dream when she was a teenager.
Elle writes romantic suspense and erotic contemporary romance for various publishers. She loves strong heroines and sexy alpha heroes, and just enough heat and danger to keep things interesting!
YES! I'm SO happy to hear you loved this second instalment, Carole, I still have to read it but I loved Him and I truly fell for Wes & Jamie <3 It's great to know this second book doesn't disappoint, and now I'm quite curious about Blake . . . Great review!
while i am happy you love the book, i will have to tell you that the cover thumbnail looks very.. explicit XS
Men without shirts seem to be very common on bookcovers anymore. There is sex in this book but no more than I have found in other romances.
I loved this one, too. Though it's been a while since I've read it.
Wonderful review! I like both these authors but I don't read a lot of M/M. This might be a good one though.
Anne – Books of My Heart
I read Him and adored them, but still need to read Us. Your review was the kick in the pants I needed to remember that there is more to their story.
great story and great narrator. sounds like you hit the jackpot. –
sherry @ fundinmental
Great review! I still need to read the first book!
I haven't tried Sarina Bowen's books yet
I need to try these authors!
I have not read this series, but I know there is a LOT of Wesmie love out there, and I adore both these authors. Glad you enjoyed it and happy to hear the audio was done well too.
I can see you had a good time wit this one. Great review.
I agree! I have been leaning on adult romance more often because it is more likely we get to see established couples working through being new to a couple or working through their issues together and I love that. I need this series in my life 🙂
Yes, yes, yes to everything you said, Carole! I get a little thrill any time I see a 5 star review for Him and/or Us. These books are so special to me. I’ve read and listened to both books several times and have so much love for Jamie and Wes. Us really showed that sometimes love isn’t enough – and it certainly doesn’t equate to a cure-all or a happily ever after. They both had a lot to work through in this one and it hurt to see them (especially Jamie) turn inward when things go tough instead of sharing what he was feeling with Wes. But I loved that they both had support systems – Jamie with his family and Wes with Blake, as unlikely a support system as he seemed at first. LOL (Side note: Blake’s book Good Boy was wonderful!) And I agree that the narration was perfection!