Who doesn’t love a best friends-to-lovers bisexual awakening? I know I do, so that’s why I grabbed a copy from Gay Romance Reviews when this landed in my inbox.*
His Heart Knows is the story of Axel, a graduate student book store clerk who comes from the “wrong side of the tracks”, and Sawyer, the golden child following in his parent’s footsteps making his name as an up-and-coming lawyer.
They’ve known each other since they were teenagers and have always been there for each other after a night of drinking and a hot and heavy hookup, things change forever.
Both Axel and Sawyer were believable characters. There was a softness to both that comes through in how they treat each other even before they actually hook up and start dating. There was this one scene that just hit me hard because every person has been there, the unrequited love crush:
‘It’s not that. I’m definitely gay. Very gay. It’s just . . . I don’t really date.’ This happened more than I wanted to think about, my getting hit on at work. It was getting very, very old.
‘Why not?’ He clapped a long-fingered hand over his mouth the moment his words were out. ‘Sorry. That’s really none of my business.’
I laughed a little. ‘It’s okay. I just . . .” I spread my hands out and shrugged.
He sighed and clasped a hand to his chest, a dreamy smile on his face. ‘Unrequited love. I get it. Well, I hope you get your man one of these days.'”(Chapter 3)
And you ALWAYS pass on the chance of something with someone else because you hold out. The only way this scene could’ve been better timed is if it were the day AFTER Sawyer and Axel hooked up, but even before it had a big impact on the story because it instigated the hookup.
Sawyer’s parents were just dicks, well his mom was, but the less said about them the better. I felt the kiss-off scene when Sawyer’s dad asked him to come say hi to their friends was a good middle finger to the mom and a triumphant establishment of their relationship. Axel’s mom was adorable and I’m glad she threw the shade she did at Sawyer’s parents.
The sex scenes were well written and engaging (such a weird word, but let’s go with it). I was impressed Long had the characters talk-the-talk and walk-the-walk on being verse. So many times when there is a gay-for-you or bisexual awakening story that character is a strict top or only talks about maybe switching it up at some theoretical future, but not in this story, so thank you for that!
This was an ARC and there were a couple of continuity errors that I know the author was aware of, but it definitely knocked me out of the story at a couple of important moments. If those are fixed this story is definitely worth checking out and with a couple of other minor changes probably would’ve bumped it up to a four-star.
Recommendation: Overall, I enjoyed this one. It took a little to get into it, but once I was pulled in Axel and Sawyer were adorable and I just had to root for them! You definitely get your happily ever after with minimal angst in this one. I’ll probably keep an eye out for other works by Long to see if it’s a one-off, or if I do like her writing overall and she should be put into rotation.
*I received a copy of His Heart Knows via Gay Romance Reviews in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.
Opening Line: “I longingly watched Sawyer, my best friend of fifteen years, chase the waves as they receded from shore, wearing nothing but swim trunks which showed off his perfectly sculpted body.”
Closing Line: “We fell asleep holding each other close, eagerly anticipating our future together.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)