Similar to the authors, this is the book that I didn’t know I wanted until I was halfway through the book. I thought PJ and Felix were both great characters when they made their appearances throughout the series so far, so was glad to see them get a book.
Betting on His BF continues the trend of the Alpha and Sigma frat brothers falling for each other. This one, however, takes place 100% away from campus and the only time we run into anyone from the other books is during the epilogue.
The premise of this novel seemed to rest on PJ’s gambling addiction/drive to hustle and Felix’s big dick. We knew both liked to make money and gamble from the first few books where they ran a pool on the Sigma’s quiz bowl championship and the Alpha’s flag-football championship.
Buffets are kind of like participating in a large group orgy. The individuals you had sex with might not be your first choice in an ordinary setting, but it was the group experience that was unique and thrilling. (3)
Seriously, the opening scene ends in a dick-measuring contest for a bet. And I don’t mean that as an analogy, I mean that Felix and the proprietor of the buffet they’re at go in the back room and measure their dicks. (Felix wins.)
I very much appreciated Easton and Lain continuing the humor, from the line above to the meta-comment below, throughout the novel. It mattered a lot to me because it helped keep me invested in this novel.
‘Friends to lovers. My favorite kind of romance.’ Holy shit. I’m a trope. (240)
Once again, however, Easton and Lain tried to do too much with this novel. They ran into the same issue (for me at least) that they did with Head to Head, with too many minor characters, too many sub-plots, and just too much in general happening. They seriously could’ve deleted the entire subplot of PJs family and just had a great low-angst novel where two guys discover their bisexuality and love for each other. Unfortunately, they didn’t.
And fuck, I did care. A lot. My mushy feelings had gone way past the point of Felix the Good Samaritan trying to help his BFF. I knew if something happened to PJ, it happened to me. If PJ died, I might as well be dead, too, because I’d never forgive myself. And I didn’t want a life without wild, crazy, exciting PJ in it. I didn’t get when or how he’d become the most important person in my life, but those were the fucking facts. (200)
This being said I LOVED the drag queens and the wet briefs contest. They were so hilariously written and well done and that’s where all the scenes where PJ and Felix started to figure out how much they meant to each other. I mean the skimpy underwear helped, but the descriptions of their looks and feelings were so well done. It’s funny that the LGBT characters are always so much better written than the presumed-straight characters.
The sex scenes were well done, even if I have some questions about how PJ got himself prepared so fast for Felix when the entire story takes place in less than a week! I mean sure he had a toy, but he’d have to have been practicing with it constantly to make any progress. Who knows, though? At the same time, kudos to Easton and Lain for not mentioning characters being versatile and then not cashing in on it, so I don’t have to complain about that this time 😀
Recommendation: Overall, this was a good addition to the series. It wasn’t as strong as Schooling the Jock or Coaching the Nerd and it had a bit too much going on like Head to Head, but it was a decent read. My biggest critique is it seemed to move fast with some scenes cut short or completely missing. That being said, the characters were great and I enjoyed the novel.
Opening Line: “‘Oh my God. This is so hot,’ I moaned, dropping the morsel in my fingers.”
Closing Line: “When we quit kissing, I laughed and gazed into PJ’s eyes. ‘Oh right. We forgot to tell you. On our Vegas trip, we both fell in love with our best friend.'” (Whited out to avoid spoilers, highlight to read.)
Your 1000th book! *\o/*