Don't Twunk with My Heart

<b>This is very much my kind of story: uncomplicated, sweet, and fluffy for days; low on the angst, high on the humor, with a great cast of secondary characters, including Jay and Liam!</b><br><br><em>Don't Twunk With My Heart</em> can be read as a standalone, but you'll appreciate Kee's friend Jay (Jamie to his friends) more if you read book one, <em>Loving Jay</em>, first. We get a lot of Jay and Liam here (not that I'm complaining, mind you).<br><br>Kee has been in hiding for a year. After his douche of an ex turned violent, Kee hasn't been in the mood for partying. He works hard as a welder, eats enough carbs to fuel his body, and likes to emulate Yanis Marshall moves (high heels and all).<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1469943253ra/19873145.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Kee lucks out when his first night out with friends he meets a hot guy wearing all white and rocking the dance floor. The two engage in an impromptu dance-off, and they both win big that night. Luckily, the morning after is all kisses and jokes, with no awkwardness to be found. <br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1453697103ra/17859901.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>The hot guy turns out to be Tate, a marketing guru for a high-end fashion line. Tate is a twink past his prime (not that you'd know it by looking at him) and self-conscious about his weight and age. He doesn't eat gluten or fats or anything really. <br><br>This worries Kee, who used to be a skinny, hungry twink but is now a twunk (a twink who put on muscle and turned into a hunk). Hey, don't look at me; the terminology is all Jay.<br><br>There is no relationship angst in the story. The men hang out and watch football (Tate is only slightly more interested in the game than Jay who considers any ball that goes high a "good kick"), and Kee allows Tate to dress him up in fancy clothes, which he models without complaint (mostly). Oh, the sacrifices we make for our boyfriends!<br><br>When Kee falls ill, Tate takes care of him. Tate even knows how to handle Kee's clueless sister-in-law and high-on-drama mama. I loved the restaurant scene. Tate worked the hell out of what could have been an embarrassing evening.<br><br>There's plenty of steam, especially in the first half; indeed, Tate is a bit of an exhibitionist and likes to have sex in public places (it's the thrill of the game, the possibility of getting caught). The last scene in the woods is hella hot.<br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1454185471ra/17928954.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Some things are dealt with too easily: Tate's disordered eating, for example, or the way Kee gets over his abuse trauma. I wanted more tension, some conflict. But that's not what this book is about. <br><br><b>This is a feel-good story with a sunny HEA. There's nothing extraordinary about these MCs; they're just two guys, seemingly complete opposites, who fit together. </b><br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1449786471ra/17337240.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>The bonus chapter from Jay's POV was awesome, as was the teaser for Vinny's story. I'll happily read more books in this series. <br>

<b>2.5 stars</b><br><br>I love Renae Kaye’s books, but this story fell short for me. <br><br><b>First, Kee.</b> He is said to be a twunk – a twink who gained weight and turned it into muscle. He is capable to defend himself – in theory. In reality, he can’t. There are <input type="checkbox" class="spoiler__control" aria-label="The following text has been marked spoiler. Toggle checkbox to reveal or hide." onchange="this.labels[0].setAttribute('aria-hidden', !this.checked);" id="76c1f710-829d-4002-b260-5ec0fb1e2c30" /><label aria-hidden="true" class="spoiler" for="76c1f710-829d-4002-b260-5ec0fb1e2c30">too incidents in the story: the first time Liam saves him, and though the second time he stands up for himself, I don’t think he would be able to defend himself, if Tate doesn’t come back to the scene.</label><br><br>He still considers himself a twink when he meets Tate. He is thinking that taking Tate home is not a good idea (<i>"twink-on-twink didn't always work"</i>), because they both would be insecure and indecisive. I just don’t get how labels and stereotyping can be that accentuated in a gay romance. This whole <i>twink/twunk/twank</i> thing was very annoying.<br><br>Kee says he loves submission, still he is always the dominant party in his relationship with Tate (not BDSM type of dominance here, it’s totally vanilla, but he doesn’t feel like submissive or indecisive like he mentioned a twink would be. Of course he is a twunk now, so… maybe that’s why… Oh, stereotyping again… I’m so confused!). Anyway, at the beginning it is mentioned he likes submission, but this line goes nowhere. <br><br><b>Second, Tate.</b> His character is likeable, but his eating disorder is belittled. At first, it appears to be a serious problem, still, it goes nowhere. Somewhere it is mentioned by Kee that he tends to casually offer Tate his own food, and Tate doesn’t even realizes he eats – so, problem solved. Dealing with an eating disorder is not that easy. And why bring it into play as a serious problem then leave it hanging? <br><br><b>But I’m not done. Kee’s mother.</b><br>See these two quotes.<br><blockquote> <i>“Can I bring a date?” I asked my father.<br>“A gay date?” Dad queried.<br>I rolled my eyes where he couldn’t see. I’d been out to him for nearly six years, and he still asked if my preferred partner was another guy.<br>“Yeah.”<br>He paused, which told me he still wasn’t comfortable with the idea that his son took it up the arse. But in the end, he said the politically correct thing. “Of course you can bring whoever you like. Your mother and I will be happy to meet whoever you have in your life.”<br>But I was under no illusions where my mother was concerned.<br>“Perhaps it can be a surprise for Mum?” I suggested. “Don’t tell her beforehand.”<br>If Mum knew I was bringing a gay date to her birthday celebration, she would be on the phone for days before, making a huge drama of it. All of her friends would sympathize and gossip about how terrible it was that she had to have a son who was gay. Oh, how terrible. Oh, what trials Barbara had to go through in her life.</i> </blockquote><br><br><blockquote> <i>“I saw that nice man who’s gay and his two kids in a magazine yesterday. What’s his name? The one who played Doogie Howser? Oh yes. Neil Patrick Harris. Isn��t he handsome? Oh, I loved him as Doogie. And he has this beautiful house and these two children who are perfectly adorable.”<br>Right there and then, she showed Jeanette how wrong she was, showed support for her gay son, and did it all without hurling a single insult.</i> </blockquote><br>Kee and his father decide not to tell his mother that he brings Tate over to her birthday, but on the birthday dinner her mother proves to be the most sensitive and supportive mother ever, who just says the right thing in the perfect way. It’s wonderful, really, but then I don’t get the first quote. (Neither the blurb, by the way: <i>"the ignored gay son"</i>... oh, come on!)<br><br><b>The romance</b><br>Slow-build, angst-free, and sweet.<br><br><b>The writing</b><br>Unbalanced: many descriptive parts - I don’t like the kind of narrative that tells instead of shows -, other times it is very engaging, then it goes back being annoying again. <br><br><b>The erotica</b><br>Kee and Tate have – not spectacular but - nice chemistry. The sex was always hot, especially the public scenes – except the one between the bushes – though the latter at least was funny. <br><blockquote> <i>“Cops?”<br>“They leave us alone out here. They have more important things to do.”<br>“Snakes?” I checked the next thing off the list.<br>“Asleep,” he assured me.<br>“Spiders?”<br>“Asleep too.”<br>“Are you lying?”<br>“Yes,” he admitted. “But come on? Can’t you brave a couple of spiders for my birthday wish?” he pleaded with me, and my barriers started to crumble.<br>… I couldn’t see what I was doing and had to go by feel. My wet dick was swinging in the slight breeze, and I tried not to think of spiders and ants.<br>The things we do for our boyfriends.</i> </blockquote><br><b>Jay and Liam</b><br>The highlights of this story. I loved them, and I was very happy that they get so many scenes in this book. But maybe it was because the main couple was seriously lacking. <br><br><b>All in all,</b> it was a mixed and very unbalanced reading experience. Once it was enjoyable and fun, other times it was boring. It made me smile but also made me roll my eyes. <br><br><b>Recommended?</b><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1441111105ra/16064807.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Depends on your mood, I guess. <br><br><b> <a href="http://exinasreadings.tumblr.com/tagged/don%E2%80%99t-twunk-with-my-heart" rel="nofollow noopener">My favorite quotes.</a> </b></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]></["br"]>

<b>3.5 Stars!</b><br><br>Another middle of the road read for me. <b>*sigh*</b><br><br>I was hesitant to read this one to begin with because well.....<i>"Don't Twunk With My Heart"</i> is quite possibly the worst title of a book ever. But I did like book 1 in the series, so there I found myself reading this one. <br><br>I don't know, it started out cute enough I suppose but then it just didn't really go anywhere. I found it rather slow and boring honestly. <br><br>I never really warmed to either Tate or Kee. <br><br>The last 20% turned in to melodrama central and quickly moved in to cheese town. Once the eye rolls started I just skimmed the rest. <br><br><img src="https://images.gr-assets.com/hostedimages/1465609944ra/19379576.gif" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy">

By now, Renae Kaye is a well known name in the gay romance genre. She writes light-hearted romances low on angst that leave her readers smiling and begging for more. To this day, her biggest success seems to be her debut, Loving Jay, a book that won readers over with fantastic characters, gentle and believable romance and just a spoonful of Aussie culture. <br><br>When you love characters as much as we’ve all loved Liam and Jay, it’s natural to want to check in with them down the road, peek into the life they’ve made for themselves and hopefully witness them making more decisions and crossing milestones. It can be addictive if you love them enough, but it can also be dangerous for the characters born in their shadow. <br><br>Unlike Jay, who was the brightest star from the get-go, Kee takes some warming up and a whole lot of understanding. Having spent a year in solitude after an abusive relationship, he is a bit socially awkward and not really ready to trust. Tate is more outgoing, but set in his ways. He is devoted to his career and suffers from issues that come with a job in fashion industry. The two are such an unlikely pair, but somehow they work, and in Kaye’s usual fashion, their romance progresses smoothly, with only a few bumps along the way. <br><br>Their romance would have been pleasant enough were it not for Jay and Liam’s overwhelming presence. They shine brightly even in this book and they steal every chapter in which they are mentioned. I’m sure fans won’t be able to resist revisiting them, but an update on their life is the best thing this book has to offer. Kee and Tate had potential, but they weren’t explored enough or strong enough to get out of Jay’s massive shadow. <br><br>Overall, though, this is a very pleasant, sometimes adorable book that has several laugh-out-loud moments. Just try reading it on the beach and see where that gets you. It’s no wonder my neighbors look at me funny. <br><br><a href="http://www.thenocturnallibrary.com" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1380226536i/681142.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a>

<b>4.25 stars</b><br /><br />If there is one thing Renae Kaye knows how to do is write likable characters. <br /><br />Kee was such an awesome character; I loved being in his head. I loved how he used to be a twink and tried to stay skinny, until the awful thing with his ex happened, and he decided to just eat and be happy, instead of skinny and unhappy. He is now a twunk, a twink who is now a hunk (thank you Jay, for clearing that up!).<br /><br />Kee was used to getting it on with big burly men, until his ex-boyfriend thought it was okay to hit him, and send him to the hospital with a concussion. Now Kee is not sure he is up for the big bears. So when he sees Tate dancing, he is surprised to find himself attracted to the skinny twink. After a night of hot smoking monkey sex, they both decide they want to see more of each other.<br /><br />They start off with a few hookups that soon develops into something more..<br /><br />This book was pure comfort. I loved these guys. I loved how Kee used to be unsure of his body until he decided, fuck it, and just started eating. I loved how Kee saw Tate struggling with his body and his image, but respected that that was the way Tate wanted it. Of course Kee did try to get Tate to eat more without Tate even noticing.<br /><br />I also really loved Kee’s friends. Liam and Jamie were of course awesome, but I loved them all, Shane, Vinnie, Aaron, just everyone. <br /><br />Such an awesome book.<br /><br />I would recommend reading Loving Jay before you read this, although this can be read as a stand-alone. Jay and Liam play a very big part in this book, so it’s better to have the background info.<br />

DNF 35%<br /><br />This one started off well, but little things here and there started to get on my nerves. I think my taste has changed and could be this author and I don't mesh anymore. No rating.

meh! Got to 40% then went for a refund, couldn't be bothered to skim on.<br /><br />Characters have no depth, in fact at 40% all I know about Tate is that he's blond, that's all there is to him. It appears he's going to have eating issues in the second half, but that feels more like being about his stereotype than him as a character. <br />Kee is confusing in what's him and what's his image or is that former image. Twink, twunk, twank, plank, the book is majorly caught up in labels. If it's not what gay-box they fit in then it's blue-collar or white-collar. It felt very stilted and unnatural, I've never heard anyone in real life introduce themselves 'I'm blue-collar' rather than say 'I'm a welder'...<br />There's no connection, nothing to say why they keep in touch after the 'porn reel' first night.<br /><br />Then there's Jamie aka Jay of the first book. There's more of Jay than there is Tate. Jay is fabulous and Jay is OTT and Jay is with Liam who may be too controlling or sweet depending on your pov. And despite seven years of close friendship Kee has never met Jay's sister Jackie or apparently heard anything about her. The whole greeting between Jackie and Liam was an awkward rehash of their first meeting in the previous book. I was waiting for someone to shout 'grow-up'.<br /><br />Dialogue felt unnatural, the characters too shallow and drawn thinner than my kindle's pages. There was no-one and nothing to care about or connect to. Too much Jay as much as I enjoyed him in the first book and intros to other characters read to much like a line up for future books.<br /><br />Attempted others and concluded this author isn't for me.

**3.5 Stars**<br /><br />After leaving an abusive boyfriend, Kee isolates himself from his friends concentrating on his work as a welder. A year later, on one of his friends' birthday, he decides it's time to start living a little. At the club he is mesmerized by a dancer in white and ends up going home with him. The two connect and start seeing each other.<br /><br />I absolutely LOVED <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/21523072.Loving_Jay__Loving_You___1_" title="Loving Jay (Loving You, #1) by Renae Kaye" rel="noopener">Loving Jay</a> and was hoping this one would reach that level but it just didn't for me. It was cute and funny. I lol'd several times. Plus we are treated to more of Liam and Jay. <br /><br />I adored Kee. He was scarred from his time with his ex, Matt but he finally came out of his shell and reached out to his friends again. (I do wish there had been some sort of comeuppance for Matt's behavior. He should have been behind bars). <br /><br />Initially, I loved Tate too. But then I began to feel like he was putting his job before Kee. I understood how important it was, but I needed him to be a little "more" into the relationship than he was. Kee deserved someone to put him about all else. Tate was struggling with his own demons of his age and weight and Kee helped him.<br /><br />Overall, though, I just felt it was missing that "loving feeling" that Loving Jay had. I liked it, I just didn't love it like Loving Jay.

<b>4 hearts</b><br><br>I liked this more than I thought I would, but maybe that’s because I was expecting the worst. A lot of people have been less than favourable with their reviews so far, and I think that would be largely due to everyone else having read the first book in the series, <a href="https://goodreads.com/book/show/21523072.Loving_Jay__Loving_You___1_" title="Loving Jay (Loving You, #1) by Renae Kaye" rel="noopener">Loving Jay</a>. Due to that being so successful I think it would be hard to do anything other than compare the two. I haven’t read <b>Loving Jay </b>(I know, don’t shoot me) so I could enjoy this book as a standalone. I really did enjoy this a lot, but I found it's not particularly memorable.<br><br>Urgent matter to attend to first!!!! I need to rectify the images on the front cover. The one of Tate (the blonde) isn’t too bad, but what is with the picture of Kee?!?!? <b>Hell NO! </b>so here’s my versions of Kee and Tate.<br><br><b>Kee</b><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1474495654i/20607743.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><b>Tate</b><br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1474495654i/20607744._SY540_.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br>Anyway, this story is very simple and very sweet. We have Kee, who was a twink until his boyfriend hit him and he decided to lose himself in his work, which happens to be steel welding. Due to the very heavy physical work, Kee buffs up and finds himself resisting his submissive side in fear he’ll become another victim. <br><br>Kee and Tate meet at a nightclub and hit it off straight away. What starts out as a one-night stand progresses into a loving relationship over the period of months. I actually really liked how realistic this relationship progression was. They spent time together, had great sex, fell in love after a few months and reached a HEA.<br><br>There was plenty of sex and it was well written. I for one enjoyed reading them ;-) Okay, a lot of you would probably know I like role-playing scenes by now, yeah? Well this book certainly has a role-playing scene, but unfortunately I must say I didn’t find it sexy at all. However it was most certainly hilarious! I am sure I would be exactly like Kee if I ever did role-playing.<br><br>Kee and Tate were both sweet characters, but Jay just stole the show. I can see why people liked <b>Loving Jay</b>, Jay was vibrant and the he made every scene he was in come alive. However this book wasn’t about Jay, and yet he was a large part of the story. Even the epilogue was about him and Liam. It just felt a bit like the author was milking what worked well in the past, when the story should have been mainly about Kee and Tate. <br><br>There were also a few storylines that just finished rather suddenly, or were tied up way too neatly. Tate has a supposed “eating disorder” that just disappears... He just starts eating and everything is hunky dorey. Kee’s ex-boyfriend Matt was the absolute most OTT villain I have ever read about (and that's saying something because I have read a lot of OTT books) and once again that whole storyline was cleared up with one very short scene. The book also ended quite abruptly. Nothing was left unfinished per se, the ending just sort of crept up on me.<br><br>I think a lot of people will really enjoy this book. It sweet and romantic, it’s a bit silly in places and a bit over the top but overall rather enjoyable. <br><br><br><a href="http://boymeetsboyreviews.blogspot.com.au/?zx=845a2b80bc79ea70" rel="nofollow noopener"> <img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1384707178i/6936447.png" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"> </a><br>

No rating. <br /><br />Comencé este libro porque necesitaba algo sencillo que no requiriera demasiado de mis neuronas y sabía que con Renae lo encontraría, además la primera parte me había gustado mucho. En libros anteriores ya había encontrado comentarios de la autora que no me habían gustado, y así lo puse en las reviews, pero en este he encontrado uno que me ha desagradado especialmente:<br /><br />"I was about to kill her. I was going to jail and would be Bubba´s cellmate for the next twenty-five to life. And I didn´t know whether being gay in jail would be handy or not. No pun intended"<br /><br />Este es un pensamiento del protagonista, evidentemente en tono de sorna, pero me ha parecido de un mal gusto increíble, poco elegante, con poca clase, ofensivo... Soy una persona difícil de ofender y esta vez me he sentido así. Quizás debería darle una estrella, pero me ha gustado la pareja protagonista (sin ser la octava maravilla), y más me gustan Jay y Liam que aparecen durante todo el libro, así que al final he decidio no darle rating pero explicar el por qué.<br /><br />Renae, muchas veces no estás acertada, pero esta vez ha sido demasiado.