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Unscripted #1
Unscripted
Movie star 101: A smile hides all pain.
Quellcrist King has been playing a part his entire life. The more famous he becomes, the more he hides. The only person he ever let see the real him rose with him from nothing to the very top.
They were the king and queen of Hollywood— and then she wanted a divorce. The only way to survive his depression is to bury himself in work. If he can be a character, maybe he won’t have to remember himself. A gay role can’t be any different than playing a straight one, can it?
But instead of finding solace in the character, he finds it in his costar. Hale becomes his best friend, his lifeline, the light in his darkness. Quell is forced to examine everything he thought he knew about himself while filming intimate scenes with Hale that feel more real than anything ever has before.
He’s lived his entire life following the script. What would life be like unscripted?
Quellcrist King has been playing a part his entire life. The more famous he becomes, the more he hides. The only person he ever let see the real him rose with him from nothing to the very top.
They were the king and queen of Hollywood— and then she wanted a divorce. The only way to survive his depression is to bury himself in work. If he can be a character, maybe he won’t have to remember himself. A gay role can’t be any different than playing a straight one, can it?
But instead of finding solace in the character, he finds it in his costar. Hale becomes his best friend, his lifeline, the light in his darkness. Quell is forced to examine everything he thought he knew about himself while filming intimate scenes with Hale that feel more real than anything ever has before.
He’s lived his entire life following the script. What would life be like unscripted?
296 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 6, 2019
624 people are currently reading
1628 people want to read
About the author
J.R. Gray
58 books1,288 followersWhen not staying up all night writing, J.R. Gray can be found at the gym where it's half assumed he is a permanent resident to fulfill his self-inflicted masochism. A dominant and a pilot, Gray finds it hard to be in the passenger seat of any car. He frequently interrupts real life, including normal sleep patterns and conversations, to jot down notes or plot bunnies. Commas are the bane of his existence even though it's been fully acknowledged they are necessary, they continue to baffle and bewilder. If Gray wasn't writing…well, that's not possible. The buildup of untold stories would haunt Gray into an early grave, insanity or both. The idea of haunting has always appealed to him. J.R. Gray is genderqueer and prefers he/him pronouns.
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May 6, 2020
Unscripted is by J.R. Gray, a new to me author. This is a M/M romance, a beautiful story of two men who weren’t looking for each other, but found each other, and maybe found themselves at the same time!
Quellcrist (Quell) King is twenty nine years old. He’s a very successful actor who has been married and faithful to the same woman for ten years. Until she told him she didn’t love him anymore and wanted a divorce. Only for now, they are keeping their separation a secret. Quell suffers from anxiety and depression. It’s a daily struggle he is forced to deal with. Quell recently bought the rights to a book series he has loved for years, a gay romance story of a pirate and a prince. He is going to sell it as a series to a streaming service. Quell is going to play the part of Prince Flint. Now they just need to find the perfect actor to play the pirate, Sehver. That’s when Hale walked in the door.
“When people said someone brought light to a room, I finally knew what they meant.”
Hale, twenty four years old, is openly gay and is virtually an unknown actor. He’s played small bit parts, enough to pay the rent and eat. He was scheduled to audition for a very small part in the new series. But he was pulled from line and brought in to audition for the lead role, with Quell King! The Quell King! He could do this, right?! If he didn’t throw up first!
Quell and Hale hit it off from the start. But as far as Hale knew, Quell was a straight married man. They became best friends. He knew about Quell’s depression and did his best to help him with it. The script called for some steamy sex scenes together. As filming progressed, it became difficult for both of them to figure out where their onscreen chemistry ended and their off screen chemistry began.
“He felt like home.”
Being in the bubble created by living on site of a filming project for months was one thing. But what happens when it’s time to get back into the real world? Quell and his ex still haven’t gone public with their pending divorce. It was obvious she was using him for publicity but he was allowing it. Was there any hope that what they felt for each other would survive past the end of this project?
This was a beautiful story with a large focus on Quell’s struggle. It was tough to see how much he struggled but he has a strong support system in place. I have had this book on my to read list for awhile and when I recently learned that Quell and Hale’s story was going to be continued in a new book, Re-written, I knew I had to jump in and am so glad I did. I can’t wait for more.
“You are my perfect.”
For more about this book and so many others, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...
Quellcrist (Quell) King is twenty nine years old. He’s a very successful actor who has been married and faithful to the same woman for ten years. Until she told him she didn’t love him anymore and wanted a divorce. Only for now, they are keeping their separation a secret. Quell suffers from anxiety and depression. It’s a daily struggle he is forced to deal with. Quell recently bought the rights to a book series he has loved for years, a gay romance story of a pirate and a prince. He is going to sell it as a series to a streaming service. Quell is going to play the part of Prince Flint. Now they just need to find the perfect actor to play the pirate, Sehver. That’s when Hale walked in the door.
“When people said someone brought light to a room, I finally knew what they meant.”
Hale, twenty four years old, is openly gay and is virtually an unknown actor. He’s played small bit parts, enough to pay the rent and eat. He was scheduled to audition for a very small part in the new series. But he was pulled from line and brought in to audition for the lead role, with Quell King! The Quell King! He could do this, right?! If he didn’t throw up first!
Quell and Hale hit it off from the start. But as far as Hale knew, Quell was a straight married man. They became best friends. He knew about Quell’s depression and did his best to help him with it. The script called for some steamy sex scenes together. As filming progressed, it became difficult for both of them to figure out where their onscreen chemistry ended and their off screen chemistry began.
“He felt like home.”
Being in the bubble created by living on site of a filming project for months was one thing. But what happens when it’s time to get back into the real world? Quell and his ex still haven’t gone public with their pending divorce. It was obvious she was using him for publicity but he was allowing it. Was there any hope that what they felt for each other would survive past the end of this project?
This was a beautiful story with a large focus on Quell’s struggle. It was tough to see how much he struggled but he has a strong support system in place. I have had this book on my to read list for awhile and when I recently learned that Quell and Hale’s story was going to be continued in a new book, Re-written, I knew I had to jump in and am so glad I did. I can’t wait for more.
“You are my perfect.”
For more about this book and so many others, come and visit me at Carol's Crazy Bookish World.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Carol...
October 27, 2019
Pretty sure this was my first book by this author and I absolutely loved it.
It would make a fantastic romantic comedy film and it had just the right balance between angst and humour to stop it becoming stale or too obvious.
It's actually quite a slow burn, with Hale and Quellcrist (and I'm sorry but his name - possibly an homage to the Altered Carbon character - made me laugh each time I saw it in full) becoming best friends first.
Quell is still reeling from his separation and his wife is still pulling his strings when he meets Hale.
The way Quell began to have feelings for Hale totally worked for me. He was attracted to his character, his honesty, his steadfast support and freely offered friendship.
I don't think at any point it felt like a 'gay for you' more a dawning awareness of someone else's attractiveness irrespective of gender.
Lots goes on, it's a well-paced narrative and the behind the scenes stuff with Ella and Mel were some of my favourites.
The pay off felt earned and I liked the way everything was handled in the build-up to crisis point.
Put it this way, I started it this morning and only put it down because my dad was picking me up!
Great read and a truly lovely ending.
#ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.
It would make a fantastic romantic comedy film and it had just the right balance between angst and humour to stop it becoming stale or too obvious.
It's actually quite a slow burn, with Hale and Quellcrist (and I'm sorry but his name - possibly an homage to the Altered Carbon character - made me laugh each time I saw it in full) becoming best friends first.
Quell is still reeling from his separation and his wife is still pulling his strings when he meets Hale.
The way Quell began to have feelings for Hale totally worked for me. He was attracted to his character, his honesty, his steadfast support and freely offered friendship.
I don't think at any point it felt like a 'gay for you' more a dawning awareness of someone else's attractiveness irrespective of gender.
Lots goes on, it's a well-paced narrative and the behind the scenes stuff with Ella and Mel were some of my favourites.
The pay off felt earned and I liked the way everything was handled in the build-up to crisis point.
Put it this way, I started it this morning and only put it down because my dad was picking me up!
Great read and a truly lovely ending.
#ARC kindly received from the author in return for an honest and unbiased review.
June 26, 2020
Pretty sure this was a ‘me not you’ moment.
I trudged along...hoping the intensity would pay off. So. Much. UST.
And yet by the final pages I was shaking my head (and kindle) wondering how I missed “IT”. 🧐
Where was the HEA?!?
Where was the resolve??
Where was the icing on the cake??
We got the cherry...but don’t distract me from the goods. I still want them and I was left crumbs.
Bummer. 😔
I trudged along...hoping the intensity would pay off. So. Much. UST.
And yet by the final pages I was shaking my head (and kindle) wondering how I missed “IT”. 🧐
Where was the HEA?!?
Where was the resolve??
Where was the icing on the cake??
We got the cherry...but don’t distract me from the goods. I still want them and I was left crumbs.
Bummer. 😔
November 8, 2019
Okay...so clearly I'm in the minority. Like, really in the minority. But I must be honest with my rating and review.
If you don't want spoilers of the book please do not continue reading.
First off, I was not blown away. This is my first book by J.R. Gray. I read it because I was intrigued by the description of the story.
So, I'm just going to get right into what was interesting and what I liked, and what I didn't like.
For anyone who's read any of my other reviews, you may have come across me saying...I CAN'T STAND IT WHEN THE AUTHOR DOESN'T GIVE US A PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF ONE OR BOTH OF THE MCs!!!!! 😡 Seriously, it's a total pet peeve of mine. So much so, that when I read a new-to-me author I'm actively looking and waiting to see if they'll give us the descriptions of the MCs. And the more description the better to me.
In this book we are told Quell's hair and eye color. With Hale we are given nothing but his height (6'4). Really?! How can you think it's okay to describe one MC but not the other? And especially when you're having Quell say he's very attractive, but you don't tell us anything about how he looks! And even other people are saying how hot Hale is. 🤦🏻♀️
For me this actually works against me connecting with the story. Idk why, but I don't like to come up with my own imaginings of their hair and/or eye color. It feels less "real" to me. They're not my characters. They're somewhere out there living in the fantasy world in my head, and they need their own identity. I can't give it to them. I'm probably coming off as a total weirdo so I'll just move on.
The above being said, I still continued to read. So that says something positive about the story. I kept reading despite the annoying fact of lack of description. Because it was an interesting story plot. And I don't usually like stories about actors because of the things they have to do. Like the love scenes. I don't care what anyone says about it being "just acting". It's not my thing. I like my MCs to touch or look at NO ONE but each other. Even if it is their "job". Not my thing.
So it wasn't %100 comfortable for me reading about the scene Quell had to act out when his character was trying to make Sehver jealous (🙄ohmigosh pls). I will say, thank you J.R. Gray for not describing that in detail.
Then we have the inconsistencies with the age thing. We're told Hale is 24. Later in the book Quell tells a bartender he's 29. Okay so they're five years apart. Before that came out about Quell's age, he kept referring to himself as "in his thirties". Then later, when he's talking to Mel, he says he's ten years older than Hale.
Ummm?👀 Did no one catch that? Which brings me to this question...at the end of the book the author is thanking all these people who helped him edit and read or whatever the book...did none of them mention anything about the stated things above?
And there were a few typos. Which, okay, that's fine. It happens. But what was confusing to me was the writing at times. More times than I liked. Gary wrote in such a way (or was it the formatting of the book?) that I couldn't tell who was saying what a lot of the time.
I don't like that.
Hale and Quell were really great characters, but I will admit I didn't connect with them as I would have liked. There was some good tension and some good scenes, but I didn't feel the connection as much as I would have liked. That probably just boils down to a personal opinion. Idk.
The steamy factor. Am I just a pervert? Is something wrong with me? Because I like my sex scenes to be detailed and super steamy and crazy off the charts with sexual chemistry.
There wasn't that much sex scenes in here. Or, I should say there wasn't much while they were an actual couple, apart from the acting.
But I will say, there were some steamy, chemistry filled scenes in here. I guess they just weren't as detailed as I liked. And there wasn't that much.
Now don't get me wrong, I like an actual story in my books. Not just porn. But I still like lots of sex mixed in with the story.
I wasn't a fan of the ending. I would have liked an epilogue. I wanted to see how these guys faired in the future. How did they handle their crazy busy working schedules? Did Hale go with him to each movie set and vise versa just like Rachael did? What happened with Quell's depression? It feels like it kinda took a backseat towards the end.
I honestly didn't feel the HEA for these two. Maybe because I'm TOTALLY an epilogue girl and need more resolution when it comes to endings.
Overall I wasn't as in love with this book as I wanted or should have been. Whenever I finish reading a book and don't feel completely satisfied, or I have that feeling of "wondering" how the couple was going to live HEA; well I just can't give it a high rating. Because for me, it didn't work.
I wasn't happy with the overall story. 🙁
If you don't want spoilers of the book please do not continue reading.
First off, I was not blown away. This is my first book by J.R. Gray. I read it because I was intrigued by the description of the story.
So, I'm just going to get right into what was interesting and what I liked, and what I didn't like.
For anyone who's read any of my other reviews, you may have come across me saying...I CAN'T STAND IT WHEN THE AUTHOR DOESN'T GIVE US A PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION OF ONE OR BOTH OF THE MCs!!!!! 😡 Seriously, it's a total pet peeve of mine. So much so, that when I read a new-to-me author I'm actively looking and waiting to see if they'll give us the descriptions of the MCs. And the more description the better to me.
In this book we are told Quell's hair and eye color. With Hale we are given nothing but his height (6'4). Really?! How can you think it's okay to describe one MC but not the other? And especially when you're having Quell say he's very attractive, but you don't tell us anything about how he looks! And even other people are saying how hot Hale is. 🤦🏻♀️
For me this actually works against me connecting with the story. Idk why, but I don't like to come up with my own imaginings of their hair and/or eye color. It feels less "real" to me. They're not my characters. They're somewhere out there living in the fantasy world in my head, and they need their own identity. I can't give it to them. I'm probably coming off as a total weirdo so I'll just move on.
The above being said, I still continued to read. So that says something positive about the story. I kept reading despite the annoying fact of lack of description. Because it was an interesting story plot. And I don't usually like stories about actors because of the things they have to do. Like the love scenes. I don't care what anyone says about it being "just acting". It's not my thing. I like my MCs to touch or look at NO ONE but each other. Even if it is their "job". Not my thing.
So it wasn't %100 comfortable for me reading about the scene Quell had to act out when his character was trying to make Sehver jealous (🙄ohmigosh pls). I will say, thank you J.R. Gray for not describing that in detail.
Then we have the inconsistencies with the age thing. We're told Hale is 24. Later in the book Quell tells a bartender he's 29. Okay so they're five years apart. Before that came out about Quell's age, he kept referring to himself as "in his thirties". Then later, when he's talking to Mel, he says he's ten years older than Hale.
Ummm?👀 Did no one catch that? Which brings me to this question...at the end of the book the author is thanking all these people who helped him edit and read or whatever the book...did none of them mention anything about the stated things above?
And there were a few typos. Which, okay, that's fine. It happens. But what was confusing to me was the writing at times. More times than I liked. Gary wrote in such a way (or was it the formatting of the book?) that I couldn't tell who was saying what a lot of the time.
I don't like that.
Hale and Quell were really great characters, but I will admit I didn't connect with them as I would have liked. There was some good tension and some good scenes, but I didn't feel the connection as much as I would have liked. That probably just boils down to a personal opinion. Idk.
The steamy factor. Am I just a pervert? Is something wrong with me? Because I like my sex scenes to be detailed and super steamy and crazy off the charts with sexual chemistry.
There wasn't that much sex scenes in here. Or, I should say there wasn't much while they were an actual couple, apart from the acting.
But I will say, there were some steamy, chemistry filled scenes in here. I guess they just weren't as detailed as I liked. And there wasn't that much.
Now don't get me wrong, I like an actual story in my books. Not just porn. But I still like lots of sex mixed in with the story.
I wasn't a fan of the ending. I would have liked an epilogue. I wanted to see how these guys faired in the future. How did they handle their crazy busy working schedules? Did Hale go with him to each movie set and vise versa just like Rachael did? What happened with Quell's depression? It feels like it kinda took a backseat towards the end.
I honestly didn't feel the HEA for these two. Maybe because I'm TOTALLY an epilogue girl and need more resolution when it comes to endings.
Overall I wasn't as in love with this book as I wanted or should have been. Whenever I finish reading a book and don't feel completely satisfied, or I have that feeling of "wondering" how the couple was going to live HEA; well I just can't give it a high rating. Because for me, it didn't work.
I wasn't happy with the overall story. 🙁
November 8, 2019
Unscripted by JR Gray was ok. For some reason, I had a hard time connecting to the characters as a couple- both great guys, but together I wasn't invested. I found the story a little slow-moving, and I felt like some aspects of the story weren't completely fleshed out, and not having an epilogue didn't help. If you've read my reviews before- you know I love me an epilogue. I want to know that characters are living happy lives, and I didn't get that feeling from Unscripted. The end was a lukewarm HFN- at least to me. This is likely just me, as everyone else seems to love it. The premise was good, likable characters, but it all didn't come together for me. Try it out though, as I said, everyone else has enjoyed it.
January 29, 2021
Meh. 2.5 Stars
Slow
So slow
So very, very slow
Awkward
Repetitive
Writing
I thought this was a first novel
And that maybe an editor should have gone through it
I was wrong.
TW: Binge drinking/alcohol abuse as if this were a normal thing, pot smoking.
My rec? Nah
Slow
So slow
So very, very slow
Awkward
Repetitive
Writing
I thought this was a first novel
And that maybe an editor should have gone through it
I was wrong.
TW: Binge drinking/alcohol abuse as if this were a normal thing, pot smoking.
My rec? Nah
December 3, 2019
* A wonderful tale of deep longing and first true love. These two men each need what the other can give.
Quell, @29, is a famous movie star
who bought the rights to an M/M fantasy adventure to make for streaming TV. Quell will be the kidnapped Prince Flint. He's very excited to begin his princely role, and it will take his mind off of his separation from his wife, and the divorce.
Hale is 24, 6'4" tall, a lean and younger unknown actor,
who is perfect for the part of the sexy pirate, Sehver.
Most people do not know of the separation as the project gets underway. The men have instant chemistry for their characters, and each other, and we learn much more about them. We see Quell's depression and Hale's understanding, and the friendship that develops.
It's a slow burn for straight Quell to figure out he's bi. We are rooting for them to finally get on board and "just do it." Well, later on we get first times and scorching hotness ! There is angst and disappointment and fears, but our two devoted friends-to-lovers figure it out.
I liked the bright characters, the fun plot, the ups and downs, and of course the use of therapy for Quell's depression. There are some mistakes and it's not perfection, but it is entertaining and fascinating.
This story felt like a refreshing and heartwarming story that makes us joyful.
ENJOY !
=====
Quell, @29, is a famous movie star
who bought the rights to an M/M fantasy adventure to make for streaming TV. Quell will be the kidnapped Prince Flint. He's very excited to begin his princely role, and it will take his mind off of his separation from his wife, and the divorce.
Hale is 24, 6'4" tall, a lean and younger unknown actor,
who is perfect for the part of the sexy pirate, Sehver.
Most people do not know of the separation as the project gets underway. The men have instant chemistry for their characters, and each other, and we learn much more about them. We see Quell's depression and Hale's understanding, and the friendship that develops.
It's a slow burn for straight Quell to figure out he's bi. We are rooting for them to finally get on board and "just do it." Well, later on we get first times and scorching hotness ! There is angst and disappointment and fears, but our two devoted friends-to-lovers figure it out.
I liked the bright characters, the fun plot, the ups and downs, and of course the use of therapy for Quell's depression. There are some mistakes and it's not perfection, but it is entertaining and fascinating.
This story felt like a refreshing and heartwarming story that makes us joyful.
ENJOY !
=====
November 19, 2019
3.5 stars
I debated with myself whether to round up or down with this, but too many things bothered for me to round up to 4 stars.
So I really liked parts of this. Quell and Hale's - interesting first names - growing friendship and romance for part of the first half was good and I was loving this. Despite some typos or weirdly worded sentences or grammatical things here and there like no comma when there should have been, I was enjoying it, and it wasn't so overt that it took enjoyment out of reading this.
But...it took until 70% for these two to get together. So it takes that long to get them together...and then feels the need to have them break up by 90% (Why???) but then oh WAIT! Hale changes his mind by the next day and puts some sense on his shoulders like that and they get back together. So what was the point of the "break up" for all of a few pages of drama....for nothing.
And by the time 70% came around, their holding off on being together go to be repetitive. Because Quell kept up the illusion he was still with his wife - they're still technically married, but haven't been together for months and months before he even meets Hale - he didn't tell Hale that he wasn't with her forever and while it was understandable at first, it got to be annoying with the constant "I should tell him....but I can't" and it felt like I was reading the same thing over and over gain. And Hale would be all "I want him but I can't have him...the pain" which, while all well and good...gets tiring after basically 70% of it.
And there were a few things here and there that bothered me. Like Quell's age. It says at one point in this that he's in his 30's or 30 exactly, something like that, but then he's 29, but oh wait he's 34?? (Because he says he's 10 years older than Hale, who is for sure 24) and I'm sitting here like...but it said he was 29? Or 30? Or something??
There was also a part where the director and friend of Quell's, who is trying to comfort Hale while he's angsting over getting hard with Quell in a sex scene they were filming, says that it's okay and it happens, it's just friction, that Quell had it happen to him and laughed about it - but then Quell says "I've filmed plenty and never been hard once. I'm a professional" when he's trying to explain why he was so rattled by being hard with Hale. So then I was like...wait, what? Has he been hard in a scene before or not?
Just little things like that started adding up. Also Rachel, Quell's ex, was pretty one note. All she cared about was fame and nothing else. When characters are written like that, it makes you wonder how Quell could have stayed with her for 10 years when he hates the limelight so much and is such an introvert and has depression. (How could he hide it for years from her???) And Rachel can care a lot about fame and that be a major contention for why they are divorcing - and her being out of love with Quell as well - but maybe make her more than that? We don't really get anything from her but that, and her being a complete asshole to Quell all the damn time. A little complexity would have been nice. We still could have disliked her, but gotten a more human side to her.
The ending was also abrupt and we could have done with an epilogue that shows them getting a HEA or a very solid HFN.
All this complaining is easy to do, though, and all that is to say that I still enjoyed these two together. They did have great chemistry, and I couldn't put this down at times. It definitely has its positives, so it could be worth a read if you are up for some co-stars falling in love with each other.
There was just too much that bothered me to round up, and I had to give more stars away than I would have liked. If this had been edited, maybe? (If it was, then this author should get a new editor....is all I'm saying) And if the author had been told to shape up some parts of this as well, then I think this could have been an excellent read. The potential was there with these two and this story. It just fell short of the mark for me.
Enjoyable and entertaining, to be sure, and I tentatively recommend it. Maybe some won't have a problem with the things I did and can enjoy it more than more - you never know.
I debated with myself whether to round up or down with this, but too many things bothered for me to round up to 4 stars.
So I really liked parts of this. Quell and Hale's - interesting first names - growing friendship and romance for part of the first half was good and I was loving this. Despite some typos or weirdly worded sentences or grammatical things here and there like no comma when there should have been, I was enjoying it, and it wasn't so overt that it took enjoyment out of reading this.
But...it took until 70% for these two to get together. So it takes that long to get them together...and then feels the need to have them break up by 90% (Why???) but then oh WAIT! Hale changes his mind by the next day and puts some sense on his shoulders like that and they get back together. So what was the point of the "break up" for all of a few pages of drama....for nothing.
And by the time 70% came around, their holding off on being together go to be repetitive. Because Quell kept up the illusion he was still with his wife - they're still technically married, but haven't been together for months and months before he even meets Hale - he didn't tell Hale that he wasn't with her forever and while it was understandable at first, it got to be annoying with the constant "I should tell him....but I can't" and it felt like I was reading the same thing over and over gain. And Hale would be all "I want him but I can't have him...the pain" which, while all well and good...gets tiring after basically 70% of it.
And there were a few things here and there that bothered me. Like Quell's age. It says at one point in this that he's in his 30's or 30 exactly, something like that, but then he's 29, but oh wait he's 34?? (Because he says he's 10 years older than Hale, who is for sure 24) and I'm sitting here like...but it said he was 29? Or 30? Or something??
There was also a part where the director and friend of Quell's, who is trying to comfort Hale while he's angsting over getting hard with Quell in a sex scene they were filming, says that it's okay and it happens, it's just friction, that Quell had it happen to him and laughed about it - but then Quell says "I've filmed plenty and never been hard once. I'm a professional" when he's trying to explain why he was so rattled by being hard with Hale. So then I was like...wait, what? Has he been hard in a scene before or not?
Just little things like that started adding up. Also Rachel, Quell's ex, was pretty one note. All she cared about was fame and nothing else. When characters are written like that, it makes you wonder how Quell could have stayed with her for 10 years when he hates the limelight so much and is such an introvert and has depression. (How could he hide it for years from her???) And Rachel can care a lot about fame and that be a major contention for why they are divorcing - and her being out of love with Quell as well - but maybe make her more than that? We don't really get anything from her but that, and her being a complete asshole to Quell all the damn time. A little complexity would have been nice. We still could have disliked her, but gotten a more human side to her.
The ending was also abrupt and we could have done with an epilogue that shows them getting a HEA or a very solid HFN.
All this complaining is easy to do, though, and all that is to say that I still enjoyed these two together. They did have great chemistry, and I couldn't put this down at times. It definitely has its positives, so it could be worth a read if you are up for some co-stars falling in love with each other.
There was just too much that bothered me to round up, and I had to give more stars away than I would have liked. If this had been edited, maybe? (If it was, then this author should get a new editor....is all I'm saying) And if the author had been told to shape up some parts of this as well, then I think this could have been an excellent read. The potential was there with these two and this story. It just fell short of the mark for me.
Enjoyable and entertaining, to be sure, and I tentatively recommend it. Maybe some won't have a problem with the things I did and can enjoy it more than more - you never know.
November 10, 2019
Fandom has perfected the "Gay For You Friends To Lovers On A Film Set/Movie Set" formula ages ago so the bar this had to clear for me was high. Unfortunately the author mostly phoned it in and failed at establishing the most basic requirements to make this kind of story work.
Let's start with the friendship. There isn't really one. Sure, we are told over and over again that Quell and Hale are Best Friends but are they really? They fall in lust at first sight at the audition, proceed to awkward boners while shooting the sex scenes, fall right into getting drunk and spending the night together (with more awkward boners) and have heart eyes for each other so hard that pretty much everyone notices. That is not friendship. That is your run-of-the-mill workplace romance.
Then there's the awful miscommunication. Quell's marriage is over when the book begins. They're keeping it on the down low for publicity reasons. For some reason he doesn't tell his Best Friend, the one he has awkward boners for and who makes him question his sexuality though. He can tell him about his depression, sure. But the status of his marriage that is currently messing with his mental health? No, that would be too much!
And that's another problem. The way the author handles the topic of depression here feels more like something he threw in for bonus points. I know that depression looks different from person to person and there's no such thing as doing depression wrong. But Quell's symptoms all conveniently lead to him and Hale having to spend as much time as possible with each other and don't come up in any other context really...
The final nail in the coffin of my low rating was the lazy handling of the setting. This is fiction so I don't expect the author to go on a film set to do research but if I, as someone who has zero connection to the business can poke holes into the process of selling scripts and making a TV show you have not done enough research. And if your fictional TV show has magic and sorceres it would be in the genre of Fantasy not SciFi.
I really wanted to like this but I can think of at least ten stories with higher wordcounts written for free that did this plot better with hotter sex scenes and more developed love stories than this one.
Let's start with the friendship. There isn't really one. Sure, we are told over and over again that Quell and Hale are Best Friends but are they really? They fall in lust at first sight at the audition, proceed to awkward boners while shooting the sex scenes, fall right into getting drunk and spending the night together (with more awkward boners) and have heart eyes for each other so hard that pretty much everyone notices. That is not friendship. That is your run-of-the-mill workplace romance.
Then there's the awful miscommunication. Quell's marriage is over when the book begins. They're keeping it on the down low for publicity reasons. For some reason he doesn't tell his Best Friend, the one he has awkward boners for and who makes him question his sexuality though. He can tell him about his depression, sure. But the status of his marriage that is currently messing with his mental health? No, that would be too much!
And that's another problem. The way the author handles the topic of depression here feels more like something he threw in for bonus points. I know that depression looks different from person to person and there's no such thing as doing depression wrong. But Quell's symptoms all conveniently lead to him and Hale having to spend as much time as possible with each other and don't come up in any other context really...
The final nail in the coffin of my low rating was the lazy handling of the setting. This is fiction so I don't expect the author to go on a film set to do research but if I, as someone who has zero connection to the business can poke holes into the process of selling scripts and making a TV show you have not done enough research. And if your fictional TV show has magic and sorceres it would be in the genre of Fantasy not SciFi.
I really wanted to like this but I can think of at least ten stories with higher wordcounts written for free that did this plot better with hotter sex scenes and more developed love stories than this one.
November 14, 2019
Quell and Hale started off as co-stars that slowly evolved to friends and confidantes before they eventually became a couple. The UST during the first 50% of the story was unbelievable between them, especially considering that their characters had a complicated romantic relationship in the series.
When they met, Quell was an already known and highly paid actor, while Hale struggled to make ends meet with whatever part he could score so he wouldn't have to work a second job to support himself.
Their personal lives didn't have that much in common either. Quell was separated from his wife and trying to get his feet under him while at the same time he was realising who his soon-to-be ex-wife really was. Hale was just single and not looking for anything serious.
Some of the dialogues - especially at the beginning - needed a bit of polishing because they were very simplistic but other than that I liked the writing style.
I was enjoying the story up until they got together but that's a common occurrence for me so I'm not surprised to find yet another story where it happened. All the tension and the struggle of them trying to fight their attraction became lukewarm talks and sugar so I was disappointed by how the second half of the story progressed.
I wish that the whole book was as good as the first half. I'll still give it four stars because the author gave his characters the time to get to know each other and develop feelings in the course of a few months instead of trying to squeeze everything in a couple weeks.
*An ARC of this book was kindly provided to me in exchange for an honest review. *
When they met, Quell was an already known and highly paid actor, while Hale struggled to make ends meet with whatever part he could score so he wouldn't have to work a second job to support himself.
Their personal lives didn't have that much in common either. Quell was separated from his wife and trying to get his feet under him while at the same time he was realising who his soon-to-be ex-wife really was. Hale was just single and not looking for anything serious.
Some of the dialogues - especially at the beginning - needed a bit of polishing because they were very simplistic but other than that I liked the writing style.
I was enjoying the story up until they got together but that's a common occurrence for me so I'm not surprised to find yet another story where it happened. All the tension and the struggle of them trying to fight their attraction became lukewarm talks and sugar so I was disappointed by how the second half of the story progressed.
I wish that the whole book was as good as the first half. I'll still give it four stars because the author gave his characters the time to get to know each other and develop feelings in the course of a few months instead of trying to squeeze everything in a couple weeks.
*An ARC of this book was kindly provided to me in exchange for an honest review. *
November 7, 2019
4.5 Brilliant Stars ! A slow burn story that gave me all the feels.
Unscripted by J.R. Gray is one of those stories that grabs your interest and curiosity from the first chapter . And as the story unfolds , it throw you into a maelstrom of emotions that it's near impossible to stop reading or/and thinking about it until the end.
A tale that smartly and with a lot of compassion deals with mental health issues as depression ; as well as, friendship, loneliness, self discovery/sexual awakening/acceptance , fame , notoriety and feelings happy and free in your own skin.
Quell
Book is about the inner workings of casting, producing and acting on a Netflix type of TV series, the highs , low and compromises of being a Hollywood Movie Star. It's told in the two heroes POV.
An emotional, sweet and poignant , slow burn , MM Romance story. Written in a style that feels intimate, raw and vulnerable , leaving you with a happy, empowering and hopeful feelings.
Hale
Unscripted is my first book by J.R. Gray and it's also, one of the few romance books that I didn't mind, it took the heroes until 74% to begin having sex.
I don't deny it , I enjoy reading/listening books with a lot of sexy times. Yet, with this book , I enjoyed the built up, UST ~ Unresolved Sexual Tension ~ the touches , getting to know each other, and gorgeous and breathtaking intimacy Hale and Quell developed.
And HFS , when heroes finally got together it was Hot AF.
Quell & Hale , Red Carpet Ready
Gave a 4.5 stars rating ; yet wanted to give it a 5 stars. However, 2 things stopped me.
1~The time between the heroes finally being together, out for the world and the ex-wife to see , and the end of the book was minimal, in the last chapter.
2~ No epilogue. Yes, heroes get their well deserve HEA but I wish I got a glimpse years into the future. See how , with their profession , shooting schedules , notoriety , they made it work, when so many cannot.
I loved reading this book and it's likely, I will be re-reading it again in the near future.
Through LesCourt, I received a complimentary copy, and this is my honest opinion.
April 9, 2020
I absolutely adored this book. Quell is a movie star struggling with life long depression, his wife left him but she won’t announce the split until it suits her so they are pretending they are still married and doing public appearances together. He starts a new project about a gay prince kidnapped by a pirate who falls in love with him. Hale is an unknown actor cast as the pirate. They are filming for months together, and quickly become best friends, spending all their time together. They also fall in love, but Hale is sure that Quell is married and straight.
It’s a slooooow burn. Nothing happens between them outside of the filming of sex scenes before the 70% mark. But the FEEEEEEELINGS. I was falling in love right with them on every single page. I wanted to hug my kindle when they finally got together.
I admit I love movie star or rock star stories, and this one did not disappoint.
Now what is up with the cover though? Those guys look like computer geeks, not gorgeous movie stars.
It’s a slooooow burn. Nothing happens between them outside of the filming of sex scenes before the 70% mark. But the FEEEEEEELINGS. I was falling in love right with them on every single page. I wanted to hug my kindle when they finally got together.
I admit I love movie star or rock star stories, and this one did not disappoint.
Now what is up with the cover though? Those guys look like computer geeks, not gorgeous movie stars.
November 9, 2019
I tried, but just can't finish
I tried with this book. I read word for word until the character that didn't have depression started talking about his depression. Confused? Me too. Then I started skimming. When it said no one knew about him and his wife being split up except Mel and he'd already told Elle twice I was done.
I rarely leave negative reviews, but this book had potential. The idea was great. It needs A LOT of work though. The characters need more depth, not more problems, more personality and chemistry. The story needs editing. I'm not sure if some of the sentences were supposed to be statements or questions. It's not total garbage, but it needs to be worked on and re-released.
I tried with this book. I read word for word until the character that didn't have depression started talking about his depression. Confused? Me too. Then I started skimming. When it said no one knew about him and his wife being split up except Mel and he'd already told Elle twice I was done.
I rarely leave negative reviews, but this book had potential. The idea was great. It needs A LOT of work though. The characters need more depth, not more problems, more personality and chemistry. The story needs editing. I'm not sure if some of the sentences were supposed to be statements or questions. It's not total garbage, but it needs to be worked on and re-released.
April 21, 2025
1.5 ⭐️
spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
format: audiobook
narration: 🎤🎤🎤.5/5
i really just didn’t like this. the plot or the characters.
i think this book had this weird way of moving way too fast while also way too slow? like nothing happened story-wise for so long but then the relationship was just randomly rushed. there was no buildup or chemistry. i barely even remember them becoming friends first.
i did not like the mental health rep at all, and how every time they had a fight, hale was convinced quell was going to kill himself. that is so problematic for so many reasons and honestly i just hated it.
the spice was decent, that’s pretty much the only positive. but again, i didn’t feel a ton of chemistry between the characters so it wasn’t as good as it could’ve been.
also this might be a me problem, and also only an audiobook issue, but the names of the characters were way too similar that i had a hard time distinguishing them at first. we had hale, quell (pronounced: “kell”) and mel. i was just always confused.
i’m gonna try other jr gray books but i don’t think i’ll continue with this series, considering book two is the same couple.
spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️/5
format: audiobook
narration: 🎤🎤🎤.5/5
i really just didn’t like this. the plot or the characters.
i think this book had this weird way of moving way too fast while also way too slow? like nothing happened story-wise for so long but then the relationship was just randomly rushed. there was no buildup or chemistry. i barely even remember them becoming friends first.
i did not like the mental health rep at all, and how every time they had a fight, hale was convinced quell was going to kill himself. that is so problematic for so many reasons and honestly i just hated it.
the spice was decent, that’s pretty much the only positive. but again, i didn’t feel a ton of chemistry between the characters so it wasn’t as good as it could’ve been.
also this might be a me problem, and also only an audiobook issue, but the names of the characters were way too similar that i had a hard time distinguishing them at first. we had hale, quell (pronounced: “kell”) and mel. i was just always confused.
i’m gonna try other jr gray books but i don’t think i’ll continue with this series, considering book two is the same couple.
Read
February 26, 2021Hale and Quell are fantastic characters that really shine. I love how easily they connect and how much time and effort they put into their friendship and other relationships. The two might think they c.d.s.be together, but they quickly become closer than best friends.
Hale is a fabulous character that sees all the wonderful qualities that Quell has to offer. Quell gets someone that understands him and cares about his well-being and supporting him.
Hale is a fabulous character that sees all the wonderful qualities that Quell has to offer. Quell gets someone that understands him and cares about his well-being and supporting him.
June 6, 2023
Weird book. It could have been good. The writing was so off. It felt like a badly translated book. Word choices were off, the language was stilted and awkward, and some slang was weird and…vaguely British?
I was also slightly offended by the depiction of depression. The author made it seem like every person handled it the same way and it just made me extremely uncomfortable. It could have been a very personal depiction and I did get the sense that some though had been put into it. The overgeneralization of symptoms and the very casual and weird way one MC questioned wether the other MC would kill himself really bothered me. It wasn’t even followed up with. It made me feel like they were trying to make depression this big easy plot device and it felt inappropriate.
I was also slightly offended by the depiction of depression. The author made it seem like every person handled it the same way and it just made me extremely uncomfortable. It could have been a very personal depiction and I did get the sense that some though had been put into it. The overgeneralization of symptoms and the very casual and weird way one MC questioned wether the other MC would kill himself really bothered me. It wasn’t even followed up with. It made me feel like they were trying to make depression this big easy plot device and it felt inappropriate.
November 12, 2019
Really good slow burn MM Romance
Also an Own Voice book.
Between two actors.
The chemistry was really good.
I love that the romance developed over time.
It's a little long but I really liked these characters.
Between a straight actor playing a role of queer guy, and it starts from there..
Highly recommend it..
Also an Own Voice book.
Between two actors.
The chemistry was really good.
I love that the romance developed over time.
It's a little long but I really liked these characters.
Between a straight actor playing a role of queer guy, and it starts from there..
Highly recommend it..
November 18, 2019
Look, I like a Hollywood romance. A queer Hollywood romance? Even better. And this one seemed really promising in an indulgent way (our megastar's name is Quellcrist King, I had no illusions here), especially with a protagonist dealing with depression (with a name like Quellcrist, who could blame him). And I did quite like the first half of this book when everything was on-set banter and increasingly obvious pining.
The writing started to fall off in the second half. The influence of the evil ex-wife was a sour note in the narrative, especially since it played with her being abusive, but didn't really go there. Maybe I've read too many better romance novels with an abusive relationship in the protagonist's past, but if you're going to reveal the ex to be selfish, manipulative, and coercive, you better put some time into that, or it's going to seem like you made the woman in your gay romance evil to bring your male protagonists together faster, with less guilt. Same with Quell's depression, honestly. The narrative plays with him abusing substances and practicing disordered eating, but other than people saying "I'm worried about you," nothing gets confronted or really resolved. It started to look to me like Quell had depression so that Hale would feel bad about leaving him alone and spend as much time with him as possible. It set a weirdly unhealthy pattern for the characters, yet seemed all too convenient on the author's part.
The farther along I got, the more I noticed weird pacing and basic errors. Once they got together, everything seemed to rush us forward to the next sex scene. I was all set to be impressed that at least the author eschewed the third act breakup, but instead they snuck it in at the eleventh hour (literally 90% in) and had it happen and resolve within a few pages to get to them switching positions for the first time. The ending was really abrupt, too, with our protags going on their first public date, Quell finally telling his ex-wife to shove it (which would have been a more triumphant ending if that storyline was handled better), and scene.
It wasn't a terrible book by any means, but it was frustrating for how much better I imagined it could have been.
The writing started to fall off in the second half. The influence of the evil ex-wife was a sour note in the narrative, especially since it played with her being abusive, but didn't really go there. Maybe I've read too many better romance novels with an abusive relationship in the protagonist's past, but if you're going to reveal the ex to be selfish, manipulative, and coercive, you better put some time into that, or it's going to seem like you made the woman in your gay romance evil to bring your male protagonists together faster, with less guilt. Same with Quell's depression, honestly. The narrative plays with him abusing substances and practicing disordered eating, but other than people saying "I'm worried about you," nothing gets confronted or really resolved. It started to look to me like Quell had depression so that Hale would feel bad about leaving him alone and spend as much time with him as possible. It set a weirdly unhealthy pattern for the characters, yet seemed all too convenient on the author's part.
The farther along I got, the more I noticed weird pacing and basic errors. Once they got together, everything seemed to rush us forward to the next sex scene. I was all set to be impressed that at least the author eschewed the third act breakup, but instead they snuck it in at the eleventh hour (literally 90% in) and had it happen and resolve within a few pages to get to them switching positions for the first time. The ending was really abrupt, too, with our protags going on their first public date, Quell finally telling his ex-wife to shove it (which would have been a more triumphant ending if that storyline was handled better), and scene.
It wasn't a terrible book by any means, but it was frustrating for how much better I imagined it could have been.
November 11, 2019
*Received A Free Copy To Review From The Author*
This is a bit complicated. I really liked the characters, the plot was interesting. That was all good. But MAN did the middle drag. So much hand wringing and waffling. Just MAKE A CHOICE. This book could've stood to lose at least 20% of "oh no, I like him but he can't possibly like me back, so I'm going to just be his friend and angst." from both men. Sometimes that works, but in this case I wasn't a fan. However I did enjoy the initial set up and development of the friendship into the love and I also really liked most of the ending (though I wish things were more on page and less being told about it happening). For once I would've like more of the outside drama having a bigger role than the internalized drama. I don't know....I'd call it a high 3 star.
This is a bit complicated. I really liked the characters, the plot was interesting. That was all good. But MAN did the middle drag. So much hand wringing and waffling. Just MAKE A CHOICE. This book could've stood to lose at least 20% of "oh no, I like him but he can't possibly like me back, so I'm going to just be his friend and angst." from both men. Sometimes that works, but in this case I wasn't a fan. However I did enjoy the initial set up and development of the friendship into the love and I also really liked most of the ending (though I wish things were more on page and less being told about it happening). For once I would've like more of the outside drama having a bigger role than the internalized drama. I don't know....I'd call it a high 3 star.
Read
November 16, 2019DNF at 30% for now at least.
The writing just wasn't working for me. It was confusing, like English isn't the author's native language. It was kind of proper and there was slang that I hadn't heard before and I couldn't find when I tried to look it up which made it more confusing. It took me out of the story that I was already having a hard time following.
Maybe it's the wrong book at the wrong time and maybe I'll try again later. It just didn't gel for me.
The writing just wasn't working for me. It was confusing, like English isn't the author's native language. It was kind of proper and there was slang that I hadn't heard before and I couldn't find when I tried to look it up which made it more confusing. It took me out of the story that I was already having a hard time following.
Maybe it's the wrong book at the wrong time and maybe I'll try again later. It just didn't gel for me.
November 10, 2019
This book had a lot of potential...
Unfortunately typos, boring dialogue, and mixing up the MC’s names took me out of the story.
I ended up scanning the second half of the book. This one wasn’t for me.
Unfortunately typos, boring dialogue, and mixing up the MC’s names took me out of the story.
I ended up scanning the second half of the book. This one wasn’t for me.
nope-not-for-me-not-interested
December 7, 2019DNF 31%
Inconsistencies. Editing issues. Other reviewers have gone into detail about these, so I won’t. I was interested in the characters and the setup, but the writing isn’t strong enough for me to keep going.
Inconsistencies. Editing issues. Other reviewers have gone into detail about these, so I won’t. I was interested in the characters and the setup, but the writing isn’t strong enough for me to keep going.
October 5, 2024
3.5 ⭐
This book started out really good, like I enjoyed the story.
Quell and Hale are a really good friends to lovers story and I enjoyed watching their friendship bloom into something more romantic/sexual. This book also deals with depression, which I think was done well and having a character that can emotionally connect me to book is always something I enjoy, especially when its something I can relate to. I think their was great chemistry and emotional chemistry between the two as well.
So why 3.5? Well, after they got together it just seemed so fucking rushed. Like what the hell happened the last like 10 chapters or whatever. Time was moving fast, they were moving fast, and they had a fight that was over in 1 chapter and brushed past. Like what the fuck was that? I get there is a second book but I'm pretty sure this book and the second book are the type of book where it could of just been one book because whatever the hell happened towards the end was dramatic for no reason. Okay so it wasn't no reason but it was glossed over so fucking fast, so why even have it happen?
ALSO QUELL, HALE & MEL..THATS THE DUMBEST SHIT EVER.
January 6, 2022
There were a lot of really interesting elements in this book, but the editing often took me out of the story.
I loved that Quell and Hale were good friends before they became a couple. And when I say good friends, I mean they helped each other through tough times, they supported each other. They even were bad boys together. It was cute. This book is a slow burn though, be prepared to see them do the deed in the very last part of the book. But since they’re actors filming sex scenes together, you’ll get a lot of teasing before it happens. I kind of liked it, seeing them fighting against their obvious attraction.
Quell was the one fighting the hardest, because he identified as straight before he met Hale. The way he’s struggling with his new feelings is described at length, and his coming out is actually an important part of the plot.
And with straight Quell comes the evil ex that you’ll hate thoroughly. At first I thought the author wouldn’t take the easy road of vilifying the woman to make the gay relationship shine brighter. I was disappointed.
Depression and mental illness are a strong topic in the story, and the author gets some things right. Especially the thoughts of someone depressed, and the fear of the people around them about their well being, or even the fact that they’ll never be really cured. The healing process, though, is almost forgotten–Quell is seen talking with his therapist once, and there’s one mention of medication.
And so, the editing. It isn’t a matter of typos or grammar here. A couple of times, the point of view changes without warning–I got confused each time about who was talking. Conversations that have happened are forgotten a few chapters afterwards. Quell keeps moving forward then backward with his feelings for Hale. Timeline is wobbly. It impeded my reading.
I’ll probably give a chance to the next book though, because I’m curious whether the writing improves, and I want to read more of Quell and Hale.
Quickie
- Series: Unscripted #1 (not really a standalone, but you can stop here, there’s no cliffhanger though Hale and Quell’s story isn’t finished yet)
- Hashtags: #MM romance #Hollywood romance #friends to lovers #bisexual #in the closet #evil ex #gay sidekicks
- Triggers: heavy mention of depression, substance use, alcohol abuse, emotional abuse
- Main couple: Hale & Quellcrist King
- Hotness: 3/5
- Romance: 3/5
- + the hero’s name SERIOUSLY
- – it needs a deep editing
I loved that Quell and Hale were good friends before they became a couple. And when I say good friends, I mean they helped each other through tough times, they supported each other. They even were bad boys together. It was cute. This book is a slow burn though, be prepared to see them do the deed in the very last part of the book. But since they’re actors filming sex scenes together, you’ll get a lot of teasing before it happens. I kind of liked it, seeing them fighting against their obvious attraction.
Quell was the one fighting the hardest, because he identified as straight before he met Hale. The way he’s struggling with his new feelings is described at length, and his coming out is actually an important part of the plot.
And with straight Quell comes the evil ex that you’ll hate thoroughly. At first I thought the author wouldn’t take the easy road of vilifying the woman to make the gay relationship shine brighter. I was disappointed.
Depression and mental illness are a strong topic in the story, and the author gets some things right. Especially the thoughts of someone depressed, and the fear of the people around them about their well being, or even the fact that they’ll never be really cured. The healing process, though, is almost forgotten–Quell is seen talking with his therapist once, and there’s one mention of medication.
And so, the editing. It isn’t a matter of typos or grammar here. A couple of times, the point of view changes without warning–I got confused each time about who was talking. Conversations that have happened are forgotten a few chapters afterwards. Quell keeps moving forward then backward with his feelings for Hale. Timeline is wobbly. It impeded my reading.
I’ll probably give a chance to the next book though, because I’m curious whether the writing improves, and I want to read more of Quell and Hale.
Quickie
- Series: Unscripted #1 (not really a standalone, but you can stop here, there’s no cliffhanger though Hale and Quell’s story isn’t finished yet)
- Hashtags: #MM romance #Hollywood romance #friends to lovers #bisexual #in the closet #evil ex #gay sidekicks
- Triggers: heavy mention of depression, substance use, alcohol abuse, emotional abuse
- Main couple: Hale & Quellcrist King
- Hotness: 3/5
- Romance: 3/5
- + the hero’s name SERIOUSLY
- – it needs a deep editing
November 8, 2019
3.5 stars!
January 28, 2020
I'm really surprised this book is rated so highly. I'm not usually a harsh critic but I finished it only because I've set myself a challenge to finish every book I start this year. First, the grammar in this book is awful, I can't believe there was actually an editor involved. Second, there is no chemistry between the characters. Finally, half the time I did not know which character was talking and had to go back to reread paragraphs to figure it out. A few times the text was so far off from what you would have expected from a character I honestly thought it was the other character speaking and they'd made a typo with the names. I really wanted to like this book and just did not.
November 20, 2019
Awe💗
I really and truly liked this one, even with a few flaws 💕. Even with the whole friend thing seeming a bit more weighted for one more than the other, the story still had me. It seriously had me wishing there might be a bit more to their story; maybe even a possible two book series. Regardless, the ending did leave the two MCs in a good place.
I really and truly liked this one, even with a few flaws 💕. Even with the whole friend thing seeming a bit more weighted for one more than the other, the story still had me. It seriously had me wishing there might be a bit more to their story; maybe even a possible two book series. Regardless, the ending did leave the two MCs in a good place.
October 11, 2022
Nov 2019
4* for the story. However, the inconsistencies with the timeline, who is speaking what lines and story began to wore me out hence the dropped star. The Quell character frustrates me.
Oct 2022
Still 3*. Bit repetitive. Could do with some editing.
4* for the story. However, the inconsistencies with the timeline, who is speaking what lines and story began to wore me out hence the dropped star. The Quell character frustrates me.
Oct 2022
Still 3*. Bit repetitive. Could do with some editing.
February 24, 2023
4 agonising stars
Quell, a 30-year-old superstar, needs a distraction from his imploding life. He's purchased the rights to produce a gay pirate TV show and is going to star in it. He finds the perfect co-star in Hale, entirely unknown in the business at 24, who goes on to become his best friend...
...and more...
...eventually.
This is a super slow burn. Looking at the real-life timeline, I thought it was quite realistic. The story happens over the course of about 9 months, and I absolutely believed the development of their friendship and relationship.
Looking at the pacing of the book, this was pretty agonising. The romance is dangled in front of our faces from around 30% onwards, but nothing happens until over 70% (outside of them filming scenes).
I was going nuts.
And how dare you tempt me with one of my favourite tropes (only one bed) and then not take proper advantage of it. Rude!
There's a lot of angst, from both men but especially Quell who frets endlessly about whether he should tell Hale that he and Rachel have separated, and whether he should admit to his feelings. I was annoyed that he waited so long to tell Hale about the end of his marriage. That being said, Quell and Hale are gorgeous together even before the relationship starts. I loved all the touching, and the sweet nurturing moments.
I thought this was a good representation of mental health struggles, showing how much Quell's life and decisions have been impacted by his anxiety and depression. We have a realistic outlook as well, both men acknowledging that this is going to be a part of their relationship and there's no miraculous cure.
After such a slow burn, I found the conflict right at the end to be quite abrupt. They have an absolutely brutal conversation, that they really could have resolved by just talking about it a tiny bit more. I was glad it wasn't drawn out, but the resolution was a bit too easy.
I really enjoyed this book, but I won't be reading the next one. I've checked out the reviews and it looks like they lose all the progress they made in this book, and it's just going to be another agonising, angst-filled story, where the MCs aren't even in the same place for most of it. This book concludes with a tentative HFN and that's just going to have to be enough.
The narration was decent. I often struggle with Joel Leslie, who gets a bit too breathy and melodramatic. I thought John Solo was good, and he did a great job narrating their first sex scene.
Oh, um, can I please get the book of the TV show they're making? It was like Kidnapped by the Pirate but with magic? Pretty please???
Quell, a 30-year-old superstar, needs a distraction from his imploding life. He's purchased the rights to produce a gay pirate TV show and is going to star in it. He finds the perfect co-star in Hale, entirely unknown in the business at 24, who goes on to become his best friend...
...and more...
...eventually.
This is a super slow burn. Looking at the real-life timeline, I thought it was quite realistic. The story happens over the course of about 9 months, and I absolutely believed the development of their friendship and relationship.
Looking at the pacing of the book, this was pretty agonising. The romance is dangled in front of our faces from around 30% onwards, but nothing happens until over 70% (outside of them filming scenes).
I was going nuts.
And how dare you tempt me with one of my favourite tropes (only one bed) and then not take proper advantage of it. Rude!
There's a lot of angst, from both men but especially Quell who frets endlessly about whether he should tell Hale that he and Rachel have separated, and whether he should admit to his feelings. I was annoyed that he waited so long to tell Hale about the end of his marriage. That being said, Quell and Hale are gorgeous together even before the relationship starts. I loved all the touching, and the sweet nurturing moments.
I thought this was a good representation of mental health struggles, showing how much Quell's life and decisions have been impacted by his anxiety and depression. We have a realistic outlook as well, both men acknowledging that this is going to be a part of their relationship and there's no miraculous cure.
After such a slow burn, I found the conflict right at the end to be quite abrupt. They have an absolutely brutal conversation, that they really could have resolved by just talking about it a tiny bit more. I was glad it wasn't drawn out, but the resolution was a bit too easy.
I really enjoyed this book, but I won't be reading the next one. I've checked out the reviews and it looks like they lose all the progress they made in this book, and it's just going to be another agonising, angst-filled story, where the MCs aren't even in the same place for most of it. This book concludes with a tentative HFN and that's just going to have to be enough.
The narration was decent. I often struggle with Joel Leslie, who gets a bit too breathy and melodramatic. I thought John Solo was good, and he did a great job narrating their first sex scene.
Oh, um, can I please get the book of the TV show they're making? It was like Kidnapped by the Pirate but with magic? Pretty please???
November 6, 2019
A Joyfully Jay review.
4 stars
This is a strong book from J.R. Gray and I enjoyed reading about Quell and Hale. Quell is already a successful actor and Hale is trying to find his hit and there is about ten years between the men.
Although Quell is highly successful, he suffers from anxiety and depression. He relied a lot on his wife and the routine of the life they had helped him, but now that they are separated, Quell doesn’t know what to do besides work. His separation is not public knowledge; only his best friend knows and Quell’s starting to feel the strain. When he meets Hale, there is a pull and an attraction and Quell is once again thrown off balance as he has never been attracted to a man before.
The chemistry is intense between the men. Hale thinks it’s all one sided as he has no idea Quell is attracted to him and Quell has no reason to think Hale would want anything from him besides friendship, because he hasn’t told Hale the full truth. The men form a close friendship and come to rely on each other a lot during shooting, but with neither man revealing their feelings, opportunities pass them by.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
4 stars
This is a strong book from J.R. Gray and I enjoyed reading about Quell and Hale. Quell is already a successful actor and Hale is trying to find his hit and there is about ten years between the men.
Although Quell is highly successful, he suffers from anxiety and depression. He relied a lot on his wife and the routine of the life they had helped him, but now that they are separated, Quell doesn’t know what to do besides work. His separation is not public knowledge; only his best friend knows and Quell’s starting to feel the strain. When he meets Hale, there is a pull and an attraction and Quell is once again thrown off balance as he has never been attracted to a man before.
The chemistry is intense between the men. Hale thinks it’s all one sided as he has no idea Quell is attracted to him and Quell has no reason to think Hale would want anything from him besides friendship, because he hasn’t told Hale the full truth. The men form a close friendship and come to rely on each other a lot during shooting, but with neither man revealing their feelings, opportunities pass them by.
Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.
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