OH. MY. GOODNESS.

Can you fall head over heels in love with a book so fast?? Because I totally just did. I loved this book most positively and absolutely, no one can convince me otherwise, it's a top favourite.

I should start of by saying, this book is definitely not for everyone and I can totally understand why, but if you're a fan of the forbidden romance trope and if you loved Feuds and Reckless Fury by K. Webster, then you'll definitely like this too because this book reminds me so much of K. Webster's amazing book!

I'm a sucker for the forbidden romance trope, and I also love the M/M romance genre, it's all I've been reading lately and I can keep reading them till kingdom come. This book is now a top favourite M/M of mine. Seriously. It's that good. It's sexy as sin, it's passionate, it's kinky, it's got everything.

Now there's also the religion aspect which I respect so so much because I have first hand experience of what that religion comprises of, my family knows, therefore I know, and I just connected so much more to Zayn and Asher because of it. When they started to talk about choices and sexuality, I was screaming at my tablet like YESSSSS SHOW THEM WHO'S BOSS!!!

Anyways, read this book, give it a try, and let's talk about it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Zee Shine Storm for the earc in return for an honest review.

I have always been a fan of Zee Shine Storm, so I decided to try out this book. Bear in mind, this is the first MM book that I have ever read in my entire life. To be honest, I pretty much enjoyed it but I found that the religious aspect is a trigger for me. I thought I could handle it, but I just couldn't. Well, I blame myself for that. In my opinion, it is not something that should be used as a plot device. If I brushed away the religious aspect, then I would say that this book is quite good. I found it really steamy and the chemistry between Zayn and Asher is just off the chart. If you're in the mood for MM romance, then you should give this book a try.

Hmm. It was an okay story about stepbrothers that become lovers. It touched upon religious, culture and sexuality themes. I liked the two characters but it was a relationship that was built on sex from the beginning. Asher’s side job was odd and then it disappeared from the story. The ending was better than the beginning of the story. Overall, it was a quick, okay, romance between two step brothers.

I received this ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this a bit apprehensively. Smut is not something I’m one to shy away from, and this certainly is a new spin on it that I haven’t read yet. A stepbrother MLM romance…a trope that certainly exists but usually not in books if you get what I’m saying. That aside, I was hooked from the first chapter and I read this in about 3 hours.
Zany is struggling with his identity as a gay muslim when his father remarries, and along with his new step mother comes a new step brother, Asher. Drawn to Asher immediately, he tries hard to hide his attraction. He soon discovers the attraction is reciprocated. The two must navigate Zayn’s religion and his homophobic father, while figuring out how they fit together.
First of all…this might be the steamiest book I’ve read in quite some time. The spice happens almost every chapter once the two have their first time together. Zayn’s struggles with being Muslim and gay is really the driving force of this book for me. His fear of what his religion says of being gay comes through painfully, and Asher does his best to understand and help. Zayn’s chapters were a bit heavy where Asher’s were more fun and light to read. Though a lot of his feelings about Zayn’s religion and it’s relation to their lives comes from a place of privilege, he also takes every opportunity to stand up for Zayn’s anytime anyone says something about it. One mild observation: the subplot of Asher’s “business” was kind of odd and didn’t serve the story at all.
Zayn’s father from the beginning I knew I was not going to enjoy, and I was right. I understand his religion has a view of what acceptable, but that’s no reason to treat your son the way he does. Ashers mother Sienna is more tolerable, albeit complacent. I went into this book with trepidation due to the whole stepbrother thing, but I really liked the story, the romance, and the ending.

Cover: 0/10
Description: 5/10
Plot: 8/10
Grammar: 6/10
Character development: 10/10
Read it all in one sitting in about 3 hours.