I wasn't expecting what this book gave to me, and it made me happily surprise with how much responsibility delicate themes were talked about. We have a main character that is openly gay, don't struggle with his sexuality and don't waste a second breath about it, but at the same time he's biphobic and has a lot of prejudices that most of the times are not treated how they should be. This character is real, has flaws and grows with time, he at first don't understand why he's wrong on his prejudice, but chapter after chapter you can see that he's trying to be better and do better.
At the other side we have a guy who all his life though he was straight, until he wasn't? And that's were most people hate this kind of "gay-for-you" trope, but here's the thing: this is also acephobic. The gay-for-you, even if some times is terrible written, can be also a very good way to represent the demisexuality, like on this book. Another thing that I loved about this is that the character is demisexual AND bisexual. There's a lot of misunderstandings about asexuality, like it's this exclusive sexuality, when it's actually a espectrum that coexist with the sexual orientation of the person. Awesome representation, I highlighted so many quotes that looked like it was my diary and not a book about a fictional character.
Another delicate plot was the sexual assault and the toxic masculinity that the victim had to deal with. It's really hard to see this point of the stories being retracted on books, but the way he felted like he was the defect one before realizing his sexuality espectrum was so relatable that hurts. It's probably something that most assexual people lived through life, the pressure and the confusion and the bitter aftertaste of doing something you didn't wanted too but can't actually explain why you didn't. It's also awesome how it shows that even if someone ace is in a relationship with someone who's allo they can make it work with talking and listening. Really refreshing to read a book where I can see myself and my relationship and be happy with it.
Last but not less, the therapy! Thank. God. I love when characters look for ACTUAL, PROFESSIONAL help. It's so important, and the prejudice against it still makes so hard to people look for it, even when they need it the most. It was very accurate too, nothing out of line no miracle, just the help the character needed to straight his thoughts and have a clean mind to think about solutions that would make him happier.
Overall this book made me absolutely happy and I couldn't sleep before finish it. If it has flaws and couldn't see it, to me all the characters were painful relatable, the problems they had were real and I'm thrilled to read everything else J.R. brings out to us.

Many things were handled with care and compassion in this story. Unfortunately, it didn't fully click with me. I would have liked to be in JJ's head more in the beginning and to have seen the text conversation at the start from his POV. I will recommend this as a sweet story that deals with the conflicts that arise with biphobia, sexual assault, and outing.

This book blew me away. It's captivating and hits all the feels. I couldn't put it down.

The opening few pages were a bit strange, but only because JR Hart literally opens with a text conversation about straight men watching porn together. It got my attention, but also made me question where the book was headed.

As it turns out, someplace absolutely wonderful!

JR Hart writes really well and the story flows easily without many (or any I can recall) lulls. I fell in love with both JJ and Kade. But what really hooked me and made me smile, was how much information on biphobia and demisexuality is shared. How much learning happens between the characters and how that knowledge is so easy for the reader to absorb.

The story felt incredibly real and without any easily identifiable situations that are just there to move the plot along. There is so much happening and I refuse to offer up spoilers. Let's just say, I laughed, I felt bitter sadness, and I smiled a lot. The ending is also absolutely perfect.

The only thing I didn't like about this book is the title. I get it, but I find it is very misleading to what the story is actually about.

I don't offer up many 5 star reviews, so take that as you want. I highly recommend this book.

With interesting interplay from lead characters Kade and JJ, author JR Hunt is off to the races in their novel Getting Off. What interested me the most was the differentiating of sexual identities. It's not just gay or straight, but even better. Coming out novels often play the angst suffered in the process, Getting Off does too. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Is it too much to call this perfection in a book?! "Getting Off" starts out spicy ... very spicy. It quickly morphs into a gorgeous MLM romance, filled first-love tropes and misunderstanding tropes that made my heart quicken. This novel also comes with a very important trigger warning, and I was grateful for it, even if I'm not one who needed it. Dealing with forced outing, sexual assault, gay bashing ... unfortunately all of these are all-too-real in the queer community, and I love that this book tackles them alongside such a tender romance. This is a novel many younger queer folks should add to their shelves immediately!

Getting off was kind of different in the sense that it dealt with tougher truths of life but in this book, it was dealt with in a good way.
I like the main characters and glad to know they had difficulties like real characters.
It was wonderful read and I'm glad everything worked out at the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and NineStar Press LLC for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Uau. This was one emotional ride. I loved reading this story about JJ and Jade's relationship, but mostly I felt this was mostly about JJ finding himself and coming to terms with his sexuality. It was angsty and beautiful at the same time and quite educational for someone like me who, despite not being queer, wants to be a better ally for those who are. I feel like this was quite a personal story and i thank the author for sharing this with us. Would recomment this without a doubt ❤️
*E-Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange for any honest review

"Getting Off" is a deceptively easy book that might be coming across as mainly being about sex, and the almost cliché trope of "straight-guy-falls-for-gay-guy", but do not be fooled by the cover or the title.
This was my first novel by J.R. Hart, and I am craving more now. The themes that are touched in this book vary from biphobia to sexual assault to coming out and demisexuality, and they are done marvellously in my opinion.
Oftentimes, these types of books focus on the hot and steamy scenes, then throw in the drama and finally a happy conclusion, but J.R. Hart packed this with a lot more relevant themes that I wish would be more discussed between men in real life.
JJ and Kade are two very distinct voices, with their own individual hung ups and prejudices to work through and they happen to find each other and create a connection that simply works. The scenes I was most touched by were the ones involving Kade's queer friends, and their openness and helpfulness when it came to giving advice to someone scared and confused to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. These are scenes that men need to read about, to improve how sexuality in their gender is explored, accepted and talked about. I really appreciated the inclusion of demisexuality and the importance of having labels to understand who you are, not necessarily to restrain yourself in a neat little box. As a sexuality in the ace spectrum, it is already considered less valid by many, and it was wonderful seeing this representation.
Finally, a mention must be given to the tactful way the theme of sexual assault was handled. Sexual assault can and does happen to men, but it is unfortunately not discussed openly because it does not fit into the patriarchal narrative that wants men as hypersexual and sees them as alpha predators. In this society, men aren't considered as such if something happens to them, and we need to challenge that notion in any way we can. Media is a good place to start.

This book was a bit of a departure from the queer books that I normally read. I tend to stick to romances filled with queer joy and usually avoid those that deal with the harsher realities of life (trigger warnings from the author are below), but I felt a need to read this one and I’m glad that I did. Getting Off is a new adult romance and the story of JJ who is discovering his sexuality as a bi man somewhere on the demi/ace/aro scale, with the help of his friend Kade, who is an out and proud gay man. When JJ becomes the survivor of a sexual assault, life at school becomes uncomfortable and he must navigate his way through unfamiliar territory and learn to rely and trust in those around him.

Like I said, this book deals with a lot heavier topics than I usually choose to read, but everything in this book was handled so well. In the author’s note, J.R. discusses how this was a very personal story for them and the care they put in to the story is very apparent. I really liked both JJ and Kade. I appreciated that both were flawed and had their own issues and prejudices that they needed to overcome. I really liked that this was dual POV because I felt like I truly got to know each character and how they thought. I really liked that while this book dealt with difficult subjects, it was at the end of the day hopeful. The lives of both JJ and Kade were filled with support and they did earn their happy ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and NineStar Press LLC for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger Warnings from the author: homophobia, homophobic slurs, bi-erasure, biphobia, sexual assault (on page), forced outing