Getting Off

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