Ryan and Jamie make a bet that whoever wins a little shoot-out gets a blow job from the other person. His best friend in high school, Jamie, is straight. The premise of this book is that Ryan, who is gay, and openly so (to himself, to a Grindr-alike app, and to some close friends, but not the rest of the world), is a hockey player. There’s no way for me to dissect how horrifically bad this book is without giving away plot points, so put on your spoiler ponchos. If you’re at all remotely anywhere on the queer spectrum, or, you know, if you’re an actual ally? You might feel differently. I get why this is a RITA finalist and why there are a bunch of squeeing reviews on Amazon.

TL DR: If you want to pretend that you’re getting fuzzy warm equality feels, but actually like stereotyping gay men, this is an A+ gold star book. Jamie has waited a long time for answers, but walks away with only more questions-can one night of sex ruin a friendship? If not, how about six more weeks of it? When Wesley turns up to coach alongside Jamie for one more hot summer at camp, Jamie has a few things to discover about his old friend…and a big one to learn about himself. But all it takes is one look at his longtime crush, and the ache is stronger than ever. Now, with their college teams set to face off at the national championship, he’ll finally get a chance to apologize.

Ryan Wesley’s biggest regret is coaxing his very straight friend into a bet that pushed the boundaries of their relationship. So what if things got a little weird on the last night of hockey camp the summer they were eighteen? It was just a little drunken foolishness. Four years ago, his tattooed, wise-cracking, rule-breaking roommate cut him off without an explanation. Jamie Canning has never been able to figure out how he lost his closest friend.

Us by sarina bowen