A stepbrother that pushes all your buttons until the hate turns to passion and then love. Ash and Jules are thrown together by their family and overcoming years of anger to find someone to love all parts of you. Prepare for a lot of steam in Step Bully.
From the blurb:
Ash Summers is the most beautiful guy I’ve ever seen. He’s also a total d*ck, and I hate him more than anything. That feeling is mutual, by the way, as he does nothing but torment me.
Oh, and did I mention he’s my stepbrother?
Messing with Ash is all fun and games until our parents force us to room together during our final year at college. Sharing an apartment with him only makes me hate him more.
Until it doesn’t. When Ash touches me, it’s impossible to remember why I dislike him so much. All I can think of is that I need him to do it again…and again.
Every encounter with Ash teaches me a little about myself and my true desires, but it also leaves an emptiness inside me that I don’t understand.
Am I the only one feeling things? Or is my big, bad stepbrother just as desperate for a connection as I am?
Step Bully is an enemies-to-lovers MM romance between stepbrothers who discover that the line between hate and love is a thin one. Expect super hot, slightly kinky encounters that evolve into a total schmoop fest when these two finally get their act together.
SNik's Review:
Standalone. Enemies/roommates/stepbrothers to lovers. Hurt/comfort. Close proximity. Dual POV.
Ash and Jules are reluctant stepbrothers that actually kind of hate each other, their mixed family created by infidelity and indifference makes them blame each other for their awful family interactions and struggles.
When they are forced to live together, Ash and Jules can’t help but annoy the other and eventually their exchanges become physical leading to some steamy and lust filled scenes.
Slowly Ash and Jules spend time together, and even though Ash is not as likable at first, we learn more about his personal insecurities and his discovery that he enjoys caring for Jules which shows him to be someone worthy of Jules.
I appreciated that Jules and Ash’s animosity only diminishes as they get to know each other and they build on a relationship beyond the physical. Ash and Jules learn that they share a lot of common interests and once they communicate their growing feelings they are a sweetly committed couple that complement each other.
Really entertaining read.
Rating: 4.25 Stars
Jacquie's Review:
Like i said, prepare for a lot of steam. No really, there are a lot of sex scenes peppered throughout the book but I can't say that any of them were unnecessary because they advanced the plot and the emotions of the characters.
I'd call this a fast burn for steam and a slow burn for feelings and the dirty talk *chef's kiss* perfection.
Although they hate each other at first it doesn't really get mean and honestly, it's easy to see why, they've been put in a hella awkward situation and just told to get on.
The parents are awful. By then end it's possible to scrape 2 almost decent ones out of the 4, but still, not great.
As a couple, Ash and Jules work. They talk, they support each other, apologise for past mistakes.
Be mindful of the triggers. Again not unnecessary shock tactics and worked into the plot well.
I'm glad I picked this one up.
Rating: 5 Stars
Heather's Review:
Step Bully is exactly what you'd expect from two young men who've been building grudges against each other since their parents got together and they chose violence over friendship....add in some forced proximity curtesy of the same parents and you get all the rage...
This book is very much driven by the steamy scenes as the relationship unfolds so do the encounters... but heed the warnings that there is a trigger warning in the beginning of the book...
I was sucked in from the first page and didn't put it down until I was done... such a great Step Brothers story!
Rating: 5 Stars
Sarah C's Review:
The synopsis of Step Bully grabbed me from the jump, which meant that, combined with the teasers Willow posted in her facebook group, I had to take a chance on it - and I'm so glad that I did. This book was very high heat and surprisingly sweet. Especially as Jules and Ash really got to know one another better and let down their walls.
And their walls at the beginning? Sky high. They'd spent four years hating each other - not for anything the other had done, really, but for the circumstances that made them step-brothers in the first place. Needless to say, they didn't have any brotherly affection for one another. They didn't have any affection for one another PERIOD. And they don't when they start hooking up either.
The spicy scenes in this book are off the charts. The dirty talk, slight D/s aspects to them, all of it - perfection. It epitomizes the hate sex trope while still giving us a lot of character growth underneath the surface. I think my favorite part though was the way that these encounters taught Jules so much about himself. I think my second favorite part of it was the fact that when they finally got together, they didn't change certain aspects of the dynamic all the time.
Because it was something they were both into.
There are content warnings for this book, and I strongly advise that you heed them. The second half of the book deals with some trauma that could be triggering for some people, but its all presented in a respectful way and doesn't feel like it was done solely to put trauma on the character involved. And it didn't feel like the other character confessing feelings FIXED the problem or the trauma. In fact, even at the end of the book, that trauma was still there - just less ever present - which I loved because of how realistic it was.
So yes, 10 out of 10, would recommend.
And their walls at the beginning? Sky high. They'd spent four years hating each other - not for anything the other had done, really, but for the circumstances that made them step-brothers in the first place. Needless to say, they didn't have any brotherly affection for one another. They didn't have any affection for one another PERIOD. And they don't when they start hooking up either.
The spicy scenes in this book are off the charts. The dirty talk, slight D/s aspects to them, all of it - perfection. It epitomizes the hate sex trope while still giving us a lot of character growth underneath the surface. I think my favorite part though was the way that these encounters taught Jules so much about himself. I think my second favorite part of it was the fact that when they finally got together, they didn't change certain aspects of the dynamic all the time.
Because it was something they were both into.
There are content warnings for this book, and I strongly advise that you heed them. The second half of the book deals with some trauma that could be triggering for some people, but its all presented in a respectful way and doesn't feel like it was done solely to put trauma on the character involved. And it didn't feel like the other character confessing feelings FIXED the problem or the trauma. In fact, even at the end of the book, that trauma was still there - just less ever present - which I loved because of how realistic it was.
So yes, 10 out of 10, would recommend.
Rating: 5 Stars
Jacqueleen the Reading Queen's Review:
Step Bully was a super steamy enemies to lovers stepbrother romance. Hello one of my favorite tropes!! I really loved how the enemies portion of the book wasn't just a few chapters and bang we get lovey dovey. There was real animosity there. There was resentment. It took time for both Jules and Ash to realize they placed the blame for their circumstances on the wrong person. Their respective parent uprooted their lives and then promptly forgot how to be parents at all. It was a natural reaction to be wary and blame the easier person, each other. It wasn't until they were forced to spend real time together that the walls started crumbling down and the real person bled through, especially in Ash's case.
Ash broke my heart. He was nothing like Jules first thought. Behind his playboy facade was a vulnerable young man who spent his life never having someone in his corner. He never knew what it was liked to be loved and cared for. Jules changed all that. For the first time Ash found out what it was like to be the center of someone's universe and he felt the same for Jules.
"Jules was...everything. He was a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stifling world. He was the one person who made me happy, who made me feel like there wasn't anything wrong with me. That I was good enough exactly the way I was."
Their start was definitely unconventional. It took work to move past their previous beliefs. Then there was the fact that Ash was in the closet about his bisexuality. But as time went on, it was clear that no one else was going to compare to each other. They were committed, in love, and anyone who had a problem with that could go to hell.
Rating: 5 Stars
Step Bully is currently available as an e-book and can be read as part of your Kindle Unlimited Subscription
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